JP2004309299A - Relevant information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relevant information providing device capable of retrieving relevant information by a simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: This device is equipped with a destination setting and present spot classification estimation part 111 for setting a spot which becomes a destination inputted by a user or a spot estimated as the destination, a destination relevant classification history storage part 130, a destination relevant classification estimation part 112, and a presentation processing part 113 for presenting to the user information on a relevant classification estimated by the destination relevant classification estimation part 112. When a vehicle reaches the destination or its periphery and then the user sets the next destination or the next destination is estimated, the destination relevant classification history storage part 130 stores and preserves the classification of the reached destination and the classification of the next destination correlatively with each other. When the vehicle reaches some destination, the destination relevant classification estimation part 112 estimates the classification of the destination predicted to be aimed at next to the reaching destination based on the data stored and preserved in the destination relevant classification history storage part 130. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a related information providing device that provides information related to a destination or a route when performing route guidance to a destination.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional navigation device, a device having a destination setting function associated with each type according to an operator's preference is often used. In such a navigation device, for example, when the user wants to eat "Japanese food", he can select the item of "meal" from the type and select the destination he wants to go from the "Japanese food" column.
[0003]
In addition, for example, a tourist guide such as a guide of Chinatown in Yokohama or a ski resort guide of Zao, or a place related to a place such as a search for a surrounding area (for example, a Japanese restaurant within a radius of 5 km from the current position is searched). Various devices that provide information have been proposed.
[0004]
Further, International Publication No. WO97 / 06522 describes contents for calculating a recommended route from a departure point to a destination and presenting information on service facilities existing in an area adjacent to the recommended route.
[Patent Document 1]
International Publication No. WO 97/06522
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it has not been proposed to provide information on a destination or a place related to a type of a desired point.For example, if you want to go to a hot spring after going skiing, or go to a resort and go to a local Whenever you want to go to a specialty store, you have to search for the destination by following the menu in each case.
[0007]
In the case of the above example, if you want to go to a hot spring after skiing, you must first find the ski resort you want to go to, and then search for a new hot spring by searching for the surrounding area.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a related information providing apparatus capable of searching related information by a simple operation. .
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a related information providing device mounted on a vehicle and presenting information related to the destination to a user when the vehicle arrives at or near the destination. Arrives at a set destination point or a point estimated to be a destination, and thereafter, when the user sets the next destination, or when the next destination is estimated, The type of the arriving point and the type of the next destination are stored and stored in association with each other, and when the vehicle arrives at a certain destination, based on the stored data, It is characterized in that the type of the destination predicted to go is estimated, and information based on the estimation result is presented.
[0010]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when a vehicle arrives at a destination point set by the user or a point presumed to be a destination, information on a type associated with the type of the point is presented to the user. Therefore, the user can obtain necessary information without setting a destination again. Therefore, for example, if you want to go to a hot spring to heal tiredness after going to a ski resort, the hot spring candidate is automatically displayed without having to select a hot spring candidate from the menu again after setting the ski resort Operability can be simplified.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a related information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the related information providing device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and includes a navigation device 110, a database 120, and a destination related type history storage unit (history data storage unit) 130. Have.
[0012]
Further, an input unit 100 for inputting various information to the navigation device 110, a wiper operation signal input unit 101 for acquiring an operation signal when a wiper mounted on the vehicle is operating, The system includes a number-of-occupants obtaining unit 102 that detects the number of occupants to be performed, a display 140 that displays various information on a screen, and a speaker 150 that outputs various types of information by voice.
[0013]
The input unit 100 corresponds to a map of a navigation device or a user interface for selecting a menu. For example, a joystick input by a manual operation or a voice recognition device that recognizes human voice can be used.
[0014]
The wiper operation signal input unit 101 outputs this detection signal to the navigation device 110 when the wiper mounted on the vehicle is operating.
[0015]
The number-of-occupants acquiring unit 102 detects the number of people currently in the vehicle based on the information on the opening and closing of the door or the information on the load on the seat, and outputs the detected data to the navigation device 110.
[0016]
The navigation apparatus 110 has a function of setting a destination and performing route guidance or route guidance to the destination. The navigation apparatus 110 includes a destination setting and current location type estimating unit (destination setting means) 111 and a destination-related A type estimating unit (destination-related type estimating unit) 112 and a presentation processing unit (presentation processing unit) 113 are provided.
