 |
Claims  |
|
|
What we claim is:
1. A navigation system for providing road guidance by displaying a
structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads, said navigation
system comprising:
storage means for storing guidance information including information
regarding building shapes;
display means for displaying said guidance information; and
guidance control means for controlling information displayed on said
display means;
wherein said guidance control means sorts the information regarding
building shapes stored in said storage means according to a predetermined
condition, and controls information displayed on said display means on the
basis of the sorted information regarding building shapes.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said guidance control means
restricts drawing of building shapes by setting a display color for
building shapes to a color which is the same as a display color for a
background.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said guidance control means
restricts drawing of building shapes by not drawing any of them.
4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said guidance control means
restricts drawing of building shapes when a screen is scrolled.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores map
data having information regarding shape of each of various structures, and
information belonging to each of said structures, and said guidance
control means decides a display mode on the basis of said information
belonging to each of the structures, and controls display of a shape of
each structure and information belonging to the structure according to
said display mode.
6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said information belonging to
each of said structures includes a name, address, classification and
height of each of said structures, and detailed information belonging to
each of said structures.
7. The system according to claim 6, wherein said detailed information has
information indicating the number of names belonging to each of said
structures, and for each of said names, information indicating a telephone
number, a room number, and a category.
8. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
decides a display mode on the basis of said structure height.
9. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
displays only names whose display ranges do not overlap by judging order
of precedence from said information belonging to the structures.
10. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
judges order of precedence of names to be displayed from the
classification and height of each structure and the detailed information
belonging to each structure.
11. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
stores names in order of decreasing amount of detailed information
belonging to said structures, and displays names in the order in which
they have been stored.
12. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
displays a name of a structure by setting a display range for the name
according to the number of characters of the name such that the display
range extends over both sides of a center of said structure as displayed,
stores the display range for the displayed name, and decides whether or
not there is an overlap between said stored display range and a display
range for a name to be newly displayed.
13. The system according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores data
regarding a map other than said structure-shape map, together with said
structure-shape map, and said guidance control means selectively displays
said structure-shape map and said map other than said structure-shape map.
14. The system according to claim 13, wherein said map other than said
structure-shape map includes a road map and a residence map.
15. A navigation system comprising:
present-position sensing means for sensing a present position;
storage means for storing guidance information including information
regarding building shapes;
condition judging means for judging whether or not a predetermined
condition is satisfied;
display means for displaying information regarding surroundings of the
present position on the basis of the present position sensed by said
present-position sensing means and the guidance information stored in said
storage means; and
guidance control means for controlling information displayed on said
display means;
wherein said guidance control means has sorting means for sorting building
shapes from the information regarding building shapes stored in said
storage means, so that the information regarding building shapes is sorted
on the basis of a result of judgment by said condition judging means, and
information displayed on said display means is controlled on the basis of
the information regarding building shapes sorted by said sorting means.
16. The system according to claim 15, wherein said present-position sensing
means has vehicle speed sensing means for sensing a vehicle speed; said
condition judging means judges whether or not the vehicle speed sensed by
said vehicle speed sensing means is greater than a predetermined value;
and said guidance control means controls information displayed on said
display means on the basis of a result of judgment by said condition
judging means.
17. The system according to claim 15, wherein said condition judging means
judges whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied on the
basis of scrolling of a screen, so that information displayed on said
display means is controlled on the basis of a result of judgment by said
condition judging means.
18. The system according to claim 15, wherein said guidance control means,
when said condition judging means judges that the predetermined condition
is satisfied, reads only the information regarding building shapes sorted
by said sorting means from said storage means, and executes processing for
displaying a map.
19. The system according to claim 15, wherein said guidance control means,
when said condition judging means judges that the predetermined condition
is satisfied, changes a display color for the information regarding
building shapes sorted by said sorting means to a color which is the same
as a background color.
