JP2001099663A - Communication typed navigation device and retrieving method of information thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To resolve inconvenience that retrieving all of information extended to a wide range to display even in case of information related to a same position and then exactly read information needed or preferred by a user among the information based on a current or specified position becomes complicate. SOLUTION: Information category to be retrieved in a specified area is set in every area. Existence of a current or specified position in an area in setting information previously stored is judged, and the category information set is retrieved automatically or by a simple manipulation specifying retrieving or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication type navigation apparatus for acquiring information by communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Techniques have been developed so that a car navigation system can acquire road traffic information outside a vehicle and various other information in real time. There is also provided an information providing service for acquiring and displaying information on a screen of a mobile phone / PHS phone.

[0003] In these devices, there are generally the following three types of information sources for acquiring information.

"Homepage" which is a huge source of various information on the Internet From the homepage which is a huge source of information described above, information suitable for navigation is selected and processed into a display method suitable for a navigation device.
The Information Service Center, which provides information as a new homepage, and the Information Service Management Center, which comprehensively manages multiple Information Service Centers, with a new search method based on location and time. An "information providing center" that collects information and provides it in a dedicated format or protocol different from that of the Internet. Hereinafter, these information sources are collectively referred to as an "information center." An information source for acquiring information on a local point or a designated area will be referred to as an “area information center”.

[0005] It should be noted that this area does not refer to the area in which the "information center" actually exists, but refers to the area to which information provided by the "information center" is provided. However, it goes without saying that, in general, the "information center" closer to the target area has better communication efficiency and network utilization.

As a conventional technique, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
153054 "Information search and transmission terminal device and search server", in order to select information useful for the mobile station from a lot of information in the information network, based on the position information and the like detected by the sensor function of the mobile station, 2. Description of the Related Art There is disclosed a technique for selecting information in a mobile station or a server that transmits information to a mobile station. Also, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-166450, "Navigation device",
A technology for accessing information (sightseeing information, traffic congestion information, regulation information, map data, etc.) on an information service network including the Internet is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-103977.
In the "car navigation device with communication function and communication method therefor", the car navigation device has a correspondence table between the position data of each information and the URL address of the WWW server for the information on the area on the Internet. Corresponding W based on
A technology for acquiring information of a WW server is disclosed. Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-161534, "Information Acquisition Apparatus in In-Vehicle Navigation System", a URL address associated with the current location of the navigation apparatus or near a designated point (destination, waypoint, guidance route, etc.) is used. A technique for automatically obtaining the latest information from the Internet is disclosed.

On the other hand, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-134595 "Navigation apparatus", a base station corresponding to the information providing center is provided based on point information (a destination, a waypoint, a guide route, etc.) designated by a mobile station. A technology is disclosed in which information (including a real-time image) near a designated point is searched and acquired on an information network such as the Internet, and transmitted to a mobile station.

[0008] A conventional communication-type navigation device employing the above-described technology is configured as shown in a block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 5, the position detecting means 12 is a GPS
It is composed of a receiver, a direction sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, etc.
CPU 11 that detects the current position and controls the entire apparatus
To be transmitted. Map data, an information center database, and the like are recorded in a read-only large-capacity storage unit 13 composed of a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. The communication unit 14 performs information communication using radio such as a car phone, a mobile phone, and a PHS phone. The obtained information is stored in a readable and writable storage unit 15 and displayed on a display unit 16 together with the map data and various information. You. Further, the user gives an instruction to the apparatus via the input unit 17. The above-mentioned information center database records information centers that are sources of information that can be accessed for each region.

The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and FIG.

The current position detected by the position detecting means 12 is transmitted to the CPU 11 at regular time intervals, for example, every second, and the current position in the CPU is updated (S1). CP
U refers to the information center database in the read-only large-capacity storage means 13 and determines whether the current position is near the target area of any information, that is, whether it is in an area accessible to the information center. Is determined (S
2). If the current position is outside the area, the process returns to the previous step (S1) until the current position is inside the area. If the current position is within the area, it is determined whether the obtainable information has already been obtained and stored in the information storage means 15 (S
3) Only when the information has not been acquired, the communication unit 14 is activated and connected to the information center, and information that has not been acquired is newly acquired and stored in the information storage unit 15 (S4). Then, the display of the information stored in the information storage means 15 is
This is performed using the display means 16 (S5). As described above, information can be automatically acquired with movement.

[0011]

However, the number of information centers that provide information has further increased,
In addition, the content of information to be provided has been diversified. Various methods have been developed as described above for the method of selecting and acquiring information based on the current position or the designated point, but even if the information is about the same point,
The information is diversified, and it is becoming complicated to acquire and display all the information and to accurately read necessary information and favorite information from the information. In particular, it is difficult to easily obtain desired information with good operability while driving a car.

