JP2003329458A - Address retrieving method, device and program, and navigation method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and quickly input addresses by inputting numerical parts after CHOME (street numbers) together. <P>SOLUTION: An address inputting and receiving part 45 inputs and receives the row of numbers as a part of address, besides names of prefectures and names of cities, towns, villages and the like. A retrieval collating part retrieves the hierarchy of the data in a data storing means successively from a high order side of divided numbers, when a plurality of numbers divided by predetermined mark or space are inputted, and the next hierarchy of the data storing means is similarly retrieved on the next divided number in a case when the data is found, to retrieve the addresses corresponding to the plurality of inputted number. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for quickly and easily inputting an address by collectively inputting numbers below the chome.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of automobiles and digital technology, car navigation technology has rapidly advanced.
Car navigation uses the road map data prepared in advance to search for and set the optimum route to the desired destination, and displays the vehicle position detected in real time by GPS etc. on the surrounding map on the screen. , Guidance for turning right, left, etc. is output on the screen or in synthetic voice.

The destination in such car navigation is designated by a cursor on the map displayed on the screen, and also by an address search by inputting an address. To enter an address in this address search, conventionally, the candidate list in each of several layers is sequentially searched by item selection, and prefectures → municipalities → large letters →
The final address was specified as chome or letter → address → door number.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the selection operation must be repeated for each layer, and there is a problem that the input is inefficient. In the prior art, an address such as "2-23, No. 4," for example, is divided into three layers, and even in that part, the selection operation must be repeated three times in the order of the target chome, address, and issue. In particular, when performing a selection operation for each layer by scrolling the list of candidates, it is difficult to reach the desired candidate even if the number of candidates is large, such as an address, and it is particularly difficult to improve input efficiency. there were.

As an example of the technique for facilitating such address input, even if a large number of addresses are in the list, the cursor is currently displayed by designating the number corresponding to the candidate order. Techniques for skipping to a desired address in the same layer are known. However, even if such a skip function is used for all layers, it is necessary to repeat the same operation, and thus there is a limit to the efficiency of reducing the trouble and time of address input.

[0006] With regard to the part before the number such as prefecture, city, town, for example, even if the same city name has a limited number of corresponding candidates, it may be possible to omit part such as the prefecture name and input it in the middle. Since there are numerous candidates for the numerical part such as “0-chome-address”, the same omitted input could not be adopted, which was a bottleneck for efficiency improvement.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is to make address input quick and easy by collectively inputting numbers below the chome. Is.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the address search method according to claim 1 holds in advance tree hierarchical data representing a combination of arrangements of numbers forming a part of an address, The number of columns that is a part of the above is collectively received, and each number arranged from the beginning in the inputted column is matched with each number from the upper side in the tree hierarchical data Characterized by searching for an address.

The address search device according to claim 4 is obtained by considering the invention according to claim 1 as a device. Data for preliminarily storing tree hierarchical data representing a combination of a sequence of numbers forming a part of an address. A storage unit, a unit for collectively inputting a number of columns that are a part of an address, each number arranged in the inputted column from the beginning, and each number from the upper side in the tree hierarchy data, Means for searching for a corresponding address by collation.

The address search method according to claim 2 is at least
Address data including a hierarchy of data consisting of chome or letters and a hierarchy of data consisting of a block, a lot number or a house number is stored in advance in the data storage means, and at least a part of the address is accepted and inputted. When the part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the hierarchy of the data in the data storage means is sequentially searched from the upper side of the separated number, and the corresponding data is found. In this case, the next hierarchical level of the data storage means is similarly searched for the next separated number, and the address corresponding to the plurality of input numbers is searched.

