JP2007101302A - Route retrieving system and navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately provide privilege of an ETC service when route retrieval from an origin to a destination is performed. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation system 1 retrieves a route from the origin to the destination referring to ETC vehicle charge information and doorway information dedicated to an ETC vehicle. By retrieving the route from the origin to the destination referring to information about discount of toll road charge for the ETC vehicle and information about interchanges and service areas where only ETC vehicles can exclusively come, the privilege of the ETC service can be appropriately provided for a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a route search device and a navigation device that perform a route search from a departure point to a destination.

Conventionally, a navigation device having a route search function for searching a route from a departure point to a destination has been provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-181063 A

  By the way, as a method of route search in this kind of navigation device, basically, the required time from the departure point to the destination is calculated, and in some cases, the delay time due to traffic congestion and traffic regulation is also taken into account. It is common to propose a route that minimizes. On the other hand, in recent years, as an ETC service benefit, discounts on toll road fees (so-called early morning / late night discounts, etc.) for ETC vehicles (vehicles equipped with ETC on-board equipment), and only ETC vehicles can be used exclusively Possible interchanges and establishment of service areas are being realized.

  However, in the conventional route search method, the route search is performed without referring to the information related to the ETC service. Therefore, the benefits of the ETC service cannot be provided to the user, and the user gets on the ETC vehicle. However, there is a problem that the user cannot receive the benefits of the ETC service.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and its purpose is to appropriately provide the user with the benefits of the ETC service when performing a route search from the departure place to the destination. Is to provide a route search device and a navigation device that can appropriately receive the benefits of the ETC service.

  According to the route search device of the first aspect, the route search means searches for a route from the departure point to the destination with reference to at least one of the ETC vehicle fare information and the ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information. Thereby, when performing a route search from the departure point to the destination, the route search from the departure point to the destination is performed with reference to at least one of the ETC car fare information and the ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information, that is, Search for routes from the departure point to the destination with reference to information on discounts on toll roads for ETC cars, information on interchanges that can be used exclusively by ETC cars, and information on opening and closing service areas. Thus, the ETC service privilege can be appropriately provided to the user, and the user can appropriately receive the ETC service privilege.

  According to the route search device described in claim 2, the route search means departs with reference to at least one of the ETC car fare information and the ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information received from the server via the network to the communication means. A route search from the ground to the destination is performed. As a result, if the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC vehicle entry / exit information stored in the server are the latest, the latest ETC vehicle fee information and the latest ETC vehicle entry / exit information are received from the server via the network. Thereby, the privilege of the latest ETC service can be appropriately provided to the user, and the user can appropriately receive the privilege of the latest ETC service.

  According to the navigation device of the third aspect, the display control means causes the display means to display information relating to the route searched by the route search device. Thereby, it is possible to notify the user of information (such as required time and toll road fee) regarding the route reflecting the privilege of the ETC service.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the navigation device and the surrounding configuration as a functional block diagram. The navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 2 (route search means and display control means in the present invention), a position detector 3, a map data storage device 4, an operation switch group 5, a vehicle data input / output device 6, a communication device 7 (this book). The communication means in the invention), the VICS receiver 8, the speaker 9, the display device 10 (display means in the invention), the memory 11, the voice recognition unit 12, the remote control sensor 13, and the operation remote control 14 are configured.

  The control circuit 2 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O interface, a bus for connecting them (not shown), and controls the overall operation of the navigation device 1. The position detector 3 includes a G sensor 3a, a gyroscope 3b, a distance sensor 3c, and a GPS receiver 3d. Each component of the position detector 3 has detection errors having different properties. . In this case, when a detection signal is input from each component of the position detector 3, the control circuit 2 complements the input detection signals, and the current position of the host vehicle, the traveling direction, the vehicle speed, the travel distance, etc. Is detected (identified). The position detector 3 does not have to include all these components as long as the current position of the host vehicle can be detected with the required detection accuracy, and the rotation sensor of the steering wheel and the rotation of each tire are not necessary. A wheel sensor to be detected may be combined.

