JPH0125006B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a course guidance device, in particular, a driving trajectory of a moving object such as a passenger car, which superimposes it on a road map based on outputs from a direction sensor and a speed sensor mounted on the moving object, such as a passenger car. A course guidance device that plots and displays input keys, which facilitates the selection of input keys by sequentially illuminating input keys to be operated next in executing a desired input mode. It is related to.

Prior to filing the present application, the applicants of the present application developed a course guiding device as shown in FIG. The course guidance device is placed, for example, in front of the driver's seat, and is equipped with a CRT display 1 as shown in FIG. The driving trajectory 2 obtained based on the output is plotted on the display screen, and a map sheet 3 drawn on, for example, a transparent film is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the front of the display screen, and a map fixing means is provided. 4 fixes the mounted map sheet 3 so that the travel trajectory 2 is extended along a desired road on the map.

The above-mentioned course guidance device has one major feature and advantage in that it superimposes the display screen and the map and extends the travel trajectory along the road on the map. This is a promising direction for the device. However, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, for example, if the traveling trajectory 2 advances to the peripheral edge of the map on the display screen and the map sheet 3 needs to be replaced,
Not only do they have to be replaced manually, but it is also laborious and troublesome to select a desired map sheet from a large number of map sheets. Furthermore, since it is necessary to visually check the travel trajectory, there remains a problem in terms of safe driving.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the applicants of the present application have further provided travel trajectory information of the moving object, which is calculated based on the outputs of the direction sensor and speed sensor mounted on the moving object. The vehicle is equipped with a travel trajectory storage device in which a travel trajectory is stored and a planned course storage device in which scheduled travel course information is stored, and the vehicle is driven while comparing the contents of the travel trajectory storage device with the contents of the planned course storage device. , it contributes to safe driving by checking the actual driving course and providing course guidance such as automatically notifying you that you are approaching the destination by voice. We have proposed a course guidance device (e.g., Japanese Patent Application No. 87956/1987) that automatically selects and displays a map adjacent to the peripheral edge on the display when the peripheral edge of the map is reached. It's summery.

These course guidance devices described above are provided with a large number of input keys for performing various operations and inputting various data. The types of input keys to be operated corresponding to each operation mode are determined in advance, and the order of the input keys to be operated as the operation progresses is also determined. However, there is a problem in that it is not easy to select the input key to be operated from among a large number of input keys and operate the input keys one after another according to a determined order, and this problem is solved by the above-mentioned problem. This problem has not been solved in the base guidance system.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes an illumination lamp that illuminates each input key independently, and when executing a desired operation mode, the operation mode is changed as the operation mode progresses. It is an object of the present invention to provide a course guiding device that facilitates the selection of input keys to be operated by sequentially illuminating the input keys to be operated by the illumination lamp. This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an embodiment of course guidance operation in the present invention, and FIGS. 4A and B are map projections in the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of an embodiment of the mechanism, FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of automatic map updating operations in the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of input key operations in the present invention.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 as necessary.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 5 is a direction sensor that detects the running direction of the car in accordance with a certain reference direction, and 6 is a speed sensor that includes, for example, a clock that corresponds to the rotation of the wheels. 7 represents a keyboard which outputs pulses, and is provided with various input keys to be described later. Note that other symbols will be explained each time as the explanation progresses.

Direction information from direction sensor 5 (analog signal)
is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 8 for each X component and Y component. On the other hand, a pulse counter 9 that counts clock pulses from the speed sensor 6 outputs a sample clock every predetermined count number. and,
In the X component calculator 10 and the Y component calculator 11, the samples from the pulse counter 9 are
For each clock output, each direction information (digital signal) of the X and Y components output from the A/D converter 8 is added to the cumulative value up to that point and output to the declination correction section 12. The declination correction unit 12 performs correction based on the declination of the earth's magnetic field, for example, and has a declination correction value memory that stores declination correction values corresponding to map numbers determined for each region. 1
4, the declination correction value corresponding to the area where the vehicle is currently traveling is read out, and declination correction is performed based on the declination correction value. In this way, the pulse counter 9
The travel trajectory information output from the X component calculation unit 10 and the Y component calculation unit 11 in response to the sample clock from is stored in The contents of the traveling trajectory memory 15 are read out to be transferred to the display memory 17, and are transferred from the keyboard 7 to the scale memory 20 via the encoder 13.
Based on the map scale information set in the map, the memory conversion section 16 performs conversion corresponding to the scale of the map and transfers it to the display memory 17. Furthermore, the contents of the display memory 17 are stored in the display driver 1.
At step 8, the data is converted into display data that corresponds one-to-one with the display screen, and is supplied to the display element 19. As a result, the travel trajectory is displayed at a scale corresponding to the road map displayed on the display screen, which will be described later.

