JP3015047B2 - Navigation system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a guidance switching method of a navigation system that displays a route to a destination and the vicinity thereof and switches the route guidance from the vicinity of the destination to a route guidance to perform course guidance.

[Conventional technology]

When visiting a land for the first time by car, in order to reach the destination without hesitation, it is necessary to consider a sufficient travel route in advance by using a road map or the like. In examining this traveling route, it is of course necessary to first select the traveling route, but in order to travel the selected route without fail, landmarks such as intersections and features that turn right and left on the traveling route, It is necessary to remember road information such as the mileage up to. However, when the road network becomes complicated, the name of the intersection to be turned or the name of the landmark to be turned is forgotten on the route for the first time. If the current position cannot be determined due to overlooking a feature that serves as a landmark, not only will the vehicle not flow smoothly, but it will also get stuck halfway.

A navigation device performs route guidance so that a user can safely visit a first destination without worry as described above, and various types of navigation devices have been proposed in recent years. Among them, those that set the route to the destination and display the road map and the set route on the display, the remaining distance, name, left and right turn etc. at the intersection that should be turned so that you can run the route without fail In addition, there are those which provide information on the above-mentioned information and teach a characteristic object so that the route during traveling can be confirmed, and those which provide guidance by voice as well as display.

In such a navigation device, first, it is necessary to set a route. In order to set a route, it is necessary to input a departure place and a destination. When the departure place and the destination are determined by this input, a route search is performed from road information data around the departure place and the destination and between them. Processing is performed,
An optimal route is set from a plurality of routes. In addition, the method proposed by the present applicant does not set a specific route from the departure point to the destination, but sets a traveling road and a traveling direction to the destination at a specific point such as each intersection. There is also. In this case, travel information such as travel distance, steering angle, and intersection is collected to recognize the current position, and information on the traveling road and traveling direction set at the current position is provided to provide route guidance. Is going.

In the navigation device as described above, first, input the respective location information to go from the departure point to the destination,
It is necessary to perform route search and setting. The present applicant has already proposed several methods for inputting a position such as a departure place and a destination (for example, Japanese Patent Application Nos. 62-333052 and 63-199093).
No.). In these, an intersection is input by a code number, or an initial letter or the like is input from a menu screen, a desired intersection name is called on the screen, and a departure place or the like is input. In such a method, the registration positions to be registered, such as a departure place and a destination, are classified into genres such as sightseeing, parking lots, restaurants, etc., and are coded separately in regions such as prefectures and cities. ing. In this case, in addition to directly inputting a code number, a method of displaying a menu and sequentially selecting and inputting from the menu has been proposed. In addition, a method has been proposed in which node data is stored, a road network is defined by linking the node data, and a position is input using coordinate values of east longitude and north latitude.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in particular, when the road conditions from the departure point to a certain point are detailed to some extent, it may be rather troublesome if guidance is provided from the departure point by a very detailed route guidance. In other words, there is a case where it is desired to freely travel to a certain arbitrary point while passing through a back road depending on the situation without restriction on the route if the direction to travel is known. And from any point to the destination,
Precise route guidance is required.

In the conventional navigation device, the guidance from the departure point to the destination is provided by one method regardless of the guidance by the route display or the guidance based on the intersection. There's a problem.

Further, in the navigation device, the position input method such as a departure point or a destination, which is indispensable as an initial operation, has a problem that it takes time and effort to input a desired position as described above, which is not simple.

For example, in a method in which a driver inputs a code number or the like, it is necessary to remember the number in advance, and when the code number increases, each position is defined by a special code number. I need a book,
The position cannot be input unless the codebook is referred to one by one. In addition, the code book is enormous because all the codes are mounted, and must be carried.

Further, in the menu method, a desired position cannot be input on one screen, and a desired position cannot be input unless a plurality of screens are sequentially switched and a predetermined item is selected on each screen. That is, since the display device used in the navigation device is mounted in a relatively easy-to-see space near the driver's seat, a compact device is adopted, and the amount of information that can be displayed at one time is small. Therefore, there is a problem that the screens are finely classified and the number of menu screens increases, and the input operation takes time and labor.

In the method of inputting coordinates, the position cannot be input without the coordinate table, and the coordinate value of the position to be input must be searched from the coordinate table.

There is also a method of inputting a name, but also in this method, since one character is selected one by one from many characters, the operation is complicated and troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a route guidance at an arbitrary point on the way to a destination in response to a request at an arbitrary point. It is to be. Further, another object of the present invention is to automatically set a guidance start point, and to enable setting with a familiar telephone number.

