JPH05197337A - Information retrieval and display device of navigation system for aut0mobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily perform the retrieval condition setting operation of an information retrieval device which retrieves and displays information of each region and to make the display of information easy to see. CONSTITUTION:A retrieval means selecting part 15 and a vehicle position information acquiring part 16 are provided; and when the retrieval means selecting part 15 is turned on, retrieval condition selection of second to fourth retrieval condition selecting parts 8, 9, and 10 is cancelled, and vehicle position information from a vehicle position determining part 1 is directly set as a retrieval condition, and object information in the vicinity of the vehicle position is retrieved by a retrieval part 13. The retrieved object list are transposed to a specific array in the order from the object nearest the vehicle by an information arranging part 17 and are displayed on a display part 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a search and display device for regional information, which is one of the functions of a car navigation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile navigation system has a map data recording medium in which normal map information and detailed map information of a specific point are recorded, and detailed map information corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed (CRT). There is a conventional display as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 63-
Published in Japanese Patent No. 115190.

In the above-mentioned navigation system, there is a conventional navigation system which can search and display information on properties existing in a region such as a hospital, a dining room, a hotel or a gas station.

As shown in FIG. 8 (A), the conventional device described above is a vehicle position for determining the vehicle position by processing information from various sensors for detecting the vehicle position and external information. Decision section 1 and data section 2 such as map data and static information
And an information retrieval device 3, an operation switch 4, an interface / image processing unit 5, and a display unit (CRT) 6. The information retrieval device 3 has a first unit as shown in FIG. 8B. Search condition selection unit 7, second search condition selection unit 8, third
Search condition selection unit 9, fourth search condition selection unit 10, and fifth
A search condition selection unit 11, a search condition setting unit 12 that sets a search condition according to a selection signal from each search condition selection unit,
A search unit 13 that receives necessary information from the data unit 2 such as map data and static information via the interface / image processing unit 5 based on the search condition set by the search condition setting unit 12 and searches the information. , And a display instructing section 14 which issues a command to display the search result of the search section 13.

The first search condition selection unit 7 is for displaying and selecting property items (hotels, hospitals, restaurants, parking lots, etc.), and the second search condition selection unit 8 is for regions (Kanto, Kansai, Tokai). , Central part) are displayed and selected, the third search condition selection part 9 is for displaying and selecting prefectures, and the fourth search condition selection part 10 is for displaying and selecting municipalities. The fifth search condition selection unit 11 selects the property name.

[0006]

When it is desired to obtain information on a property in the vicinity of the area where the vehicle is currently traveling in the above conventional device,
The operation switch 4 is operated to search for information, and the first search condition selection unit 7 is operated to display a property information list and select a specific property item, for example, a dining room. Next, by sequentially operating the second, third, and fourth search condition selection units 8, 9, and 10, the names of a plurality of cafeterias near the area where the vehicle is currently traveling are displayed. By selecting a specific cafeteria name in the operation, detailed information of the specific cafeteria is displayed, so the search condition selection operation is complicated, and not only the above property information but also the vehicle position If you want to see the property information of the adjacent area relatively close to the area, you must select the area again (select the area using the second, third, and fourth search condition selection units), which is not convenient. have.

In the case where a plurality of property names are further displayed, conventionally, they are only listed in the order of Japanese syllabary or alphabetical order of initials, etc., and the property closest to the current position is searched from among them. It also has the problem that it is difficult.

In some past display examples, the location of the property is displayed on the map by points, etc., but in this case the mark points are small and unnoticeable, or other information (intersection name, road name, town name, etc.) There is a problem that it is difficult for the driver to grasp the position and content of the property because the content is unknown because it is mixed with.