The address search device of claim 5 is obtained by considering the invention of claim 2 as a device, and at least a data hierarchy consisting of chome or letters and a data hierarchy consisting of a block, lot number or door number. And a data storage means for storing address data in advance, a means for accepting an input of at least a part of the address, and the input part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space. , The hierarchical order of the data in the data storage means is searched in order from the uppermost one of the separated numbers, and when the corresponding data is found, the next number of the separated numbers is similarly followed by the next one of the data storage means. Means for searching addresses corresponding to a plurality of input numbers by searching a hierarchy.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the inventions of the second and fifth aspects are grasped from the viewpoint of a computer program. In an address search program for assisting an address search by controlling a computer, the program is the computer. In, at least, the address data including a hierarchy of data consisting of chome or letters and a hierarchy of data consisting of a block, a lot number or a door number is stored in advance in the data storage means, and an input of at least a part of the address is accepted, When the inputted part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the hierarchy of the data in the data storage means is sequentially searched from the upper side of the separated number, and the corresponding data is searched. Is found, the next hierarchical level of the data storage means is similarly searched for the next separated number. , Characterized in that to find addresses corresponding to a plurality of number entered.

According to a third aspect of the navigation method, at least road map data representing the network structure of the road is held in advance, and the destination is determined based on the address retrieved by the address retrieval method according to the first or second aspect. The route of
A search is performed based on the road map data, the vehicle position is sequentially detected, the vehicle position is displayed on a map around the vehicle position based on the road map data, and guidance is provided along the searched route. Is output.

A navigation system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention captures the method of the third aspect from the viewpoint of an apparatus, and means for preliminarily storing road map data representing at least a network structure of a road, and the fourth or fifth aspect. The address search device described, a route to a destination determined based on the address searched by the address search device, means for searching based on the road map data, sequentially detecting the own vehicle position, the Means for displaying the own vehicle position on a map around the own vehicle position based on the road map data and outputting guidance information along the searched route.

In these modes, when the address is specified in the destination setting in the navigation system, etc.
Numbers such as addresses and numbers are entered with 10 keys, etc., separated by hyphens, etc., and a plurality of columns or character strings of a series of numbers up to the lowest layer are collectively input, and corresponding candidates are collectively searched across multiple layers. Therefore, address specification becomes quick and easy.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present embodiment can be realized by controlling a computer with a program, but in this case, the implementation modes of the hardware and the program can be modified in various ways. Therefore, in the following description, each of the present invention and the embodiment will be described. A virtual circuit block that realizes a function is used.

[1. Configuration] The present embodiment is a vehicle-mounted navigation system (hereinafter referred to as "this system") including the function of the address input method or device of the present invention and a navigation method executed on this system (hereinafter referred to as "this method"). The present system and method are
Each of them holds in advance road map data representing at least a network structure of a road, and a route to a destination determined based on an address searched by the address search device or method of the present invention is based on the road map data. The vehicle position is searched, the vehicle position is sequentially detected, the vehicle position is displayed on a map around the vehicle position based on the road map data, and guidance guidance along the searched route is output.

Further, the present embodiment is a program for realizing each of the above methods, devices, and systems, and a CD-ROM, a flash memory, and a ROM storing such a program.
It can be grasped as a recording medium such as a chip package,
It is also an aspect of the present invention to download such a program to the navigation system of each vehicle via a communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network and execute the program. It should be noted that each reference numeral in the accompanying drawings has nothing to do with an essential or desirable processing order.

[1-1. Overall Configuration] First, the present system includes the following respective elements shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. In other words, the absolute position / azimuth detecting unit 1 calculates the absolute position coordinates and the direction on the ground surface with respect to the current position of an automobile (referred to as an own vehicle) in which the present system is mounted, that is, the own vehicle position. , A part for receiving GPS radio waves sent from GPS satellites by an antenna or a receiver. The relative azimuth detecting unit 2 is a unit for detecting the relative azimuth of the vehicle using a gyro or the like. The vehicle speed detection unit 3 is a unit that calculates the speed of the own vehicle by processing the vehicle speed pulse obtained from the vehicle.

The main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4
Is a part that plays the role of a control circuit that controls the entire system. Further, the memory group M is various memories necessary for the operation of this system, for example, R for storing a program.
The OM 5 is accessed by the main CPU when the system is activated. A main program is loaded in a dynamic RAM (DRAM) 6 which provides a work area and the like. An SRAM (static RAM) 7 that backs up information such as settings is backed up by a battery even when the main power supply is off, and provides memory contents when it is on. Also, V for display
A RAM (video RAM) 8 stores bitmap data of an image to be displayed on the display unit 10.