[Means for solving the problem]

Therefore, the present invention provides a navigation system that searches for a route to a destination and guides the searched route, a storage unit that stores information for performing a route search and guidance of the searched route, and detects a position of a vehicle. Detecting means, a destination, an input means for inputting a point such as a guidance start point, an output means for displaying or guiding a route, and inputting a destination from the input means. A route is searched based on the information stored in the storage means, the searched route is displayed, and a guidance start point is input from the input means, whereby the position of the vehicle detected by the detection means approaches the guidance start point. Data processing control means for starting route guidance on the condition that the destination is entered, and controlling the output means. The guidance of the route searched by is started from the guidance start point, or the position of the traveling vehicle is input as the guidance start point from the input means, so that the guidance of the route is performed simultaneously with the input of the guidance start point. It is characterized by starting.

Further, in a navigation system for searching for a route to a destination and displaying the searched route, a storage means for storing information for performing a route search and guidance of the searched route, and an input for inputting a point such as a destination. Means, an output means for displaying and guiding a route, and a destination for inputting a destination from the input means, thereby searching for a route to the destination based on information stored in the storage means, and starting guidance. Data processing control means for starting route guidance by a signal.

[Action and effect of the invention]

In the navigation system of the present invention, a route from the guidance start point, which is an arbitrary point, to the destination can be guided, so that the user can travel relatively freely to the arbitrary point, and after coming to the arbitrary point, Route guidance using detailed information can be performed.

Further, since the guidance start point can be input by the telephone number of the gas station, the input of the guidance start point is simplified. In addition, since the receiver 4 is provided for receiving a signal from the transmitter 21 installed at the gas station, the ID number setting section 22 of the receiver 21 sets the telephone number of the gas station so that the gas station can automatically operate at the gas station. Can be set as the guidance start point.

Furthermore, when the telephone number of the gas station is input, the input process of the guidance start point is performed on condition that the route display mode is set, and the current position is corrected on condition that the route guide mode is set. age,
If there is no guidance start instruction within a predetermined time even after inputting the guidance start point, the route display mode is continued, so the gas station on the route can be freely selected as the guidance start point, and The current position can be confirmed on the stand.

Note that the above symbols are added to clarify correspondence with the drawings, but the present invention does not limit the present invention.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a navigation system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows a system configuration on a vehicle side, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a configuration example of a transmission device on a gas station side. Is shown. In the figure, 1 is a data processing control unit, 2
Is a switch, 3 is a receiving antenna, 4 is a receiver, 5 is a range finder, 6 is a steering angle meter, 7 is an input unit, 8 is an input decoding unit, 9 is an input decoding table, 10 to 12 are databases, and 13 is an image. An output control unit, 14 is a display unit, 15 is an audio output control unit, 16 is a speaker, 21 is a receiver, 22 is an ID number setting unit, and 23 is a receiving antenna.

In FIG. 1 (a), a switch 2 is an interrupt switch used when switching from the receiving antenna 3 to a position input by the input unit 7, and the receiving antenna 2 and the receiver 3 are a transmitter installed at a gas station or the like. This is to receive the ID number transmitted from. A transmitter 21, an ID number setting unit 22, and a receiving antenna 23 shown in FIG. 1B are installed in a gas station, and the telephone number of the gas station is set in the ID number setting unit 22 as an ID number.

The distance meter 5 measures the traveling distance of the vehicle,
For example, one that detects and counts the rotation of a wheel, one that detects acceleration and integrates twice, and the like may be used, but other measuring means may be used.

The steering angle meter 6 detects whether or not the vehicle has turned crosswise. For example, an optical rotation sensor or a rotation-type resistance volume attached to a rotating portion of a steering wheel can be used. It may be an angle sensor attached to the camera.

The input unit 7 may be a joystick, a key, or a touch panel, or may be a unit that is combined with a screen of the display unit 14 to display a key or a menu on the screen and input from the screen.

The input decryption unit 8 decrypts data input from the input unit 7 while referring to the input decryption table 9.
For example, when setting a route, the starting point (current position)
When a destination or a destination is input by a telephone number or by a code, a menu, or another mode, conversion to departure point data or destination data is performed by referring to the input decoding table 9 according to the mode. Further, in the case of input of help or other instruction other than the input of the position such as the departure place and the destination, processing corresponding to the input is performed. Therefore, the input decoding table 9 determines what input is given from the input unit 7,
It is set according to the input data.

Databases 10 to 12 are road network and map data used for route search and guidance, voice data, GS data consisting of information on gas station GS, pointers of GS data about gas stations included in the same local area phone number Is stored.