The present invention is mainly intended to deal with various problems of the conventional device as described above.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in the above-described information search / display apparatus, the search conditions are set in the conventional manner by the selection operation of the search condition selection unit, or the vehicle position or an arbitrary point is set. Is provided as a search condition, a search means selection unit is provided for selecting whether or not the vehicle position or an arbitrary point is directly selected and set as the search condition by the search means selection unit. The vehicle position information or preset point information obtained from is set as a direct search condition, and the property information list within the set distance range is displayed directly on the display section with the vehicle position or the point as a reference point. With the first and second characteristics of doing so, when the vehicle position information or the point information as described above is directly set as the search condition, the plurality of searched property lists are, for example, The property closest to the quasi-point is displayed with a cursor, an underline, and shading in the center, and properties in front of the reference point are displayed in ascending order from the center, and properties behind the reference point are closer. The third, fourth, and fifth information-arranging units are arranged to rearrange the images according to the distance from the reference point, such that the information is sequentially displayed from the center to the bottom.
Is a feature of.

[0011]

With the above first and second characteristics, the search time for the local information about the vehicle position or the vicinity of an arbitrary point is greatly shortened, the search operation becomes very easy and easy, and the driver can concentrate on driving. Search operation and confirmation of target property can be performed without reducing the
This feature makes it possible to find at a glance the property that is closest to your vehicle or an arbitrary point in an unknown area, which is extremely effective for emergencies and searching for parking lots.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the device of the present invention. 1 is a vehicle position determining unit, 2 is a data unit for map data / static information, and 3 is an information retrieval device. Reference numeral 4 is an operation switch, 5 is an interface / image processing unit, and 6 is a display unit (CRT).

The vehicle position determining section 1 comprises an antenna 1a, a receiver / signal processing section 1b and a vehicle position calculating section 1c, and is an infrastructure (VICS) implemented by a public institution.
Acquisition of absolute position information such as intersections by receiving signals from
The antenna 1a and the receiver / signal processing unit 1b perform the calculation of the absolute position by satellite navigation and the calculation of the own vehicle position from the sensors such as the geomagnetic sensor or the gyro and the speed sensor, which are installed in the own vehicle. Position calculation unit 1
c processes these absolute position data (map matching, etc.) to determine a more appropriate vehicle position.

The data section 2 for map data, static information, etc. is a CD-ROM, a semiconductor disk (card), etc., and the map data is the area division code defined by the JIS (X-0410) standard and the area division of the JIS or An original division code consisting of data that conforms to the integrated area mesh code is used, whereby the details can be obtained by coordinate calculation and the absolute position information defined by JIS can be acquired.

The information retrieval device 3 forms the main part of the present invention, and the first retrieval condition selection part 7 for displaying and selecting the item of the property as well as the conventional device, for displaying and selecting the property of the local unit. Second search condition selection unit 8, display of properties by prefecture, third search condition selection unit 9 for selection, display of properties by municipality, fourth search condition selection unit 10 for selection, of property name It is possible to perform a conventional search (hereinafter referred to as a conventional search) using the fifth search condition selection unit 11 or the like that performs selection, and obtain information about the current position of the vehicle from the vehicle position determination unit 1. It is possible to perform a direct property search in which the vehicle position information is directly set as a search condition.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1B, the information retrieval device 3 has the first to fifth retrieval condition selection units 7, 8,
In addition to 9, 10, and 11, it has a search means selection unit 15 and a vehicle position information acquisition unit 16, and performs the operations and operations described below.

First, when the operation switch 4 is operated to retrieve information in the vicinity of its own weight position, the interface / image processing section 5 sends a command signal to the information retrieval apparatus 3 to retrieve information,
The signal causes the search means selection unit 15 to switch to the direct property search (switch on in the figure), and the second to fifth local condition selection of the first to fifth search condition selection units.
The search conditions of the third and fourth search condition selection units 8, 9 and 10 are canceled, and instead the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 1
6 acquires the own vehicle position information from the own vehicle position determination unit 1 and directly sets it as the search condition in the search condition setting unit 12. Therefore, when a property item is selected by the first search condition selection unit 7, the search unit 13 lists the necessary data from the data unit 2 with the applicable property within the set distance R range of the current position of the vehicle as the search condition. Then, the plurality of information groups are accumulated in the search unit 13. Based on the vehicle position information from the vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 and the information group accumulated in the search unit 13, the information organizing unit 17 determines several property names near the vehicle position according to the distance from the vehicle position. Rearrange in the set order,
And for the closest property name, cursor, underline,
The display instruction section 14 displays this on the display section 6 through the interface / image processing section 5 so that it can be easily distinguished from other property names by marking it with a mesh or the like.

