JP2006242700A - Navigation apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus for vehicles that searches an optimum guidance route in cooperation with an ETC on-vehicle unit. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation apparatus for vehicles that can be connected to an on-vehicle unit for paying toll road utilization charges by the communication with an on-road unit installed at the tollgate of a toll road comprises a charge receipt card detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the fitting of a charge receipt card charged by the toll road utilization charges to the on-vehicle unit; and a route searching means for preferentially searching a guidance route including a toll road having a toll gate in which the on-road unit has been installed as a guidance route to a destination, when it is detected that the charge receipt card has been fitted to the on-vehicle unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation device that searches for an optimum route for reaching a destination designated by a driver.

  As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on the display device together with the road map, and an appropriate route from the current position to the destination is displayed. A vehicle navigation device that is set and guided by a display device, an audio output device, or the like contributes to efficient and safe driving for the driver.

  In addition, in a system in which cars pass through toll road entrances such as expressways and pay fees, they were installed in on-board equipment and toll booths equipped with car entry / passage / exit information instead of conventional tickets. Automatic communication with a stationary transceiver (road equipment) to electronically automate calculation, billing, payment, and recording of charges, pass through tollgates non-stop, and save time and labor costs A toll collection (ETC: Electronic Toll Collection) system has been put into practical use and is becoming popular.

  In recent years, an in-vehicle navigation device has been devised that allows not only a route search for searching for the shortest distance but also a user-specified cost to freely set a cost on a road designated by the user and reflect the user's preference in the route search. (See Patent Document 1).

  Further, as a technology in which the ETC system navigation device is integrated, a navigation device is proposed in which a route requiring cash payment is not presented as a guidance route when the user is in a state where payment by the ETC system is possible. (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-045053 A JP 2004-132798 A

  Since the example of patent document 1 sets cost freely with respect to the road which a user designates, a user's setting operation | work is needed. Even if the user wants to use a toll road or an expressway, the search is performed at the set cost, and thus the guide route desired by the user may not be searched.

  In the example of Patent Document 2, when searching for a guidance route after confirming the insertion state of the ETC card, a route through which the toll gate can confirm the payment by the ETC system and the fee can be paid by the ETC system. To explore. However, since information on whether or not the ETC system can pay the fee is stored in the navigation device, it is necessary to always obtain the latest information, which increases the operation load on the user.

  In the normal route search, the insertion state of the ETC card is not particularly considered. When searching for one guide route, the search condition is searched using a default condition or a condition set by the user. For this reason, when the user wants to change the search condition, it is necessary to change the search condition again after the search.

  When searching for a plurality of guide routes, the guide routes searched under the conditions such as standard, distance priority, separate route, toll road priority, general road priority are displayed, and even if you want to use a toll road or expressway, the toll road Alternatively, a guide route other than the highway priority route is also displayed, and a plurality of guide routes are not searched under the condition of using the toll road or the highway.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle navigation device that searches for an optimum guide route in cooperation with an ETC on-vehicle device.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The present invention provides a vehicle navigation apparatus for solving the above-described problems. That is, according to claim 1, in the vehicle navigation apparatus connectable to the vehicle-mounted device that performs payment of the toll road usage fee by communication with the roadside device installed at the toll road toll gate, the toll road usage fee Toll collection card detection means for detecting whether or not the toll collection card is charged to the on-vehicle device, and if it is detected that the toll collection card is installed on the on-vehicle device, The vehicle navigation device is characterized by having, as a guide route, route search means that preferentially searches for a guide route including a toll road with a toll booth where a roadside device is installed.

  The present invention makes it possible to settle a toll road usage fee through communication with a roadside device installed at a toll road toll, by linking an on-board device of a so-called ETC system with a vehicle navigation device. This is to search for the optimum route desired. The installation of a toll collection card, that is, an ETC card, on the vehicle-mounted device indicates that the user intends to use the toll road. In the above configuration, when an ETC card is installed in the vehicle-mounted device, a route including a toll road with a toll booth compatible with the ETC system is preferentially searched. Since it is not necessary to perform various settings, the operation load does not increase.