  The map data storage device 4 stores map data transferred from a recording medium 15 such as a DVD-ROM, or map data received by the communication device 7 via a network from a map data distribution server, for example. In this case, the recording medium 15 may be, for example, an HDD or a memory card.

  The operation switch group 5 includes mechanical switches arranged around the display device 10 and touch switches formed on, for example, a color liquid crystal display of the display device 11. The vehicle data input / output device 6 inputs / outputs various data to / from each control ECU mounted on the vehicle. The communication device 7 performs wireless communication with various servers via a network. The VICS receiver 8 receives VICS information from the outside.

  The speaker 9 outputs, for example, voice for performing route guidance from the current position to the destination. The display device 10 is composed of, for example, a color liquid crystal display, displays a current position mark indicating the current position of the host vehicle on a map corresponding to the map data, and also displays the travel locus of the host vehicle as map data. Overlay on the corresponding map. The display device 10 may be composed of an organic EL, a plasma display, or the like.

  The memory 11 is composed of, for example, a removable flash memory card. The voice recognition unit 12 analyzes the voice input from the microphone in response to the user uttering voice based on the voice recognition algorithm. The remote control sensor 13 receives an operation signal from the operation remote control 14 by radio waves and outputs it to the control circuit 2.

The ETC service providing server 21 (the server in the present invention) is connected to an ETC vehicle fee information database 21a storing ETC vehicle fee information and an ETC vehicle dedicated door information database 21b storing ETC vehicle dedicated door information. Configured. The ETC car fare information here is information related to discounts on toll road charges for ETC cars, for example, and the ETC car exclusive entrance / exit information is, for example, an interchange or service area establishment / service area where only ETC cars can enter and exit In this case, the ETC service providing server 21 navigates the ETC vehicle fee information stored in the ETC vehicle fee information database 21a and the ETC vehicle dedicated doorway information stored in the ETC vehicle dedicated door information database 21b. When the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC vehicle entry / exit information are received from the ETC service providing server 21 via the network to the communication device 7, the navigation device 1 transmits the received ETC vehicle fee information and ETC entry / exit information is stored in the memory 11. It is made.

  In addition, the ETC service providing server 21 can change the ETC car fare information according to, for example, the toll road fee being revised, or the ETC car exclusive entrance / exit when the interchange or service area is newly opened or closed. When the information is changed, it is possible to quickly update the existing information to new information. The latest ETC vehicle fee information is stored in the ETC vehicle fee information database 21a and dedicated to the latest ETC vehicle. The entrance / exit information is stored in the ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information database 21b, and the latest ETC vehicle fare information and the latest ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information are transmitted to the navigation device 1.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 shows a process performed by the control circuit 2 as a flowchart. As a route search method (algorithm), for example, the Dijkstra method is adopted.

  The control circuit 2 determines whether or not a route search operation has been performed by the user (step S1). For example, when the user operates a “route search” key (not shown), the route search by the user is performed. When it is detected that the above operation has been performed (“YES” in step S1), it is determined whether or not the user has performed an ETC service setting operation (step S2). When the control circuit 2 detects that the user has performed an ETC service setting operation, for example, by operating the “ETC service setting” key (not shown) (“YES” in step S2). ), It is determined whether or not ETC vehicle fee information and ETC vehicle exclusive entrance / exit information are stored in the memory 11 (step S3).

  Here, when the control circuit 2 detects that the ETC service setting operation by the user has not been performed (“NO” in step S2), the ETC car fare information and the ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information are stored in the memory 11. When it is detected that the information is not stored ("NO" in step S3), a route search from the departure point to the destination is performed without referring to the ETC car fare information or the ETC car exclusive entrance / exit information (step S4). ), The searched route is displayed on the display device 10 (step S5).

  On the other hand, the control circuit 2 detects that the user has performed an ETC service setting operation (“YES” in step S2), and the ETC car fare information and the ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information are stored in the memory 11. Is detected ("YES" in step S3), the ETC car fare information and the ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information stored in the memory 11 are referred to, and from the departure point to the destination A route search is performed (step S6), and the searched route is displayed on the display device 10 (step S5).