The data processing control unit 1 has various navigation programs for route search and course guidance. When a departure point and a destination are input, the data is stored in the databases 10 to 12 in the case of input by telephone number. The position is set based on the GS data and the TL data, and a route connecting the departure point and the destination is searched and set from the road data stored in the databases 10 to 12. Then, when the route is set, the map data is selected and drawn from the route data on the screen of the display unit 14 according to the user's request, and the route is displayed thereon,
Along the route you travel, a guide map is displayed, characteristic photos at the intersection or along the route are displayed, the remaining distance to the intersection, the direction of travel at the next intersection is displayed, and other guidance information is displayed. indicate. The display 14 has a CRT
Or a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like. At the same time, the guide information is also appropriately output from the speaker 16 by voice. Databases 10 to 12 store road data, map data, voice data, and other display data for that purpose. Then, it is the image output control unit 13 that controls the output of the image to the display unit 14,
The audio output control unit controls the audio output to the speaker 16.
It is 15.

Next, the overall processing flow of the guidance switching method of the navigation system according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the overall processing flow of the navigation device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a route display displayed by the route set as a result of the route search, FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of division of drawing map data, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a start screen.

In the navigation system according to the present invention, first, as shown in FIG. 2, a destination is input in a departure point and destination position input mode, and then a departure point is input (steps to). These inputs may be a code input method, a coordinate input method, a menu input method, or a telephone number input method.

Next, a route search from the departure place to the destination is performed. For example, a map including the departure place and the destination as shown in FIG. 3 is drawn, and the selected route is displayed thereon (steps to). In this route display, when the current position changes with the travel of the vehicle, the travel history information by the range finder or the steering angle meter, or the input from the driver in the middle of the travel or from outside via the radio wave or the like. The current position may be updated with the position information or the like, and the current position may be displayed on the route display screen.

When the user travels near the destination and needs more detailed guidance, a guidance start point is input, and a route search to the destination is performed using the guidance start point as a departure point (steps to).

Then, a start guidance screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed with the guidance start point as a departure point, and an operation guidance message is output by voice. Then, the user waits until the start key area is touched on the start guide screen, and when it is confirmed that the touch is performed, the mode is the guide mode, and the route is guided according to the set course (steps 1 to 4).
). In this case, if there is no touch even after a certain period of time has elapsed, it may be determined that there is no request for guidance guidance, and the display may return to the guidance display mode.

Upon arrival at the destination, an arrival guidance screen is displayed (step).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a route display displayed by the route set as a result of the route search. FIG. 3A shows the drawing of the drawing map data and the display of the route using the Chubu area as a drawing unit area. An example is shown, and vertical and horizontal lines indicate dividing lines. In this screen, the route is displayed in the upper left corner. According to the present invention, in such a case, the drawing map data divided into 16 as shown in FIG. But,
When the route extends over the entire area, the route is displayed by drawing map data of a wide area as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an example of division of the drawing map data.
FIG. 3A shows basic drawing map data. Since this drawing map data is a wide-area drawing, it consists of data for displaying, for example, a coastline, a highway, an expressway, and a major city (location). On the other hand, FIG. 3B is a diagram obtained by dividing the basic drawing map data of FIG. 3A into four parts, and FIGS. 3C to 3E each have one size in the vertical, horizontal and vertical directions. It is shifted by / 2 pitch. To these drawn map data, a representative city name is added to a coastline, an arterial road, an expressway, and a main city (location). FIG. 1F shows the basic drawing map data of FIG. 1A divided into 16 parts, and FIG. 1G shows the same size shifted by 1/2 pitch vertically and horizontally by the same size. In this way, a total of 35 pieces of drawing map data are prepared in advance with the display screen size, and the smallest drawing map data that includes the set route and fits the route at the center is selected and drawn.
These drawn map data include data for displaying coastlines, national roads, expressways, national road numbers, representative city names, and the like. Assuming that FIG. 3 (a) is the uppermost layer, FIGS. 3 (b) to 3 (e) are the lower layers, and FIGS. 3 (f) and 3 (g) are the lower layers. By adopting a so-called layer structure, the display information increases as the area becomes narrower according to the drawing area, and local information can be provided. In addition, FIG.
FIG. 3 (a) shows all the dividing lines in FIG.
Shows this dividing line.

Next, an example of a process of displaying a route based on route data from a departure place to a destination will be described.

First, the route road number of the route data is input, and a node string is read from this road number. Next, the range of north, south, east and west (maximum and minimum X coordinates, maximum and minimum Y coordinates) is calculated. Then, the optimum drawing map data which falls within this range is selected from each drawing map data as shown in FIG. 4, the nodes are converted into screen coordinates, and the map is drawn. The route is displayed according to the route data on the map drawn in this manner.

