NAVIGATION DEVICE AND ITS METHOD

• US 20090132161A1
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kudoh, Takahiro, Akita, Takashi, Kindo, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,103,442 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

In a navigation device for providing a guide from an origin to a destination, a display section (5) displays a guide image indicating the guide to the destination. A state acquisition section (10) acquires a state outside a vehicle. A photographed guide generation section (9) generates a photographed guide image, using a photographed image of a captured forward direction of the vehicle. A map guide generation section (8) generates a map guide image, using map information. Based on the state outside the vehicle acquired by the state acquisition section (10), a state determination section (11) determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority. Based on the determination made by the state determination section (11), a guide display control section (12) allows the guide image including at least one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image to be displayed in the display section (5).

Claims

1. A navigation device comprising:

a display section for displaying a guide image indicating a guide to a destination;

a state acquisition section for acquiring a state outside a vehicle;

a photographed guide generation section for generating a photographed guide image, using a photographed image of a captured forward direction of the vehicle;

a map guide generation section for generating a map guide image, using map information;

a state determination section for, based on the state outside the vehicle acquired by the state acquisition section, determining which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority; and

a guide display control section for, based on the determination made by the state determination section, allowing the guide image including at least one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image to be displayed in the display section.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section acquires a plurality of the states outside the vehicle, and

wherein, when the state determination section determines, based on at least one of the states outside the vehicle acquired by the state acquisition section, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority, the guide display control section allows the map guide image to be displayed by priority.

3. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein, based on the determination made by the state determination section, the guide display control section allows either one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image to be displayed.

4. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein, based on the determination made by the state determination section, the guide display control section allows either one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image to be displayed relatively large.

5. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein, until a predetermined time has elapsed since the guide image displayed by priority has switched, the guide display control section no longer switches the guide image displayed by priority.

6. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein, until the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the guide image displayed by priority has switched, the guide display control section no longer switches the guide image displayed by priority.

7. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein, while the vehicle is traveling a predetermined section, the guide display control section no longer switches the guide image displayed by priority.

8. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section acquires the state outside the vehicle from the photographed image.

9. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a degree-of-blocking calculation section for calculating a degree of blocking caused by an obstacle in a forward direction of the vehicle in the photographed image, and

wherein, based on the degree of blocking calculated by the degree-of-blocking calculation section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

10. The navigation device according to claim 9,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the degree of blocking calculated by the degree-of-blocking calculation section is less than a threshold, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the degree of blocking calculated by the degree-of-blocking calculation section is more than the threshold, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

11. The navigation device according to claim 9,

wherein the degree-of-blocking calculation section calculates, in the photographed image, a proportion of a region overlapping the obstacle in the forward direction to an intersection region which is a region in which a guide target intersection is displayed, as the degree of blocking.

12. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a guide target intersection determination section for determining whether or not the whole or part of an intersection region which is a region in which a guide target intersection is displayed is present in the photographed image, and

wherein, based on the determination made by the guide target intersection determination section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

13. The navigation device according to claim 12,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the guide target intersection determination section determines that the whole or part of an intersection region which is a region in which a guide target intersection is displayed is present in the photographed image, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the guide target intersection determination section determines that the whole or part of the intersection region is not present in the photographed image, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

14. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a brightness acquisition section for acquiring a brightness outside the vehicle, and

wherein, based on the brightness acquired by the brightness acquisition section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

15. The navigation device according to claim 14,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the brightness acquired by the brightness acquisition section is more than a threshold, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the brightness acquired by the brightness acquisition section is less than the threshold, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

16. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a precipitation detection section for detecting precipitation outside the vehicle, and

wherein, based on the detection result of the precipitation detection section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

17. The navigation device according to claim 16,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the precipitation detection section does not detect precipitation, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the precipitation detection section detects precipitation, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

18. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a fog detection section for detecting fog outside the vehicle, and

wherein, based on the detection result of the fog detection section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

19. The navigation device according to claim 18,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the fog detection section does not detect fog, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the fog detection section detects fog, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

20. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a distance measurement section for measuring a distance to a forward vehicle, and

wherein, based on the distance measured by the distance measurement section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

21. The navigation device according to claim 20,

wherein the state determination section determines, when the distance measured by the distance measurement section is more than a threshold, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the distance measured by the distance measurement section is less than the threshold, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

22. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a vibration detection section for detecting a vibration of a capture section for capturing the forward direction of the vehicle, and

wherein, based on the detection result of the vibration detection section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

23. The navigation device according to claim 22,

wherein the state determination section determines, when an amplitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detection section is less than a threshold, that the photographed guide image is to be displayed by priority, and also determines, when the amplitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detection section is more than the threshold, that the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

24. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a road attribute acquisition section for acquiring an attribute of a road being traveled, and

wherein, based on the attribute acquired by the road attribute acquisition section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

25. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a guide object detection section for detecting a marker guide object around a guide target intersection, and

wherein, based on the detection result of the guide object detection section, the state determination section determines which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority.

26. The navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the photographed guide generation section generates the photographed guide image varying in display mode depending on the state outside the vehicle acquired by the state acquisition section.

27. The navigation device according to claim 26,

wherein the state acquisition section includes a guide target intersection determination section for determining whether or not the whole or part of an intersection region which is a region in which a guide target intersection is displayed is present in the photographed image, and

wherein the photographed guide generation section generates the photographed guide image by superimposing, on the photographed image, a guide figure varying in form depending on the determination made by the guide target intersection determination section.

28. A navigation method comprising:

a state acquisition step of acquiring a state outside a vehicle;

a photographed guide generation step of generating a photographed guide image, using a photographed image of a captured forward direction of the vehicle;

a map guide generation step of generating a map guide image, using map information;

a state determination step of, based on the state outside the vehicle acquired in the state acquisition step, determining which one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image is to be displayed by priority; and

a guide display control step of, based on the determination made in the state determination step, allowing a guide image including at least one of the photographed guide image and the map guide image to be displayed.