20. A navigation system for providing road guidance by displaying a
structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads, said navigation
system comprising:
recording-medium read means for reading out, from a recording medium, a
program and data for drawing building shapes and roads on said
structure-shape map and displaying said structure-shape map to provide
road guidance;
non-volatile recording means for storing a program;
program read means for reading the program read out by said
recording-medium read means into said non-volatile recording means;
display means for displaying said structure-shape map; and
processing means for executing the program read into said non-volatile
recording means by said program read means, thereby displaying said
structure-shape map on said display means on the basis of the data
recorded on said recording medium, which is read out through said
recording-medium read means, to provide road guidance;
wherein drawing of building shapes is restricted according to a specific
condition when said structure-shape map is displayed on said display
means.
21. A recording medium for a navigation system which provides road guidance
by displaying a structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads,
said recording medium having the record of:
structure-shape map data having information regarding shape of each of
various structures, and information belonging to each of said structures;
and
a program for drawing and displaying a shape and name of each structure on
the basis of said structure-shape map data and for restricting drawing of
building shapes according to a specific condition.
22. A navigation system comprising:
input means for entering a telephone number;
storage means for storing a set of position coordinates corresponding to
each telephone subscriber's number, a set of representative position
coordinates corresponding to an office number, and map data having
information regarding shape of each of various structures, and information
belonging to each of said structures, including a telephone number
thereof;
display means for displaying a structure-shape map showing a shape and name
of a structure on the basis of the information regarding shape in the map
data stored in said storage means; and
retrieval and guidance control means for retrieving a telephone number
stored in said storage means on the basis of a telephone number entered by
said input means and for displaying, on said display means, a
structure-shape map centered on a structure having the retrieved telephone
number.
23. The system according to claim 22, wherein said retrieval and guidance
control means sets a retrieval range from said position coordinates or
representative position coordinates on the basis of said entered telephone
number, and retrieves telephone numbers included in information belonging
to structures within said retrieval range.
24. A navigation system comprising:
storage means for storing map data having information regarding shape of
each of various structures, and information belonging to each of said
structures, including a telephone number thereof; and
guidance control means for retrieving, upon entry of a telephone number, a
telephone number corresponding to said entered telephone number from said
information belonging to each of said structures, and for displaying a
structure-shape map centered on a structure having the retrieved telephone
number.
25. The system according to claim 24, wherein said information belonging to
each of said structures includes a name, address, classification and
height of each of said structures, and detailed information belonging to
each of said structures, said detailed information having information
indicating the number of names belonging to each of said structures, and
for each of said names, information indicating a telephone number, a room
number, and a category.
26. The system according to claim 24, wherein said storage means stores
telephone-number data having a coordinate value corresponding to each
telephone number, and said guidance control means obtains a coordinate
value corresponding to a telephone number from said telephone-number data,
determines a retrieval range from said coordinate value, and retrieves
telephone numbers in said information belonging to said structures within
said retrieval range.
27. The system according to claim 24, wherein said storage means stores a
set of representative location coordinates of each office number in said
telephone-number data, and said guidance control means, when there is no
coordinate value corresponding to said entered telephone number in said
telephone-number data, displays a structure-shape map centered on the
representative location coordinates.
28. The system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance control means
decides a display mode on the basis of said number of names. |
|
 |
|
 |
Claims |
|
|
|
Description |
|
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a navigation system for providing road guidance
by displaying a structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads, and
also to a recording medium for such a navigation system. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a navigation system using a
structure-shape map on which shapes of structures are displayed by
coordinates strings in different display modes varying in color or other
display form, together with names of the structures, to retrieve
information belonging to a structure concerned and to give guidance.
A navigation system for vehicles searches, upon input of a destination or
the like, for a route from a present position or a designated departing
location to the destination, and provides route guidance based upon the
found route. One type of guidance screen used to provide route guidance
using a screen or voice based upon a suggested route found as described
above is such that a map showing surroundings of the present position is
displayed, and a present-location mark is displayed on the map. To enter a
location or give route guidance, a map is used. Therefore, in a case where
a location such as a present position or a destination is set, or the user
desires to see the location of a destination on a map, a wide-area map is
displayed by entering a place name such as the name of a prefecture or a
city, as described above, and then maps are successively changed over from
such a wide-area map to a detailed map by utilizing the map display scale,
thereby displaying a desired map. Alternatively, by entering a telephone
number, a map centered on the registered location is displayed.
