JP2008241262A - Content search system with position information, vehicle-mounted information providing apparatus, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To alter a search range specified by a user according to a current position of a vehicle and the distance from the current position to a destination without causing inconvenience to the user. <P>SOLUTION: A service control part 12 determines a search range R in such a way that the search range R may be directly proportional to the distance Ts to take on a value from a prescribed value R1 to a prescribed value R2 (R1<R2) in the case (D<D1) that center coordinates X (x, y) is closer than the current position S (x, y) on the distance D from the current position S (x, y) to the destination D via the center coordinates X (x, y), that the search range R may take on the prescribed value R2 in the case (D1<D<D2) that the center coordinates X (x, y) are farther than the current position S (x, y) but not close to the destination D (x, y), and that the search range R may be proportional to the distance Td from the center coordinates X (x, y) to the destination D (x, y) so as to change a value from the prescribed value R2 into a prescribed value R3 (R2>R3) in the case (R2<D) that the center coordinates X (x, y) are closer to the destination D (x, y). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a content search system with position information in which an in-vehicle information providing apparatus searches for content with position information near a route from a current position to a destination from a content distribution apparatus that distributes content with position information.
The present invention also relates to an in-vehicle information providing apparatus and a computer program.

  Services that search for content with location information near the destination and the route from the current location to the destination have already been proposed, and some have been actually made into services. Here, the content with location information refers to content obtained by adding location information to content such as a still image, a moving image, and web content (web page, text blog, audio blog, potcast). The current position refers to a point where the driver is currently running, and the destination refers to a destination set by the driver or a destination automatically set by the navigation device. An occupant refers to a driver and a passenger.

  For example, the following Patent Document 1 proposes a mechanism for realizing in real time content with desired position information within a range designated by a user while a vehicle is moving. In this conventional example, for content with location information associated with location information in advance, when the vehicle approaches the service range of the content with location information, the content with location information is transferred to the Internet or a mobile phone. It describes how to send a reply to a mobile PC through the network. Patent Document 2 below describes a technique for receiving and presenting the searched content from the server side when it is on the route.

  Moreover, recent communication-linked car navigation services provide services that present images and voices of blogs on the Internet related to the vicinity of routes. A feature of this service is that the location information of the content is derived from the address, landmark name, and telephone number included in the text in the blog. As a result, presentation of information depending on the position and route of the vehicle is realized even for content that does not have position information in advance. In this way, one of the reasons behind the proposal and development of services that present content with location information on the vehicle is the cause of both hardware and software technologies required to handle location information. Progress can be mentioned.

Also, for example, Patent Document 3 below proposes a digital camera capable of recording position information of a photograph. In addition, with the definition of GPS IFD for recording location information at the time of shooting in Exif standard 2.1, it became possible to add location information to image formats such as jpg and tiff. In addition, as a service for browsing images associated with these location information, for example, the location-linked photo sharing site (http://www.flickr.com/map/) of the photo sharing site “flickr” is practical. It became. However, a service for searching and browsing image content with position information from the inside of a vehicle has not yet been sufficiently spread. The reason for this is that the content of the presented content does not take into account the purpose of the user's drive, the user's interest, and the like, so that the driver's satisfaction cannot be satisfied.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-213977 (Abstract) JP 2004-317447 A (abstract) JP-A-8-129216 (abstract)

  However, in the conventional content search system with position information, when searching for content with position information near the route from the current position to the destination from the in-vehicle device, the range within the distance specified in advance by the user as the search range is unambiguous. Therefore, the content with position information is searched based on the specified search range regardless of the current position and destination of the vehicle. For this reason, there is a problem that when the driver stops at the location of the searched content, the time, distance, economy, and environmental cost to the final destination may increase. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the problem, and the recommended places 1 and 2 indicate positions detected within a predetermined range from the route P1 from the current position S to the destination D. Since the recommended place 1 is a position that returns backward from the current position S, the recommended place 1 is greatly detoured (paths P2 and P3 in the figure), which is inconvenient for the user. On the other hand, even if the recommended location 2 deviates from the route P1 from the current position S to the destination D, the recommended location 2 is slightly detoured but is heading for the destination D (routes P4 and P5 in the figure). Not inconvenient.

