JP2006064661A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system for guiding so as to smoothly perform turning to the right or to the left at intersections. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation system comprises: an acquiring means of the number of right-turn and left-turn lanes for acquiring the number of right-turn and left-turn lanes for turning to the right or the left at intersections; and an approaching lane information acquiring means for acquiring the number of approaching lanes after turning to the right or the left. The navigation system also has a driving lane acquiring means for acquiring a lane in which a vehicle is running, and then by a lane changing judging means from these information, the need of changing the lane is decided by comparing the driving lane with an approaching lane to be approached. When the need of changing the lane is decided by the lane-changing deciding means, a lane-changing guiding means guides the change of the driving lane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device for guiding a lane at an intersection.

  A navigation system that is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, displays a current position, and displays a route to a destination is known. As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on a display device together with a road map, and an appropriate route from the starting point to the destination A vehicle navigation device that guides the vehicle with a display device, a voice output device, or the like contributes to efficient and safe driving for the driver.

  When using this navigation device, the driver inputs a destination and calculates and displays a recommended route from the current position to the destination. By following this instruction, the driver can reach the destination without getting lost. The navigation device shows the recommended route on the road map and also provides travel guidance according to the route search result even near the intersection.

  As a guidance technique near this intersection, there is a function of instructing a lane to be traveled after turning an intersection as in Patent Document 1, and a function of performing approach guidance to an appropriate lane as in Patent Document 2. With these functions, it is possible to determine which lane to enter after turning right at the intersection.

JP-A-64-16915 JP 05-87583 A

  However, these functions are instructions on which lane the car should be in after the intersection, and there is no instruction on which lane to enter before passing the intersection. If you want to enter the lane, the vehicle is not in the rightmost right turn lane, so you will not be able to enter the desired lane at once, and you will change the lane after making a right turn. In addition, since the lane to be entered is congested at this time, there is a possibility that the lane cannot be changed and the travel route must be changed.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that guides a user so that a right or left turn can be smoothly performed at an intersection.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The navigation device of the present invention includes a right / left turn lane number acquisition unit and an approach lane information acquisition unit, thereby acquiring a right / left turn lane number for making a right / left turn at an intersection and an approach lane number after making a right / left turn. it can. By providing the travel lane acquisition means, it is possible to acquire which lane the vehicle is traveling, and by comparing the travel lane and the approach lane to be entered by the lane change determination means from these information. To determine if it is necessary to change lanes. When the lane change determining means determines that there is a lane change, the lane change guiding means guides the user to change the traveling lane. The guidance may be displayed on the display unit of the navigation device or may be guided by voice.

  Then, the lane change determination means can determine which approach lane it is appropriate for the vehicle to travel according to the traveling direction at the intersection next to the traveling direction of the guidance target intersection that makes a right or left turn. For example, when making a left turn at an intersection next to the guidance target intersection, after making a right turn or a left turn at the guidance target intersection, guidance is made so as to enter the left lane.

  The lane change determining means determines which lane to travel for a right turn or a left turn at the guidance target intersection and guides the user by the lane change guiding means. Furthermore, the lane change judging means should drive which right turn lane or left turn lane when turning right, when there are two or more right lanes, or when turning left, when there are two or more left lanes It is possible to guide the user by the lane change guidance means.

  As the traveling lane acquisition means for acquiring the traveling lane of the vehicle, a position detector such as a GPS or a gyro sensor, a lane line recognition sensor, or the like can be used. Here, the lane line recognition sensor is a sensor that recognizes a lane line drawn in white or yellow for separating a lane drawn on a road.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as remote control) sensor 11, a white line recognition sensor 23, a transmitter / receiver 13, a speaker 15 for performing voice guidance, An external memory 9, a display device 10, a communication unit 19, an ETC vehicle-mounted device 16, a control circuit 8 connected thereto, and a remote control terminal 12 are provided.

  A position detector 1 as current position detecting means has a well-known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for GPS that detects the position of a vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. is doing. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, a part of the sensors described above may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor, a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

  The map data input device 6 is a device for inputting various data including so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection and road data representing road connections from the storage medium 20. As a storage medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, or hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) is generally used because of the amount of data, but other media such as a memory card may be used. The storage medium 20 is map information storage means.

