JP2006064443A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lessen the burden on a user in the setting a destination point, while facilitating route search. <P>SOLUTION: When image data photographed by a portable phone 14 with a camera 14a are transmitted to a navigation device 100, a control circuit 8 receives the image data via a communication unit 13 or a transmitter-receiver 16 to perform image recognition and sets a destination point, based on the resulting data for image recognition. This enables the user to set the destination point by means of a simple operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a navigation device having a route search function for searching a route from a departure point to a destination point. The destination point includes a relay point.

In a conventional navigation device, when setting a destination point for route search, if a destination name is set by a user, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital) Using the point name database stored in a data recording medium such as Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory (HDD), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc., the latitude data and longitude data of the point corresponding to the point name are searched, and the purpose A point has been set (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

In setting such a destination point, various methods have been conventionally employed. For example, data in which point names are listed in order from the wide area side to the narrow area side is stored in advance in a data recording medium, and the user Is an address direct input method that identifies the point by inputting in order from the prefecture in the same manner as the normal address display, searches the data recording medium for the corresponding position data on the map, and sets this as the destination point It was used.

In addition, in order to use data in which the above-mentioned spot names are listed in order from the wide area side to the narrow area side, the name of the spot on the wide area side, such as a prefecture, is displayed on the display device, and one of them is used by the user. By repeating the operation of displaying the spot name on the narrow area that is deployed at that point, the user selects the spot name in order based on the displayed spot name list, and finally An address list display selection method in which a destination point is set is also used.

Furthermore, for example, a map of a wide area is first displayed on the screen, and the user designates a portion where the point exists on the map, displays the portion in an enlarged manner, repeats this, and maps at an appropriate scale at that time A map scroll method has been used in which the desired point is finally pointed with a cursor by scrolling the above, searching for a desired point, and further enlarged and displayed, and the destination point is set.

Furthermore, various point name data including store facilities such as restaurants and boutiques, public facilities such as stations and city halls, road facilities such as intersections and interchanges, tourist facilities such as landmark buildings and sights, etc. are data recording media. The facility name search method is also used in which a point where the facility exists is set as a destination point by the user inputting the name of the facility. In addition, after the facility is displayed on the screen, it is sometimes combined with a map scroll method in which the vicinity is scrolled to find the original desired point and the destination point is set.

In addition, in recent years, huge amounts of data recording media such as DVD-ROMs and HDDs can be recorded, so that vast amounts of data can be recorded. A telephone number input method is also adopted in which a specific house or building is set as a destination point by inputting a number.
JP 2001-255160 A JP 2002-107167 A

By the way, with a conventional navigation device, when setting a destination such as a store facility, a public facility, a road facility, or a tourist facility introduced in an article found in a printed matter such as a newspaper, a magazine, a pamphlet, a poster, etc. Regardless of the method described, the user had to enter the facility name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. of the facility as the destination name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. Therefore, there was a problem that the setting of the destination point was troublesome. In particular, if the printed matter cannot be brought into the car because it is not the property of the user, the user must remember and input the facility name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. of the facility, Setting the destination point was even more troublesome.

In addition, even if the facility name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. of the facility is entered, the facility itself may not be registered in the data recording medium of the navigation device, and the destination point cannot be easily searched. There was a problem that occurred.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a first object is to take a photograph of a simple map showing an article posted on a printed matter and a route to a facility attached to the article. Another object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can set a destination point simply by transmitting the image data or the image recognition result data to the navigation device.

In addition, the second object of the present invention is to set a destination point simply by photographing a two-dimensional code in an article posted on a printed matter with a camera and transmitting the photographed image data or image recognition result data to the navigation device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can perform the above. Note that a two-dimensional code, for example a QR code (registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED), has information in two vertical and horizontal directions, so that the amount of information that can be recorded is compared to a barcode that is a one-dimensional code. The code has been dramatically increased.

Furthermore, the third object of the present invention is to make it easier to set a destination point with a simpler operation by using a mobile phone with a camera owned by many users as a mobile communication device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

The navigation device according to claim 1 is a navigation device having a route search function for searching a route from a departure point to a destination point, receiving means for receiving image recognition result data transmitted from a mobile communication device, and the reception And destination point setting means for setting the destination point based on the image recognition result data received by the means. According to the navigation device of the first aspect, since the destination point can be set based on the image recognition result data received from the mobile communication device, the destination point can be set very easily. The burden can be reduced.