However, to recognize information ahead of a road on which the vehicle is
traveling and select a road to be taken by using a displayed map as a
lead, if a large amount of information is displayed on the map, necessary
information may be buried in the other information, making it difficult to
precisely recognize necessary information and decide a road to be taken.
In particular, in the case of a structure-shape map as described later,
shapes of buildings and general houses are displayed in addition to
information regarding roads. Therefore, the amount of information on the
map is too large for the driver to select necessary information by looking
at the map while driving. Further, it takes an exceedingly long time to
draw a map containing a large amount of information. Furthermore, when the
screen scroll speed is high, the drawing processing cannot be completed in
time for the scrolling operation, making it impossible to make a check on
a map.
In a case where a map is displayed and various guidance is given thereon, a
name of a place and names of structures such as buildings, facilities and
so forth are displayed as minimum and necessary information, together with
the map. To display such a place name and structure names, display
coordinates and display areas must be prepared in advance as data for name
display separately from map data. Therefore, the conventional practice is
to store name data in addition to map data.
With the conventional method in which data for map display and data for
name display are prepared, however, the amount of data is unfavorably
large. Moreover, a system wherein maps are displayed by changing scales
needs to store data for name display for each display scale. Therefore,
the amount of data increases considerably, making it necessary to use a
memory of large storage capacity.
In a case where a district name and structure names are displayed on a map,
it is necessary to restrict the display of names such that no names
overlap each other, and the visibility of the map is not impaired. On the
other hand, in an urban area congested with buildings, for example, a
large number of tenants occupy one building. Therefore, to investigate
such a tenant-occupied building, if there is no information regarding
tenants occupying each building, it is impossible to find or verify a
building where a tenant concerned resides. There has heretofore been no
system capable of retrieving and showing detailed information belonging to
such buildings to give guidance.
In use of a navigation system for vehicles, there are cases where the user
wants to ascertain where a location such as a destination or an en-route
location is as well as sets such a location. In such a case, the
conventional practice is to select and enter a prefecture name, a city
name, a code, a menu, coordinates, etc. to thereby display maps
successively. To designate a changeover of maps from a wide-area map to a
detailed map also, a plurality of key operations must be conducted.
Therefore, the operation for reading out a desired detailed map is
complicated and troublesome. With the method whereby, upon input of a
telephone number, a map centered on the relevant location is displayed, a
desired detailed map can be displayed simply by entering a telephone
number, but further information cannot be acquired.
That is, although a detailed map can be displayed by entering a telephone
number, if there are a plurality of items of detailed information as in
the case of a complex building at the displayed location, it is impossible
to ascertain whether or not the desired information is one of them.
Moreover, it is impossible to acquire information regarding features and
shapes of buildings, facilities and so forth which may exist at the
desired location and its vicinities. For example, in a urban area
congested with buildings, a large number of tenants occupy one building.
Therefore, to investigate such a tenant-occupied building, if there is no
information regarding tenants occupying each building, it is impossible to
find or verify a building where a tenant concerned resides. There has
heretofore been only map information used mainly for the purpose of
providing approximate information, and there has been nothing that enables
retrieval or verification of such information as information regarding
complex buildings as described above and multi-purpose facilities occupied
by various residents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to display information necessary for
travel in a readily perceivable manner according to the travel condition
and to enable necessary information to be provided without making the
screen difficult to see even during scrolling. Another object of the
present invention is to enable shapes and features of structures to be
displayed in a readily perceivable manner to show information regarding
structures for guidance, and to display structure names together with a
map without increasing the storage capacity required, thereby providing a
display screen of excellent visibility. A further object of the present
invention is to make it possible to display, upon input of a telephone
number, a structure-shape map having detailed information regarding a
location represented by the entered telephone number.