[0012] Further, the user needs to always check what kind of information source is useful from among the increasing number of information sources, and then perform the operation of actively acquiring information by himself. It is not easy to obtain desired information.

[0013]

In order to solve this problem, a communication type navigation apparatus according to the present invention comprises a position detecting means for detecting a current position, a storage medium for recording map data and related information, and an external device. Communication means for wirelessly communicating with an information network to obtain information, storage means for storing the obtained information, display means for displaying the map data and the obtained information, and control for controlling the plurality of means. A navigation device comprising: a plurality of regions and types of information to be obtained in the regions are stored in advance in the storage unit as setting information; When it is determined that the information is within one of the plurality of areas, the communication unit is activated, and the information of the type of the setting information stored in the storage unit. It has a configuration to be obtained.

According to this configuration, the type of information to be acquired in each area is stored in advance as setting information for each area, and it is determined that the detected current position has reached the area in the stored setting information. It is possible to realize an apparatus that determines and obtains information of a set type automatically or by a simple operation.

Further, the information acquisition method for a communication type navigation device according to the present invention further comprises, when it is determined that the current position of the device is near the target area of the information, further includes the area and the information type to be acquired in the area. With reference to the setting information in which is set, the information is acquired from the external information network by using wireless communication.

With this configuration, the type of information to be acquired in each area is stored as setting information in advance for each area, and it is determined that the detected current position has reached the area in the stored setting information. By making a determination, information of the set type can be obtained automatically or by a simple operation.

[0017]

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

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication type navigation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Components corresponding to the configuration diagram of FIG. 5 showing a conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 1, the position detecting means 12 is a GPS receiver,
It is composed of an azimuth sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, etc., detects the current position and transmits it to the CPU 11 which controls the entire apparatus. Map data, an information center database, and the like are recorded in a read-only large-capacity storage unit 13 composed of a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. The communication unit 14 performs information communication using radio such as a car phone, a mobile phone, and a PHS phone. The obtained information is stored in a readable and writable storage unit 15 and displayed on a display unit 16 together with the map data and various information. You. Also, the input means 17
The user gives an instruction to the device via the. Further, the readable and writable setting information storage means 18 stores setting information for acquiring information which is a feature of the present invention. The information center database records information centers that are sources of information that can be accessed for each region, types of information that can be obtained, and the like.

Table 1 shows an example of setting information for acquiring information.

[0020]

[Table 1]

By setting the information acquisition method in the first line in the setting information, it is determined whether the current position of the communication type navigation apparatus is near any of the information target areas, that is, the information center in the area can be accessed. The following actions are performed when you enter the target area.

When the automatic acquisition is set,
The information of the set information type is automatically acquired without user intervention. In this example, the information type A that can be obtained)
From among D) to D), information types A) and B) are selectively and automatically obtained.

If the setting is not to be obtained, no operation for obtaining information is performed even when the current position becomes accessible to the local information center.

If no setting is made, an information menu is displayed in which an overview of information of the types of information A) to D) which can be obtained and a price are displayed, and the information is obtained based on the user's selection. .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the present invention. This will be described with reference to the configuration diagram of FIG. 1 and the screen example of FIG.

The current position detected by the position detecting means 12 is transmitted to the CPU 11 at regular time intervals, for example, every second, and the current position in the CPU is updated (S1). CP
U refers to the information center database in the read-only large-capacity storage means 13 and determines whether the current position is near the target area of any information, that is, is in an area accessible to the information center. It is determined whether or not (S2). If the current position is outside the area, the process returns to the previous step (S1) until the current position is inside the area. When the current position is within the area, that is, when the current position is at the position of the arrow on the map of the screen example F1 in FIG. 3, the setting information in the setting information storage unit 18 is referred to (S3). If the acquisition method is set to automatic acquisition in Table 1, the process proceeds to S6. If the information acquisition is not set, the process returns to S1. If the setting information does not exist, the process proceeds to S4.

If the setting information does not exist, an information menu describing the genre and outline of the information obtained from the information service center in the area is read from the information center database and displayed on the display. A display asking the user whether to acquire the respective information is made (S4). For example, it is displayed as a screen example F2 in FIG. The user selects acquisition or non-acquisition of the respective information by the input means 17 such as pressing a button of the device, touching a button on the screen, and giving a voice instruction (S5). If any information is selected to be obtained, the process proceeds to S6, and if all information is not obtained, the process returns to S1. If the user does not make any selection for a certain period of time, for example, 10 seconds, the process returns to S1 as not obtaining all information.