  In view of the problems of the conventional example described above, the present invention changes the range of the search location designated by the user in accordance with the current position of the vehicle and the distance from the current position to the destination without inconvenience to the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content search system with position information, an in-vehicle information providing apparatus, and a computer program.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a content-attached content in which the in-vehicle information providing device searches the content-attached content in the vicinity of the route from the current position to the destination from a content delivery device that delivers content with location information. In the search system,
The in-vehicle information providing apparatus is
Input means for inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Means for calculating center coordinates of the input search range on a route from the current position to the destination;
Means for calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Means,
Means for transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device,
The content distribution device includes:
Means for searching the content with position information in the changed search range and transmitting it to the in-vehicle information providing apparatus;
The in-vehicle information providing apparatus is
Means for receiving the content-added content transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to the occupant;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an in-vehicle information providing apparatus for searching for content with position information in the vicinity of a route from a current position to a destination from a content distribution apparatus that distributes content with position information.
Input means for inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Means for calculating center coordinates of the input search range on a route from the current position to the destination;
Means for calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Means,
Means for transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device;
Means for receiving the content with position information transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to the occupant;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a computer program for an in-vehicle information providing apparatus for searching for content with position information in the vicinity of a route from a current position to a destination from a content distribution apparatus that distributes content with position information. In
An input step of inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Calculating the center coordinates of the input search range on the route from the current position to the destination;
Calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Steps,
Transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device;
Receiving the position information-added content transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to an occupant;
Let the computer run.

  With this configuration, the first distance from the current position to the center coordinates of the input search range and the second distance from the center coordinates of the input search range to the destination are calculated, and input when the first distance is short. The search range is changed small, the input search range is changed widely when the first distance is long, and the input search range is changed small when the second distance is short. The range of the search location designated from the above can be changed according to the current position of the vehicle and the distance from the current position to the destination.

According to the present invention, it is possible to change the range of the search location designated by the user according to the current position of the vehicle and the distance from the current position to the destination without inconvenience for the user. For this reason,
-From the driver's standpoint, the driver's time, distance, economy, and environmental costs can be reduced.
-From the standpoint of the service provider, the amount of distribution content is reduced compared to the conventional system, so that the load on the system and the load on the network can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a content search system with position information and an in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 10 transmits a content distribution request to the content distribution apparatus 20 via the Internet / mobile phone network 30 and the data reception / transmission apparatus 30 (data reception / transmission unit 31). In response to this request, the content distributed from the content distribution device 20 is received and presented to the passenger (driver / passenger) 40. The in-vehicle information providing device 10 includes a data reception / transmission device 11 (data reception / transmission unit 11a), a service control unit 12, a vehicle information database 13, and a user interface 14 (content presentation unit 14a, user instruction input unit 14b). Have.

  The service control unit 12 performs control as described later based on vehicle information such as the vehicle position 13a and the route 13b stored in the vehicle information database 13, the service setting information 16, the driver state 17, and the like. The route information 13b is a route from the current position S (x, y) to the destination D (x, y) set by the occupant 40. The content presentation unit 14a includes a display unit that displays image content and an audio playback device that plays back audio content. The user instruction input unit 14b includes a mechanical key, a touch panel, a voice recognition device, and the like. The content distribution device 20 includes a distribution content search unit 21 and a content DB (database) 22 with position information. The content DB 22 with position information includes contents with position information such as a blog 22a, a video 22b, an image 22c, and text 22d. It is recorded.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (and FIGS. 3 and 4). Here, it is assumed that the destination D (x, y) has already been registered and the route to the destination D (x, y) has been determined. If it has not been determined, a route is set. There are two types of setting methods: a method for causing the driver to input a destination and a method for estimating the destination on the system side.
Step S1: The content search range with position information is received from the occupant 40 via the user interface 14 (microphone, navigation screen, etc.). The following cases are assumed as input information.
・ Location information (examples of keywords: place names, surrounding areas)
Time information (example of keyword: a place that is likely to be one hour later, two hours later), etc. Step S2: In the service control unit 12, based on the information and the route information 13b, a search range for content with position information (hereinafter referred to as search) Center coordinate X (x, y) of (range) is obtained. The center coordinate X (x, y) is a position on the route to the destination D (x, y).