In order to attain the foregoing objects, the present invention provides a
navigation system for providing road guidance by displaying a
structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads, the navigation
system including storage means for storing guidance information including
information regarding building shapes; display means for displaying the
guidance information; and guidance control means for controlling
information displayed on the display means; wherein the guidance control
means sorts the information regarding building shapes stored in the
storage means according to a predetermined condition, and controls
information displayed on the display means on the basis of the sorted
information regarding building shapes.
In addition, the present invention provides a navigation system which
includes present-position sensing means for sensing a present position;
storage means for storing guidance information including information
regarding building shapes; condition judging means for judging whether or
not a predetermined condition is satisfied; display means for displaying
information regarding surroundings of the present position on the basis of
the present position sensed by the present-position sensing means and the
guidance information stored in the storage means; and guidance control
means for controlling information displayed on the display means; wherein
the guidance control means has sorting means for sorting building shapes
from the information regarding building shapes stored in the storage
means, so that the information regarding building shapes is sorted on the
basis of a result of judgment by the condition judging means, and
information displayed on the display means is controlled on the basis of
the information regarding building shapes sorted by the sorting means.
In addition, the present invention provides a navigation system for
providing road guidance by displaying a structure-shape map showing
building shapes and roads, the navigation system including
recording-medium read means for reading out, from a recording medium, a
program and data for drawing building shapes and roads on the
structure-shape map and displaying the structure-shape map to provide road
guidance; non-volatile recording means for storing a program; program read
means for reading the program read out by the recording-medium read means
into the non-volatile recording means; display means for displaying the
structure-shape map; and processing means for executing the program read
into the non-volatile recording means by the program read means, thereby
displaying the structure-shape map on the display means on the basis of
the data recorded on the recording medium, which is read out through the
recording-medium read means, to provide road guidance; wherein drawing of
building shapes is restricted according to a specific condition when the
structure-shape map is displayed on the display means.
In addition, the present invention provides a recording medium for a
navigation system which provides road guidance by displaying a
structure-shape map showing building shapes and roads, the recording
medium having the record of structure-shape map data having information
regarding shape of each of various structures, such as buildings,
facilities and so forth, and information belonging to each of the
structures; and a program for drawing and displaying a shape and name of
each structure on the basis of the structure-shape map data and for
restricting drawing of building shapes according to a specific condition.
In addition, the present invention provides a navigation system which
includes input means for entering a telephone number; storage means for
storing a set of position coordinates corresponding to each telephone
subscriber's number, a set of representative position coordinates
corresponding to an office number, and map data having information
regarding shape of each of various structures, such as buildings,
facilities and so forth, and information belonging to each of the
structures, including a telephone number thereof; display means for
displaying a structure-shape map showing a shape and name of a structure
on the basis of the information regarding shape in the map data stored in
the storage means; and retrieval and guidance control means for retrieving
a telephone number stored in the storage means on the basis of a telephone
number entered by the input means and for displaying, on the display
means, a structure-shape map centered on a structure having the retrieved
telephone number.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious
and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,
combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be
exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of
the invention will be indicated in the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation system using a
structure-shape map according to the present invention.
FIGS. 2(A)-2(E) are diagrams showing an example of the construction of
road-guidance data and so forth.
FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B) are diagrams showing an example of the construction of
road-attribute data and so forth.
FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) are diagrams showing an example of the construction of
precaution data and so forth.
FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) are diagrams showing an example of the construction of
data for a structure-shape map.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing the flow of processing of the overall
navigation system for vehicles according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for describing the processing for displaying a
structure-shape map.
FIGS. 8(A)-8(C) are flowcharts for describing the processing for displaying
structure shapes.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for describing the processing for displaying
structure names.
FIGS. 10(A)-10(C) are diagrams showing a display example of a
structure-shape map.
FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B) are diagrams showing an example of a guidance screen
using a structure-shape map.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing an example of the processing for
displaying building shapes.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart for describing an example of the processing for
displaying one-way traffic marks.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart for describing an example of the processing for
displaying a route.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for describing an example of the processing for
displaying landmarks.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart for describing program loading processing.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing program version check processing.