  The map data stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) and the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connection destination road link, and the like.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 10 is used. The touch switch is composed of infrared sensors that are finely arranged vertically and horizontally on the screen of the display device 10. For example, when the infrared ray is cut off with a finger, a touch pen, or the like, the cut-off position becomes a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y). Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7 and the remote control terminal 12. The operation switch group 7 constitutes destination setting means.

  A white line recognition sensor, which is a lane line recognition sensor, includes a camera and a lane determination unit that determines an image thereof. This camera is installed in the vehicle, and the traveling lane of the vehicle is determined by the traveling lane determination unit based on an image taken by the camera. This white line recognition sensor can recognize not only the white drawn on the road to show the lane breaks, but also the yellow line (dotted line) drawn to show the lane breaks. Etc.).

  The display device 10 as a display unit is configured by a color liquid crystal display, and the screen of the display device 10 includes a vehicle current position mark input from the position detector 1, information received from the information center 14, and further on a map. The additional data such as the guidance route to be displayed is superimposed and displayed, and buttons for setting route guidance, guidance during route guidance, and switching operation of the screen are displayed on this screen.

  The transmitter / receiver 13 as a transmission unit and a reception unit is a device for receiving information provided from an information center 14 such as VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) and transmitting information to the information center 14. Information received from the outside via the transceiver 13 is processed by the control circuit 8.

  The vehicle navigation apparatus 100 can be connected to an external network 18 via a communication unit 19 by a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone 17 and connected to the Internet or a dedicated information center. be able to. Furthermore, by communicating with an ETC (Automatic Toll Collection System, ETC: Electronic Toll Collection) vehicle-mounted device 16, the fee information received by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 from the ETC road device can be taken into the navigation device. It is also possible to connect to the external network 18 by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16.

  Further, the external memory 9 stores data necessary for the operation of the navigation device. Note that the external memory 9 retains the stored contents even when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off (that is, the navigation device 100 is turned off).

  The control circuit 8 as a control unit is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 and a bus line 85 for connecting these configurations as shown in FIG. The control circuit 8 is a right / left turn lane number acquisition unit, an approach lane information acquisition unit, and a lane change determination unit.

  The CPU 81 performs control based on programs and data stored in the ROM 82 and RAM 83. As shown in FIG. 2, the ROM 82 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 82s, a navigation program (hereinafter referred to as navigation program) 82p that operates on the OS 82s, and a lane determination program 82k. The navigation program 82p operates on the OS 82s with the navigation program work memory 83w as a work area, and the lane determination program 82k operates with the lane determination program work memory 83k as a work area. Furthermore, the work memory 83s of the OS 82s is formed in the RAM 83.

  With this configuration, when the navigation program 82p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the driver operates the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 to display the navigation device 100 on the display device 10. When the route guidance processing for displaying the destination route on the display device 10 is selected from the menu displayed on the screen, the following processing is performed. That is, when the driver inputs the destination, the current location of the vehicle is obtained based on the satellite data obtained from the GPS receiver 5, information is received from the information center 14, a road map is displayed on the display device 10, Guide the driver on the appropriate route. The above operation and the following embodiments are controlled by the navigation program 82p.

  This route guidance is performed by a known Dijkstra method using link information and node information in map data. Specifically, the route calculation cost from the current location to each node is calculated using the link information for the link between the nodes, and the total cost is minimized when all the cost calculation to the destination is completed. The link to the destination is set by connecting the link. That is, for example, the guidance route is determined by acquiring a combination that minimizes the distance or the required time for the route connecting the departure point and the destination.

  After the route is searched in this way, when the vehicle travels along this route, when the vehicle makes a right turn or a left turn at the next intersection, the navigation device 100 makes a right turn or a left turn to the user. In addition to guidance, guidance for the driving lane and the right / left turn lane is performed by the lane determination program 82k.

  For this purpose, the navigation device 100 of the present invention has a traveling lane guidance function having a function of guiding the traveling lane of an automobile at an intersection. This travel lane guidance function determines the approach lane (a) the approach lane determination function, recognizes the lane that the vehicle is currently driving (b) the travel lane recognition function, and the lane to be traveled from the approach lane. Judgment (c) Consists of a lane judgment function to drive.