In the above route display, for example, whenever the current position recognition means detects passage of an intersection or other preset check point on the route, the current position is recognized, and the current position is repeatedly updated until the vehicle sequentially reaches the destination. It can be displayed on the route display screen as travel history information by, for example, changing the color of the route display. Then, from this state, the process proceeds to the route guidance mode via the guidance start point input and the start guidance as described above. In the route guidance, a landscape photograph of the next guidance intersection, an intersection name, an intersection shape, a remaining distance up to the intersection, a feature point in the landscape photograph, a traveling direction there, and the like are sequentially displayed. Further, it calculates and recognizes the position of the own vehicle based on the measurement information from the range finder 5 and the steering angle meter 6, and provides guidance of a characteristic object on the way through the display unit 14 and the speaker 16, guidance of an intersection, and the like. Especially when the distance to the next intersection is long,
In order to give the driver a sense of security that he has not deviated from the route in the middle of the route, a picture of the feature being passed is displayed on the screen, or a guide map and the position of the vehicle are displayed,
Notifying the traveling position on the route. Then, when the intersection approaches, the intersection information is output by the screen or the voice as described above, and the voice instruction is output as appropriate.

As described above, in the guidance switching method of the navigation system according to the present invention, the vicinity of the destination is set as the landing point by enabling the input of the guidance start point,
The route guidance is provided by route display up to that point, and route guidance can be provided for each intersection from the vicinity of the destination. The guidance is switched from the route display to the detailed route guidance. Things. In general, it is sufficient that the vehicle travels in the direction of the destination without any mistake as the direction up to the vicinity of the destination. In addition, there is a demand that the user wants to select a route freely according to the situation to some extent without fixing the route. There is also. In such a case, guidance by route display as shown in FIG. 3 can give more freedom. However, near the destination, accurate guidance of the route to the destination is required. For that purpose, it is necessary to provide guidance that can sequentially indicate the traveling direction at the intersection or in the middle thereof, check the route by presenting a characteristic object, and the like. The present invention can meet such a demand.

In route display, instead of drawing a map from basic data such as node string data based on a route set as in the related art and displaying the route, some drawn map data is prepared in advance. In this case, the most suitable drawing map data for displaying the set route is selected, and the route is displayed. Accordingly, map data and road data for so-called navigation for performing route guidance and these data for route display are separately provided. This is because the purpose of the route display is to provide the user with a rough overall route from the departure point to the destination, so that a characteristic photograph can be taken, the remaining distance to the intersection, the progress at the next intersection, etc. This is because the content and the amount of data are different from the navigation data that displays the direction and displays other guidance information to provide detailed information on the route. However, in the case of drawing map data of a narrow area (local), there is a case where the navigation data can be used as it is. In such a case, the navigation data is used without preparing the route display data. Route may be displayed.

The guidance starting point is based on the gas station,
If you can enter the phone number there as an ID number, you do not need to enter the code number, coordinate value, or the name from the menu, and since the phone number can be confirmed on the spot, There is no need to memorize the input information, and the guidance start point can be easily input and set. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when a transmitter having its telephone number set as an ID number is installed at a gas station, a 1D number can be input from the transmitter to identify and set a guidance start point. That is, simply by refueling at the gas station, the position can be automatically set as the guidance start point. In addition, when a signal is not input from the receiver or when the transmitter / receiver breaks down, an interrupt is generated by operating the switch 2 and the telephone number therefor may be input as a 1D number in an interactive manner. In any case, the position can be set without remembering the code number or the like.

 Next, a configuration example of the database will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a map database, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a GS database, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a TL database.

If there is a road network composed of, for example, intersection numbers I to VII and road numbers as shown in FIG. 6A, the intersection data is shown in FIG. 6B, the road data is shown in FIG. The node data has a data structure as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the intersection data corresponds to the intersection numbers I to VII, and at least the smallest road number among the roads where the intersection is the starting point, and the road number of the road where the intersection is the ending point. The information includes the smallest road number, the position of the intersection (East longitude, north latitude), and the name of the intersection.

Further, the road data is represented by the next road number among the roads having at least the same starting point, the next road number among the roads having the same ending point, and the intersection number corresponding to the road numbers 1 to 3 as shown in FIG. Start point, end point, node string pointer,
Have information on road length. As is clear from the figure, the next road number among the roads having the same start point and the next road number among the roads having the same end point must be generated by searching for the same number from the start point and the end point by the intersection number. Can be. The road length can also be obtained by integrating the position information of the next node string data.