The display unit 10 is a unit for outputting various information such as a map and an operation menu on a liquid crystal display screen (not shown) or voice synthesis. The input unit 11 is a unit for the user to input information such as a command from a switch or the like, and includes a touch sensor function, a remote control unit, an infrared transmission / reception unit, and the like. In addition, the user interface unit 9 uses the I / O control circuit, the device driver, and the like to display the display unit 10, the input unit 11, and the main CP.
It is a user interface connecting the U and its peripheral circuit 4.

Further, the CD / DVD-ROM control section 12
Is a means for reading various data such as map data recorded on a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM from a database, and is a data storage means for preliminarily storing map data indicating where and what kind of roads and facilities exist. is there.

Further, the FM multiplex reception and processing section 13 is
This is a part for receiving M broadcast waves and extracting desired data such as traffic information of VICS service from the broadcast waves, and the traffic information includes traffic congestion information. In addition, the light / beacon reception and processing unit 14 determines the identification information of each beacon and the VICS from the optical beacon and the radio beacon installed on the shoulder of the road.
It is a part that receives and processes information such as traffic information of services. The voice recognition unit 15 is a part that recognizes a word such as a command word from the input utterance of the user.

[1-2. Role of main CPU and its peripheral circuits] Furthermore, the main CPU and its peripheral circuits 4 are
By the action of the program as described above, it is configured to serve as the following respective parts shown in FIG. That is, the current position detection unit 40 is a means for calculating the current position of the own vehicle, that is, the own vehicle position, and specifically, calculates the own vehicle position by combining GPS navigation positioning and autonomous navigation positioning. Is configured as follows.

Here, the GPS navigation positioning is to calculate the current position by using the information obtained from the absolute position / azimuth detecting section 1 based on the radio wave from the artificial satellite. Further, the autonomous navigation positioning calculates the current position using information obtained from the relative azimuth detecting unit 2 and the vehicle speed detecting unit 3 based on the geomagnetism and the speed of the vehicle.

Further, the destination designating unit 41 is a designating unit for designating a destination from the facilities included in the map data, and the route setting unit 42 calculates a route to the designated destination. It is a means of setting. In addition, the map display unit 43
Is a means for superimposing and displaying the detected current position on a map around the current position based on the map data, and the guide unit 44 is guided by screen display or synthetic voice based on the set route. It is a means of providing guidance.

The address input acceptance unit 45 is a means for accepting selection of prefecture names, ward names, municipalities names, etc. for each layer, and also for collectively accepting a number of columns which are a part of an address. In addition, in the present system, the tree hierarchical data representing the combination of the arrangement of the numbers that are a part of the address is C for the address search.
The search / collation unit 46 is stored in advance in a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM of the D / DVD-ROM control unit 12, that is, a data storage unit, and the search / collation unit 46 is arranged in the row input from the address input reception unit 5 from the beginning. It is a means for searching the corresponding address by collating the number with the respective numbers from the upper side in the tree hierarchical data.

More specifically, the tree hierarchy data is, as shown in FIG. 2, records (nodes) representing individual elements such as "Aichi Prefecture" and "Akabanecho", and links set between the records. (Indicated by arrows in the figure), each record comprises at least a data hierarchy consisting of chome or letter and a data hierarchy consisting of block, lot number or door number, The address data represents what kind of address exists in. In the conventional address search, the selection operation from the list is performed for each of such a plurality of layers of categories, whereas in the present embodiment, the hierarchy of the chome / letter category and the number sequence corresponding to each layer below it are displayed. It becomes possible to input all at once.

Here, in the example of FIG. 2, there is a record of "other" in the "chome / character" category, but such a predetermined unique record includes information for different categories in the same category. It is possible to classify such cases.

Then, when the input part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the search collation unit 46 sequentially stores the data storage means from the upper one of the separated numbers. If the corresponding data is found by searching the hierarchy of the data inside, by searching the next hierarchy of the data storage means in the same manner for the next separated number, the address corresponding to the plurality of input numbers Is configured to search for.

[2. Operation] The address search in the present embodiment configured as described above is performed as follows. Here, "2-2-1, Takamatsu 2-chome, Yatomi-cho, Aichi" shown in Figure 2
As an example, it is assumed that selection is performed in order from the list display for each category up to the large-sized category “Yatomicho” in the same manner as in the conventional technique.