  According to claim 2, when the route search means in the vehicle navigation apparatus of the present invention detects that the toll collection card is mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, the route search means It is possible to adopt a configuration in which only a guide route including a toll road with a toll booth where a machine is installed is searched.

  With the above configuration, the user does not search for and display a guidance route that does not use the toll road even though the user indicates the intention to wear the ETC card and use the toll road. It is possible to search and determine the guide route.

  According to claim 3, the vehicle navigation apparatus of the present invention stores toll gate usage information acquisition means for acquiring toll gate usage information on toll roads, and toll gate usage information acquired by the toll gate usage information acquisition means. A toll gate usage information storage means, and when the route search means detects that the toll collection card is attached to the vehicle-mounted device, the toll gate usage information is stored in the stored toll gate usage information. A configuration for searching for a guide route to be used can be employed.

  The user often knows about the conditions of the toll booth used in the past and the surrounding roads. With the above-described configuration, since a guidance route including a familiar tollgate and road is searched, it is possible to travel more comfortably and safely than a guidance route including a toll gate that is not used at all.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle navigation apparatus includes a search condition setting unit that sets a search condition for searching for a guide route, and the route search unit includes a toll collecting card mounted on the vehicle-mounted device. In the case where it is detected that the vehicle is traveling, the search condition can be changed to toll road priority to search for a guide route.

  Some vehicle navigation devices can set route search conditions such as toll road priority, general road priority, and passing through a specified point for route search. With the above configuration, when the user indicates the intention to use the toll road with the ETC card attached, the guide route using the toll road is searched regardless of the set route search conditions. It is possible to search and determine a desired guide route.

  If it is detected that the ETC card is installed in the vehicle-mounted device, the purpose is to provide a vehicle navigation device that searches for the optimum guidance route in cooperation with the ETC vehicle-mounted device. This was realized by a configuration that preferentially searches for a guidance route including a toll road with a toll booth where a roadside machine is installed as a route.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation apparatus) 100. The navigation device 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as “remote control”) sensor 11, a voice synthesis circuit 24 for performing voice guidance, a speaker 15, a semiconductor memory device 9, A display device 10, a hard disk device (HDD) 21, a control circuit 8 connected thereto, and a remote control terminal 12 are provided.

  The position detector 1 has a known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for GPS that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, a part of the sensors described above may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor, a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

  The map data input device 6 is a device for inputting various data including so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection and road data representing road connections from the storage medium 20. As a storage medium, a CD-ROM or DVD is generally used because of the amount of data, but another medium such as a memory card may be used.

  The map data stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) and the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connection destination road link, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 10 is used. The touch switch includes an infrared sensor finely arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions on the screen of the display device 10, a panel portion that converts a finger contact detected by the infrared sensor into an electrical signal, and a signal processing circuit for sending the electrical signal to an external device. And a controller for controlling them. For example, when the infrared ray is blocked with a finger or a touch pen, the blocked position is detected as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y). As a touch switch, an electrical circuit is wired in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction through a gap called a spacer on a glass substrate and a transparent film, and when the user touches the film, the wiring of the pressed part is short-circuited. Therefore, a so-called resistive film method may be used in which this is detected as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y). Alternatively, a so-called capacitance method may be used in which a substance that receives an electrical signal is applied to a glass surface of a transparent conductive substrate, and a change in capacitance is detected by a sensor as an electrical signal when a finger is brought close to the glass surface. Good.

  In addition to the mechanical switch and the touch switch, a pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used. It is also possible to input various instructions using the voice recognition unit 30. In this method, when a voice is input from a microphone 31 connected to the voice recognition unit 30, the voice signal is subjected to voice recognition processing by a known voice recognition technique, and converted into an operation command corresponding to the result. . The voice recognition unit 30 amplifies the voice signal input from the microphone 31 to an appropriate level, A / D-converts the amplified voice signal, and then uses a known voice recognition algorithm such as a hidden Markov model. An audio signal processing device (DSP: Digital Signal Processor) for identifying, a memory or the like in which reference data for identifying audio is stored, and the DSP converts the audio signal into numerical information corresponding to the audio. After being converted, it is sent to the control circuit 8. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7, the remote control terminal 12, and the microphone 31 which are the search condition setting means of the present invention.

