JPH0757190A - Voice navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To allow the driver to hear the instruction voice for guiding the route in a state that is consistent with the driver's sense of direction and distance, and to make the recognition of the instruction content easy and reliable. [Structure] A steering sensor 13 for detecting a steering position or a rotation angle is provided, and the detection result is sent to a CPU 10 of an arithmetic processing unit 4. CPU10
Controls the control signal Q for calculating the relative angle between the detected steering position or the azimuth of the vehicle and the direction in which the vehicle should proceed at the intersection, and controlling the instruction voice to be heard by the driver in the relative angle direction. Send to amplifier 6. Therefore, the sound image localization of the instruction voice output from the speakers 7a and 7b sequentially moves according to the relative angular direction that changes momentarily according to the steering operation,
Properly convey the instructions to the driver.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice navigation device for guiding a vehicle route by voice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation system has been used for instructing a route to a destination to a driver of a vehicle whose geographical information is not guided to guide a route. In the navigation device, the route to the destination and the direction of travel at each point necessary to guide the destination are displayed on a display such as a CRT. The driver can obtain the route information to be followed by sequentially looking at this display.

However, in such a navigation device, the driver needs to move his or her line of sight from the front view to the display in order to obtain route information. Therefore, in order to check the course without disturbing driving, it is necessary to recognize the image information on the display in a short time, and it is not always easy to reliably recognize the guidance instruction from the navigation device. Absent. If you look at the display after stopping the vehicle, you can certainly recognize the image information, but you will have to stop the vehicle many times until you arrive at the destination,
Large time loss.

From this point of view, a so-called voice navigation device has been proposed which gives guidance by voice instead of or in combination with outputting image information on a display such as a CRT. That is,
A speaker for voice output is provided, and when it is determined that the vehicle should make a right turn at the next intersection, for example, an instruction voice such as "the next intersection is in the right direction" is output from the speaker. With such a voice navigation device, the driver can obtain route information through hearing without moving the line of sight from the front view to the display, thus ensuring the safety of driving the vehicle and reaching the destination. The advantage is that no time loss is generated.

[0005]

However, in the voice navigation device, the instruction voice may be missed or the instruction content may be forgotten, and in this case, the instruction content is changed one by one like the image information on the display. It is very inconvenient because you can't confirm. Also,
In today's high-speed and complicated traffic situations, it is always necessary to make a quick decision to drive a vehicle, so if the timing of direction recognition is delayed, you will not be able to turn at the intersection you should turn and you will deviate from the predetermined route to your destination. Something like that will happen.

Therefore, in the voice navigation device, it is an important issue to make the driver surely recognize the contents of the instruction with one voice instruction.

[0007]

Therefore, according to the present invention, when a specific instruction, for example, a route instruction of a vehicle is given by voice,
An object of the present invention is to provide a voice navigation device capable of recognizing the instruction contents by the voice more quickly and surely.

To achieve this object, in the voice navigation device according to the present invention, the sound source of the instruction voice is moved according to the sense of direction sensed by the driver.

That is, the voice navigation device according to the present invention includes a plurality of voice output means for outputting voice, a current position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a direction detection means for detecting the direction of the vehicle, and a current position detection. A voice output from the voice output means based on the route determination means for determining the route from the current position detected by the means to the predetermined destination, and the determination result of the route determination means and the direction of the vehicle detected by the direction detection means. And a sound output control means for controlling the sound image and moving the sound image in accordance with the change in the position of the steering wheel.

The present invention further includes an input means for inputting a destination, a storage means for storing road information such as map data and intersection data, a plurality of voice output means for outputting voice, and a current position of the vehicle. The current position detecting means, the direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the vehicle, the road information stored in the storing means, and the current position detected by the current position detecting means to the destination input by the input means. The sound output localization means controls the sound output from the sound output means based on the route judgment means for making a judgment, and the vehicle direction detected by the direction judgment means and the direction of the vehicle detected by the direction detection means to perform sound image localization movement in accordance with the change in the direction of the vehicle. And a voice output control means for performing the voice output control.

The voice output control means is a relative element between the direction of the vehicle and the direction in which the vehicle should move when the steering operation is performed by the driver at the intersection determined by the route determination means. The angle is calculated, and the instruction voice output from the voice output means is controlled so that the driver always hears it from the relative angle direction.

The voice output means comprises at least two loudspeakers provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle, respectively. The voice output means of the vehicle detected by the azimuth detecting means is a voice for guiding the course based on the result of the decision of the path determining means. Depending on the change in direction, output may be moved between these speakers.
The audio output control means controls.

The azimuth detecting means may be configured to detect a steering position such as a steering movement amount of the vehicle and a relative angle from a straight traveling state.