The navigation device according to claim 2 is a navigation device having a route search function for performing a route search from a departure point to a destination point, receiving means for receiving image data transmitted from a mobile communication device, and the reception means. Image recognition means for recognizing received image data, and destination point setting means for setting a destination point based on image recognition result data obtained by the image recognition means. According to the navigation device of the second aspect, since the destination point can be set based on the image data received from the mobile communication device, the destination point can be set very easily, and the burden on the user is reduced. Can be reduced.

The navigation device according to claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile communication device includes a camera, and transmits image data captured by the camera or image recognition result data thereof. It is characterized by that. According to the navigation device of the third aspect, since the mobile communication device includes the camera, the user can easily transmit the image data or the image recognition result data thereof.

The navigation device according to claim 4 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mobile communication device is a camera-equipped mobile phone. According to the navigation device of the fourth aspect, since the mobile communication device is a widely used device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone, anyone can easily operate it and there is an advantage that versatility is improved. .

The navigation device according to claim 5 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mobile communication device communicates with the receiving means by wired communication, infrared communication, or short-range wireless communication. Any one of communication and electronic mail is used. According to the navigation device of the fifth aspect, the user can select communication between the mobile communication device and the navigation device. In the case of wired communication, there is an advantage that image data or image recognition result data can be transmitted and received at high speed and with certainty. On the other hand, in the case of a short-distance wireless communication function such as an infrared communication function, Bluetooth, or a wireless local area network (LAN), image data can be easily transmitted without troublesome connection with a cable or the like. Regardless of whether the mobile communication device has an infrared communication function or a short-range wireless communication function, the image data or the image recognition result data is attached to an e-mail and transmitted to the navigation device. Can do.

The navigation device according to claim 6 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the image recognition means includes an article in which the image data is printed on a printed matter. Characters are image-recognized and converted into text data, and one or more of a facility name, a postal code, an address, and a telephone number are extracted from the text data. According to the navigation device of the sixth aspect, it is possible to use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology which has already been widely used to convert image data into text data, which can be easily implemented. There are advantages.

The navigation device according to claim 7 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the image recognition means is a simple map in which the image data is printed on a printed matter. Characters in the image are recognized and converted into text data, and one or more of facility names, road names, and intersection names are extracted from the text data, and each line and its intersection are extracted as roads and intersections. It is characterized by recognizing the mutual relationship. According to the navigation device of the seventh aspect, since not only text data but also roads and intersections and their interrelationships can be obtained from the simple map, it becomes possible to specify the points using pattern matching.

The navigation device according to claim 8 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein when the image recognition unit is a two-dimensional code in which the image data is printed. A two-dimensional code in the data is image-recognized and converted into text data, and one or more of a facility name, a postal code, an address, and a telephone number are extracted from the text data. According to the navigation device of claim 8, the image recognition of the two-dimensional code can be performed with a small amount of hardware compared with the image recognition of the article or the simple map, and the extraction of the facility name, the postal code, the address, the telephone number, etc. It becomes easy.

By making it possible to set the destination point simply by transmitting the image data or the image recognition result data from the mobile communication device to the navigation device, the destination point can be set very easily and the burden on the user can be reduced. I was able to.

Embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle navigation device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a navigation device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 100 according to the first embodiment includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, an external storage device 9, and a control circuit 8 having a function of controlling navigation operations. A display device 10, a remote control sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as a remote control sensor) 11 for detecting a signal from a remote control terminal (hereinafter abbreviated as a remote control terminal) 12, and a mobile phone 14 (corresponding to a mobile communication device) An e-mail is transmitted / received between the communication unit (corresponding to receiving means) 13 and the mobile phone 14 via the external network 15, connected to the Internet, or connected to a dedicated information center. The transmitter / receiver 16 is connected.

When a destination point is set by the remote control terminal 12 via the remote control sensor 11 or by the operation switch group 7, the navigation device 100 automatically searches for an optimum route from the departure point to the destination point and finds a guidance route. A so-called route guidance function for displaying is provided. A Dijkstra method or the like is known as a method for automatically searching for an optimum route.