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In this case, the departure point “X” and the destination “Y” are set, and an interchange “of an expressway where an ETC vehicle and a general vehicle (vehicle not equipped with an ETC onboard device) can pass in the vicinity of the departure point“ X ”. "P" is installed, the interchange "R" of the expressway where ETC cars and ordinary cars can pass is installed near the destination "Y", and only ETC cars are between the interchange "P" and the interchange "R" It is assumed that there is an interchange “Q” that can pass through.

  If the ETC service setting operation is not performed or if the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information are not stored in the memory 11, the control circuit 2 uses the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC vehicle dedicated information. By performing the route search without referring to the entrance / exit information, only the route “A” is displayed on the display device 10 as a result of the route search. Thereby, the user will drive according to the route guidance of the route “A” without selecting a route.

  On the other hand, if the ETC service setting operation is performed and the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC vehicle dedicated entrance / exit information are stored in the memory 11, the control circuit 2 performs the ETC vehicle fee information and the ETC. By performing a route search with reference to the vehicle entrance / exit information, not only the route “A” but also the route “B”, the route “C”, and the route “D” are displayed on the display device 10 as a result of the route search. Will do. Thus, the user selects a desired route from these four routes and operates according to the route guidance of the selected route.

  That is, if there is a restriction on the time zone of “6: 00 to 24:00” for driving (moving from the departure place “X” to the destination “Y”), the ETC vehicle will be used in that time zone. You can select the route “C”, which requires less time by using the interchange “Q” that can only be passed, and if there are no restrictions on driving time, only ETC cars can pass Time required by using the special interchange “Q” and using a discount (set “after 24:00” as the highway entry time and “before 6:00” as the highway exit time) The route “D” that is short and inexpensive can be selected. That is, the user can select an advantageous route by which ETC service benefits can be obtained by performing an ETC service setting operation, compared to when not performing an ETC service setting operation.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the navigation device 1 is configured to perform the route search from the departure place to the destination with reference to the ETC car fare information and the ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information. By searching for the route from the departure point to the destination by referring to information on discounts on toll road charges for vehicles, information on interchanges and service areas that only ETC vehicles can enter and exit, ETC service The privilege can be appropriately provided to the user, and the user can appropriately receive the privilege of the ETC service.

  In addition, the ETC service providing server 21 is configured to perform a route search from the departure place to the destination with reference to the ETC car fee information and ETC car dedicated entrance / exit information received via the network from the ETC service providing server 21. If the ETC vehicle charge information and ETC vehicle entry / exit information stored in 21 are the latest, the latest ETC vehicle charge information and the latest ETC vehicle entry / exit information are received from the ETC service providing server 21 via the network. By doing so, the latest ETC service privilege can be appropriately provided to the user, and the user can appropriately receive the latest ETC service privilege.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The route search may be performed with reference to either the ETC vehicle fare information or the ETC vehicle exclusive entrance / exit information.
As the timing when the latest ETC car fee information and the latest ETC car entry / exit information are transmitted from the ETC service provision server to the navigation device, the ETC car charge information and the ETC car entry / exit information are updated at the ETC service provision server. Not only the timing but also the timing when the user performs a predetermined operation (manual operation) on the navigation device.
A configuration in which a method other than the Dijkstra method may be adopted as a route search method.

Functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention flowchart Diagram showing the effect

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a navigation device (route search device), 2 is a control circuit (route search means, display control means), 7 is a communication device (communication means), 10 is a display device (display means), and 21 is an ETC service provider. Server.

Claims (3)

A route search device having route search means for searching a route from a departure place to a destination,
The route search device according to claim 1, wherein the route search means searches for a route from the departure point to the destination with reference to at least one of ETC vehicle fare information and ETC vehicle entry / exit information. The route search device according to claim 1, wherein
A communication means for communicating with a server via a network;
The route search means performs a route search from a departure point to a destination with reference to at least one of ETC vehicle fare information and ETC vehicle entry / exit information received from the server via the network to the communication means. A route search device characterized by the above. A route search device according to claim 1 or 2,
A navigation apparatus comprising: display control means for displaying information on a route searched by the route search device on a display means.

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