In the present invention, a scheduled course memory 21 is provided in which information regarding the scheduled course to be traveled is stored in advance. The planned course memory 21 corresponds to the driving trajectory memory 15, and the planned course information stored in the planned course memory 21 is transmitted from the keyboard 7 to the encoder 1 before the actual driving.
3 in the form of the amount of movement in the X direction and Y direction on the road map displayed on the display screen, the amount of movement is counted by the planned course input counter 22, and the amount of movement is inputted in the planned course memory. 2
1 in the form of X and Y coordinate values. Then, during actual driving, the comparison processing section 23 performs a comparison process between the current position information in the display memory 17 and the planned course information in the planned course memory 21,
It is determined whether the current position of the vehicle has reached within a predetermined distance range from the planned course point, and when the current position of the vehicle has reached within the predetermined distance range from the planned course point, the above comparison process is performed. The unit 23 outputs the speaker 2 via the voice synthesis unit 24.
5 to notify the driver accordingly. A detailed explanation will be given below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows that a road map of a certain area in which the vehicle is currently traveling is displayed on the display screen of the course guidance device of the present invention by a map projection projector, which will be described later, and a travel trajectory 36 is displayed as a plot on the road map. (Display of the road map and travel trajectory will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 4).
Note that the cross-shaped black dot 37 represents the current position, the white dots 38 to 40 represent the planned course point, and the circular dotted lines 41 to 43 represent a predetermined distance range from the planned course point. The coordinate information of the planned course points 38 to 40 is stored in advance in the planned course memory 21, and the distance from the planned course point determined in advance, that is, the circular dotted lines 41 to 4
A distance of radius 3 is preset in the comparison processing section 23 as the comparison threshold value R.

Now, an example will be described in which a vehicle equipped with the course guidance device of the present invention travels on a scheduled course as displayed by a traveling trajectory 36 and approaches a scheduled course point 38. That is, as described above, the comparison processing unit 2 performs a process of comparing the current position information in the display memory 17 and the coordinate information of the planned course point 38 stored in the planned course memory 21.
3, and when the distance between the current position 37 and the planned course point 38 reaches within the range of the comparison threshold R preset in the comparison processing section 23, the Then, the driver is notified by voice from the speaker 25, for example, "approaching point 38." Further, as the travel progresses and the scheduled course points 39 and 40 are approached, notification is made in the same manner. In addition, as one aspect of the course guidance of the present invention, points that serve as landmarks, such as road intersections, are set as planned course points,
Although we have explained the mode of notifying that the planned course point is approached, for example, the above planned course point is set at intervals corresponding to the driving trajectory plot along the planned driving course, and the actual driving path is different from the planned course. It is also possible to give a voice notification when the user deviates from a predetermined distance. In this way, since the course guidance is performed by voice, it can contribute to safer driving compared to the conventional course guidance by sight. Additionally, since it is no longer necessary to display the driving trajectory on the screen, the screen can be suppressed, or instrument panel information such as the speedometer, tachometer, and fuel meter can be displayed on the screen. .

Next, in explaining the automatic map exchange function of the present invention, the map projection projector will first be explained with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In the figure, reference numeral 44 is a condenser mirror, 45 is a light source, 46 is a condenser lens, 47 is a microfilm, 48 is a microfilm cartridge, 49 is a magnifying lens,
50 represents a reflection mirror, and 51 represents a projection screen. Note that the reference numeral 19 corresponds to the display element shown in FIG. 2, which is a transmissive flat display in which the running locus is displayed as a plot.

The microfilm 47 is loaded into a microfilm cartridge 48 so as to be freely wound and unwound by a motor 32 (not shown in FIG. 2), which is not shown. The road map of the area is recorded divided into individual frames. Then, a desired frame of the microfilm 47 is selected, and in order to enlarge and project the road map of the selected frame onto the projection screen 51, the projection light from the light source 45 is directed to the condensing mirror 44 and the condensing lens. 46 , the light is focused and projected onto a microfilm 47 , further magnified by a magnifying lens 49 , and projected onto a projection screen 51 via a reflecting mirror 50 . A transmissive flat display element 19 such as a transmissive LCD panel for displaying the travel trajectory is disposed between a reflective mirror 50 and a projection screen 51 in close contact with the projection screen 51. The travel trajectory is combined with the map pattern of the microfilm 47 and displayed on the projection screen 51. In addition,
The display elements 19 can also be arranged at intervals in front of the projection screen 51.

