JP2007285752A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate inconvenience for a user. <P>SOLUTION: A storage part 4b of an IC card 4 stores use history information (in particular, toll gate information, and utilization breakdown information) of a toll road. A control circuit 20 of this navigation system 1 sets a toll gate as a destination, based on the use history information, when the control part 20 reads out the use history information from the IC card 4 through an on-vehicle ETC device 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device capable of setting points such as waypoints and destinations.

This type of navigation device is configured to be able to set points such as waypoints and destinations (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the information display system described in Patent Document 1, a display device that displays a facility information screen, an information extraction unit that extracts position specifying information from the facility information screen, and a designated point set based on the position specifying information It has a facility information registration unit that registers the facility information that it contains, and a facility information storage unit that stores the registered facility information, and can automatically acquire and register information posted on the facility information screen . Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, an ETC system is known.
JP 2004-198158 A JP-A-2005-242410

In a conventional navigation apparatus, it is possible to easily set a destination or a waypoint using a previously registered point or past setting history information. However, if the user wants to use the toll road when he / she returns to the destination after using a toll road at a long distance, for example, he / she is not aware of the land around the destination. Without it, you can't get to the toll road. This results in inconvenience that the entrance of the toll road must be set as the destination in a place where the navigation device does not have a new land as a destination. In addition, in the case of a vehicle that is not limited to a specific person's usage such as a rental car, the registered location and past setting history information do not make sense, and the user will have to re-set the location .
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a navigation device that can eliminate inconvenience for the user.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the setting means can set the point based on the usage history information of the toll road read from the ETC card, the point is set based on the usage history information that the ETC card has been used in the past. Can be set, and inconvenience for the user can be eliminated.

  As in the second aspect of the present invention, at least one of toll gate information indicating toll gate identification information on the toll road and toll gate passage time information is stored as usage history information in the storage section of the ETC card. It is desirable that At this time, when the toll gate information indicating the identification information of the toll gate is stored in the storage unit of the ETC card, the toll gate on the toll road can be easily specified. In addition, when the passage time information of the toll gate is stored in the storage unit of the ETC card, it can be applied to various applications using the passage time information.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the setting means can set the point based on the usage history information on the condition that the point setting operation has been performed by the operation unit for the user to set the point. A point can be set at a desired point in time.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the setting means can set the point based on the usage history information on the condition that the ETC card is detected to be inserted into the ETC on-board unit, the ETC card is used. When possible, the point can be automatically set, and the convenience is further improved.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the notification control means includes the toll gate as a point setting candidate in the order of the passing time of the toll gate, in the order of the distance from the current position to the toll gate, or in the order of the toll gate name Iueo. Since the control is performed so that the notification is made, the user can set the points in consideration of the notification order when setting the points by the setting means.

  The invention described in claim 6 is directed to a storage unit of an ETC card in which toll gate information indicating identification information of a toll gate on a toll road is stored as usage history information. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the storage unit stores the location and the toll gate of the toll road in the vicinity of the location in association with each other on the condition that the location has been set. When a point is set based on the usage history information of the ETC card, a point in the vicinity of a toll gate set in the past is set as a set point candidate in association with a toll gate on the toll road and stored in the storage unit Can be easily set as a point such as a destination or a transit point.

  As in the seventh aspect of the invention, it is desirable that the storage unit stores the point and the toll gate of the toll road closest to the point in association with each other. In this case, the user can set a route that passes through the toll gate of the toll road closest to the destination or waypoint, and the convenience is further improved.

  As in the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the storage unit stores the toll gate and the point of the toll road set for route passage when the point is set in association with each other. In this case, it is possible to set a route that passes through the toll gate of the toll road that has been used, and it is possible to set a route that the user is familiar with up to a point such as a destination or a waypoint, thereby further improving convenience.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a navigation device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
A vehicle navigation device 1 is mounted on the vehicle. FIG. 1 schematically shows an electrical configuration of the entire in-vehicle system by a combination of functional blocks.
The in-vehicle system S includes a navigation device 1, an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) in-vehicle device 3, and a LAN 2 to which the navigation device 1 and the ETC in-vehicle device 3 are network-connected.

  The navigation device 1 is a device that can be installed in a vehicle (for example, an automobile, a motorcycle, etc.), and is connected to the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 via a LAN (in-vehicle LAN) 2 as shown in FIG. Yes.