A specific example of the above display will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, for example, if the vehicle is traveling near Funabashi in Chiba and the first search condition selection unit 7 selects the OO automobile dealer from the property item list displayed as shown in FIG. Then, if the search means selection unit 15 is set to direct property search (switch on) at that time, directly without displaying and selecting the intermediate search condition of the list of 〇 car dealers in the Kanto region shown in b. As in c, the name of the car dealer near the vehicle is displayed. The display order of the multiple property names is that the property name closest to the vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle, that is, "Funabashi Sales Office", is displayed at approximately the middle position of the multiple displays, and above that is the traveling direction. ， The lower part is the property name behind the direction of travel,
In the traveling direction, the display order is such that the distance increases as it goes upward, and the distance increases as it goes downward in the rear direction. In addition, the property name that is closest in the direction of travel is distinguished from the others by shading so that it can be confirmed at a glance. The display order setting is performed by the information organizing unit 17.

When "Funabashi Sales Office" is selected in the fifth search condition selection section 11, detailed information of the selected property is displayed as the final display of property information as shown in d, or detailed information is given by voice. Inform the driver.

As described above, the search unit 13 searches for the corresponding property within the range with the set distance R range as the search condition based on the position of the own vehicle. Therefore, the section of the current position of the own vehicle (the section of the map data) In addition to the above), information of adjacent sections within the range of R can be searched and displayed, and the convenience can be significantly improved. R can be set to any value,
Considering practicality, it is appropriate to set the value to about 30 km or less.

An example of a method for determining whether the searched property is in front of or behind the own vehicle position in the information organizing unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, when the origin 0 is fixed and the orthogonal axis is rotated counterclockwise by the angle θ, x = Xcos θ−Ysin θ y = Xsin θ + Ycos θ before and after the rotation, and (x, y ) And (X, Y) are the coordinates of the point P with respect to the old axis and the new axis, respectively.

Using this principle, for example, the origin 0 is set as the own vehicle position, and the traveling direction of the own vehicle is θ from the x axis (for example, the meridian)
If it is rotating counterclockwise, the coordinates of the new axis (X, Y) can be obtained from the above equation, and as a result, the traveling direction is on the X axis, so the value of the coordinate data X of the property P is It is possible to determine whether the location of the property is in front of or behind the vehicle, and the distance from the vehicle to the property can be easily obtained. If the traveling direction is along the y-axis (for example, the latitude line), θ may be determined so that the direction of the vehicle is on the Y-axis.

The order of displaying property names by the information organization unit 17 is
As shown in Fig. 2, the property name that is closest to your vehicle is displayed in the center of the multiple property names, and the property name above is displayed above it,
The lower part is the rear property name, and these are ascending in the order of distance.
If the items are listed below, it is possible to bring about an effect that it is very easy to see and select, but the property name display order is other than the above, for example, it is said that the property names are displayed in the order closer to the vehicle position, from top to bottom or bottom to top They may be arranged in order, and in this case, the closest property name should be distinguished from others by using a cursor, underline, shading, or coloring.

In FIG. 1B, the vehicle position information acquisition unit 1
The vehicle position information acquired by 6 is the time when the search means selection unit 15 is switched to the direct property search or the information arrangement unit 17
Shall be latched at the beginning of operation.

When it is desired to obtain property information in a region far from the current position of the vehicle, for example, in the vicinity of a destination to which the user is going to go, a conventional search is selected by the search means selection unit 15 (switch in FIG. It can be turned off), and the target property information can be displayed by the conventional procedure. In this case, in FIG. 2, after selecting one of the property items a in the first search condition selection unit 7, the second search condition selection unit 8 displays a property list in the Kanto region such as b. The third search condition selection unit 9 displays a property list of Chiba prefecture such as c.

In the present invention, it is basic that the vehicle position information is directly set as the search condition when the direct search condition setting is selected as described above. By setting and registering the ground and a plurality of intermediate points on the way, and by pointing to any point that has been set and registered, the designated point is directly set as a search condition in the selection condition setting unit 12, Similar to the example, the area information of the set distance range may be searched and displayed based on the point.