As explained above, FIG. 5 shows a state in which a road map and a travel trajectory are displayed on the front screen of the course guidance device of the present invention. Code 36,3 in the figure
7 corresponds to FIG. 3, and 52 represents an overlap boundary line set at the peripheral edge of the screen.

In FIG. 5A, a traveling trajectory 36 is displayed as a plot as the vehicle travels, and a current position 37 is plotted.
When the overlap reaches the overlap boundary line 52, the overlap determination section 26 shown in FIG.
The overlap signal is sent to the comparison processing section 28. The comparison processing unit 28 receives the map number input from the keyboard 7 via the encoder 13 from the map number memory 27.
to select the map number to be displayed next by comparing the contents of the map memory 29 with the contents of the map memory 29 storing the entire map arrangement.
Calculate the number of frames of micro film 47,
The calculation result is output to the motor driver 31.
Then, the motor driver 31 drives the motor 32
is controlled so that the micro film 47 is moved by the above-mentioned number of frames. At this time, the film search sensor 30 counts the number of frames fed and checks whether a predetermined number of frames have been fed. In this way, a predetermined number of frames are sent, and as a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, a road map of the area that is continuous with the illustrated map in FIG. 5A is displayed on the display screen. become.

The overlap signal from the overlap determining section 26 is also sent to the memory converting section 16. By receiving the overlap signal, the memory conversion section 16 moves the current position 37 in parallel with the travel trajectory 36 from the point shown in FIG. 5A to the point shown in FIG. 5B. As a result, the current position 37 shown in FIG. 5A and the current position 37 shown in FIG.
Needless to say, they are at the same point on the map.

Note that since the contents of the map number memory 27 are rewritten to a new map number by the comparison processing section 28, the map number memory 27 always contains the new map number, that is, the current map number projected on the display screen. The map number of the map is stored.