  The ETC on-board unit 3 is also installed in the vehicle, and communicates with the ETC roadside device A installed in the toll gate of the toll road, etc., and the user pays the toll road fee without stopping the vehicle. Can be done. The ETC in-vehicle device 3 is configured such that an IC card 4 as an ETC card can be inserted.

  The ETC roadside machine A is installed with a passing gate at the entrance and exit of the toll road, and performs communication processing with the ETC on-board unit 3 each time a vehicle passes through the passing gate and charges as necessary. Processing is to be performed. Since a plurality of ETC roadside devices A are installed on the toll road, identification information is assigned to each ETC roadside device A in order to identify the device, and this identification information is used when communicating with the ETC onboard equipment 3. Configured to send.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the ETC vehicle-mounted device and the IC card.
The ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 includes, for example, a control unit 5 mainly composed of a microcomputer, a wireless communication unit 6 connected to the control unit 5, an external device connection unit 7, a storage unit 8, a display unit 9, and an operation unit 10. The IC card connector 12 and the sound processing unit 14 are connected through the IC card control unit 11 and are operated by being powered by the power supply unit 13.

  The power supply unit 13 is connected to the in-vehicle battery via an ignition switch (not shown), supplies a constant voltage power to the components 6 to 14 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3, and the ETC on-vehicle device by the power source. 3 is operated.

  The wireless communication unit 6 is configured by connecting the antenna 3a of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3, and performs communication processing with the ETC roadside device A by a predetermined air propagation signal (wireless signal). Therefore, the control unit 5 is configured to perform communication processing with the ETC roadside device A through the wireless communication unit 6.

  The external device connection unit 7 is configured by a network interface circuit, for example, and the control unit 5 is configured to be able to perform communication processing with other external devices (for example, the navigation device 1) installed in the vehicle via the LAN 2. .

  The storage unit 8 is configured by, for example, a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, or the like, and stores an operation program for the control unit 5 to control the ETC in-vehicle device 3, ETC usage history information, and the like.

  The display unit 9 includes, for example, an LED, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and the like. When an image signal is given from the control unit 5, an image corresponding to the image signal is displayed on the display screen. It is configured.

  The operation unit 10 is provided, for example, on the front surface of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 and includes a plurality of various push button switches. The operation unit 10 is configured to give an operation signal to the control unit 5 when detecting an operation of the push button switch.

  The audio processing unit 14 is configured to incorporate a speaker (not shown) beside the display unit 9 (for example, a liquid crystal display), for example, and when the audio signal is given from the control unit 5, the audio signal is processed and passed through the speaker. It is comprised so that it may alert | report to a vehicle interior.

  The IC card connector 12 is configured so that the IC card 4 can be inserted and removed. The IC card 4 is constituted by a credit card size card in which an IC chip is embedded, and is called an ETC card. The IC card 4 includes a control unit 4a and a storage unit 4b connected to the control unit 4a.

  The storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 is configured by a nonvolatile memory, toll information (exit information, entrance information, barrier information, traffic history information) indicating contract information, toll road identification information on the toll road, spare At least a part of the information and usage details information can be stored in a nonvolatile manner as usage history information. Among these, it is desirable to use the usage details information as the usage history information. The usage details information is information corresponding to traffic processing record information (passing time information, toll gate number information, toll fee, etc.). In addition, the traffic history information in the toll gate information may be used as the usage history information, or other information stored in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 may be used as the usage history information. The IC card 4 is configured such that the control unit 4a can read / write / rewrite various information stored in the storage unit 4b.

  When the IC card 4 is inserted into the IC card connector 12 and the IC card control unit 11 detects this insertion state, billing processing is started based on the contract information recorded on the IC card 4 and the like. Details of this will be described later.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the navigation device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 20, and a position detector 21, a map information storage unit 22, a display device 23, and an operation switch group 24 as an operation unit with respect to the control circuit 20. The voice circuit unit 25, the remote control sensor 26, the external memory 27, the voice recognition device 28, the transceiver 29, and the vehicle interface unit 30 are connected.

  The control circuit 20 includes a CPU (not shown), a memory 20a, and the like, and functions as a setting unit and a notification control unit. A program for navigation (route guidance) is stored in the memory 2a of the control circuit 2, and map information acquired from the map information storage unit 22 is temporarily stored in addition to processing information at the time of program execution. It has become.