  The transceiver 13 is a device for receiving road traffic information from, for example, a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 14. It is also possible to connect to an external network by the communication unit 19 and the mobile phone 17. A configuration may be employed in which communication with the VICS center 14 is performed via the communication unit 19 and the mobile phone 17.

  The control circuit 8 which is the route search means of the present invention is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 which is an input / output circuit, and a bus line 85 which connects these configurations. ing. The CPU 81 controls the navigation program 21p and data stored in the HDD 21. The CPU 81 controls the reading / writing of data to / from the HDD 21. The A / D conversion unit 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 1 or the like to the control circuit 8 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 81, for example. It is.

  The HDD 21 may be configured to store map data. Further, the user can independently write data to the HDD 21 in addition to auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and the like. The contents of these data can be rewritten by operating the operation switch group 7 and the remote control terminal 12 or by inputting voice from the microphone 31. It is also possible to read the map data from the storage medium 20 using the map data input device 6 and update the contents of the HDD 21. Moreover, the structure which records the data received via in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network) 22 which exchanges data between the other control apparatuses in a vehicle may be taken.

  The semiconductor memory device 9 which is a toll gate utilization information storage means of the present invention is composed of a rewritable semiconductor such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, Information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 are stored. The semiconductor 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).

  Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored in the HDD 21 instead of the semiconductor memory device 9. Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored separately in the semiconductor storage device 9 and the HDD 21. In this case, since the access speed to the semiconductor storage device 9 is higher than that of the HDD 21, a relatively frequent read / write frequency is stored in the semiconductor storage device 9, and a relatively low read / write frequency is stored in the HDD 21. Good. The contents stored in the semiconductor memory device 9 may be backed up and saved in the HDD 21.

  The display device 10 is a known color liquid crystal display, and includes, for example, a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and is based on display instructions and display screen data sent from the control circuit 8. To display. 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 storage medium 20, and additional data such as a guide route displayed on the map are displayed in a superimposed manner. At the same time, a menu button for setting route guidance, guidance during route guidance, and a screen switching operation is displayed on this screen.

  The speaker 15 is connected to a well-known voice synthesis circuit 24 connected to the I / O 34 of the control circuit 8, and the digital voice data stored in the semiconductor storage device 9 or the HDD 21 is analogized in the voice synthesis circuit 24 according to a command from the navigation program 21 p. The converted audio is sent out. In addition, the speech synthesis method stores the speech waveform as it is or after encoding it, recording and editing methods that connect them as necessary, and analyzes the speech waveform and stores it in the form converted into parameters. There are a parameter editing system for generating speech by connecting speech synthesis circuits by connecting them, a rule synthesis system for generating speech from character strings or phoneme symbol strings based on phonetic and linguistic rules, and the like.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder. For example, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is installed in the vicinity of the wheel mounting unit to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. The control circuit 8 converts the rotation speed of the wheel into the speed of the vehicle, calculates the expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined location, and calculates the average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle. A method of acquiring vehicle speed data from other in-vehicle devices via an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network) 22 may be used.

  The external information input / output device 26, which is a toll collection card detection means and a toll gate utilization information acquisition means of the present invention, includes an input / output circuit and a connector for connecting to an external device so that data transmission is possible. In this embodiment, the ETC on-board unit 16 is connected. Moreover, you may use the structure which connects the ETC onboard equipment 16 via in-vehicle LAN22.

  With this configuration, when the navigation program 21 p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the navigation device 100 is operated by the driver operating the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 or inputting voice from the microphone 31. When the route guidance process for displaying the destination route on the display device 10 is selected from the menu displayed on the display device 10, the following processing is performed.