The embodiment will be described below with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 4, the first to fifth search condition selection units 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B. In the fourth embodiment, in addition to the above, a destination position storage unit 18 is provided so that, for example, the destination and a plurality of intermediate points on the way can be set and stored before the departure of the drive. Then, the search means selection unit 15 can not only select whether to perform a conventional search using the second to fourth search condition selection units 8 to 10 or to perform a property search directly using the own vehicle position information as a search condition. Any one of the plurality of spot information stored in the destination position storage unit 18 can be selected as a search condition.

When the direct search based on the vehicle position is selected by the search means selection unit 15 and the property item is selected by the first search condition selection unit, as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 2B, The own vehicle position information is acquired from the own vehicle position determination unit 1 of the navigation system, and this is directly set in the search condition setting unit 12 as a search condition, and the own vehicle position and the set distance R set by the distance setting means 19 are set. The search unit 13 uses the property item in the search range determined by
Necessary data is listed from the data section 2 and stored in the search result storage section 13 '. Then, the information organizing unit 17 rearranges a plurality of property names near the vehicle position in the order set according to the distance from the vehicle position, as described later. That is, the absolute position information of the own vehicle acquired by the display reference position setting unit 17a from the search condition setting unit 12 and the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 by the display reference point front-back position boundary setting unit 17b.
Information on the traveling direction of the vehicle obtained from the search result storage unit 13 '
From the property data read from, the coordinate conversion unit 17c performs coordinate conversion of the coordinates indicating the positional relationship of the property with the own vehicle position as the origin O (so that the own vehicle position is the origin O and the traveling direction of the own vehicle is on the X axis. The coordinate conversion is performed), and the position data comparison unit 17d calculates the relative distance from the reference point to each property based on that, and the property names in the first and second phenomena of coordinates (in front of the own vehicle) are arranged in order from the reference point. Sorting the property names within the 3rd and 4th phenomena (behind the vehicle) in ascending order from the reference point, and marking the closest property name in front of the vehicle with a cursor, underline, shade, etc. Based on this, the display instructing section 14 causes the interface / image processing section 5 to display on the display section 6.

In the search means selection unit 15, the target position storage unit 18
When one of the point information stored by the user is selected as the search condition, the point information is directly set as the search condition in the search condition setting unit 12, and the point is set as the reference point based on the set distance R. The search range is determined, the search unit 13 lists the properties within the search range, and the search result storage unit 13 'stores it, and the following is exactly the same as when the own vehicle position is used as the reference point. Then, the information organizing unit 17 obtains the relative distance from the selected point (reference point) to each property, and arranges the property names in front of the reference point in the traveling direction of the vehicle in order from the reference point in the order of distance from the reference point. Based on this, the property names after the point are rearranged in order from the reference point, and the property name in front of the reference point that is closest to the reference point is marked with a cursor, an underline, or a shade. Display instruction unit 14 displays on the display unit 6 through the interface, the image processing unit 5.

When the manual setting using the second, third and fourth search condition selecting units 8, 9 and 10 for selecting the area condition as in the conventional case is selected in the search means selecting unit 15, basically the point is selected. (Points) cannot be set, and accordingly, the search condition setting unit 12 sets conditions, for example, as an area in units of municipalities, so the search unit 13 lists up the properties in the set area from the data unit 2. The information organization unit 17 stores the property names listed in the area information sorting unit 17e and stored in the search result storage unit 13 ', for example, in the order of A, I, W, E, O or A, B, C. The rearrangement is performed by marking the property name in the center of the list with a cursor, an underline, shading, etc., and the display instructing unit 14 makes the display unit 6 through the interface / image processing unit 5 based on the processing. To display.

As described above, the property name list within the set distance range from the reference point or the property name list within the setting area is displayed, and when one of the property names is selected by the fifth search condition selecting section 11. The final property selection unit 20 obtains detailed information of the property from the data unit 2 and displays it on the display unit 6 through the display instruction unit 14 and the interface / image processing unit 5, and the detailed information about the selected property is provided to the driver. Etc. can be recognized.