The node string data has the number of nodes at the head pointed by the node string pointer of the road data as shown in FIG. 3D, and then, for the node corresponding to the number, the node position (East longitude, North latitude) information is given. have. That is, a node sequence is configured for each road data. The illustrated example shows a node sequence with a road number.

As is clear from the above data configuration, the unit of the road number is composed of a plurality of nodes. That is, the node string data is a set of data relating to one point on the road, and when a connection between nodes is called an arc, a road is represented by connecting each of the plurality of node strings with an arc. . For example, regarding the road number, it is possible to access the node string data A000 from the node string pointer of the road data. Here, it can be recognized that the road number is composed of 15 nodes.

Further, for example, when attention is paid to the intersection number V, in the course starting from this point, first, the road number is obtained from the information of the road where the intersection data appears, and then the “next road number having the same start point” of the road data related to this road number Is searched for the road number. Then, the road number and the succeeding information are searched from the same information on the road number. Here, since the road number is the first road number, it can be determined that there is no other road number as the surrounding road. This is the same for the end point. By using the intersection data and the road data in this way, it is possible to search for the road number that goes in and out of each intersection, and to determine the distance of the route connecting each intersection. Further, by adding driving conditions such as entry prohibition, right / left turn prohibition, and road width to these data, it is possible to provide, for example, information for performing a route search, which will be described later, very finely.

The GS database includes, for example, telephone numbers, coordinate values of east longitude and north latitude, positional information such as connecting intersections for linking with the map database 4 as shown in FIG. 7, identification of gas station names, their landmark patterns, etc. Have information. Therefore, when a course according to an example of an intersection is set, a gas station on the course can be searched by searching for a connecting intersection in the GS database from the intersection, and the landmark pattern of the gas station according to the coordinates of the east longitude and the north latitude. Etc. can be drawn on the course.

As shown in FIG. 8, the TL database includes area code data consisting of a pointer to local code data, local code data consisting of a pointer to GS data index, and GS data index consisting of a pointer to GS data. You. Therefore, from this information, the number of gas stations included in the local area code can be known from an arbitrary telephone number, and each GS data can be read.

Next, an example of guidance start point input and route search processing performed using the database will be described.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a subroutine for inputting a guidance start point, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an ID dialogue input screen.

In the guidance start point input, as shown in FIG.
Wait for ID input. If there is no transmitter installed at the gas station, or if there is no ID input from the receiver due to a failure of the transmitter or receiver, an interrupt is issued and an ID dialogue input as shown in Fig. 10 is made by switch input. You may enter the ID from the screen.

When there is ID input from the receiver or switch, first,
From the area code data, a search is made for one that matches the area code of the input TEL No., and the number of local area codes and a pointer to the local area code data are stored.

Then, from the pointer position to the above-mentioned local office number data in the local office number data to a position ahead by the number of the above-mentioned local office numbers, search for a local office number that matches the input TELNo. Store the pointer to

Further, the number of GS data included in the station number area is stored from the position of the pointer to the GS data index in the data of the GS data index, and the number of the GS data is stored by this number.

Then, the GS data corresponding to the GS data number is read from the GS database, and the gas station having the same telephone number is set as the guidance start point.

In the route search processing, a surrounding road search subroutine for searching for surrounding roads from intersections except for roads that are not allowed to turn right or left is set, the width of the road, the necessity of guidance, and other conditions necessary for calculating the optimal route. It has an optimum route condition setting subroutine and an end condition subroutine for determining the end of the route search, and searches for an optimum route from the departure point to the destination between the nearest intersections.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the flow of a route search process, and FIG.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a surrounding road search subroutine, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an optimal route condition setting subroutine, FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an end condition confirmation subroutine, and FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of column data, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of optimum course setting data for each intersection.

Next, the flow of processing when a route search is performed using the network data will be described with reference to FIG. Where L (c)
Distance, F (c) flag, R (c) road number has been passed, s _0, s ₁ intersection number of two neighboring of departure, e _0, e ₁ is the intersection number of a destination two neighboring It is. Also, c is the intersection number, and the flag F (c) is “0” not yet searched, “1” is being searched, and “2” is the end of the search.

For all intersections, the distance L (c) is set to infinity (∞) and the flag F (c) is set to “0” (not searched). By this initial setting, all the intersections are not searched at first, and the distance from the departure point becomes infinite.

Distances from the departure place are entered in the distances L (s ₀ ) and L (s ₁ ) corresponding to the intersection numbers s ₀ and s ₁ on both sides of the departure place, and the intersection numbers s ₀ and s on both sides of the departure place _The flag F (s
₀ ) and F (s ₁ ) are each set to “1”, and the road number R (c) that has passed is set to the road number from the departure place.