  That is, when a user selects a point from a given point on the map or facility search, address search, or a registered place set by the user and sets it as a destination, it is based on satellite data obtained from the GPS receiver 5. A current position of the vehicle is obtained, and a process for obtaining an optimum guide route from the current position to the destination is performed. Then, the guide route is displayed on the road map on the display device 10 so as to guide the driver to the appropriate route. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. In addition, at least one of the display device 10 and the speaker 15 provides a notification according to the guidance during operation or the operation state.

  In Dijkstra's method, link evaluation information (route calculation cost) from the current location to each node is calculated using link information, node information, and link connection information, and all route evaluation values to the destination are calculated. At the stage of completion, a link to the smallest total evaluation value is connected and a route to the destination is set. The evaluation value in this case is set according to the road length, road type, road width, number of lanes, right / left turn at the intersection, presence / absence of traffic lights, and the like. For example, the evaluation value is lower as the road width is wider, and the evaluation value is lower as the number of lanes is larger.

  The calculation of the route calculation cost at each link is performed using, for example, the following equation. Route calculation cost = link length × road width coefficient × road type coefficient × congestion level. Here, the road width coefficient is a coefficient set according to the road width, and the road type coefficient is a coefficient set according to the road type such as a toll road. The congestion level is a coefficient set according to the congestion level of the road.

  When the optimum guide route is obtained, the control circuit 8 sets a guide target point such as an intersection that turns right or left on the guide route or a building that serves as a guide mark. Then, a guidance execution point is determined as a point to be guided by voice when the vehicle approaches a certain distance with respect to the set guidance target point. For example, when the guidance target point is an intersection, a plurality of guidance execution points can be set such as 700 m before, 300 m before, 100 m before on a general road, 2 km, 1 km, 500 m before on an expressway.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the ETC system. The ETC system includes an on-road device 73 installed at each toll gate at the exit and entrance of the toll road, an ETC on-vehicle device 16 that is an on-vehicle device of the present invention mounted on a vehicle that communicates with the on-road device 73 wirelessly, And a computer 74 that is installed in a management center connected to the machine 73 and manages the entire payment processing of the usage fee for vehicles using the toll road.

  The computer 74 is configured as, for example, a personal computer or a workstation, and is connected to the roadside machine 73 of each tollgate via a communication line. The computer 74 is a device that manages and manages information on the ETC processing results from the roadside machine 73. In this computer 74, a contractor information database is stored in which information on contractors such as contract vehicle information and in-vehicle device information is stored. Then, in response to the inquiry from the roadside device 73, the collation result with the contractor information database is returned.

  The road machine 73 includes a vehicle detection device, a roadside radio device, a guidance display device, a vehicle start control device, a lane control device that controls these devices, and the like installed in the entrance lane and the exit lane of the toll road toll gate, When a vehicle enters the entrance lane or the exit lane, the onboard device information is acquired from the ETC onboard device 16 by wireless communication with the vehicle, processing related to use of the toll road is performed, and the result is returned to the ETC onboard device 16 To do.

  The ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 includes an antenna 50 that performs wireless communication with the road unit 73, a wireless unit 51 that performs wireless communication control, and an operation guide for a person riding in the vehicle including at least one of an LED or an LCD display. An IC card for reading and writing information on the IC card 70 via the IC card connector 55, a display unit 58 for displaying charges, a speaker 57 for sending voice messages, an input operation unit 59 including operation buttons, and the like. The control unit 54 includes an overall control unit 53 that controls the entire ETC vehicle-mounted device 16, a time management unit 56 that generates date and time data, and an external device connection unit 60. The power supply unit 52 supplies power to the entire ETC vehicle-mounted device 16.

  The general control unit 53 includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O which is an input / output circuit, a bus line connecting these components, a signal processing circuit which processes signals from the input operation unit 59, and a display unit. A signal output circuit for controlling 58 is provided. The CPU controls the operation of the entire ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 using the control program and data stored in the ROM and RAM.

  The external device connection unit 60 includes a connector and a circuit for connecting to the navigation device 100, and exchanges necessary data. Moreover, you may use the structure connected to the navigation apparatus 100 via in-vehicle LAN.