  The approach lane judgment function of (a) is that in order to travel smoothly at the next intersection of the guidance target intersection from the link information of the map data to the next intersection of the guidance target intersection and the next intersection of the guidance target intersection, When making a right or left turn at a guidance target intersection, it is determined which lane to enter. This approach lane determination function is provided by the approach lane information acquisition means, and the approach lane information acquisition means is configured by the control circuit 8.

  The travel lane recognition function (b) is a function that the travel lane acquisition means has and includes various sensors such as the GPS 5, the gyro sensor 3, and the white line recognition sensor 23, and recognizes the lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling. is there.

  Further, the lane determination function to be traveled in (c) is a function of the lane change determination means, which obtains the number of right / left turn lanes ahead of the target intersection from the map data and has one or more lanes corresponding to the right / left turn direction. In this case, the information obtained from the approach lane judgment function and the travel lane recognition function is a function for comparing the approach lane to be entered with the currently running lane and judging which lane should be present. Then, the result of recognizing the lane to be currently traveled is compared with the currently traveling lane, and guidance is provided to the user as necessary.

  When approaching the intersection by the above function, the navigation device acquires the number of right / left turn lanes ahead of the target intersection from the map data, and when there is one or more lanes corresponding to the right / left turn direction, the approach lane determination function and the traveling lane Based on the information obtained from the recognition function, the approach lane to be entered is compared with the currently running lane, and the lane change judging means judges which lane should be currently run. Then, as a result of recognizing the lane to be traveled, the navigation device 100 compares the currently traveled lanes, and performs guidance as necessary to the user by the display device 10 and the speaker 15 as lane change guidance means.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the guidance processing for the right / left turn lane (lane) will be described. The control unit 8 of the navigation apparatus 100 sets the intersection where the vehicle 41 is traveling forward and left and left as a guidance target intersection, and determines whether there is a right and left turn lane corresponding to the traveling direction of the guidance target intersection. Obtained from the information (S1). The right / left turn lane corresponding to the traveling direction indicates a right turn lane when making a right turn and a left turn lane when making a left turn. The traveling direction has already been obtained by route search. If there is more than one lane in the right turn or left turn lane corresponding to the obtained traveling direction, the process proceeds to S3, and if not, the right / left turn lane guidance process is terminated.

  Here, the number of right / left turn lanes at the guidance target intersection will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in (a), when there is no right / left turn lane at the target intersection in front of the vehicle 41, the lane guidance is not performed, so the guidance process for the right / left turn lane ends. When the vehicle 41 makes a right turn, if there is one or more right turn lanes at the front guidance target intersection as shown in (b), the process proceeds to S3 in FIG. Alternatively, when the vehicle turns left, when there are one or more left turn lanes as shown in FIG. 5 (a), and when there is a right turn lane or left turn lane as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the right turn lane or Proceed to S3 in FIG. 3 to guide the left turn lane.

  And the control part (control circuit 8) of the navigation apparatus 100 acquires the lane information of the approach lane which approaches after turning right and left from an intersection from map data (S3). For example, in the case where the vehicle 41 makes a right turn in FIG. 4B, the lane determination program 82k acquires that the approach lane is two lanes. Subsequently, the control unit acquires the position information of the vehicle in the travel lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling by the position detector 1 or the white line recognition sensor 23 (S4). Then, the control unit acquires which lane of the travel lane is traveling from this information. A control part judges the lane which should approach in an approach lane from the intersection information next to a guidance object intersection. Then, the information on the lane in which the vehicle is traveling and the lane to be traveled in the approach lane are compared (S5).

  Then, in order to proceed to a suitable approach lane, if the travel lane that is currently traveling is sufficient (S6: NO), the control unit determines whether the vehicle has passed the guidance target intersection (S8), and if not, (S8: NO), the process returns to S4 and the position information of the traveling lane is monitored. If the driver changes lanes to unsuitable lanes, he / she will guide you to the appropriate lane. If the vehicle passes the guidance target intersection (S8: YES), the guidance of the right / left turn lane for this intersection is terminated. If it is determined in S6 that the travel lane needs to be changed (S6: YES), the control unit displays the lane change guidance process on the display unit in S7, or performs the voice by the speaker 15.