The position detector 1 includes a geomagnetic sensor 2 for detecting an absolute azimuth, a gyroscope 3 for detecting a yaw angular velocity (yaw rate), a distance sensor 4 for detecting the travel distance of a vehicle, and a GPS (Global The GPS receiver 5 detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from the positioning system satellite, and is a part for calculating the current location of the vehicle on which the navigation device 100 is mounted. Since each of these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 has errors having different properties, the position detector 1 performs highly accurate position detection while interpolating detection errors with each other. However, as long as the current location can be calculated with the required detection accuracy, it may be configured by some of the sensors described above. Further, the position detector 1 may be configured by combining a rotation sensor for a steering wheel, a wheel speed sensor for detecting rotation of each tire, and the like.

The map data input device 6 is a device for inputting various data including so-called map matching data for improving position detection accuracy, road data representing road connections, landmark data, and the like from the data recording medium 18. . In map matching, there may be errors in positioning by GPS or autonomous navigation, so the current location may be other than roads (for example, in rivers). It includes a function to correct the current location on a nearby road.

The operation switch group 7 includes mechanical switches arranged around the display device 10, touch switches formed on the color liquid crystal display of the display device 10, and the like. The control circuit 8 inputs operation inputs such as various data and setting items. Is provided to give to. As the touch switch, a resistive film method, a capacitance method, an electromagnetic induction method, an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave method, or the like can be used. A pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7 and the remote control terminal 12.

The control device 8 is configured as a normal computer, and has a known CPU (Central Processing Unit) 81, ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, RAM (Random Access Memory) 83, I / O (Input / Output). ) 84 and a bus line 85 for connecting these components. The CPU 81 controls the program and data stored in the ROM 82 and RAM 83. The ROM 82 has a program storage area 82a and a data storage area 82b. In the program storage area 82a, a navigation program (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation program) 82p is stored. The data storage area 82b temporarily stores processing data at the time of program execution necessary for the operation of the navigation program 82p, road data acquired from the map data input device 6, and the like. The navigation program 82p operates on the RAM 83 in such a manner that the navigation program work memory 83w is used as a work area. When an HDD is used for the map data input device 6, the functions of the ROM 82 and the RAM 83 may be implemented by the HDD.

In addition to the basic function of executing the map matching process for positioning the current point on the map, the control circuit 8 receives point data such as a destination point and a waypoint through the operation switch group 7 and the remote control terminal 12. In addition, route calculation processing from the current point to the destination point based on the point data is performed using, for example, the Dijkstra method, and the guide route set based on the route search result is displayed on the map screen. Well-known support functions such as a function (including a so-called route search function) and a route guidance function for performing various guides by voice or display based on the guidance route obtained by this function are provided. In addition to this, the control circuit 8 has a well-known telephone number search function, postal code search function, search function using a unique code, 50 sound search function, genre search function, nearest road search function, destination registration function A variety of support functions such as an information display function for displaying a sightseeing area, a recommended drive course, and a point registration function are set.

In addition, when receiving the image data, the control circuit 8 recognizes the characters of the facility name, address, geographic name (river, etc.), road number, road name, and intersection name in the image data. Further, the control circuit 8 recognizes an image of the road shape in the image data. If the object to be recognized can be recognized, the control circuit 8 uses the image recognition result data to specify a point by searching a map database read from the data recording medium 18 and loaded in the data storage area 82b. . At that time, if there are a plurality of candidate points, the user is notified so and one point is selected.

The external storage device 9 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory card, and stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100. The external storage device 9 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle is turned off (that is, the navigation device 100 is turned off).

The display device 10 includes, for example, a color liquid crystal display, and is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle in order to display a map screen. On the screen of the display device 10, the vehicle current position mark input from the position detector 1, the map data input from the map data input device 6, and additional data such as a guide route displayed on the map are superimposed. In addition to the display, a menu icon for setting route guidance, guidance during route guidance, and switching the screen is displayed on this screen.

Remote control sensor 11 and remote control terminal 12 communicate using infrared rays or the like to control navigation device 100. The remote control sensor 11 is provided as an operation input means, and receives an operation input from the remote control terminal 12 and gives it to the control circuit 8.