Step S3: In the service control unit 12, the distance Ts from the center coordinate X (x, y) of the search range to the current position S (x, y), and the destination D (x, y) from the center coordinate X (x, y). ) Is obtained.
Step S4: In the service control unit 12, the search range R reaches the destination D (x, y) from the current position S (x, y) via the center coordinates X (x, y) as shown in FIG. When the center coordinate X (x, y) is closer to the current position S (x, y) at the distance D (D <D1), R is in direct proportion to the distance Ts from the predetermined value R1 to the predetermined value R2 (R1). <R2) is obtained. In addition, when the center coordinate X (x, y) is far from the current position S (x, y) but not near the destination D (x, y) (D1 <D <D2), R = predetermined value R2. Further, when the center coordinate X (x, y) is close to the destination D (x, y) (R2 <D), R is determined from the center coordinate X (x, y) to the destination D. In proportion to the distance Td to (x, y), the predetermined value R2 is determined to be the predetermined value R3 (R2> R3). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the search range R1 (radius r1) close to the current position S is narrow, the search range R2 (radius r2) far from the current position S but not close to the destination D is wide, and the destination D The search range R3 (radius r3) close to is narrow.

Step S5: The center coordinate X (x, y), the search range R, and the service setting parameter P (search meta information) are transmitted from the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 10 to the content distribution apparatus 20 with position information.
Step S6: The delivery content search unit 21 of the content delivery device with location information 20 searches the location information content DB 22 for content with location information based on the search center coordinates X (x, y), the search range R, and the service setting parameter P. To do. The distribution content search unit 21 has a logic for automatically expanding the search range when there is no content in the search range.
Step S7: The content distribution device with position information 20 transmits the searched content with position information to the in-vehicle information providing device 10.
Step S8: The service control unit 12 of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 10 presents content according to the received content information, driver preference information, and service setting details.

  Here, the distance Ts from the center coordinate X (x, y) of the search range to the current position S (x, y) is obtained from the current position S (x, y) and the search center position X (x, y) itself. However, it may be obtained from the departure point and the search center position (x, y). When the current location is set as the departure location, the center position estimation method also changes. Further, the route 13b and the destination D (x, y) include not only those set manually by the driver but also cases where the system automatically estimates. Furthermore, although Td is a distance, there is a method of replacing Td with time and cost. The cost includes a time cost, a monetary cost, a fuel cost, and an environmental cost.

  Further, not only the content distribution apparatus on the road side but also the content on the Internet, the content DB installed in the car, etc. may be searched for the search destination of the content with position information. FIG. 5 shows a system configuration diagram in this case. A content DB 18 with position information is added to the in-vehicle information providing device 10, and the blog 22a, the video 22b, the image 22c, and the text 22d of the DB 22 on the content distribution device 20 side are downloaded to the DB 18, and the blog 18a and the video are cached. 18b, an image 18c, and a text 18d are recorded. Instead of recording as a cache in the DB 18, the location of the content stored in the DB 22 of the content distribution apparatus 10 and the position information indicated by the content may be recorded as an index.

The communication sequence of the system shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
(1) When the occupant 40 designates a content search range (location information or time information) to the user instruction input unit 14b,
(2) The user instruction input unit 14b transfers the input information (location information or time information) to the service control unit 12.
(3) The service control unit 12 calculates a search location (location information or time information),
(4) The service control unit 12 also calculates a search range (search center coordinates, destination coordinates, current position coordinates) as shown in FIG.