  The lane guidance by the navigation device 100 will be further described with reference to the intersection diagram. First, a right turn lane when turning right, and a left turn lane when turning left will be described as one lane. When there is a right turn lane as shown in FIG. 4B and it is necessary to make a right turn, the navigation device 100 notifies that there is a right turn lane. In addition, if it is necessary to go straight or turn left, a notification is given so as to proceed to the left lane. When there is a left turn lane as shown in FIG. 5A and it is necessary to make a left turn, the navigation device 100 notifies that there is a left turn lane. If it is necessary to go straight ahead, it will inform you to go on the right lane. If the right turn lane is one lane as shown in FIG. 5B and the vehicle turns to the right, the navigation device 100 informs that there is a right turn lane. If the left turn lane is one lane and the vehicle turns left, the navigation device 100 notifies the user that the vehicle will turn left. If the vehicle turns in the right lane (lane 12) when making a right turn, the navigation device 100 prompts a change to the right lane (lane 11) or notifies that there is a right turn lane.

  Next, a case where the right turn lane has two lanes in the case of a right turn and the left turn lane in the case of a left turn will be described with reference to FIG. (A) is an example in which the right turn lane at the front guidance target intersection has two lanes. The approach lane that enters after turning right is two lanes. When the vehicle makes a right turn, the vehicle proceeds on the right turn lane (lane 1) on the right side or the right turn lane (lane 2) on the left side. In this case, the navigation device 100 guides which right turn lane is better.

  The approach lane guidance will be described with reference to FIG. The case where the vehicle 41 is traveling in the driving lane, turns right at the guidance target intersection 50, and goes straight or turns left at the next intersection 53 after the guidance target intersection 50 will be described. The navigation device 100 determines the direction of the destination at the next intersection 53 after the guidance target intersection 50. That is, when the direction A is the destination, the navigation device 100 determines that it is appropriate for the approach lane to travel on the right lane by the lane determination program 82k. Therefore, it is determined that traveling on the route 52 is appropriate. When the direction B is the destination, the navigation device 100 determines that it is appropriate to travel on the left lane. Therefore, it is determined that traveling on the route 51 is appropriate. Therefore, it is determined whether to drive the right side or the left side in the approach lane according to the destination, and for this purpose, the display device 100 displays which lane should be driven in the travel lane to enter the intersection. Alternatively, guidance is given by voice through the speaker 15.

  Returning to FIG. 6A, the lane guidance will be described. First, a case where the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 1 makes a right turn will be described. When the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 1 needs to enter the lane 4, the trajectory is R <b> 1. In this case, since it is only necessary to travel on the lane 1 as it is, it is not particularly necessary to guide the lane change. However, guidance such as “Please proceed as it is” or “There is a right turn lane” may be provided. Next, when the vehicle traveling in the lane 1 needs to enter the lane 3, the navigation device 100 guides the vehicle to change the lane to the lane 2 that is the left turn lane. Therefore, the vehicle 41 travels on the locus R2.

  Next, a case where the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 2 makes a right turn will be described. If a vehicle traveling in lane 2 needs to enter lane 3, it is only necessary to drive on the left turn lane on the left side, so there is no need to provide guidance. There may be guidance such as "There is". Then, the vehicle 41 travels on the locus R4. Further, when the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 2 needs to travel in the lane 4, the navigation apparatus 100 guides the vehicle to change the lane to the lane 1 that is the right turn lane on the right side. As a result, the vehicle 41 travels along the locus R3.

  A case of a left turn will be described with reference to FIG. First, a case where the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 5 makes a left turn will be described. When the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 5 needs to enter the lane 7, the locus becomes L <b> 2. In this case, since the travel lane may be used as it is, the navigation device 100 does not need to provide guidance for changing lanes. Next, when the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 5 needs to enter the lane 8, the navigation device 100 guides the vehicle to change the lane to the lane 6 that is the left turn lane. Therefore, the vehicle 41 travels on the locus L1.

  Next, a case where a vehicle traveling in the lane 6 makes a left turn will be described. When a vehicle traveling on the lane 6 needs to enter the lane 8, it is only necessary to travel on the left turn lane on the left side, so there is no need to provide guidance, and the vehicle 41 travels on the L3 trajectory. Further, when the vehicle 41 traveling in the lane 6 needs to travel in the lane 7, the navigation device 100 guides the vehicle to change to the lane 5 that is the left turn lane on the right side. As a result, the vehicle 41 travels along the locus L4.