[2-1. Batch Input of Number Columns] Next, from the address input reception unit 45, the number columns that are the remaining part of the address are collectively input. Specifically, "2-2-2-1"
By inputting a number of columns at once like this and performing address search up to the bottom layer of the tree structure data based on this, selection operation for each hierarchy is not required as in the past and the target address can be quickly and easily It becomes selectable.

Here, in inputting a sequence of numbers, the actual number of layers after the record in large letters reached by the selection up to that point,
Alternatively, it is desirable to prevent the input of an extra character or an impossible number of columns by limiting the number of numbers or the number of delimiters such as hyphens based on a predetermined number of layers determined uniformly. In this restriction, the number of characters of the delimiter "-" can be limited according to the maximum number of nests in the whole or part of the hierarchy, or consecutive "-"
Prevent extra characters from being input with proper consideration, such as prohibiting because you cannot enter.

[2-2. Search Collation] Subsequently, the search collation unit 46 sequentially arranges the numbers arranged in the row input from the address input reception unit 5 as described above, from the top one, from the upper side in the tree hierarchical data. The corresponding address is searched by matching with the number of.

More specifically, when the input part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the search / collation unit 46 sequentially starts from the upper one of the separated numbers. When the hierarchy of the data in the data storage means is searched, and when the corresponding data is found, the next hierarchy of the data storage means is similarly searched for the next separated number, and it corresponds to the plurality of input numbers. Search for the address you want.

The processing procedure of such a search is shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, when performing a predetermined operation in the chome / character category or lower layers during address search, it becomes possible to enter a number of columns at a time, and the user can use the numeric keypad to enter something like "1-21-4-1". When a number is input and an operation such as confirmation of input or a search instruction is performed, the search according to the flowchart of FIG. 3 starts.

In the search processing (number batch search) according to the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, the current data information is backed up (step 301). In other words, in the tree structure data, by updating the pointer according to the user's selection, the currently focused record, that is, the current record is advanced to the lower side, but when the search processing is started, the record is reached by that point. The current data information is backed up by, for example, copying a pointer pointing to the current record to a predetermined area. Next, the number of input numbers, that is, the number of categories is determined by a hyphen, which is a delimiter, and the result of this determination is substituted into, for example, the variable NUM (step 302). Then, the counter variable COUNT
Is initialized to 0 (step 303) and the following loop processing is started.

Although various implementation examples of this loop processing can be considered, the point is that the number of categories (NU
M) (step 305), the data of the records that match the COUNT th one in sequence from the beginning of the input number sequence are linked to the group of records (being acquired) that are linked to the end of the current record. The data is called) (step 304). If found (step 304) and if there is information for the next lower layer (step 306), the data of the lower layer is acquired (step 307). Then, after incrementing the COUNT number (step 308), the next search is performed in the next layer, and if this is repeated up to the last category, it is regarded as successful and the search is terminated (step 31).
0).

If the corresponding data is not found on the way and the search is unsuccessful (step 304), the original state is recovered before the search process is started by the data information such as the pointer backed up at the start of the search process and the process is terminated ( Step 3
09).

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 4 shows a more specific processing procedure for the processing (step 304) for retrieving records corresponding to the individual numbers input as columns in individual layers. Here, since there is a case where a single record has information for two items, such as "No. 2-1" in "Lot number / door number" in Fig. 2, simply until the end of the link destination data. (Step 402) Not only the comparison (Step 403), but for a record that is hyphenated in this way (Step 404),
If they match including the input next number (COUNT + 1) (step 405), it means that the search has been completed up to that point, so the COUNT of the sequence of numbers can be incremented (step 406) and the search can proceed. it can.

Further, as a result of retrieving all the data to be linked from the current record, if there is no record containing the matching number (step 402), the last record to be linked is labeled as "other". If a peculiar record exists, it is treated as a match (step 407). It is desirable that the description format of each record in the tree structure data be flexible to some extent. For example, if there are records such as “1 chome” and “i-1” in the character string, “1 ".

[3. [Effect] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the address is specified in the destination setting or the like in the navigation system, the numeral portion such as the chome, the address, and the number is divided by a hyphen by entering 10 keys, and the like. You can input multiple items as a series of columns or character strings all at once up to the number of layers, and search for relevant candidates across multiple layers at once.
Address designation becomes quick and easy.