FIG. 18 is a diagram for describing the structure of CD-ROM data.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a navigation system
using a structure-shape map according to the present invention.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart for describing the processing for display and
guidance using a structure-shape map and the processing for displaying
shapes.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart for describing the processing for retrieval and
guidance using a structure-shape map.
FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a screen during a structure
selecting operation using a structure-shape map.
FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of an information display screen.
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of an information guidance screen
using a structure-shape map.
FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a list display screen for retrieval of
information regarding surroundings of a structure.
FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a genre retrieval screen.
FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a further embodiment of a navigation system
using a structure-shape map according to the present invention.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of
telephone-number data.
FIG. 29 is a flowchart for describing the processing for displaying a
structure-shape map by a telephone number according to the present
invention.
FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a
structure-shape map.
FIGS. 31(A)-31(D) are diagrams showing an example of the composition of a
telephone-number data file.
FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of the composition of a
registered-location data file.
FIGS. 33(A) and 33(B) are diagrams showing an example of the composition of
an address data file.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a navigation system using a structure-shape map according to
the present invention. The navigation system comprises an input/output
unit 1 for input/output of information relating to route guidance, a
present-position sensing unit 2 for sensing information relating to the
present position of a vehicle equipped with this navigation system, an
information storage device 3 in which navigation data necessary for route
calculation and display guidance data necessary for instructional guidance
have been recorded, and a central processor 4 for executing route finding
processing, display guidance processing necessary for route guidance, and
control of the overall system. Each of these components will now be
described.
The input/output unit 1 functions to enter destinations, to allow the
driver to instruct the central processor 4, at the volition of the driver,
to execute navigation processing in such a manner that guidance
information can be outputted by voice and/or a screen display when
required by the driver, and to print out processed data. As means for
implementing these functions, the input section of the input/output unit 1
has a touch switch 11 and operation switch for entering a destination in
the form of a telephone number or coordinates on a map, and for requesting
route guidance. It is also possible to use a remote controller or other
similar input device. The output section has a display 12 for displaying
input data on a screen and, moreover, for automatically displaying route
guidance on the screen in response to a request from the driver, a printer
13 for printing out data processed by the central processor 4 and data
stored in the information storage device 3, and a speaker 16 for
outputting route guidance by voice.
It is possible to add a voice recognition unit for enabling voice input
and/or a record card reader for reading data recorded on an IC card or a
magnetic card. It is also possible to add a data communication device for
exchanging data between information sources such as an information center
in which data necessary for navigation has been stored and which provides
necessary data through a communication channel in response to a request
from the driver, and an electronic notebook in which driver's own data,
e.g. map data, destination data, etc., has previously been stored.
The display 12 is constituted by a color CRT or color liquid-crystal
display device. On the basis of map data and guidance data processed by
the central processor 4, the display 12 outputs, as a color display, all
screens necessary for navigation, such as a route setting screen, a screen
of an interval view and a screen of intersections. The display 12 also
displays buttons for setting route guidance and for changing over guidance
and screens during the route instruction. In particular,
transit-intersection information such as the names of intersections to be
traversed is displayed in color in the form of a pop-up menu on the
interval view when required.
The display 12 is provided inside the instrument panel in the vicinity of
the driver's seat. Observing displayed map enables the driver to ascertain
the present location of the vehicle and to obtain information regarding a
route from this location. The display 12 is provided with the touch panel
11 that corresponds to the display of function buttons. The operations
described above are executed based upon signals entered by touching the
buttons. Input signal generating means constituted by the buttons and
touch panel constructs the input section, though a detailed description
thereof is omitted.
The present-position sensing unit 2 has a GPS receiver 21 which utilizes a
global positioning system (GPS), a beacon receiver 22, a data transceiver
23 for receiving a GPS correction signal utilizing a cellular phone or a
FM multiplex signal, an absolute heading sensor 24 constituted by a
geomagnetic sensor or the like, a relative heading sensor 25 constituted
by a wheel sensor, steering sensor or gyro, etc., and a distance sensor 26
for sensing traveling distance from the number of revolutions of a wheel.
The information storage device 3 is an external storage device in which a
program and data for navigation have been stored, for example, a CD-ROM.