  The IC card 70 exchanges data with the IC card control unit 54 via the memory 72 constituted by a known flash memory capable of storing and reading information and the IC card connector 55 of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16. And a control unit 71 for performing reading and reading / writing to the memory 72 is provided. If the IC card 70 is a credit type, the memory 72 stores contractor financial institution information and payment information for deducting toll road usage fees such as the contract expiration date. The memory 72 stores an IC card ID for specifying the IC card 70.

  When the IC card 70 is attached to the ETC on-vehicle device 16, information inside the IC card is read into the ETC on-vehicle device 16. This information is transmitted as vehicle-mounted device information together with vehicle information registered in advance in the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 during wireless communication with the roadside device 73.

  When the vehicle enters the toll gate entrance on the toll road, the on-board equipment information is acquired by wireless communication between the ETC on-board equipment 16 and the roadside equipment 73 to determine whether the on-board equipment information is correct. Entrance information such as a tollgate number and entrance passage time is notified to the ETC on-vehicle device 16, and the notified content is stored in the memory 72.

  When the vehicle enters the toll gate exit of the toll road, the onboard device information such as the IC card ID and the onboard device ID received by the on-road device 73 from the ETC onboard device 16 and the IC card ID stored in the IC card 70, Combining the entrance information such as the entrance toll gate number and entrance passage time with the own toll booth number held by the roadside machine 73, the distance information with other toll booths, the exit information such as the time information, etc. After determining whether the information is correct or not, the toll is calculated if it is correct, and is notified to the ETC in-vehicle device 16 and the computer 74 as an ETC processing result. The entrance information, exit information, and toll information are stored in the memory 72 as toll gate use information.

  The route search processing of the present invention will be described using the flowchart of FIG. This process is included in the navigation program 21p executed by the CPU 81, and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the navigation program 21p.

  First, a destination is set as described above (S1). Next, the connection with the ETC on-vehicle device 16 is confirmed, and an inquiry signal as to whether the IC card 70 is mounted on the ETC on-vehicle device 16 is sent. When a response signal is received from the ETC on-vehicle device 16 and data indicating the mounting of the IC card 70 is included in the response signal (S2: YES), the search condition is a pay with a toll booth corresponding to the ETC system. The search condition is changed to include the road (S3).

  Next, with reference to the toll gate usage information storage area secured in the semiconductor memory device 9, it is checked whether a toll gate compatible with the ETC system has been used in the past. If there is an IC with a toll booth compatible with the ETC system (interchange abbreviation, the same applies hereinafter) near the route to the destination (S4: YES), search for a route using that IC. The search condition is changed (S5).

  Search conditions include distance priority, toll road priority, general road priority, recommended route, and different routes for each search condition. When searching for a route giving priority to a toll road, toll road priority is generally used. However, if a search is made for a route passing through a toll road under other search conditions, the search condition may be used. In the case of multi-route search, in addition to the search condition that gives priority to the toll road, if there is a route that passes the toll road under other search conditions, the search is performed under that condition. Then, a route to the destination is searched under the above conditions (S6).

  When the route search is completed, the searched route is displayed on the map at a scale that allows the searched route to be displayed on the screen (S7). In the case of one route search, it is also possible to set it as a guide route without displaying the route. In the case of searching for a plurality of routes, the searched routes are simultaneously displayed on the display device 10 so that the user can compare the routes. In addition, the route that the user thinks is most appropriate can be selected from the displayed routes. When the user selects one of the routes, the control circuit 8 determines the route as a guide route, displays the route on the display device 10, and starts route guidance to the destination.

  When an inquiry signal indicating whether or not the IC card 70 is attached to the ETC on-board unit 16 is sent, a response signal from the ETC on-board unit 16 is received, and data indicating the mounting of the IC card 70 is included therein, A configuration may be used in which toll gate usage information stored in the memory 72 is acquired and stored in a toll gate usage information storage area secured in the semiconductor storage device 9. Further, the toll gate usage information may be stored as the database 21d in the HDD 21.