Next, key input operations in the present invention will be explained. As mentioned above, the keyboard 7 is provided with a large number of input keys, such as input keys for correcting the outputs of the direction sensor 5 and speed sensor 6, input keys for inputting a planned course, and input keys for selecting a map. There is. To execute these various operation modes, the user must select the necessary input keys corresponding to each operation mode from among the large number of input keys mentioned above and operate them in a predetermined order. Must be.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a key memory 33 is provided to store the operation order of input keys in the various operation modes described above.
Contents of key inputs from the keyboard 7 input via the encoder 13 and the key memory 33
The next key determination unit 34 compares the contents of
The next key determination unit 34 instructs the input key to be operated next. Furthermore, illumination lamps (not shown) are provided as necessary to illuminate each input key on the keyboard 7 individually and independently.
Then, the key illumination control section 35 turns on the illumination lamp that illuminates the input key to be operated next, based on the instruction content from the next key determination section 34. By selecting a necessary input key among the input keys illuminated by the illumination lamp and performing a key input, the input key to be operated next is similarly illuminated. Further, by performing a key input as necessary, the contents of the key input can be sent to the next key determination section 34 to turn off the lighted key. In this way, the input keys to be operated in accordance with the desired operation mode are sequentially illuminated by the illumination lamp as the operation progresses, so the input keys can be operated in that order. For example, a case in which the output of the direction sensor 5 is corrected will be specifically explained. A flow chart showing the sequence of input key operations in the case of output correction of the direction sensor 5 or speed sensor 6 in the present invention is shown in FIG. As mentioned above, the order of operation of the input keys shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the key memory 33. Therefore, when you press the "Correction" input key,
As described above, the key illumination control section 35 lights up the illumination lamps for the "direction" input key and the "distance" input key in response to instructions from the next key determination section 34. The "direction" input key is used to correct the output of the direction sensor 5, that is, offset correction and sensitivity correction, and the "distance" input key is used to correct the output of the speed sensor 6.
That is, this is an input key for performing distance correction corresponding to changes in tire diameter due to tire wear or the like. In this case, since the correction is for the output of the direction sensor 5, the "direction" input key is pressed. the result,
Similarly, the "start" input key is illuminated to indicate that the next input key to be operated is the "start" input key. Therefore, the "start" input key is then pressed to perform the offset correction and sensitivity correction described above. Note that by pressing the "start" input key, the "end" and "cancel" input keys to be operated next are illuminated. Therefore, when the above correction is completed, press the "End" input key, or if you want to cancel the above correction for some reason, press the "Cancel" input key.
Press the input key. As a result, the input keys to be operated next, such as "driving", "map", "planned course"
etc. input keys are illuminated. Therefore, it is only necessary to select the input key to be operated next in accordance with the next operation mode. That is, to start driving, use the "Run" input key, to select the map to be displayed on the display screen mentioned above, use the "Map" input key, or to enter information about the planned travel course, use the "Schedule" input key. All you have to do is operate the "Course" input key.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the planned driving course is inputted in advance, and it is possible to convey course guidance to the driver by means of information transmission such as voice, compared to course guidance that relies on vision. This can improve driving safety. It also becomes possible to automatically exchange maps and correct travel trajectories. Furthermore, since the input keys in each operation mode are sequentially illuminated, it is easy to select the required input key from a large number of input keys, and the operation order can be changed, for example, without having to read an operation manual. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall external view of an example of a conventional course guidance device, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is for explaining an embodiment of the course guidance operation in the present invention. Explanatory diagram, 4th
Figures A and B are explanatory diagrams regarding one embodiment of the map projection mechanism in the present invention, Figures 5A and B are explanatory diagrams for explaining automatic map updating operations in the present invention, and Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the automatic map updating operation in the present invention. An explanatory diagram regarding operations is shown. In the figure, 5 is a direction sensor, 6 is a speed sensor, 7 is a keyboard, 8 is an A/D converter,
9 is a pulse counter, 10 is an X component calculation unit, 1
1 is a Y component calculation unit, 12 is a declination correction unit, 13 is an encoder, 14 is a declination correction value memory, 15 is a travel trajectory memory, 16 is a memory conversion unit, 17 is a display memory, 18 is a display driver, and 19 is a Display element, 2
0 is scale memory, 21 is planned course memory, 2
2 is a planned course input counter, 23 and 28 are comparison processing units, 24 is a speech synthesis unit, 25 is a speaker, 26 is an overlap determination unit, and 27 is a map number.
Memory, 29 is a map memory, 30 is a film search sensor, 31 is a motor driver, 32 is a motor, 33 is a key memory, 34 is a next key determination section, 35 is a key illumination control section, 36 is a travel trajectory, 3
7 is the current position, 38 to 40 are planned course points, 41 to 43 are planned course ranges, 44 is a condenser mirror, 45 is a light source, 46 is a condenser lens, 47
48 is a microfilm, 49 is a magnifying lens, 50 is a reflecting mirror, 51 is a projection screen, and 52 is an overlap boundary line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A direction sensor and a speed sensor mounted on a moving body.
It is equipped with a travel trajectory storage device in which travel trajectory information of a moving object based on detection signals from sensors is sequentially stored and a display on which a road map is displayed, and the contents of the travel trajectory storage device are read out and the road shown on the display is In a course guidance device having a function of displaying the travel trajectory of the mobile object superimposed on a map and correcting the overlapping state of the travel display corresponding to the travel trajectory and the map, one of the plurality of input keys is provided. a key memory comprising an illumination lamp that independently illuminates predetermined input keys, and storing the order of input keys to be operated to execute a desired operation mode in correspondence with each operation mode; The contents entered using the above input keys and the above keys
A next key determination unit that determines the input key to be operated next based on the contents of the memory, and a key that controls the illumination lamp to illuminate the input key to be operated next based on instructions from the next key determination unit. The key memory includes an illumination control section, and the key memory is configured to set an offset to the output of the direction sensor in response to a press of a "correction" input key to be pressed when correcting the output of the direction sensor or speed sensor. Information that illuminates the "direction" input key to be pressed when performing correction or sensitivity correction and the "distance" input key to be pressed when performing correction to the output of the speed sensor, and the "direction" input described above. Information that illuminates a "start" input key that instructs to perform the offset correction or sensitivity correction in response to the press of a key; Information that illuminates the "end" input key that indicates that the correction has been completed and the "cancel" input key that indicates that the correction that has been made is cancelled, the above-mentioned "end" input key or the above-mentioned "cancel"
In response to pressing the input key, there is a "Run" input key that instructs to start driving, a "Map" input key that instructs to select the map to be displayed, and a "Map" input key that instructs to input the planned driving course. The next key determination section is configured to store at least information that causes input keys including at least a "planned course" input key to be illuminated, and the next key determination section determines whether the information on the key memory corresponds to the type of input key pressed. What is claimed is: 1. A course guidance device, characterized in that the course guidance device is configured to read out the input key to determine the input key to be operated next.