The intersection number c _{0 in} which the flag F is not “2” and the distance L (c) is minimum is searched.

Execute the surrounding road search subroutine to obtain the intersection number c ₀
Search for surrounding roads starting from.

 Check if there is a surrounding road.

If YES, the process proceeds to the next process. If NO, the process proceeds.

An optimum route condition setting subroutine is executed to set road conditions and other conditions for searching for an optimum route.

The intersection number of the end point of the road is c ₁ , and the length of the road is l
And

 The distance P to the intersection at the end point of the road is calculated.

Calculate P = L (c ₀ ) +1.

Here L (c ₀₎ is the distance from the departure point to the intersection number c _0, P is the distance to the intersection number c ₁ endpoint through the road from the intersection number c ₀ (road being searched) .

It is checked whether P <L (c ₁ ) and F (c ₁ ) ≠ 2.

If YES, the process proceeds to the next process. If NO, the process returns.

The distance from the starting point to the intersection number c ₁ in the search L
The (c ₁₎ P, the intersection number flag F (c ₁₎ to "1" in the c _1, the intersection number c ₁ road number has been passed up to the R (c ₁₎ and a road number of the search in I do.

If NO in the processing, F (c ₀ ) is set to “2”.

 Execute the end condition confirmation subroutine.

It is determined whether or not the processing has been completed. If the determination is NO, the processing returns to the processing. If the determination is YES, the processing is terminated. By performing the above processing, the road numbers of the optimum course from the departure point to the intersection number are set for each intersection number in correspondence with each intersection number.

In addition, the surrounding road search subroutine of the above processing is performed in the
The processing shown in FIG. 12 is performed. That is, it is checked whether or not the search for the surrounding road is the first time.

In the case of YES, the processing shifts to processing. In the case of NO, the processing shifts to processing.

Intersection c ₀ which are here from the intersection data stores removed road number that is the starting point.

Retrieve the prohibition road in the road number comes to the intersection c ₀ in the search with reference to the road data.

 Check whether the road taken out is a prohibited road.

If YES, the process proceeds to the process. If NO, the process proceeds to the next process.

The road that has just been taken out is stored as the surrounding road, and the process returns.

The road number having the same starting point as the previously searched road and the next road number is extracted from the road data.

It is checked whether the road searched first and the road just taken out are the same.

If YES, the process proceeds to the next process. If NO, the process returns.

 Judge that there is no surrounding road and return.

The subroutine for setting the optimum progress condition of the process shown in FIG. 11 performs the process shown in FIG. That is, the size W and the length 1 of the surrounding road are read from the road data.

It is checked whether or not the size W of the surrounding road is 1 or less.

If YES, the process proceeds to the next process. If NO, the process proceeds.

Let l be the length obtained by multiplying the length l by a. That is, if a road where D is larger than 1 is a normal wide road and a road where D is 1 or less is a thin road, the thin road is a
The evaluation is double the distance. Therefore, a is a number greater than one.

The guidance unnecessary data of the road that has passed to the intersection currently being searched is read from the road data.

It is checked whether there is a surrounding road that matches the guidance unnecessary data.

If YES, the process returns. If NO, the process proceeds to the next step.

Further, a value obtained by adding bm to the length l is set as a new length l, and the process returns. That is, for intersections that do not require guidance,
Intersections that require guidance such as turning left and right are converted to distances and evaluated with bm added.

Then, in the end condition confirmation subroutine of the process shown in FIG. 11, the intersection number c ₀ of the search target, as shown in FIG. 14
A check is made for the coincidence between the number of the intersection on both sides such as the purpose and the like, and, for example, an end graph is set on condition that the two coincide.

As described above, in the route search of the present invention, the shortest route is searched by weighting the distance between the intersections in consideration of the driving conditions such as the size of the surrounding road and the necessity / unnecessity of guiding the road. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, road number information at each intersection along the optimal course is obtained.

As described above, when the optimum route is searched by the route search process, the intersection line and the node line data from the departure point to the destination are created along the route. FIG. 15 shows an example of the data configuration. For example, the intersection column data includes an intersection name, an intersection number,
It consists of information such as the photograph number, the turning angle, the distance, etc., of the characteristic scenery of the intersection, etc.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the information includes the east longitude, north latitude, and intersection number, attribute, angle, distance, and the like representing the node position. Moreover, these data are data of only intersections requiring guidance, excluding intersections requiring no guidance. Therefore, in the navigation, this data may be sequentially read and output corresponding to a predetermined position.