  The case where the traveling lane is one lane and the right turn lane is only two lanes near the intersection will be described with reference to FIG. When it is necessary to enter the right lane in the approach lane, the navigation device 100 guides the vehicle to travel on the right turn lane (left turn lane 1). Further, when it is necessary to enter the left lane in the approach lane, the navigation device 100 guides the vehicle to travel on the left right lane (left turn lane 2). In this way, the driver does not get confused about which lane to proceed.

  The above guidance is summarized in FIG. (A) is a right turn and (b) is a left turn. The direction of travel indicates whether to make a right turn or a left turn at the next intersection. The number of right / left turn lanes indicates the number of right / left turn lanes before making a right / left turn at the intersection. The travel lane indicates a lane in which the vehicle is traveling in front of the intersection. The approach lane indicates a lane that travels after making a right or left turn at an intersection.

  For example, in (3) of (a), it is desirable to travel on the approach lane other than the right lane, but the vehicle is traveling on the right lane. This corresponds to R2 in FIG. In this case, “Please turn right from the left lane.” 9 in FIG. 9A corresponds to R3 in FIG. 6A. In the approach lane, it is desirable to travel in the right lane, but since the vehicle is currently traveling in the left lane, Please turn right from the lane. " When there are two or more lanes on the right or left turn lane, if the vehicle is not traveling on an appropriate lane, guidance is given to change to the next lane.

  FIG. 9B shows the case of a left turn, and the same guidance as in FIG. The driver can smoothly turn left at the target intersection without wondering which lane to proceed to.

  As described above, when a right turn lane and a left turn lane are provided at the next intersection, the navigation device notifies that, and when there are two or more right lanes (or left turn lanes), In consideration of the direction of travel at the next intersection after the guidance target intersection, it is determined which lane it is desirable to proceed after making a right turn (left turn), and an appropriate right turn lane (left turn lane) is notified for that purpose. This prevents the driver from wondering which lane to go to.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a navigation device as one embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram for demonstrating a control part. The flowchart for demonstrating the process of lane guidance. The figure for demonstrating the need / unnecessary intersection of lane guidance. The figure of the intersection where the right turn lane or the left turn lane is one lane. The figure for demonstrating lane guidance in the intersection where a right turn lane is a 2 lane and a left turn lane is a 2 lane. The figure for demonstrating the judgment method of the appropriate lane of an approach lane. The figure in case there are multiple lanes near the intersection. A summary of lane guidance.

Explanation of symbols

8 Control Circuit 23 White Line Recognition Sensor 41 Vehicle 100 Navigation Device

Claims (5)

In a vehicle navigation apparatus that displays the current location of a vehicle on an electronic map on which map information is displayed and helps the vehicle travel to the destination,
Map information storage means for storing map information including road lane information;
Right / left turn lane number acquisition means for acquiring the right / left turn lane number of the road before the right / left turn at the guidance target intersection that makes a right / left turn from the map information;
Entry lane information acquisition means for acquiring lane information of a road entering after a right turn or a left turn at the guidance target intersection from the map information;
Traveling lane acquisition means for acquiring which traveling lane the vehicle is traveling;
A lane change judging means for judging an approach lane to be entered, judging whether it is necessary to change the lane by comparing the traveling lane of the road that is running and the approach lane to be entered;
Lane change guidance means for guiding the change of the travel lane when it is determined that the travel lane of the traveling road needs to be changed;
A navigation device comprising:   The lane change determination means determines the approach lane to be entered at the target intersection according to a traveling direction at the next intersection of the traveling direction of the guidance target intersection that performs a right / left turn when the approach lane is a plurality of lanes. Item 4. The navigation device according to Item 1.   The lane change determination means obtains from the map information the number of right / left turn lanes of the guidance target intersection that performs right / left turn guidance, and when there is one or more right / left turn lanes corresponding to the traveling direction, The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether the vehicle travels.   The lane change determination means acquires the number of right / left turn lanes of the guidance target intersection that performs right / left turn guidance from the map information, and when there are a plurality of right / left turn lanes corresponding to the traveling direction, the entry to be entered The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a right turn lane or a left turn lane is determined from the lane.   5. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the travel lane acquisition unit includes a lane line recognition sensor that recognizes a lane line for separating a lane drawn on a road.

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