5 to 7 are flowcharts showing the information retrieval mode of FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 5 is connected to FIG. 6 and FIG. 5 is connected to FIG.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicle navigation system to which a local information search / display device is added, a search means selection section is provided in the information search apparatus, and the search means selection section is used directly. When search is selected, the vehicle position information obtained from the vehicle position determination unit of the navigation system or arbitrary point information is directly set as a search condition, and the vehicle position or the point is set as a reference point and a plurality of points around the reference point are set. By displaying the property name of the property on the display, the property search time is greatly shortened and the operation is easier, and the driver can easily display the target property without reducing the concentration on driving. You can do it and see it.

In addition, by providing an information organizing unit that rearranges the display order of the retrieved property list in a specific array in the order closer to the reference point, the property closest to the reference point can be found at a glance in an unknown area. In particular, it is extremely effective in an emergency or when searching for a parking lot at a destination.

Furthermore, in the arrangement order of the property list of the information organization section, the property closest to the reference point is displayed in the center of the display list, the other plurality of properties are displayed from the center to the outside, and above the center. Is a property in front of your vehicle,
By setting the properties below each vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle to be displayed, the driver can easily understand not only the distance from the reference point of each property but also the whereabouts. It can significantly improve the sex.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, (A) is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a navigation system,
(B) is a block diagram showing details of the information retrieval device 3 of (A).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information display according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining whether a searched property is in front of or behind a vehicle position.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an information search device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart (No. 1) showing an information search mode of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (No. 2) showing an information search mode of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart (No 3) showing an information search mode of the embodiment of FIG.

8A and 8B show an example of a conventional device, FIG. 8A is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a navigation system, and FIG. 8B is a block diagram showing details of the information retrieval device of FIG. 8A.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle Position Determining Section 2 Data Section 3 Information Retrieval Device 4 Operation Switch 5 Interface / Image Processing Section 6 Display Section 7 First Search Condition Selection Section 8 Second Search Condition Selection Section 9 Third Search Condition Selection Section 10 4th Search condition selection unit 11 Fifth search condition selection unit 12 Search condition setting unit 13 Search unit 14 Display instruction unit 15 Search means selection unit 16 Own vehicle position information acquisition unit 17 Information arrangement unit 18 Target position storage unit 19 Distance setting means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A navigation system that displays the vehicle position information determined by the vehicle position determination unit on the display unit in combination with the map data of the data unit, and sets the search condition by the selection operation of the search condition selection unit. In which an information retrieval device that retrieves information based on the retrieval condition from the area information and displays it on the display unit is used to set the retrieval condition by the selection operation of the retrieval condition selection unit. If a search means selection unit for selecting whether to directly set the search condition for the own vehicle position is provided, and if the one for directly setting the search condition for the own vehicle position is selected by the search unit selection unit, the above-mentioned own vehicle position is determined. Vehicle position information is directly set from the department as a search condition, and area information within a set distance range is searched and displayed using the own vehicle position as a reference point. Information display device for navigation system. 2. The information search and display device of the automobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the search means selection unit can directly set a search condition for any one of a plurality of preset points. When selecting to directly set search conditions for the above point in the search condition selection unit, the information of the point is directly set as the search condition, and within the set distance range with the point as the reference point. An information search and display device for an automobile navigation system, characterized in that the local information of the above is searched and displayed. 3. The information retrieval display device of the automobile navigation system according to claim 1 or 2, when the regional information within the set distance range is retrieved and displayed with the vehicle position or the point where the selection condition is set as a reference point. A navigation system for an automobile, characterized in that an information organizing unit is provided, which obtains the distances from the reference point of a plurality of relevant properties retrieved and rearranges them in a specific array in order of decreasing distance from the reference point. Information retrieval display device. 4. The information organization unit according to claim 3, wherein the property closest to the reference point is set as the substantially central part of the property list, and a plurality of other properties are arranged such that the property becomes farther from the central part toward the outside. Is displayed, and one outside from the center is displayed in front of the reference point in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the other outside is displayed in rear of the reference point in the traveling direction of the vehicle. Information display device for car navigation system characterized by setting display array of property list. 5. The information search device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the property closest to the reference point is displayed with a means such as a cursor, an underline, and hatching that can be distinguished from other properties. Information display device for navigation system for automobiles.