The communication unit 13 is a device for performing data communication and voice communication with the mobile phone 14 using short-range wireless communication such as wired communication, infrared communication, Bluetooth, wireless LAN, or e-mail. The image data received from the mobile phone 14 or the image recognition result data is passed to the control circuit 8. In the case of wired communication, image data or image recognition result data can be transmitted and received at high speed and reliably. On the other hand, in the case of the infrared communication function or the short-range wireless communication function, the image data or the image recognition result data can be easily transmitted without the trouble of connecting with a cable or the like.

The mobile phone 14 is a mobile communication device equipped with a camera 14 a and transmits image data captured by the camera 14 a to the navigation device 100 via the communication unit 13. In addition, the mobile phone 14 attaches image data or image recognition result data to an e-mail, regardless of whether it has an infrared communication function or a short-range wireless communication function. 16 to the navigation device 100.

The transmission / reception device 16 is a device that performs voice communication and data communication such as transmission / reception of electronic mail with the mobile phone 14.

As the data recording medium 18, a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or HDD is generally used because of the amount of data, but other data recording media such as a memory card may be used. In this case, the data recording medium 18 includes map data for map display, road data necessary for various processes such as map matching, route search, route guidance, intersection data composed of detailed intersection data, and background data. Various data such as background data for layers, spot name data for displaying spot names, road name data in which road names are arranged in, for example, 50-sound order, and lane data for storing road lane configurations Is remembered. In particular, the road data covers all intersections (nodes) and road (link) data (node positions, node attributes, etc.) on the map that can be displayed.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart shows the operation when image data is transmitted from the mobile phone 14 to the navigation device 100.

Next, the operation of the navigation device 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the image data examples shown in FIGS. Here, an operation when image data is transmitted from the mobile phone 14 to the navigation device 100 will be described.

In the navigation device 100, after the navigation program 82p is started by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the user operates the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 to select the destination route from the menu displayed on the display device 10. When the route guidance process for displaying on the display device 10 is selected, the following process is performed. That is, when the user inputs a destination point based on the map on the display device 10, the current location of the vehicle is obtained based on the satellite data obtained from the GPS receiver 5, and the optimum route from the current location to the destination location is determined. The requested process is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display device 10 so as to guide an appropriate route to the user. In addition, the display device 10 sends a message according to the operation guidance and the operating state.

A user photographs a simple map placed on a printed matter such as a newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, poster or the like with a camera 14 a mounted on the mobile phone 14, and transmits the image data to the navigation device 100. When the mobile phone 14 has an infrared communication function, a short-range wireless communication function such as Bluetooth or wireless LAN, the user transmits image data from the mobile phone 14 to the navigation apparatus 100 via the communication unit 13. Regardless of whether the mobile phone 14 has an infrared communication function or a short-range wireless communication function, the navigation device is attached via the external network 15 and the transmission / reception device 16 with image data attached to an e-mail. 100 can be transmitted. Note that the mobile phone 14 and the communication unit 13 may be connected by a cable, and image data may be transmitted to the navigation device 100 using a wired communication function.

When receiving the image data from the mobile phone 14 (step S101), the control circuit 8 cuts out an area from the image data (step S102). For example, when the image data is a simple map as shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 8 cuts out as an area of graphic data. When the image data is a character string group as shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit 8 cuts out the character data area. Further, when the image data is composite data of a simple map and a character string group as shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 8 cuts out as a graphic data area and a character data area.

Next, the control circuit 8 determines whether there is no cut out area or whether an unprocessed area has ended (step S103).

If there is an unprocessed area in step S103, the control circuit 8 determines whether one area of the unprocessed area group is an area for graphic data (step S104).

If the area is a graphic data area in step S104, the control circuit 8 recognizes the pattern from the image data in the graphic data area (step S105). Specifically, when the image data is a simple map as shown in FIG. 3, each line of the simple map and its intersection are extracted as links (roads) and nodes (intersections), and each link, each node, and their interrelationships are extracted. Are recognized as a graph (network).

Next, the control circuit 8 performs a process of specifying a point by pattern matching between the graph recognized by the image recognition and the road data read from the data recording medium 18 and loaded into the data storage area 82b ( In step S106), control is returned to step S103. Specifically, the road data covers all intersections (nodes) and road (link) data (node positions, node attributes, etc.) for the map that can be displayed, so the same graph (network) To obtain the facility name, zip code, address, telephone number, etc. of the point of the corresponding pattern, and the facility name database, zip code database, address using the obtained facility name, zip code, address, telephone number, etc. as keys By searching a database, a telephone number database, etc., position information (latitude data, longitude data) at the same point is specified.