 Next, an example of the structure of the drawing map data will be described.

17 is a diagram showing a structural example of a display data management table, FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a structural example of road node column selection data, FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a structural example of drawing map selection data,
FIG. 20 shows an example of layer 1 and 2 road node data,
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of drawing map data.

The display data management table is as shown in FIG.
Address and size of the road node column selection data table shown in FIG. 18, address and size of the drawn map selection data table shown in FIG. 19, area size by latitude and longitude, latitude and longitude corresponding to one dot on the display screen As information. Therefore, first, by accessing this table, it is possible to recognize the storage area size and storage address to be prepared when reading, for example, the road node column selection data table and the drawing map selection data table. Then, the road node column selection data includes a road number,
The address and size of the road node column data table shown in Fig. 20, the starting intersection offset address of the road,
It has information on the number of nodes between roads and the area size based on XY coordinates. As shown in FIG. 19, the drawing map selection data includes, for each drawing map data, a screen size based on XY coordinates, an address of the drawing map data table shown in FIG. 21, and information on the size.

A map is drawn using the drawn map selection data shown in FIG. 19 and the drawn map data shown in FIG. 21 among the above data. Also, in FIG. 4, (a) indicates layer 1,
(B) to (e) are layer 2 and (f) and (g) are layer 3
If a route is to be displayed on the map of layer 3, local detailed information is required as in the case of route guidance. However, in the case of Layer 1 and Layer 2, rough information is sufficient. In such a case, when a route is drawn on the map for Layer 1 and Layer 2, the road node string selection data shown in FIG. 18 and the road node string data shown in FIG. 20 are used. Can use the data for

The road number in the road node string selection data shown in FIG. 18 is assigned as a unit for performing a route search, that is, from intersection to intersection as described later. The column data is stored, for example, for each national road. Therefore, the road node sequence data shown in FIG. 20 includes a large number of road numbers of the unit for performing the route search. Therefore, if the information of this national road is included in the road node string selection data shown in FIG. 18, when the road node string data of the next road number is read, if the national roads are the same, the data already read , It is possible to recognize that it is sufficient to extract the image data from the data, so that the reading process can be omitted, and the processing speed can be improved.

In the data structure as described above, when displaying a route based on the set route, first, the maximum value and the minimum value of the node sequence of the route by the XY coordinates are obtained. To draw a map, the display data management table is used to confirm that the size falls within the region size based on latitude and longitude, and then the drawing map selection data is read from the drawing map selection data table address into a storage area corresponding to the size. Then, the screen size based on the XY coordinates of each drawing map data is compared with the maximum value and the minimum value based on the XY coordinates of the node string of the route, and the drawing map data of the screen size including the route is extracted. In this case, if there are a plurality of drawing screen data, the number of divisions is set higher, and if the number of divisions is the same, drawing map data whose route is closer to the center of the screen is selected. That is, the drawing map data having the shortest distance between the center of the rectangle formed by the maximum value and the minimum value of the node array of the path by the XY coordinates and the center of the drawing map data is selected. When the drawing map data is selected by the drawing map selection data in this manner, the drawing map data is read from the drawing map data table address into the storage area corresponding to the size, and the shoreline node row, the prefectural border node row, the national road node row The map is drawn by drawing each data of a highway node column, a national road number, and a city name.

Then, when displaying the route on the drawn map, the road node column selection data is read from the road node column selection data table address of the display data management table, and the road number of the route is matched. Then, the road node data is read from the road node row data table address of the road number, a predetermined node row is extracted from the number of inter-road nodes from the offset address including the starting point intersection, and displayed on the map. This is performed from the starting point to the destination in the order of the routes.

In the case of the route display, as described above, a rough display is performed over a wide area, and therefore, in particular, FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e).
For a map of an upper layer such as that shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 20, it is more efficient to separately prepare and process data different from the navigation data shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. For the map of the lower layer as shown in ()), the area becomes narrower and detailed information is required, so that navigation data may be used.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the route search (step in FIG. 2) is performed after the departure point is input and the guidance start point is input. For example, the guidance is started using the result of the route search after the departure point input. The route search after the point input may be omitted. Further, the route search after inputting the departure place may be limited to the minimum processing required for displaying the route. In this case,
For example, set an area such as a representative point in the area, such as Anjo City, Kariya City, etc., search for a representative point from the starting point to the destination, and search through the representative point and pass through the representative point Select by route. Also in this selection, the distance connecting the straight line on the route from the starting point to the representative point to the destination is the shortest, and the guidance start point is set within the representative point closest to the destination on the route. Is also good. In other words, in this case, it is only necessary to first drive toward the representative point for setting the guidance start point, and after arriving representatively, it is sufficient to find a gas station in that area. Also, the route search is not a process according to the embodiment, but has road map data in a layered structure such as a main road, a main road, and a local road, and an intermediate route from a search start point through a nearest intersection of a higher layer. Needless to say, a method of performing a route search such as connecting with a main road may be used.