[0014]

The azimuth detecting means detects the current azimuth of the vehicle, and particularly calculates the relative angle with respect to the traveling direction in the intersection. The sound image position of the instruction voice is determined according to this relative angle. This relative angle changes every moment with the steering operation, and the sound image position of the instruction voice also moves sequentially. As a result, the driver can always hear the instruction voice from the direction in which the driver should proceed.

[0015]

1 is a block diagram showing the overall construction of a voice navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the voice navigation device includes an arithmetic processing device 4, an input device 1, a storage device 2, a current position detecting device 3, and an image display which are respectively connected to the arithmetic processing device 4 via various interfaces. A device 12, a voice synthesizer 5, a control amplifier 6 and a steering sensor 13, and a plurality of pairs of left and right speakers 7a and 7b connected to the control amplifier 6 are provided.

The input device 1 is for inputting positional information such as a destination and a current position. For example, a touch panel or keyboard for inputting by directly touching a point on the map displayed on the display unit of the image display device 12. Is used.

The storage device 2 stores map data, intersection data, road information necessary for route guidance such as a destination list, and is, for example, a CD-ROM or an IC card.

Although not shown, the current position detecting device 3
It is equipped with a receiving device for receiving radio waves from PS satellites and beacons installed on the road, various direction sensors such as an optical gyro sensor and a geomagnetic sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a wheel sensor, and a steering sensor. This current position detection device 3 mainly determines the current position (absolute position, that is, coordinates determined by latitude and longitude) of the automobile by the GPS receiving device, but combines it with actual traveling distance and azimuth data detected from various sensors. This enables highly accurate position determination. In the figure, 3a is an antenna of the receiving device, which is arranged at two positions in front of and behind the vehicle in order to improve accuracy.

The arithmetic processing unit 4 makes various judgments necessary for guiding the route of the vehicle on the basis of various data from the input unit 1, the storage unit 2 and the current position detecting unit 3, and calculates the route and the route. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 for determining the direction and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 8 connected to the CPU 10 by a bus line such as a data bus.
And a RAM (random access memory) 9. The ROM 8 stores various programs (navigation programs) and data required for route calculation and route determination. The RAM 9 is a working memory that stores various data such as the determination result of the CPU 10.

The CPU 10 confirms the current position of the vehicle on the basis of the coordinate data from the current position detecting device 3 and the map data stored in the storage device 2, and the route to the destination according to the navigation program in the ROM 8 or the like. To determine the direction in which the car should go. The result of this determination is sent to the image display device 12 and the voice synthesizing device 5 as an instruction signal for instructing the course direction and the like.

Data of the current position confirmed by the CPU 10, calculated route data and the storage device 2
Map data and the like from the CPU 10 are also displayed by the image display device 1
Sent to 2.

The image display device 12 is composed of a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like, displays a road map drawn based on map data sent from the CPU 10, and displays the automobile identified by the CPU 10 on this map. The current position and the route calculated by the CPU 10 are displayed as an image. Further, arbitrary visual information such as the destination list stored in the storage device 2 can be displayed on the screen of the image display device 12.

In the processing such as confirmation of the current position and setting of the destination, various data are transferred from the storage device 2 to the arithmetic processing device 4.
On the other hand, when information such as new road information is obtained from the beacon receiving device or the like of the current position detection device 3, the new information is added to the storage device 2 from the arithmetic processing device 4.

The steering sensor 13 detects the amount of movement of the steering wheel operated by the driver and the relative angle from the straight traveling state. The CPU 10 receives the detection data from the steering sensor 13 and determines the steering position indicating whether the vehicle is in a straight traveling state or a steering operation for turning left or right at an intersection or the like. The result of this determination is sent to the control amplifier 6 as a control signal Q for controlling the sound image localization.

The voice synthesizing device 5 is of a so-called recording / editing system and preliminarily gives a "next" or "intersection" message for a route instruction such as "the next intersection is to the right" necessary for route guidance. , Words such as "right" and "direction" are stored as a unit in a semiconductor memory (not shown), and these words and phrases are edited based on an instruction signal from the CPU 10 and synthesized into a route instruction message. To do. The voice signal thus synthesized is sent to the control amplifier 6 connected to the voice synthesizer 5. In this embodiment, since the directionality of the sound is secured by the localization of the sound image, it is not always necessary to output the audio signal as described above, and the course instruction can be given by outputting a beep sound having no meaning. It is also possible to do so.