[4. Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes other embodiments as illustrated below. For example, the present invention can be applied to various user interfaces such as application programs for mobile phones, PDAs, personal computers, etc. other than navigation. In addition, at least FM multiplex reception and processing unit 13, optical / beacon reception and processing unit 1
4. The voice recognition unit 15 can be omitted, and the tree structure data may have layers different from that shown in FIG. 2, the data expression format is arbitrary, and the processing procedure can be rearranged by various conventionally known programming techniques. Is.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly and easily input the address by collectively inputting the numeral portions below the chome.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating tree structure data according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for searching a record corresponding to an individual number input as a column in each layer in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Absolute position / direction detector 2… Relative direction detector 3 ... Vehicle speed detector 4 ... Main CPU and its peripheral circuits 5 ... ROM 6 ... DRAM 7 ... SRAM 8 ... VRAM 9 ... User interface 10 ... Display 11 ... Input section 12 ... CD-ROM control unit 13 ... FM multiplex reception and processing unit 14 ... Optical / beacon reception and processing unit 15 ... Voice recognition unit 40 ... Current position detector 41 ... Destination designation section 42 ... Route setting unit 43 ... Map display section 44 ... Guide 45 ... Address input acceptance section 46 ... Search / collation unit M ... Memory group

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A tree hierarchy data representing a combination of arrangements of numbers that form a part of an address is held in advance, and a column of the number that is a part of an address is collectively input and accepted, and the entered columns are stored in the column. An address search method, wherein a corresponding address is searched by matching each number arranged from the beginning with each number from the upper side in the tree hierarchy data. 2. Address data including at least a hierarchy of data consisting of chome or letters and a hierarchy of data consisting of a block, lot number or door number is stored in advance in the data storage means, and at least a part of the address is stored. When the input is accepted and the input part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the data hierarchy in the data storage means is searched sequentially from the upper one of the separated numbers. However, when the corresponding data is found, the address corresponding to the plurality of input numbers is searched by similarly searching the next layer of the data storage means for the next separated number. How to search for an address. 3. A road map data representing at least a network structure of a road is held in advance, and a route to a destination determined based on the address searched by the address search method according to claim 1 is set to the road. Search based on the map data, sequentially detect the vehicle position, display the vehicle position on the map around the vehicle position based on the road map data, and output the guidance along the searched route. A navigation method characterized by: 4. Data storage means for storing in advance tree hierarchical data representing a combination of arrangements of numbers forming part of an address, means for collectively inputting columns of the number forming part of an address, and inputting. Means for retrieving a corresponding address by collating each number arranged from the beginning in the selected column with each number from the upper side in the tree hierarchy data, Address search device. 5. Data storage means for pre-storing address data including at least a hierarchy of data consisting of chome or letters and a hierarchy of data consisting of block, lot number or door number, and at least a part of the address. Means for accepting an input, and when the input portion is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the hierarchies of data in the data storage means are sequentially arranged from the upper side of the separated number. If the corresponding data is found, the means for searching the address corresponding to the plurality of input numbers by similarly searching the next hierarchy of the data storage means for the next separated number. An address search device comprising: 6. A means for preliminarily storing road map data representing at least a road network structure, the address search device according to claim 4 or 5, and the address search device determined based on the address searched by the address search device. A means for searching for a route to a destination based on the road map data, sequentially detecting the own vehicle position, and displaying the own vehicle position on a map around the own vehicle position based on the road map data, A means for outputting guidance information along the searched route, and a navigation system. 7. An address search program for assisting an address search by controlling a computer, wherein the program stores in the computer at least a data hierarchy consisting of chome or letters and data consisting of a block, lot number or door number. The address data including the hierarchy and the address data are stored in advance in the data storage means, and the input of at least a part of the address is accepted. When the input part is a plurality of numbers separated by a predetermined symbol or space, the data is separated. The data hierarchy in the data storage means is searched sequentially from the uppermost one of the determined number, and when the corresponding data is found, the next hierarchy of the data storage means is similarly searched for the next separated number. An address search program characterized by searching for addresses corresponding to a plurality of input numbers by searching.