The program comprises an application section and an OS section. The
application section includes a map drawing part, a route finding part, a
route guidance part, a present-position calculating part, a destination
setting operation control part, etc., and executes signal-output
processing for navigation. The program part of the information storage
device 3 stores programs for executing processing such as route finding
processing, programs for executing display-output control necessary for
route guidance and for executing voice output control necessary for voice
guidance, and data necessary therefor, together with display information
data necessary for route guidance and map display. The data part of the
information storage device 3 stores all data necessary for the navigation
system, the data comprising the files required for route guidance, such as
map data (road map, residence map, structure-shape map, etc.),
intersection data, node data, road data, photographic data,
registered-location data, destination data, suggested-road data, detailed
destination data, destination reading data, telephone-number data, address
data, and other data.
The central processor 4 comprises a CPU 40 for executing various kinds of
arithmetic processing; a flash memory 41 for storing a program read out of
the CD-ROM of the information storage device 3; a ROM 42 in which are
stored a program for executing program check for the flash memory 41 and a
program for executing update processing (i.e. program read means); a RAM
43 for temporarily storing the location coordinates of a set destination,
guidance information for a found route, such as the code number of a road,
and data which is in the course of being processed; an image memory 44 in
which image data used to display a screen on the display unit is stored;
an image processor 45 which, on the basis of a display-output control
signal from the CPU 40, extracts image data from the image memory 44 and
delivers the data to the display unit upon subjecting it to image
processing; an audio processor 46 which, on the basis of an audio-output
control signal from the CPU, combines audio, phrases, single sentences and
sounds read out of the information storage device 3, converts the result
to an analog signal and delivers the analog signal to the speaker 16; a
communication interface 47 for performing an exchange of input/output data
by communication; a sensor-input interface 48 for accepting a sensor
signal from the present-position sensing unit 2; and a clock 49 for
entering date and time into internal dialog information. In the central
processor 4, when the sensor-input interface 48 accepts data obtained by
the various sensors in the present-position sensing unit 2, the CPU 40, on
the basis of the data, calculates present-location coordinates every fixed
period of time, and temporarily writes the calculated present-location
coordinates onto the ROM 42. The present-location coordinates are
determined by executing map matching processing taking into consideration
errors in detection of various data. Output values obtained from the
various sensors are corrected at all times. Route guidance is so adapted
that the driver is capable of selecting either a screen display or voice
output.
FIGS. 2(A) through 5(B) illustrate diagrams showing an example of the
construction of principal data files stored in the information storage
device. FIG. 2(A) shows a data file of a suggested road. The file
comprises, for each of n-number of roads, a road number, length,
road-attribute data, shape data address and size, and guidance data
address and size. The suggested-road data is stored as data necessary for
route guidance, which is obtained by route finding processing.
The road number is set by category of direction (outbound or inbound) for
each road between branch points. The road-attribute data is data
indicating road guidance auxiliary information. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the
road-attribute data is composed of data indicating whether a road is an
overpass, a road alongside an overpass, an underpass or a road alongside
an underpass, and data indicating information regarding the number of
lanes. As shown in FIG. 2(B), the shape data has coordinate data which,
when each road is partitioned into a plurality of nodes, comprises east
longitude and north latitude for each of m-number of nodes. As illustrated
in FIG. 2(C), the guidance data comprises an intersection (or branch
point) name, precaution data, road name data, address and size of
road-name voice data, and address and size of destination data.
Of the guidance data, the precaution data is, as shown in FIG. 4(A), data
indicating information relating to railroad crossings, tunnel entrances,
tunnel exits, points of reduced road width, "none", etc. This data warns
the driver about railroad crossings and tunnels, etc., in addition to
branch points. As shown in FIG. 3(B), the road name data is data
indicating information of road category, such as expressway, municipal
expressway, toll road and general road (national road, prefectural road,
etc.), and information indicating whether a road is the main road or
ancillary road of an expressway, municipal expressway or toll road. This
data is composed of road classification data and classification numbers,
namely individual number data for each road classification. As shown in
FIG. 2(D), the destination data comprises destination road number,
destination name, the address and size of destination-name voice data,
destination direction data and travel guidance data.