[0017]
The destination setting and current location type estimating unit 111 has a function of setting a destination for route guidance or route guidance based on a type, a map, a telephone number, an address, and a name. It has a function of acquiring the type of the place (the attribute of the place as shown in FIG. 4) and a function of estimating the type of the current place. Further, a function of storing the type of the previously set destination point or the type of the point estimated as the destination and the type of the destination set thereafter in the destination related type history storage unit 130 is provided. .
[0018]
The destination-related type estimating unit 112 has a function of estimating a type of a place that is a set destination or a type related to a type at a point estimated as a destination. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when arriving at a destination point or a point estimated as a destination, a driving history such as date and time (time, day of week), location, number of occupants, and weather, Thereafter, based on the destination-related data stored in association with the type of the place where the operation has been performed, the type of a place that is a destination or a type of a place that is related to the type of the point estimated as the destination is estimated. Here, the weather can be recognized from the operation history based on the signal provided from the wiper operation signal input unit 101.
[0019]
If the corresponding type does not exist in the destination-related data, the destination-related type data storage unit 122 described later stores, for example, a general human behavior pattern as shown in FIG. Based on the data determined in advance, the type of the related place is estimated.
[0020]
The presentation processing unit 113 has a function of presenting a selection screen and voice necessary for setting a destination to the user by the destination setting and current location type estimation unit 111, and a purpose estimated by the destination-related type estimation unit 112. The function of selecting a place corresponding to the type of place and presenting it on the map, calculating the time of arrival at the place related to the type of destination, and referring to the business hours data storage unit 124 described later, If it is not possible to arrive within the business hours, a function is provided to differentiate and present the place that can be reached during the business hours. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, if a destination (symbol P <b> 1) likely to arrive during business hours is presented using the original color, a place (symbol P <b> 2) unlikely to arrive during business hours is: The two are distinguished by changing colors, such as presenting using gray.
[0021]
Further, the presentation processing unit 113 determines that the information related to the related type estimated by the destination related type estimating unit 112 is an extremely far place, that is, a predetermined distance or more from the reached destination (or a point estimated as the destination). By not presenting this information for a distant place, the presentation of clearly unnecessary information is avoided.
[0022]
The database 120 has a destination type data storage unit 121, a destination related type data storage unit 122, a map data storage unit 123, and an opening time data storage unit 124.
[0023]
The destination type data storage unit 121 has a function of storing position information and data corresponding to the type of the destination.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 5, the destination-related data storage unit 122 classifies information related to the type of destination, obtained from a general human behavior pattern, into time, day of week, location, weather, and the number of passengers. Store. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the types are stored separately for upper-level categories and lower-level items. For example, when a category of accommodation is selected, a guest house and a hotel are selected.
[0025]
The map data storage unit 123 has a function of storing map data and guidance information necessary for navigation route guidance. The business hours data storage unit 124 stores business hours for each destination, as shown in FIG.
[0026]
The destination-related type history storage unit 130 stores a type at a point that is a set destination or a point estimated as a destination when the vehicle has been driven in the past, and a type of the next set destination. (That is, the type of place related to the point) in association with and stored. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the date and time (time, day of the week), the location, the weather, the number of occupants when arriving at a destination point or a point estimated as a destination, and thereafter, The related type history data stored in association with the location type is stored. For example, information such as “XX sushi shop” (type: meal / Japanese restaurant) and “XX ski area” (type: resort / ski area) are stored.
[0027]
The display 140 has a function of presenting image data to a user. In addition, the speaker 150 has a function of presenting a voice to the user.
[0028]
Next, the operation of the information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this process, when the user sets a destination in the input unit 100 or does not set a destination, but stops at the same place continuously for a predetermined time (for example, one hour) or more, this process is performed. When the location is estimated as the destination, the information of the type of the destination predicted to go next associated with the type is provided for the type of this point.
[0029]
This process is started by turning on the ignition of the vehicle or turning on a start switch (not shown).
[0030]
In step S100, it is determined whether the place where the vehicle has stopped is the place set as the destination. If it is not the place set as the destination (NO in step S100), the stop time of the vehicle is calculated in the process of step S101. Specifically, a time period from when the ignition is turned off to when the ignition is turned on next time is measured.
