TRAVEL GUIDANCE SYSTEM, TRAVEL GUIDANCE APPARATUS, TRAVEL GUIDANCE METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20130024109A1
• Filed: 07/06/2012
• Published: 01/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: MORI, Toshihiro, SATO, Yuji, HOSOTANI, Nobuhiro
• Application Number:
  US13/543,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20130024109A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/428
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3644 Landmark guidance, e.g. using POIs or conspicuous other objects

Abstract

A travel guidance system including a navigation-route setting unit; a reference-marker setting unit that sets a reference marker located closer to a departure place of a navigation route than a guidance junction, a guidance-marker setting unit that sets a reference marker located near the guidance junction; a marker-position acquiring unit; a guidance setting unit that sets the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker; and a junction guiding unit that provides the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set by the guidance setting unit. The guidance setting unit sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.

Claims

1. A travel guidance system comprising:

a navigation-route setting unit that sets a navigation route along which a movable body is guided and sets a guidance junction on the navigation route;

a reference-marker setting unit that sets a first marker located closer to a departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the first marker being used for guidance on the guidance junction as a reference marker;

a guidance-marker setting unit that sets a second marker located near the guidance junction, the second marker being used for the guidance on the guidance junction as a guidance marker;

a marker-position acquiring unit that acquires a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker;

a guidance setting unit that sets the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the position of the reference marker and the position of the guidance marker; and

a junction guiding unit that provides the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set by the guidance setting unit, wherein

the guidance setting unit sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.

2. The travel guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance setting unit sets the guidance such that the first phrase is output after the second phrase.

3. The travel guidance system according to claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of objects that can be the reference marker are located closer to the departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the reference-marker setting unit sets the object closest to the departure place as the reference marker.

4. The travel guidance system according to claim 2, wherein, when a plurality of objects that can be the reference marker are located closer to the departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the reference-marker setting unit sets the object closest to the departure place as the reference marker.

5. The travel guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

objects that can be the reference marker and the guidance marker are classified into a plurality of types, and

the guidance setting unit sets a phrase specifying a type of the reference marker in addition to the positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker as the first phrase, and sets a phrase specifying a type of the guidance marker in addition to the positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker as the second phrase.

6. The travel guidance system according to claim 4, wherein

objects that can be the reference marker and the guidance marker are classified into a plurality of types, and

the guidance setting unit sets a phrase specifying a type of the reference marker in addition to the positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker as the first phrase, and sets a phrase specifying a type of the guidance marker in addition to the positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker as the second phrase.

7. The travel guidance system according to claim 5, wherein, when another object of which type is the same as the type of the guidance marker exists between the reference marker and the guidance marker, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase specifying the number of the objects existing between the reference marker and the guidance marker as the second phrase.

8. The travel guidance system according to claim 6, wherein, when another object of which type is the same as the type of the guidance marker exists between the reference marker and the guidance marker, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase specifying the number of the objects existing between the reference marker and the guidance marker as the second phrase.

9. The travel guidance system according to claim 5, wherein, when the type of the reference marker and the type of the guidance marker are the same or when the type of the reference marker and the type of the guidance marker are not the same and the guidance marker is a traffic light or a junction, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase formed by adding a phrase indicating that the movable body is passing or is going to pass through the reference marker before or after a phrase specifying the type of the reference marker as the first phrase.

10. The travel guidance system according to claim 8, wherein, when the type of the reference marker and the type of the guidance marker are the same or when the type of the reference marker and the type of the guidance marker are not the same and the guidance marker is a traffic light or a junction, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase formed by adding a phrase indicating that the movable body is passing or is going to pass through the reference marker before or after a phrase specifying the type of the reference marker as the first phrase.

11. The travel guidance system according to claim 1, wherein, when passage of the movable body through the reference marker will not be completed while the guidance is being provided by the junction guiding unit, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase indicating that the movable body is going to pass through the reference marker as the first phrase.

12. The travel guidance system according to claim 10, wherein, when passage of the movable body through the reference marker will not be completed while the guidance is being provided by the junction guiding unit, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase indicating that the movable body is going to pass through the reference marker as the first phrase.

13. The travel guidance system according to claim 1, wherein, when passage of the movable body through the reference marker will be completed while the guidance is being provided by the junction guiding unit, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase indicating that the movable body is passing through the reference marker at the moment as the first phrase.

14. The travel guidance system according to claim 12, wherein, when passage of the movable body through the reference marker will be completed while the guidance is being provided by the junction guiding unit, the guidance setting unit sets a phrase indicating that the movable body is passing through the reference marker at the moment as the first phrase.

15. A travel guidance apparatus comprising:

a navigation-route setting unit that sets a navigation route along which a movable body is guided and sets a guidance junction on the navigation route;

a reference-marker setting unit that sets a first marker located closer to a departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the first marker being used for guidance on the guidance junction as a reference marker;

a guidance-marker setting unit that sets a second marker located near the guidance junction, the second marker being used for the guidance on the guidance junction as a guidance marker;

a marker-position acquiring unit that acquires a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker;

a guidance setting unit that sets the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the position of the reference marker and the position of the guidance marker; and

a junction guiding unit that provides the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set by the guidance setting unit, wherein

the guidance setting unit sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.

16. A travel guidance method comprising the steps of:

setting a navigation route along which a movable body is guided, and setting a guidance junction on the navigation route;

setting a first marker located closer to a departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the first marker being used for guidance on the guidance junction as a reference marker;

setting a second marker located near the guidance junction, the second marker being used for the guidance on the guidance junction as a guidance marker;

acquiring a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker;

setting the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the position of the reference marker and the position of the guidance marker; and

providing the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set in the guidance setting step, wherein

the guidance setting step sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program causing the computer to perform the functions of:

setting a navigation route along which a movable body is guided, and setting a guidance junction on the navigation route;

setting a first marker located closer to a departure place of the navigation route than the guidance junction, the first marker being used for guidance on the guidance junction as a reference marker;

setting a second marker located near the guidance junction, the second marker being used for the guidance on the guidance junction as a guidance marker;

acquiring a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker;

setting the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the position of the reference marker and the position of the guidance marker; and

providing the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set by the guidance setting function, wherein

the guidance setting function sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.