  The position detector 21 detects, for example, a GPS receiver 31 that receives a GPS signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) artificial satellite (not shown), a gyroscope 32 that detects a yaw rate, and a vehicle speed. And a G sensor (acceleration sensor) 34 for detecting acceleration in three axial directions orthogonal to each other. Instead of the G sensor 34 or in addition to the G sensor 34, an inclination sensor for detecting the inclination angle of the vehicle in the pitching direction may be provided. The position detector 21 detects the position with high accuracy while interpolating the detection signals of these detection components.

  The map information storage unit 22 is configured by, for example, a hard disk drive or a DVD-ROM. When the map information storage unit 22 is constituted by a hard disk drive, for example, the map information storage unit 22 has a storable area in which information can be read / written / erased / rewritten. The map information storage unit 22 includes a large-capacity storage area, and is configured to store and hold map information using the large-capacity storage area. This map information corresponds to map drawing information for map display, road information necessary for various processing such as map matching, route search, route guidance, intersection information consisting of detailed information on intersections, and this intersection information In addition to guidance information for providing guidance, voice information thereof, background information for displaying a background layer, place name information for displaying points such as place names and regions, facility information in which facility names are arranged in, for example, the order of 50 sounds Information relating to maps, roads, and guidance thereof, such as tourist guide information for sightseeing, telephone number information indicating correspondence between telephone numbers and facilities, is targeted.

  The display device 23 is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like for displaying a map screen or the like, and is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle. On the display screen of the display device 23, a road map whose scale can be changed in a plurality of stages in normal times is displayed, and a pointer indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed superimposed on the road map. It is like that. In addition, when the route guidance function is executed based on the route calculation result to a point such as a transit point or destination performed using the well-known Dijkstra method, the guidance route to be traveled in a state superimposed on the road map is displayed. It is like that.

  In addition, various menu screens and input screens for searching for points such as destinations and waypoints by the user (generally a vehicle driver) and inputting these points, as well as various messages, information and help screens are also displayed. It is like that.

  The operation switch group 24 includes mechanical switches arranged around the display device 23, a touch panel formed on the display screen of the display device 23, and the like, and commands and characters related to operations such as various information and setting items. It is provided for giving information and map designation instruction information to the control circuit 20.

  The audio circuit unit 25 includes an audio synthesis circuit and the like, and is configured by connecting a speaker 35 and a microphone 36. The audio circuit unit 25 generates an output signal corresponding to audio information from the control circuit 20 and notifies the audio from the speaker 35. Or audio information from the microphone 36 is input. The remote control sensor 26 receives an operation signal from a remote control 37 as an operation unit and supplies it to the control circuit 20.

  The external memory 27 is composed of a rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a spare hard disk drive, and stores program software for dealing with information recording media of other standards, for example, or specific information (running) It is provided for storing or calling a history of a trajectory or arbitrary image information captured by a digital camera.

  Based on the command signal input through the operation switch group 24 and the remote control sensor 26, the control circuit 20 uses a well-known map display function, route calculation function, route guidance function, telephone number search function, postal code search function, map code ( Processing related to various support functions such as a search function using a unique code such as a registered trademark, a 50 sound search function, a genre search function, a nearest facility search function, a destination registration function, and a point registration function Is configured to do. In this embodiment, since the setting means, the setting procedure, and the setting method for setting the destination are characterized, in the following description, an embodiment in which the destination can be set easily is taken as an example. Give a description.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 schematically shows an operation of storing usage history information in the IC card by a sequence diagram. FIG. 4 shows an operation when the destination setting of the navigation device is performed using the usage history information. Is schematically shown by a sequence diagram.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the user turns on the power of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 (step S1) and the IC card 4 is inserted into the IC card connector 12 of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 (step S2), the ETC vehicle mounted The IC card control unit 11 of the device 3 detects and recognizes this IC card 4. The control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 transmits / receives various information to / from the control unit 4a of the IC card 4 and authenticates the IC card 4 (step S3).

  Specifically, when the IC card 4 is recognized, the control unit 5 of the ETC onboard device 3 transmits and receives authentication information to authenticate, and when the authentication is completed and access is permitted, the contract information and Receive tollgate information. This contract information indicates contract type information indicating the contract type, ID information (identification information) of the IC card 4, contract expiration date information indicating the expiration date of the contract, and the like. The toll gate information is composed of exit information indicating identification information on the exit of the toll gate, entrance information indicating identification information on the entrance of the toll gate, barrier information, and traffic history information indicating the traffic history of the toll gate. The identification information of the ETC roadside device A relating to the toll gate that has passed is shown. This toll gate information is information that is rewritten into a predetermined area of the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 every time the ETC onboard device 3 passes through the passing gate of the ETC roadside device A.