[0031]
Next, in step S102, it is determined whether the calculated stop time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (for example, one hour). If the vehicle has not stopped for a predetermined time (NO in step S102), the process ends. . That is, if the place where the vehicle has stopped is not the set destination and the stoppage time is short, it is determined that the data of this place does not need to be stored, and the process ends as it is.
[0032]
On the other hand, if the stopped place is the place set as the destination (YES in step S100), the type of this place is determined from the destination type data stored in the destination type data storage unit 121 of the database 120. (See FIG. 4). For example, when the set destination (that is, the current location) is “OO hotel”, “stay hotel” − “hotel” is acquired as the type of the destination.
[0033]
If the place where the vehicle has stopped is not set as the destination, but the vehicle has stopped at this place for a predetermined time or longer (YES in step S102), it is estimated that this point is the destination, and the processing in step S121 is performed. Then, the type of this point (current location) is acquired, and this type is set as the type of the destination. For example, when the user eats for one and a half hours at "XX sushi shop" which is not set as a destination, and then departs, "meal"-"Japanese restaurant" is acquired as the type of destination. .
[0034]
Then, if the type of the destination is acquired in step S120, or if the type of the current location (the point estimated as the destination) is acquired in the process of step S121, the process of step S122 is performed. The association type of the destination is obtained from the data (history data shown in FIG. 6) stored in the association type history storage unit 130.
[0035]
Thereafter, in step S122, based on the data (see FIG. 6) stored in the destination-related type history storage unit 130, the type of the destination acquired in the processing of steps S120 and S121 is applied, and the type of the destination is determined. Get the related type corresponding to.
[0036]
At this time, as acquisition conditions of the related type, consideration is given to whether or not the following data such as date and time, day of the week, location, etc., driving weather, weather, and the number of occupants match.
[0037]
The date and time are, for example, "morning" from 6:00 to 11 "noon" from 11:00 to 14:00, "noon" from 14:00 to 19:00, and the following day from 19:00 according to time. It is defined that "6:00" is "night".
[0038]
The day of the week is defined as “weekday” from Monday to Friday and “holiday” on Saturday and Sunday.
[0039]
For the location, "mountain" means a place where the altitude is about 1000 m or more, and places where a specific number of people or more are recognized as mountains in other places, and places where the coast exists and within about 5 km from that point Is defined as “sea”, and places other than the above “mountain” and “sea” are defined as “not specified”.
[0040]
Regarding the weather, a state in which the wiper is not operating is defined as “clear”, and a state in which the wiper has been operating for a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes) is defined as “rain”. That is, weather data can be acquired based on the operation history of the vehicle.
[0041]
The number of occupants is defined as the number of persons corresponding to the seats whose doors are opened or the load is applied at the time of elevating, for example, the number of occupants is two when the doors of the driver's seat and the passenger's seat are opened at the time of elevating.
[0042]
From the above description, for example, if in the past a behavior pattern was taken that "we went to retreat A with a couple in the morning of the holiday and looked at the surrounding scenery and ate local cuisine at noon" In the destination-related type history storage unit 130, as shown in the data of (1) in FIG. 6, the type of the destination is "landscape / mountain", the time is "noon", the day is "holiday", and the weather is "clear." , The number of occupants is “2”, and the type related to the destination is “meal / local cuisine”. When the user goes to the resort A this time, this data is presented as related data.
[0043]
That is, in step S123, it is determined whether or not the type related to the destination exists in the data shown in FIG. If it is determined that there is a related type (YES in step S123), a place related to the destination is presented in step S124. That is, the destination of the related type acquired in the processing of steps S122 and S130 is displayed on the map and presented to the user. In the case of FIG. 6A, a place related to “meal” − “local cuisine” is presented as a type related to the destination.
[0044]
As a display method, information on a destination within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 km) from a destination (current location if no destination is set) is displayed. In addition, the business hours of the destination acquired as the related type are compared with the arrival times at the destinations, and if it is determined that it is not possible to arrive within the business hours, the other destinations are color-coded. This is notified to the user by changing the display.
[0045]
For example, the destinations include a handmade woodworking central point store, a handmade general store, and a specialty product store.If it is determined that the handmade woodworking central store cannot be reached within business hours, Is displayed in gray as indicated by a symbol P2 shown in FIG. 8, and when it is determined that it is possible to arrive at a handmade general store or specialty product store during business hours, a predetermined value is indicated as a symbol P1. Display in the display color.