Before acquiring information, it is determined whether the information to be acquired is already acquired information already stored in the information storage means 15 (S6). If all the information has been acquired, the process proceeds to S8. If there is unacquired information, the information acquisition process is actually performed using the protocol or the corresponding information code that matches the acquisition destination "information center" via the communication means, and the acquired information is acquired. The information is stored in the information storage means 15 (S7). An example of an intermediate display in the information acquisition process is shown in F3 in FIG. Next, the information stored in the information storage means 15 is displayed using the display means 16 (S8). Further, it inquires of the user whether or not to automatically acquire the information acquired this time from the next time (S
9). An example of an inquiry screen is shown at F4 in FIG.
If necessary, the setting information for information acquisition is updated (S10). For example, if "No setting" of the information acquisition method in Table 1 is updated to the setting of automatic acquisition of the information types A) and B), the setting is updated as "Automatic setting" in Table 1 and the setting of no acquisition is made. If you update to
Will be updated as

As described above, in the first embodiment, by setting the information acquisition method of the setting information to automatic acquisition in advance, when the area where the information can be acquired is automatically obtained, Desired information can be obtained. Also, in the case of an area where the information acquisition method is not set, the first embodiment
In response to the inquiry from the communication type navigation device, the user can obtain desired information with a relatively easy operation.

The setting information is stored in Table 1 for each region.
Can be set in the form of a table as described above, but can also be set using the information menu in the same manner as the update of the setting information described in the flowchart of FIG.

In the case of automatic acquisition setting, a time range may be set at the same time, and only the time range may be automatically acquired. For example, it is possible to always obtain traffic jam information during morning and evening rush hours, or to obtain gourmet information of the area during mealtime.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Although the configuration of the apparatus is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), the processing and the setting information stored in the setting information storage means are different. Table 2 shows an example of a setting information program for information acquisition according to the second embodiment. In this method, the connection to the local information center and the type of information are set separately, and when the vehicle sequentially moves from the departure point to the destination, which is the set area listed in the first row of Table 2, It is an example of a setting information program in which the setting of the connection to the information center and the setting of the method of obtaining the information of the information type are represented by symbols in the corresponding columns of the respective columns.

[0034]

[Table 2]

The information type specified in the information type column is a large classification of the acquired information, and there are cases where the information should be further classified and acquired. For example, in the case of the gourmet information of C), if there is a lot of information, it may be necessary to further narrow down the information type by the type of food and drink, the price range, and the like. The same applies to the tourist information of D). Although the final information type or the intermediately classified information type narrowed down in this way can be used as setting information by classifying the information type, the above information type will be described here.

In this example, the travel information of A) is, for example, road traffic regulation information, road congestion information, shortest route information, etc., which can be obtained simultaneously and displayed in different colors on map data. And The map information in B) is the latest map of the area, and the service information in F) includes parking lot information and gas station information. The classification of the information types and the corresponding symbols may be of any type as long as the information center and the information center database and the user who provide the information can recognize them in common, and do not impair the essence of the present invention.

An example of the setting information program shown in Table 2 will be described in a scenario.

In this case, the setting information is set by dividing the scheduled travel section from the departure point to the destination through the via point into five areas.

Since the departure point is an area where the user normally uses the vehicle, the road conditions are well known, and there is no need to obtain information. Therefore, the connection to the information center is set not to be performed.

In the area between the departure point and the transit point, although the road conditions are well known, a connection to the information center is made in order to obtain traffic regulation information and road congestion information just in case.
A) Set automatic acquisition of travel information.

Since the transit point has not been through for a long time, connect to the information center. A) With automatic acquisition of driving information, B) I would like to update if the map information is new, and D) sightseeing. I want to get any information, so I set up the acquisition after confirmation.

Since it is the first travel area in the area between the transit point and the destination, it is likely to be used at lunch together with A) automatic acquisition of travel information and B) map information, so after 11:30, C) To check gourmet information, set acquisition after confirmation.

Since the destination is for sightseeing, it is set to connect to the information center and to automatically acquire all information.

As described above, when the user starts running after setting information is programmed, the user enters the set area and the information set for automatic acquisition is displayed on the screen based on the setting information. Regarding the information set to be acquired after confirmation, a confirmation display of acquisition is made, and processing for the presence or absence of information acquisition is performed according to a user's instruction.

In the case where connection to the information center is not set, for example, when the vehicle is traveling in an area other than the scheduled driving area set in Table 2, or when connection is set after confirmation, the information center is connected to the information center. At the point where the user can access, the user is inquired about whether connection is possible or not and executed. When a connection is made, information is acquired after selection of acquired information by an information menu indicating the information type.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the processing of the second embodiment. Since the overall flow of the process is the same as the flowchart of the process of the first embodiment in FIG. 2, the differences will be mainly described.