  When the authentication of the IC card 4 is completed, the control unit 5 of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 performs ETC availability notification by performing voice guidance processing and display processing through the display unit 9 and the voice processing unit 14 (step S4). The ETC onboard equipment 3 can be used by performing such processing.

  Thereafter, when the user uses the toll road, the vehicle is driven with the IC card 4 inserted into the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 and passes through the gate of the ETC roadside device A. Then, wireless communication processing is performed between the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 and the ETC roadside device A (steps S5 to S16), and the toll gate information and the like stored in the IC card 4 are rewritten.

Hereinafter, the wireless communication processing in steps S5 to S16 will be specifically described.
As shown in step S5, when the wireless communication process is started between the control unit 5 of the ETC on-board device 3 and the ETC roadside device A, the ETC roadside device A sends the contract information and the vehicle to the ETC onboard device 3. An information acquisition request is made (step S6). Of these, the vehicle information indicates vehicle information registered in advance in the storage unit 8 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3. This vehicle information is information stored as unique information for each ETC in-vehicle device 3. In the ETC system, different fee settings are made for each type of vehicle. Therefore, charging processing is performed using vehicle information in order to maintain this fee system.

  When receiving the contract information and vehicle information acquisition request, the control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 reads the contract information stored in the IC card 4 and also reads the vehicle information stored in the storage unit 8 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3. In response to the acquisition request, the contract information and the vehicle information are notified to the ETC roadside device A (step S7).

  The ETC roadside device A requests tollgate information from the ETC onboard device 3 (step S8). The control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 reads the latest tollgate information stored in the IC card 4 and notifies the tollgate information to the ETC roadside device A (step S9).

  When receiving the notification of the toll gate information, the ETC roadside device A performs billing calculation and billing processing as necessary (step S10), notifies this information to the ETC on-vehicle device 3 side, and also passes the ETC roadside device through which the vehicle passes. The toll gate information of A is notified to the ETC on-vehicle device 3 (step S11).

  When receiving the toll gate information, the control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 updates the toll gate information stored in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 and notifies the ETC roadside device A of the completion of the update ( Step S12).

  When the ETC roadside device A receives the update completion notification, it makes a usage detail information update request (step S13). This is a process performed to instruct the IC card 4 to record the usage details information. When receiving the usage details information update request, the control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 updates the usage details information stored in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 and notifies the ETC roadside device A of the completion of the update. Perform (step S14).

  When the update of the usage details information is completed, the control unit 5 of the ETC on-vehicle device 3 performs a toll fee and guidance on whether or not the passage is possible by the display unit 9 and the voice processing unit 14 (step S15). In this way, the wireless communication processing between the ETC on-vehicle device 3 and the ETC roadside device A is performed (step S16). In this way, usage history information (tollgate information and usage details information) is recorded in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4.

  Next, the operation at the time of destination setting will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the IC card 4 is inserted into the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 and the ETC function can be used (steps S1 to S4). Thereafter, the user presses a destination setting start button (not shown) of the navigation device 1. Then, the control circuit 20 detects this operation signal and displays the screen as shown in FIG. 6 on the display screen of the display device 23.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when setting a destination, for example, “Destination setting by map (see reference C1)” “Destination setting by address input (see reference C2)” and the like are conventionally performed. In this embodiment, the user selects a destination setting button C3 based on the usage history of the IC card 4 in order to set a destination based on the usage history information stored in the IC card 4 (step T1).

When receiving the operation signal, the control circuit 20 of the navigation device 1 makes a usage history information acquisition request to the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 through the LAN 2 (step T2).
The ETC in-vehicle device 3 reads the usage history information (particularly the passage time information among the toll gate information and usage details information) stored in the IC card 4 and transmits it to the control circuit 20 of the navigation device 1.

  If the usage history information cannot be read or transmitted, the control circuit 20 of the navigation device 1 determines that there is no usage history information (step T4: NO), and the data stored in the IC card 4 When there is no usage history information (particularly passage time information included in toll gate information and usage details information) from the IC card 4, the display device 23 and the audio circuit unit 25 notify the outside. (Step T4: YES), the toll gate information list is controlled to be displayed on the display screen of the display device 23 (step T5).