The control amplifier 6 includes the left and right speakers 7
It has lines connected to a and 7b, and the output balance of each line is adjusted by a control signal from the CPU 10 of the arithmetic processing unit 4. That is, a plurality of pairs of left and right speakers 7a and 7b are installed, and the control amplifier 6 that receives a voice signal from the voice synthesizer 5 is
Based on a control signal Q from the CPU 10, this signal is divided into left and right lines to adjust the left and right balance of the sound output from the speakers, and the front and rear balance of a plurality of speakers provided in each of the left and right speakers. After adjusting the left-right balance and the front-rear balance in this way, the power amplifier unit (not shown) amplifies and outputs an audio signal to the left and right speakers 7a and 7b.

The left and right speakers 7a and 7b output the audio signal from the control amplifier 6 as instruction sounds, and a plurality of left and right speakers 7a and 7b are respectively arranged on the left side and the right side of the driver in the front-rear direction. These speakers include
Existing speakers for car stereos can be used.

Next, the operation of the voice navigation device thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG. Since the image output by the image display device 12 is not directly related to the subject matter of the present invention, it is omitted in the figure, and its operation will be briefly described below.

First, when a driver inputs a destination from the input device 1 such as a touch panel or a keyboard, the CPU 10 of the arithmetic processing unit 4 specifies the destination on the map data stored in the storage device 2. And stores it in the RAM 9.

Next, the current position is input from the input device 1 by the driver's operation, or the current position detection device 3
The CPU 10 confirms the current position by detecting the absolute position of the automobile by the GPS receiving device. The confirmed current position of the automobile is displayed on the image display device 12 as a position on the map drawn on the display based on the above-mentioned map data.

Upon receiving the destination data and the current position data, the CPU 10 determines a route to the destination based on the navigation program stored in the ROM 8 (step 1). The determined route is also displayed on the map on the image display device 12.

Next, the CPU 10 reads and confirms the data regarding the angle or direction of the next intersection to be turned on the determined route from the map data stored in the storage device 2 (step 2). Specifically, whether the intersection to be turned next has a shape such as a crossroad, a T-shape, a Y-shape, or a multiple intersection such as a five-way or a six-way, and at which intersection Make sure you should turn in the direction.

Next, the CPU 10 confirms the road and the position on which the automobile is currently traveling from the coordinate data detected by the GPS receiving device of the current position detecting device 3 and various sensors and the map data stored in the storage device 2. (Step 3). It should be noted that the confirmation of the current position is sequentially performed by the coordinate data from the current position detection device 3 sent every predetermined time, and in the image display device 12, the confirmed current position is displayed on the screen as the automobile moves. Is always displayed while scrolling as necessary.

Then, the CPU 10 calculates the distance from the confirmed current position to the next intersection to turn (step 4), and detects that the distance is within a predetermined distance and approaches the intersection (step 5). ; Y), and after confirming that the current position matches the predetermined voice output location (step 6; Y), the detection data from the steering sensor 13 is received (step 7). That is, after passing through a point of a predetermined distance before the guidance intersection, control is performed so that the instruction voice is output at the voice output location defined by a unit of a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m).

Based on this, the CPU 10 calculates an appropriate sound image localization according to the distance to the intersection and the direction to turn at the intersection, and outputs a control signal Q for controlling the sound image localization to the control amplifier 6. (Step 8).

The control amplifier 6 includes a speaker 7a,
Balance adjustment is performed so that the output voice signal from 7b becomes the predetermined left-right balance and front-back balance instructed by the control signal Q, and the speaker at the required position outputs the instruction voice of the required volume (step 9). ).

When the output of the direction instruction by voice is completed in step 9, step 1 is performed until the destination is reached.
Then, the process of the next guidance instruction is repeated.

Here, the sound image localization control method in steps 7 to 9 will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, assuming that a left turn should be made at the next intersection. When it is confirmed that the distance to the intersection has approached a predetermined distance, for example, 300 m, the driver hears an instruction voice that is closer to the direction in which the vehicle should turn, that is, in this case from the left front, "Next intersection is to the left." As described above, the output sound level of each speaker is adjusted.
For example, the instruction sound of a predetermined volume is output only from the speaker installed on the left side of the dashboard of the automobile, or the output level from this speaker is set to be higher than the output levels from other speakers.

The guidance by the instruction voice is substantially continuously performed from this point until the left turn is completed. Then, as the next intersection to turn is approached, the sound image or sound localization is controlled so as to gradually approach from the left front, so that the driver recognizes it as a sound image with a sense of distance to the intersection (Fig. 3). This is because, for example, the volume from the left front speaker is gradually increased, or the speaker that outputs the instruction voice is gradually changed from the left front speaker to the left speaker (for example, the speaker embedded in the left front door). It is realized by moving. It should be noted that such processing can be performed by phase processing or audio processing of audio data, in addition to the processing of changing the volume from the speaker to the left or right. Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-3-270400 and JP-A-4-30.
700, JP-A-55-61200 and the like.