[0046]
In this way, when the user arrives at a destination (set destination or estimated destination), the type of the destination to be visited next is determined based on the past behavior pattern of the user. Judgment can be made and information on the destination can be presented to the user. Therefore, the user can search for the place he wants to go without setting the destination many times.
[0047]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S123 that there is no related type (NO in step S123), in step S130, the type related to the destination, which is determined based on a general behavior pattern in advance, is set. get. More specifically, the destination-related type estimating unit 112 shown in FIG. 1 acquires only the type that satisfies the condition from the type data (see FIG. 5) stored in the destination-related type data storage unit 122.
[0048]
As an acquisition method, as shown below, the type of the destination and the type related to the destination where the condition exists are acquired.
[0049]
It is assumed that the time, the day of the week, the place, the weather, and the number of occupants are the same when the condition is satisfied. If the destination is set, the time is the arrival time of the destination. To give an example, `` If you set a destination XX mountain to go to XX mountain and see the scenery on a sunny day on a holiday, you will arrive at the destination just around noon. '' In this case, a local restaurant around Mt. XX is displayed on the map as destination information related to the destination. Also, if a hotel on the XX beach is set at night, nearby beaches are presented.
[0050]
Next, in step S131, it is determined whether or not the type related to the destination exists in the above-described process of S130, and if it exists (YES in step S131), the process proceeds to step S124 to associate the type with the destination. Present a place to do it.
[0051]
That is, even when the related type is not stored in the destination related type history storage unit 130, the related place is estimated by referring to the storage content of the destination related type data storage unit 122 based on the situation at that time. , Can be presented to the user.
[0052]
Then, in step S125, the user is prompted to select a desired destination from the plurality of destinations displayed in the processing of S124. Then, in step S126, the following history storage processing is started. Note that the history storage processing of step S126 is also started when NO is determined in step S131 described above.
[0053]
Hereinafter, the procedure of the history storage processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S200, the type of destination at the current location of the vehicle is acquired. Next, in step S201, the type of the destination (that is, the current location) set during the previous vehicle driving is acquired.
[0054]
Thereafter, in the process of step S202, the type of the destination at the current location is stored as the type of the destination related to the type of the previous destination. That is, the type of the destination (that is, the current location) set during the previous vehicle driving is stored in the “destination type” of the related type history storage unit 130 shown in FIG. Stores the type of destination at the current location.
[0055]
In addition, the date and time, day of the week, location, weather, and the number of occupants acquired at that time are also stored.
[0056]
Thereafter, in step S203, the type of the destination at the current location is stored in the type of the previous destination. As a result, data relating to the type associated with the set destination can be accumulated as a history, and this data can be used for the next and subsequent times. Then, the process ends.
[0057]
In this way, in the related information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the vehicle reaches the destination set by the user, or the point estimated to be the destination, the type of this point is Since the information about the type to be associated can be presented to the user, the user can obtain necessary information without setting a destination again. Therefore, for example, if you want to go to a hot spring to heal tiredness after going to a ski resort, the hot spring candidate is automatically displayed without having to select a hot spring candidate from the menu again after setting the ski resort Operability can be simplified (the effects of claims 1 and 2).
[0058]
Further, even when the user does not set a destination, if the user stops at a certain point and the stop time at this time is longer than a predetermined time, the destination automatically predicted to go next to this point is determined. Since the information on the type is provided, the convenience can be further improved (effect of claim 3).
[0059]
Further, the destination set by the user is associated with the type of the destination predicted to go next based on a general human behavior pattern, so that the convenience can be further improved (claim Item 4).
[0060]
In addition, since the destination set by the user is associated with the type of the destination predicted to go next based on the past behavior style of the user accumulated as the driving history and the operation history, for example, “ A type goes different even after going to the same ski resort, such as a case where "A goes to a souvenir shop after going to a ski resort" and a case where "Mr. B goes to a hot spring after going to a ski resort". Even when going to a destination, it is possible to provide each user with a place belonging to a suitable type (effect of claim 5).
