Navigation device

• US 9,410,818 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2013
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Takimoto, Yasuaki, Mitsui, Takeshi, Chikuri, Takayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMBY, RICHARD M
• Application Number:
  US14/888,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20160069702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 701/519
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3644 Landmark guidance, e.g. using POIs or conspicuous other objects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams

Abstract

According to a navigation device of the invention, at the time of performing turning guidance for a user who drives a vehicle, it is possible to perform the guidance in a way easy-to-understand for the user. Namely, a presentation of a preceding vehicle is made using an actual image or a graphic image of a vehicle that is the same as the actually seen vehicle, so that the user who drives the vehicle in traveling will understand that he/she only has to follow the preceding vehicle actually traveling ahead. This results in such route guidance that does not cause misunderstanding of a turning point and is very easy-to-understand.

Claims

1. A navigation device which is provided with a route guider that generates route information on the basis of position information of a host vehicle and map data, to thereby perform route guidance for a user who drives the host vehicle, the route information indicating the host vehicle'"'"'s route, comprising:

a route identifier that extracts a turning position of the host vehicle on the basis of the route information acquired from the route guider, to thereby prepare, as a recognition region, a predetermined range of the host vehicle'"'"'s route after the turning position;

a vehicle recognizer that acquires the recognition region from the route identifier to thereby detect within the recognition region, one or more nearby vehicles with respect to the host vehicle on the basis of an image captured ahead of the host vehicle in traveling, and that informs of a vehicle trajectory and a vehicle image of the one or more nearby vehicles, as a recognition result, the route identifier determining a preceding vehicle from the one or more nearby vehicles traveling on the route that is the same as that of the host vehicle, on the basis of the recognition result acquired from the vehicle recognizer; and

a guide information generator that generates preceding vehicle information for providing to the user a presentation of the preceding vehicle determined by the route identifier,

wherein the route guider, at the time of performing the route guidance, provides the presentation of the preceding vehicle to the user by a predetermined presentation method, on the basis of the preceding vehicle information generated by the guide information generator.

4. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the route guider provides said presentation by displaying on a display, the image captured ahead of the host vehicle and included in the preceding vehicle information, and by putting a mark on the preceding vehicle in the image.

5. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the route guider provides said presentation by putting a projection mark on the preceding vehicle, on the basis of a position of the preceding vehicle included in the preceding vehicle information.

6. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the route identifier determines a nearby vehicle that is nearest to the host vehicle among the one or more nearby vehicles, as the preceding vehicle.

2. A navigation device which is provided with a route guider that generates route information on the basis of position information of a host vehicle and map data, to thereby perform route guidance for a user who drives the host vehicle, comprising:

a route identifier that extracts a turning position of the host vehicle on the basis of the route information acquired from the route guider, to thereby prepare, as a recognition region, a predetermined range of route before and/or after the turning position, and that determines a preceding vehicle traveling on a route that is the same as that of the host vehicle;

a vehicle recognizer that acquires the recognition region from the route identifier to thereby detect within the recognition region, a nearby vehicle with respect to the host vehicle on the basis of an image captured ahead of the host vehicle in traveling, and that informs of a vehicle trajectory and a vehicle image of the thus-detected nearby vehicle, as a recognition result; and

a guide information generator that generates preceding vehicle information for providing to the user a presentation of the preceding vehicle determined by the route identifier;

wherein the route identifier determines said preceding vehicle from the nearby vehicle traveling on the route that is the same as that of the host vehicle, on the basis of the recognition result acquired from the vehicle recognizer,

wherein the route guider, at the time of performing the route guidance, provides the presentation of the preceding vehicle to the user by a predetermined presentation method, on the basis of the preceding vehicle information generated by the guide information generator, and

wherein the route guider provides said presentation to the user, on the basis of the turning position and a vehicle image of the preceding vehicle that are included in the preceding vehicle information, by displaying on a display, as a graphic, a view of the turning position seen from before it, and by displaying the vehicle image about the preceding vehicle determined by the route identifier in a superimposed manner on a picture of the graphic.

3. A navigation device which is provided with a route guider that generates route information on the basis of position information of a host vehicle and map data, to thereby perform route guidance for a user who drives the host vehicle, comprising:

a route identifier that extracts a turning position of the host vehicle on the basis of the route information acquired from the route guider, to thereby prepare, as a recognition region, a predetermined range of route before and/or after the turning position, and that determines a preceding vehicle traveling on a route that is the same as that of the host vehicle;

a vehicle recognizer that acquires the recognition region from the route identifier to thereby detect within the recognition region, a nearby vehicle with respect to the host vehicle on the basis of an image captured ahead of the host vehicle in traveling, and that informs of a vehicle trajectory and a vehicle image of the thus-detected nearby vehicle, as a recognition result; and

a guide information generator that generates preceding vehicle information for providing to the user a presentation of the preceding vehicle determined by the route identifier;

wherein the route identifier determines said preceding vehicle from the nearby vehicle traveling on the route that is the same as that of the host vehicle, on the basis of the recognition result acquired from the vehicle recognizer,

wherein the route guider, at the time of performing the route guidance, provides the presentation of the preceding vehicle to the user by a predetermined presentation method, on the basis of the preceding vehicle information generated by the guide information generator, and

wherein the route guider provides said presentation to the user, on the basis of the turning position and a vehicle image of the preceding vehicle that are included in the preceding vehicle information, by displaying on a display, as a graphic, a view of the turning position seen from before it, and by displaying a graphic image at least having a feature of a vehicle type corresponding to the preceding vehicle determined by the route identifier in a superimposed manner on a picture of the graphic.