When the vehicle further advances and enters the intersection, the instruction voice is output from the left speaker (FIG. 4). By recognizing the sound image D from the left side, the driver knows that the distance to the intersection has become zero, that is, that the driver has entered the intersection that should turn. In order to further secure this recognition, the tone color, pitch, message content, etc. of the instruction voice may be changed.

Based on this recognition, the driver starts turning the steering wheel to the left (FIG. 5). As the steering is turned to the left (counterclockwise), the position of the sound image D gradually moves horizontally from the left side toward the front of the driver. FIG. 6 shows a sound image position A at the apex of the steering angle. The tone color of the instruction voice at this time may be changed.

In the latter half of the steering operation at the time of turning left, the vehicle is gradually returned to the straight traveling state while turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction (clockwise direction) from the apex of the turning angle. It gradually moves horizontally toward the front of (Fig. 7).

Then, when the steering operation is completed after turning through the intersection and the vehicle returns to the straight traveling state, the sound image is localized in front (FIG. 8). By listening to the instruction voice from the sound image position C on the front, the driver knows that he / she should go straight until the next guidance instruction is given. By changing the tone color or the like of the instruction voice at this time, it can be more easily recognized that the guidance instruction at the intersection has been completed.

In the above description, the sound image movement of the instruction voice is assumed to be performed at a real timing according to the movement of the steering position accompanying the steering operation. However, in actual driving, after the driver recognizes the movement of the sound image, There is a slight loss of time before the steering is operated. Therefore, it is preferable to appropriately grasp the speed of the vehicle, the operation speed of the steering wheel, and the relative angle of the traveling direction, and then move the sound image ahead of time at a timing slightly earlier than these movements.

Although the route guiding operation for turning left has been described above, the reverse operation is performed for turning right. In addition, even if there are multiple roads in the direction in which the vehicle should turn, such as a five-way road, a six-way road, or continuous intersections, the sound image localization gradually moves, so that the driver is in the correct traveling direction. Can be easily recognized.

[0046]

According to the present invention, the sound image for outputting the instruction voice moves in accordance with the traveling mode of the vehicle, particularly, the change in the direction of the vehicle at the intersection, so that the driver can sense the direction and distance. Proper route guidance is provided, and the instruction content can be confirmed quickly and reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a voice navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of guiding a three-dimensional sound place by the voice navigation device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a first operation stage at the time of turning left in order to specifically describe the operation of guiding the stereoscopic sound field.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the second operation stage.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the third operation stage.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the fourth operation stage.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the fifth operation stage.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the sixth operation step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input Device 2 Storage Device 3 Current Position Detection Device 4 Arithmetic Processing Device 5 Voice Synthesis Device 6 Control Amplifiers 7a, 7b Speaker 10 CPU 13 Steering Sensor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A voice output unit for outputting a voice, a current position detecting unit for detecting a current position of a vehicle, an azimuth detecting unit for detecting an azimuth of a vehicle, and a current position detected by the current position detecting unit. A vehicle that controls a voice output from the voice output means based on a route determination means for determining a route to a predetermined destination, and a vehicle direction detected by the direction determination means and the direction detection means. Voice output control means for performing sound image localization movement in accordance with the change in direction of the voice navigation device. 2. Input means for inputting a destination, storage means for storing road information such as map data and intersection data, a plurality of voice output means for outputting voice, and a current position for detecting the current position of the vehicle. Detecting means, azimuth detecting means for detecting the azimuth of the vehicle, the road information stored in the storing means, and the current position detected by the current position detecting means to the destination input by the input means. A sound image corresponding to a change in the azimuth of the vehicle by controlling the sound output from the sound output means based on the path judgment means for making a judgment and the judgment result of the path judgment means and the azimuth of the vehicle detected by the azimuth detecting means. A voice navigation device comprising: a voice output control means for performing localization movement. 3. The direction of the vehicle and the direction in which the vehicle should move when the steering operation is performed by the driver at an intersection where the voice output control means determines that the vehicle should turn. 3. The voice according to claim 1, wherein a relative angle between the two is calculated, and the instruction voice output from the voice output means is controlled so that the driver always hears it from the relative angle direction. Navigation device. 4. The voice output means comprises at least two speakers provided on the left, right, front and rear of the vehicle, respectively, and the direction detection means detects an instruction voice for guidance of a route based on a result of the determination by the route determination means. 4. The voice navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the voice output control means controls the output movement between the speakers according to a change in the direction of the vehicle. 5. The voice navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth detecting means detects a steering position such as a steering movement amount of the vehicle and a relative angle from a straight traveling state. .