If it is not a graphic data area in step S104, the control circuit 8 determines whether the certain area is a character data area (step S107).

If it is a character data area in step S107, the control circuit 8 recognizes a character from the image data in the character data area (step S108). For example, when the character data area is an address display as shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit 8 converts the characters in the character data area into text data by a known OCR technique. When the process of converting the image data into text data is completed, the control circuit 8 extracts a character string such as a facility name, a postal code, an address, and a telephone number contained in the obtained text data.

Next, the control circuit 8 reads the facility name database read from the data recording medium 18 and loaded into the data storage area 82b using the facility name, zip code, address, telephone number, etc. recognized by the image recognition as keys. The postal code database, the address database, the telephone number database, etc. are searched to identify the point (step S109), and the control is returned to step S103. Specifically, by searching the facility name database, zip code database, address database, telephone number database, etc. using the facility name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. as keys, the location information (latitude data, longitude data) of the same point Is identified.

When the image data is image data in which a simple map and address display are mixed as shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 8 cuts out the character data area and the graphic data area, and converts the characters in the character data area. It is converted into text data, and each line of the graphic data area and its intersection are extracted as links (roads) and nodes (intersections) to recognize each link, each node, and their mutual relationship.

If it is not a character data area in step S107, the control circuit 8 determines whether the certain area is a two-dimensional code area (step S110).

If it is the area of the two-dimensional code in step S110, the control circuit 8 recognizes the image of the character string obtained by analyzing the two-dimensional code from the image data of the area of the two-dimensional code (step S111), and moves the control to step S109. For example, when the area of the two-dimensional code is a two-dimensional code as shown in FIG. 6, the control circuit 8 recognizes the image of the two-dimensional code and converts it into text data. When the process of converting the two-dimensional code into text data is completed, the control circuit 8 extracts a character string such as a facility name, a postal code, an address, and a telephone number included in the obtained text data.

When there is no unprocessed area in step S103, it is determined whether the destination point can be specified based on whether or not there is a set candidate point (step S112).

If the destination point can be specified, the control circuit 8 determines whether there are a plurality of candidate points (step S113).

If there are a plurality of candidate points, the control circuit 8 displays the plurality of candidate points on the display device 10 and prompts the user to select a destination point from the plurality of candidate points (step S114).

When the candidate point is one point in step S113 or one point is selected as a destination point from a plurality of candidate points using the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 by the user in step S114, the control circuit 8 Then, a route search process is performed in which the departure point is set as the current point and the selected candidate point is set as the destination point (step S115). Specifically, the control circuit 8 calculates a route using the Dijkstra method or the like using a map database read from the data recording medium 18 and loaded into the data storage area 82b according to the set destination point.

After the route search process, the control circuit 8 starts route guidance (step S116). The control circuit 8 calculates the position of the vehicle based on the calculated route (guide route), the position data from the position detector 1 and various data read from the data recording medium 18 and loaded into the data storage area 82b. Thus, the orientation of the map to be displayed is determined and displayed on the display device 10.

Here, a method for extracting a character string such as a facility name, a postal code, an address, and a telephone number included in the text data will be specifically described.

First, regarding facility names, store facility names (including restaurant names, boutique names, etc.), public facility names (including station names, city hall names, etc.), road facility names (including road names, intersection names, etc.), tourist facilities Various point name data such as names (including building names, landmark names, etc.) are recorded in the data recording medium 18, and character strings that are assumed to represent the facility names by the user are extracted and extracted. If the facility name database read from the data recording medium 18 is searched using the character string as a key and there is a corresponding facility name, the facility name is extracted.

In addition, the postal code starts with the letter “zip code” and begins with a three- or four-digit number, a hyphen, and a string of four-digit numbers, or “postal mark (〒)”. Either a 3-digit or 4-digit number, a hyphen, a character string arranged in the order of a 4-digit number, or a 3-digit or 4-digit number, a hyphen, a character string arranged in the order of a 4-digit number A character string corresponding to the above is searched, and if a corresponding character string is obtained, it is determined that it is a zip code. When the zip code system is changed, a similar zip code extraction process can be performed by extracting a digit string that matches the number of digits of the zip code allowed.