  The flow of toll gate usage information acquisition and storage processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the route guidance to the destination is started (S11) and the ETC card 70 is mounted on the vehicle-mounted device 16 (S12: YES), it is obtained from the transition of the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 1. When it is determined from the travel locus that the vehicle has passed the toll gate on the toll road, information on the IC that has passed is obtained from the map data stored in the storage medium 20 (S14), and the fee is compatible with the ETC system. If it is a place, it is stored in the toll gate usage information storage area of the semiconductor memory device 9 as toll gate usage information (S15). If the IC information cannot be acquired from the storage medium 20, the position information of the point may be stored.

  Further, when passing through an IC having a toll booth compatible with the ETC system, a method of acquiring information on the IC passed from the ETC car charger 16, that is, toll gate use information may be used. After the fee settlement is completed, the ETC car charger 16 receives the exit information and the fee information from the roadside device 73, stores these information in the IC card 70, and then sends the toll gate usage information to the vehicle navigation device 100. . The vehicle navigation apparatus 100 stores the received toll gate usage information in the toll gate usage information storage area of the semiconductor storage device 9.

  When the vehicle arrives at the destination (S16: YES), the route guidance is finished (S17) and this processing is finished.

  Even when route guidance is not performed, information on the IC may be acquired when passing through an IC having a toll booth compatible with the ETC system.

  Information on the traveling direction of the vehicle at the toll gate, that is, information on the use of the entrance to the toll gate and the use of the exit from the toll gate may be included in the toll gate usage information and stored. This information can be acquired from either the vehicle travel locus or the toll gate usage information from the ETC car charger 16. And in addition to the conditions which give priority to a toll road to search conditions, you may include the traveling direction of the vehicle in a toll gate. As a result, if the same IC is only used at the entrance, only the guidance route that enters the IC is searched. Therefore, since a guide route using an exit that has never been passed is not searched, the user can avoid taking an unfamiliar road.

  In the above embodiment, whether or not to use the route search function of the present invention can be set by the user as follows. When the user operates the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 or inputs a voice from the microphone 31, a function setting menu is displayed on the display device 10 from a menu displayed on the display device 10, and a route search from the menu is displayed. Select and display the setting screen. Then, selection and setting are performed for each item such as whether to use route search using toll gate usage information, whether to use with other route search conditions. The selected / set contents are stored in a predetermined area of the semiconductor memory device 9 or the HDD 21.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

The block diagram which shows the structure of a navigation apparatus. The block diagram which shows the structure of an ETC system. The flowchart for demonstrating the route search process of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating acquisition and a memory | storage process of toll gate use information.

Explanation of symbols

1 Position detector 7 Operation switch group (search condition setting means)
8 Control circuit (route search means)
9 Semiconductor memory device (tollgate usage information storage means)
10 Display device 12 Remote control terminal (search condition setting means)
16 ETC on-board unit (on-board unit)
20 Storage medium 21 Hard disk device 26 External information input / output device (toll collection card detection means, toll gate use information acquisition means)
30 Voice recognition unit 31 Microphone (search condition setting means)
73 Roadside equipment 100 Navigation device

Claims (4)

In a vehicle navigation device that can be connected to an in-vehicle device that performs payment of toll road usage fee by communication with a roadside device installed at a toll gate on a toll road,
Toll collection card detecting means for detecting whether or not the toll collection card charged for the toll road use fee is attached to the in-vehicle device;
When it is detected that the toll collection card is mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, priority is given to a guidance route including a toll road with a toll gate where the roadside device is installed as a guidance route to the destination. Route search means for searching for,
A vehicle navigation device comprising:   When the route search means detects that the toll collection card is mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, the toll gate having the toll booth where the road device is installed as a guide route to the destination The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only the guide route including a road is searched. Toll gate usage information acquisition means for acquiring toll gate usage information of the toll road;
Tollgate usage information storage means for storing the tollgate usage information acquired by the tollgate usage information acquisition means,
The route search means searches for a guide route using a toll booth included in the stored toll booth usage information when it is detected that the toll collection card is attached to the vehicle-mounted device. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Having search condition setting means for setting search conditions for searching the guide route;
The route search means, when detecting that the toll collection card is mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, searches for a guide route by changing the search condition to toll road priority. The vehicle navigation device according to any one of the above.

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