(5) The service control unit 12 transmits this search range to the data reception / transmission device 11,
(6) The data receiving / transmitting device 11 transmits this search range to the data receiving / transmitting device 30,
(7) The data reception / transmission device 30 transmits this search range to the distribution content search unit 21.
(8) The distribution content search unit 21 searches the content DB with position information 22 for content within this search range,
(9) The distribution content search unit 21 obtains the searched content with position information,
(10) The distribution content search unit 21 transmits the acquired content with position information to the data reception / transmission device 30.
(11) The data reception / transmission device 30 transmits the content with position information to the data reception / transmission device 11,
(12) The data reception / transmission device 11 transmits the content with location information to the service control unit 12.

(13) The service control unit 12 stores the content with position information in the content information with content DB 18 as a cache,
(14) The service control unit 12 accesses the content information-added DB 18 in order to obtain the content with the location information,
(15) The service control unit 12 obtains the content with location information from the content DB 18 with location information,
(16) The service control unit 12 transmits the content with position information to the content presenting unit 14 a which is the user interface 14.
(17) The content presentation unit 14a presents this content-added content to the occupant 40.

  The present invention has the effect that the range of the search location specified by the user can be changed according to the current position of the vehicle and the distance from the current position to the destination without inconvenience to the user, It can be used for car navigation devices.

It is a block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the content search system with a positional information and vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus which concern on this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the computer program of the content search system of FIG. 1, and a vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the search range change process in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the search range change process in FIG.2 and FIG.3. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the content search system with a positional information of FIG. 1, and a vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the communication sequence of the system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional search result.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 In-vehicle information provision apparatus 12 Service control part 13 Vehicle information database 14 User interface 14a Content presentation part 14b User instruction input part 15 User interface 20 Content distribution apparatus 21 Distribution content search part 22 Content DB with position information
30 Internet / cell phone network 40 Crew (driver / passenger)

Claims (3)

In the content search system with location information, the in-vehicle information providing device searches for the content with location information near the route from the current location to the destination from the content delivery device that delivers the content with location information.
The in-vehicle information providing apparatus is
Input means for inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Means for calculating center coordinates of the input search range on a route from the current position to the destination;
Means for calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Means,
Means for transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device,
The content distribution device includes:
Means for searching the content with position information in the changed search range and transmitting it to the in-vehicle information providing apparatus;
The in-vehicle information providing apparatus is
Means for receiving the content-added content transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to the occupant;
A content search system with position information, characterized by comprising. In the in-vehicle information providing device for searching for the content with position information near the route from the current position to the destination from the content distribution device that distributes content with position information
Input means for inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Means for calculating center coordinates of the input search range on a route from the current position to the destination;
Means for calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Means,
Means for transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device;
Means for receiving the content with position information transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to the occupant;
An in-vehicle information providing apparatus characterized by comprising. In a computer program for an in-vehicle information providing device for searching for content with location information in the vicinity of a route from a current location to a destination from a content delivery device that delivers content with location information,
An input step of inputting a search range of the content-added content;
Calculating the center coordinates of the input search range on the route from the current position to the destination;
Calculating a first distance from the current position to the calculated center coordinate and a second distance from the calculated center coordinate to the destination;
When the calculated first distance is shorter than a predetermined distance, the search range of the content-added content is changed to be smaller than the input search range, and when the calculated first distance is longer than the predetermined distance, the position The search range of the content with information is changed wider than the input search range, and the search range of the content with position information is changed to be smaller than the input search range when the calculated second distance is shorter than a predetermined distance. Steps,
Transmitting a transmission request for the content with position information in the changed search range to the content distribution device;
Receiving the position information-added content transmitted from the content distribution device and presenting it to an occupant;
A computer program that is executed by a computer.

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