[0061]
Further, the association between the type of destination and the type associated therewith is changed based on each condition of date and time, place, weather, and number of occupants, so that a place corresponding to a suitable type corresponding to each condition is provided. be able to. For example, after going to a resort, go to a nearby souvenir shop at an early time (for example, around 3:00 pm), but go to a hotel at a late time (for example, around 7:00 pm). Although the type of place is the same, it is possible to cope with a case where the type of the next destination changes according to conditions such as time (effect of claim 6).
[0062]
Also, when providing the type related to the destination or the type related to the point estimated as the destination, only those within a predetermined distance area from the current position of the vehicle are presented, so that unnecessary information is provided. Can be avoided. That is, it is possible to avoid an unnecessary operation such as presenting a place that is clearly far from the place where it is unlikely to go, for example, a place around Hakata while being in Aomori (effect of claim 7).
[0063]
Further, when providing the type related to the destination or the type related to the point estimated as the destination, the time to arrive at the place is obtained, and the obtained arrival time is outside the business hours of the place. If it is determined that the location will not be reached, the user is notified of this fact, so that the user can surely recognize a place where the user cannot arrive during business hours (the effect of claim 8).
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a related information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of the related information providing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed processing procedure of a history storage process illustrated in FIG. 2; Data storage example of the following destination type.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of type data stored in a destination type data storage unit.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of related data stored in a destination related type data storage unit.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of related data stored in a destination related type history storage unit.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing types of destinations stored in a business hour data storage unit and an example of business hour data.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an example in which data of destinations displayed on the display are displayed in such a manner that data that can be reached during business hours and data that cannot be reached during business hours are distinguished.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Related Information Providing Device 100 Input Unit 101 Wiper Operation Signal Input Unit 102 Number of Passengers Acquisition Unit 110 Navigation Device 111 Destination Setting and Current Location Type Estimating Unit (Destination Setting Means)
112 Destination-related type estimating unit (destination-related type estimating means)
113 presentation processing unit (presentation processing means)
120 Database 121 Destination type data storage unit 122 Destination-related type data storage unit 123 Map data storage unit 124 Business hours data storage unit 130 Destination-related type history storage unit 140 Display 150 Speaker

Claims (8)

A related information providing device mounted on a vehicle and presenting information related to the destination to a user when the vehicle arrives at or near a destination,
When the vehicle arrives at a set destination point or a point estimated to be a destination, and thereafter, when the user sets a next destination, or when the next destination is estimated Storing and storing the type of the arrival point and the type of the next destination in association with each other;
When the vehicle arrives at a certain destination, the type of the destination predicted to go next to the arrived destination is estimated based on the stored data, and information based on the estimation result is obtained. And a related information providing device. A related information providing device mounted on a vehicle and presenting information related to the destination to a user when the vehicle arrives at or near a destination,
Destination setting means for setting a point to be a destination input by a user or a point estimated as a destination;
When the vehicle arrives at or near the point set by the destination setting means, and then the user sets the next destination, or when the next destination is estimated, History data storage means for storing and storing the type of the destination and the type of the next destination in association with each other;
When the vehicle arrives at a certain destination, a destination is estimated based on the data stored in the history data storage means, and the type of the destination predicted to go next to the arrived destination is estimated. Association type estimation means;
Presentation processing means for presenting to the user information on the related type estimated by the destination related type estimating means,
Related information providing device characterized by comprising: The related information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the destination setting unit sets a point where the vehicle stops for a predetermined time or more as a point estimated as a destination. 3. The association between the type of the reached destination and the type of the next destination stored in the history data storage unit is determined based on a general human behavior pattern. A related information providing device according to claim 3. The association between the type of the arrived destination and the type of the next destination stored in the history data storage unit is based on the driving history of the vehicle and the past behavior style of the user accumulated as the operation history. The related information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the related information providing apparatus is determined based on the information. The association between the type of the reached destination and the type of the next destination stored in the history data storage means is based on at least one condition among date and time, place, weather, and the number of passengers. The related information providing device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the related information providing device is changed. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the presentation processing unit presents only information related to the related type estimated by the destination related type estimating unit that is within a predetermined distance from the reached destination. The related information providing device according to claim 6. The presentation processing means may determine whether the time to reach the point based on the information when the information on the related type estimated by the destination related type estimating means is outside the business hours of the point is obtained. The related information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the information is provided to a user when the business hours are outside business hours.

Images