Of the destination data, the destination direction data is data indicating
information representing invalidity (meaning that the destination
direction data is not used), disuse (guidance is not given), straight
ahead, right direction, diagonally right direction, direction returning to
right, left direction, diagonally left direction and direction returning
to left. As shown in FIG. 4(B), the travel guidance data stores data for
instructing the driver which lane to take when there are a plurality of
lanes. The data indicates information instructing the driver to bear
right, bear left, bear towards the center or "none".
As shown for example in FIG. 5(A), data for a structure-shape map comprises
the number of data items (N), i.e. the number of data items relating to
structures such as buildings, bridges, towers, parks, athletic fields,
roads, etc. Next to the number of data items (N), data regarding each of
the N-number of structures is stored. Data regarding each structure
comprises structure name, address, classification, structure shape, height
and details. Regarding the structure name, if a structure is a building,
the name of the building is stored. In the case of an individual's house,
the resident's name is stored. For a facility, its name is stored. In the
case of a road, the name of a road classification or a street's name, such
as "Central Street" or "National Highway No. 1", is stored. The address is
the address of the structure concerned. The structure shape is data
comprising the number of coordinates (n) representing a shape and
coordinate values (x.sub.0,y.sub.0), (x.sub.1,y.sub.1), . . . ,
(x.sub.n-1,y.sub.n-1). The classification is information indicating
structure categories, such as general houses, apartment houses, office
buildings, public facilities, roads, parks, etc. The height is information
indicating the number of stories or height (meters). The details are
information regarding each tenant in the case of a tenant-occupied
building, for example. The details comprise the number of names (m) and
information regarding name, telephone number, room number, category
(according to type or nature of business, e.g. a family restaurant, a
convenience store, etc.). Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5(B), coordinate
values are sequentially read out as information regarding a shape of a
structure, and points defined by the coordinate values are connected by
straight lines to draw and display a figure, thereby making it possible to
output shapes of various kinds of structure, e.g. planar shapes of
buildings and houses, topographic features of parks, etc. Roads can also
be handled as data having a shape. Data relating to road signs, i.e. "No
entry", "One-way traffic", etc., names of streets, and names of blocks as
names of areas, may be constructed as data items independent of each other
or as data attached to each road. In this case, marks of "No entry",
"One-way traffic", etc., for example, have respective coordinate values
and angles for displaying them. The same is the case with street names and
block names.
Next, the operation will be described.
Referring to FIG. 6, when the program of the route guidance system is
started by the CPU 40 of the central processor 4, first the present
position is sensed by the present-position sensing unit 2, a map of
surroundings centered on the present position is displayed, and the name
of the present position is displayed (step S1). Next, the destination is
set (step S2) using a telephone number and an address, facility name and
registered location, etc., after which a route from the present position
to the destination is found (step S3). When the route has been decided,
route guidance and display are performed repeatedly (step S4), until the
destination is reached, while the present position is followed up by the
present-position sensing unit 2. If there is entry of en-route setting
before the destination is reached, a search area is set, and re-search is
executed in the set search area. In this way, route guidance is similarly
performed repeatedly until the destination is reached.
The system has means for judging a predetermined condition, and means for
changing over maps from one to another when the predetermined condition is
satisfied. Therefore, maps can be changed at a desired timing by a user's
manual operation. Accordingly, during travel on a route decided, a road
map is displayed, and if there is an en-route location desired to be
traversed, detailed information regarding surroundings of the desired
facility can be provided speedily by performing a map changing operation.
Thus, the driver can obtain various information indicative of the position
of the desired facility, the location of a parking lot, or one-way roads
around the desired location, and reach the destination without fail.
In the above-described processing, a road map and a structure-shape map are
displayed according to need at each of the steps of inputting, verifying
and setting locations such as present position and destination, verifying
a found route and providing route guidance. Next, the processing for
displaying a structure-shape map using the data described in connection
with FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) will be described.
Refer | | |