Further, the guide start point is a gas station, and the guide start point is set by the telephone number there. However, any position having a telephone number other than the gas station may be set. Even in the guidance mode,
If the ID number is received when passing in front of the gas station, the current position may be corrected with that position as the current position, and even if it is other than a gas station, in the receiving device, When the position information signal can be received, the departure point may be set in the position setting mode by receiving the position information signal, and the current position may be corrected in the current position tracking mode (guidance guidance mode). Further, it is needless to say that the input method may be appropriately selected in combination with the menu method, the code input method, and the coordinate input method. Furthermore, it may be possible to input the telephone number for the departure place and the destination similarly,
A telephone number may be input as the current position confirmation.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a route search is performed on the condition that the destination and the departure place are input, a route from the departure place to the destination is displayed, and the guidance start point is identified. Since it switches to route guidance by inputting the number, it is possible to switch the route guidance method before and after the guidance start point, perform guidance so that it can travel relatively freely to the vicinity of the destination, and after coming to the vicinity of the destination Guidance can be provided using detailed information. Moreover, the direction of travel to the destination can be known by the route display up to the guidance start point, and even if the route is freely selected according to the situation, if the vehicle reaches the guidance start point, it is possible to accurately reach from the guidance start point to the destination. Can be switched to a simple route guidance. In addition, if the gas station is targeted as the guidance start point and the telephone number there is set as the identification number, the gas station can be set as the guidance start point with a telephone number that can be easily confirmed, and the guidance start point can be set. Input and settings are simplified. Further, the gas station is provided with a transmitter of an identification number, and the guidance start point can be set by receiving the ID number, whereby the guidance start point can be automatically set. Therefore, the guidance start point can be automatically set at the same time as the refueling of gasoline, so that the input of the guidance start point can be simplified, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the overall processing flow of a navigation device according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a route display displayed by a set route, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of division of drawn map data, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a start screen, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a GS database, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a TL database, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a subroutine for inputting a guidance start point, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an ID dialogue input screen, FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the flow of a route search process, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a surrounding road search subroutine,
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an optimal route condition setting subroutine,
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an end condition confirmation subroutine, and FIG.
The figure shows a configuration example of intersection column and node column data,
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of optimum course setting data for each intersection, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a structural example of a display data management table, FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a structural example of road node column selection data, Figure 19 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of drawing map selection data,
FIG. 20 shows an example of layer 1 and 2 road node data,
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of drawing map data. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Data processing control part, 2 ... Switch, 3 ... Receiving antenna, 4 ... Receiver, 5 ... Distance meter, 6 ... Steering angle meter, 7 ... Input part, 8 ... Input decoding part , 9 ... input decoding table, 10-12 ... database, 13 ... image output control unit, 14 ... display unit, 15 ... audio output control unit, 16 ... speaker, 21 ... transmitter, 22 ... ... ID number setting section, 23 ... Transmission antenna.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koji Tsukidani 10 Takane, Fujii-machi, Anjo-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Aisin AW Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-98499 (JP, A) 122898 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G08G 1/0969 G01C 21/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A navigation system for searching for a route to a destination and guiding the searched route, storage means for storing information for performing a route search and guiding the searched route, and detecting a position of the vehicle. Detecting means; input means for inputting points such as a destination and a guidance start point; output means for displaying and guiding a route; and inputting a destination from the input means to store the data to the destination. A route is searched based on the information stored in the means, the searched route is displayed, and a guidance start point is input from the input means, so that the position of the vehicle detected by the detection means approaches the guidance start point. Data processing control means for starting route guidance on the condition that the output means is controlled. 2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said data processing control means starts guidance of a route searched by inputting said destination from said guidance start point. 3. The data processing control means starts route guidance simultaneously with the input of the guidance start point by inputting the position of the traveling vehicle as a guidance start point from the input means. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein 4. A navigation system for searching for a route to a destination and displaying the searched route, storage means for storing information for performing a route search and guiding the searched route, and inputting a point such as the destination. And input means for displaying and guiding a route. By inputting a destination from the input means, a route is searched for the destination based on the information stored in the storage means, and guidance is started. Data processing control means for starting route guidance by a signal for performing the navigation.