  FIG. 5 shows a display example of the tollgate information list. As shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 20 of the navigation device 1 displays on the display device 23 the tollgate information (entrance entrance and exit) of the toll road read from the IC card 4 and used in the past as a tollgate information list. Display control on the screen. The control circuit 20 controls the display of the toll gate stored in the IC card 4 and the passage time information of the toll gate. Further, the control circuit 20 calculates the distance between the current position detected by the position detector 21 and the toll gate stored in the IC card 4, and associates the distance information from the current position with the toll gate. Control display.

  At this time, it is desirable that the control circuit 20 display the display circuit 23 on the display screen in the order from the shortest distance from the current position. In the example of FIG. 5, the information of “Tomei Miyoshi IC Exit” is displayed at the top. The user can be aware of a toll booth close to the current position. It is also desirable for the control circuit 20 to display the most recently passed toll gates on the display screen of the display device 23 in order from the latest passage time so as to be positioned at the top of the display screen. In the example of FIG. 5, the information of “Toyota IC exit” is displayed at the top. The user can be aware of the toll gate that has recently passed. In addition, the toll gate names may be displayed in order of Iueo. By doing so, the toll gate list can be displayed with good appearance, and the user can easily recognize the desired toll gate.

  The control circuit 20 displays a screen (not shown) for prompting selection of the display order on the display screen of the display device 23, and starts accepting operations by the operation switch group 24 and the remote controller 37. The user selects the display order using the operation switch group 24 or the remote controller 37 (step T6). Therefore, the display order can be changed so that the user can easily see.

  The control circuit 20 sorts and displays the toll gate information list on the display screen of the display device 23 (step T7), and the user can select the toll gate name as a destination candidate (point setting candidate). That is, the control circuit 20 starts accepting operations by the operation switch group 24 and the remote controller 37.

  When the user selects a toll gate as a destination using the operation switch group 24 or the remote control 37 (step T8), the control circuit 20 receives this operation signal, sets the selected toll gate as the destination, and provides route guidance. Is started (step T9).

  According to this embodiment, usage history information (especially tollgate information, usage details information) of toll roads is stored in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4, and the navigation device 1 uses the usage history information through the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3. Is read from the IC card 4, the control circuit 20 can set the toll gate as the destination based on this usage history information, so even if the user has no intuition about the land around the destination, it is used in the past The toll gate (entrance and exit of the toll road) can be easily set as the destination, so that the inconvenience for the user can be eliminated and the convenience for the user can be improved.

Since the destination can be set using the toll gate information indicating the identification information of the toll road toll gate, the toll road toll gate can be easily identified. Further, since the destination can be set using the passage time information, the toll gate of the toll road that the user has recently used can be easily identified and set as the destination.
Since the user can set the destination based on the usage history information by pressing the destination setting button on the IC card 4, the destination can be set when the user feels that the user wants to use it.
According to the present embodiment, especially when a single IC card 4 is shared and used by a plurality of people in a company, toll roads that are frequently used are limited, so that destination setting is particularly simpler. It can be carried out.

(Second Embodiment)
FIGS. 7A to 7C show a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the storage unit on the navigation device side has been used in the past. The destination history is stored in association with the toll gate, and when setting the destination based on the usage history information of the IC card, the destination history associated with the toll gate of the usage history information is set as the destination candidate. By the way. The same parts as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different parts will be described below.

  FIG. 7A shows an example of destination history information stored in the storage unit on the navigation device side. As shown in FIG. 7A, information including identification information of the nearest tollgate is stored as tollgate information in the memory 20a or the external memory 27 on the navigation device 1 side. Destination information (destination setting history information) is stored in association with the location information. This is information stored in association with the exit (interchange) of the used toll road when the user sets a destination using the toll road.

  Specifically, when the user uses the toll road and sets the “expo venue” as the destination in the navigation apparatus 1, the control circuit 20 is generally the nearest toll road exit of the exposition venue. The “Nagakute IC exit” is set as a passage route, and the “Nagakute IC exit” and the “Expo venue” set to pass the route are stored in the memory 20a and the external memory 27 in association with each other.

  Similarly, when the user uses the toll road and sets “home” as the destination in the navigation apparatus 1, the control circuit 20 sets “Tomei Miyoshi IC Exit”, which is the nearest toll road exit of “home”. Although set as a passage route, the “Tomei Miyoshi IC Exit” and “home” that have been set to pass the route are associated with each other and stored in the memory 20a or the external memory 27.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the toll gate information of each toll road is stored in the storage unit 4b of the IC card 4 as usage history information. This information is information recorded on the IC card 4 when the ETC vehicle-mounted device 3 passes the ETC roadside device A. Note that other information is also stored in the IC card 4 as the usage history information.