Further, for the address, address search is performed in the order of prefecture name, city name (or ward name), chome, street address, and division. With regard to the chome, the address, and the classification, there are two patterns of “O chome × address □” and “○ − × − □”, but it is possible to deal with either case. In addition, when a detailed address such as a chome and a street address cannot be specified, for example, a searchable place such as a municipality name is searched and the processing is terminated.

Furthermore, for a telephone number, a portion where characters such as numbers, hyphens and parentheses are consecutive in the character data is searched, and only the numbers included in this portion are extracted in order. When the extracted number is 10 or 11, that is, a 10-digit or 11-digit number string, it is determined that the extracted number string indicates a telephone number. In addition, when the telephone number system is changed, a similar telephone number search can be performed by extracting a numeric string that matches the number of digits of the allowable telephone number. Same as the case.

Note that each database (facility name database, zip code database, address database, phone number database) necessary to search each of the facility name, zip code, address, telephone number, etc. is read from the data recording medium 18. It is assumed that the control circuit 8 searches for an address or the like using these databases. In addition, in order to shorten the processing time required for address search, in the actual address database, for example, the number of times people have visited in the past in order of population, etc. It is desirable to add a predetermined priority order such as the order with the largest number or the order close to the current point, and perform address search based on this priority order.

In the first embodiment, the mobile phone 14 is used as a mobile communication device. However, other mobile communication devices such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) and a wireless LAN terminal may be used. A configuration in which communication equipment is provided is also possible.

Further, the image data captured by the camera 14a is transmitted from the mobile phone 14 to the navigation device 100. However, the mobile phone 14 recognizes the image data and transmits the image recognition result data to the navigation device 100. It may be. In particular, when the image data is a two-dimensional code, the image recognition process is light, so the image recognition of the two-dimensional code is performed by the mobile phone 14, and the character string of the facility name, zip code, address, or telephone number that is the image recognition result data. May be transmitted to the navigation device 100.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to a vehicle navigation device but also to a navigation device carried by an individual.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this is only an illustration, this invention is not limited to this, Based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, unless it deviates from the meaning of a claim Various changes are possible.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the navigation device according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the example whose image data is a simple map. The figure which shows the example whose image data is character string groups, such as an address. The figure which shows the example in which image data contains a simple map and a character string group. The figure which shows the example whose image data is a two-dimensional code.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detector 2 Geomagnetic sensor 3 Gyroscope 4 Distance sensor 5 GPS receiver 6 Map data input device 7 Operation switch group 8 Control circuit 9 External storage device 10 Display device 11 Remote control sensor 12 Remote control terminal 13 Communication unit (reception means)
14 Mobile phone (mobile communication equipment)
14a Camera 15 External network 16 Transmission / reception device 100 Navigation device

Claims (8)

In a navigation device having a route search function for searching a route from a departure point to a destination point,
Receiving means for receiving image recognition result data transmitted from the mobile communication device;
A navigation apparatus comprising: destination point setting means for setting a destination point based on image recognition result data received by the receiving means. In a navigation device having a route search function for searching a route from a departure point to a destination point,
Receiving means for receiving image data transmitted from the mobile communication device;
Image recognition means for recognizing image data received by the reception means;
A navigation device comprising: destination point setting means for setting a destination point based on image recognition result data obtained by the image recognition means. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device includes a camera, and transmits image data captured by the camera or image recognition result data thereof. 4. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is a camera-equipped mobile phone. The mobile communication device uses any one of wired communication, infrared communication, short-range wireless communication, and electronic mail for communication with the receiving means. A navigation device according to any one of the above. When the image recognition means is an article in which the image data is printed, the characters in the article are image-recognized and converted into text data, and the facility name, zip code, address and telephone number are converted from the text data. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the above is extracted. When the image recognition means is a simple map on which the image data is printed, the characters in the simple map are image-recognized and converted into text data, and the facility name, road name, and intersection name from the text data 6. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one or more of the above are extracted, and each line and its intersection are extracted as roads and intersections so as to recognize their mutual relationship. . When the image recognition means is a two-dimensional code posted on a printed matter, the image recognition means recognizes the two-dimensional code in the image data and converts it into text data. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one or more of address, telephone number are extracted.

Images