  When the destination is set based on the usage history information stored in the IC card 4 based on the operation of the navigation device 1 by the user, the control circuit 20 is associated with the toll gate on the toll road, A point stored in the external memory 27 is set as a destination setting candidate. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, the control circuit 20 stores the identification information “Nagakute IC Exit” stored in the storage unit 4 b of the IC card 4 in the memory 20 a and the external memory 27. It is detected that it matches the identification information “Nagakute IC Exit”, and “Expo Hall” stored in association with “Nagakute IC Exit” is set as a destination setting candidate.

  The control circuit 20 notifies the fact by performing display control on the display screen of the display device 23, and makes it possible to select the location of the “expo venue” as the destination. In this case, the user can easily narrow down the “expo venue” set as the destination in the past as the destination again, and can easily set it as the destination.

  In addition, it is desirable to set the toll gate closest to the destination as the toll gate shown in FIG. 7A and its destination. In this case, the user can set a route passing through the toll gate on the toll road closest to the destination. It is also possible to store a toll road tollgate for which the route is set by the user in association with each other, or to store a toll road toll gate that is frequently used in association with each other. In this case, a route familiar to the user can be set, and convenience is improved.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the following modifications or expansions are possible.
Although the entrances and exits of each interchange were applied as toll gates on the toll road, the present invention is not limited to this, and the toll gate where the ETC roadside machine A that records the tolls is installed may be used.
As shown in FIG. 5, the embodiment in which the toll gate name is applied as the usage history information displayed on the display screen has been described. Instead, a map (location, position) around the toll gate is displayed. May be.

Although an embodiment for setting a destination as a point has been shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a method for setting a waypoint or the like as a point.
In the embodiment, the destination can be set when the user presses the destination setting button on the IC card 4. However, the ETC can be used from the time when the IC card 4 is inserted (step S2). After the recognition (step S3), the destination may be automatically set based on the usage history information. In this case, it can set without requiring a user operation, and can be set easily.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram schematically showing the electrical configuration of the ETC on-board unit and ETC card Sequence diagram showing operation (1) Sequence diagram showing operation (2) Figure showing an example of the tollgate information list The figure which shows an example of the display screen at the time of the destination setting Explanatory drawing of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention ((a) is a figure which shows roughly a part of memory | storage information of the memory | storage part by the side of a navigation apparatus, (b) is a part of memory | storage information of the memory | storage part of an ETC card | curd. (C) is a diagram showing the correspondence between usage history information and point setting candidates)

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a navigation device, 3 is an ETC vehicle-mounted device, 4 is an IC card (ETC card), 4b is a storage unit, 20 is a control circuit (setting unit, notification control unit), 20a is a memory (storage unit), 27 Indicates an external memory (storage unit), A indicates an ETC roadside device, and S indicates an in-vehicle system.

Claims (8)

In navigation devices that set points such as waypoints and destinations,
A navigation device comprising setting means configured to be able to set a point based on usage history information read from an ETC card including a storage unit that stores usage history information of toll roads.   The storage unit of the ETC card stores at least one of toll gate information indicating identification information on the toll gate on the toll road and passage time information on the toll gate as the usage history information. The navigation device according to claim 1.   3. The navigation according to claim 1, wherein the setting means enables setting of a spot based on the use history information on condition that a spot setting operation has been performed by an operation unit for setting a spot by a user. apparatus.   The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting means makes it possible to set a point based on the use history information on condition that it is detected that an ETC card has been inserted into the ETC on-vehicle device. .   It is provided with notification control means for controlling the toll gate to be notified from the notifying means as a point setting candidate in order of passage time of the toll booth, in order of distance from the current position to the toll gate, or in order of the toll gate name Iueo The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. In the storage unit of the ETC card, toll gate information indicating identification information of a toll gate on the toll road is stored as the usage history information.
A storage unit that stores the point and a toll gate of a toll road in the vicinity of the point in association with each other on condition that the setting of the point is performed,
When the setting means sets a point based on the usage history information of the ETC card, a point stored in the storage unit in association with the toll gate on the toll road is set as a setting point candidate. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the storage unit stores the point and a toll gate of a toll road closest to the point in association with each other.   The navigation device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the storage unit stores a toll gate of a toll road that is route-passed when the point is set and the point in association with each other.

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