The current position in the CPU is updated (S1
1) It is determined whether or not the current position is near any of the information target areas, that is, whether or not the information center is in an area accessible to the information center (S12). The setting information of the information storage means 18;
The setting information of the connection to the information center in the second row of Table 2 is determined (S13). S2 if automatic connection is set
The process proceeds to step S1 and returns to step S11 if connection is not set, and returns to step S11 if connection is made after confirming whether setting information exists.
Proceed to 4.

If the automatic connection has been set, the method of acquiring the information of the information type in the setting information is determined (S21). If automatic acquisition is set for the information type, the process proceeds to S16, and if acquisition after confirmation is set, S1 is performed.
Go to 5.

If the connection is made after confirming that the setting information does not exist, an information menu in which an outline of information types obtained from the information center in the area is written is read from the information center database and displayed on the display. At the same time, a display for inquiring the user as to whether or not to acquire the respective information is performed (S14). The user enters the input means 17
The user selects whether or not to acquire the respective information via (S15). If any information is selected to be obtained, the process proceeds to S16. If all information is not obtained, the process returns to S11. If the user does not make any selection for a certain period of time, for example, 10 seconds, it is determined that all information is not obtained and S11
Return to

The subsequent operation is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the setting information is updated for both the connection to the information center and the acquisition of the information type (S20).

As described above, in the second embodiment, by setting the scheduled route and the information type in advance as setting information, the information type set for automatic connection / automatic acquisition is automatically set. In addition, information can be obtained by a simple acquisition confirmation operation for the information type set for automatic connection and acquisition after confirmation. Further, when traveling in an area outside of the scheduled route for which the setting information is not set in advance, the same as the case where the setting information is not set, it is the same as the case where the setting information is not obtained. Desired information can be obtained by a relatively easy operation of selecting an information menu.

Note that the number of setting areas in the setting information may be arbitrary. In addition, the setting area may be any area that can correspond to the area in the information center database, such as a specific latitude and longitude and its surrounding area, administrative area such as municipalities, general place name area, specific area. It can be set as a neighborhood around a building or a historic site, or as an area along a road or a highway. It can also be set by specifying a position on the map. The setting of the information type to be acquired can be set in the form of a table as shown in Table 2 for each region, or by using the information menu in the same manner as the updating of the setting information described in the flowchart. Can also be set.

In the first and second embodiments, the information center which is a source of information which can be accessed for each area, the type of information which can be obtained, and the like are recorded.
With reference to the information center database in the navigation device, it has been described that the information is acquired by connecting to the local information center, but the "information service management center" that comprehensively manages a plurality of "information service centers" or It is also possible to connect to an information center based on the latest information center databases owned by these centers by inquiring of "information providing centers" or the like, and obtain information from the information menu of the information center.

It is also possible to obtain a part or all of the latest information center database owned by the center and update the information center database in the navigation device.

In the first and second embodiments, it has been described that the access center can determine access to the information center at the current position of the navigation device by referring to its own information center database. It can also be performed by receiving a signal from the providing center. As a result, it is possible to obtain information by activating the local information providing center.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the description has been given of the case where the local information is obtained at the current position of the navigation device.
By specifying the area of the route to the specific point or the destination, the information of the specified area can be obtained.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, when there is no passenger other than the driver, the display of the information not related to the driving of the car is performed only while the vehicle is stopped by using the conventional technology. It is also possible to improve safety.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By storing the type of information to be acquired in each area as setting information for each area, information of the set type can be automatically or simply acquired according to the current position. It is possible to provide a communication-type navigation device with improved user convenience.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication type navigation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process of the communication type navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the communication type navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing of a communication type navigation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional communication type navigation device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing of a conventional communication type navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 CPU 12 Position detection means 13 Large capacity storage means 14 Communication means 15 Information storage means 16 Display means 17 Input means 18 Setting information storage means

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a current position, a storage medium for recording map data and related information, a communication means for communicating with an external information network wirelessly to acquire information, and the acquired information Storage means for storing, as setting information, a region and an information type to be acquired in the region, a display means for displaying the map data and the acquired information, and an input for inputting a user instruction Means, and a navigation device comprising control means for controlling the plurality of means, wherein the control means further comprises, when it is determined that the detected current position is close to the target area of the information, A communication-type navigation device characterized by referring to information, activating the communication means, and acquiring information. 2. The communication-type navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising designating means for designating at least whether to automatically acquire the set information type. 3. When acquiring the information by referring to the setting information, when it is determined that the current position is within the area set by the setting information, the setting information of the area includes: For the information type for which automatic acquisition is designated by the designation means, the information type including an outline of the information type is displayed for the information type designated for acquisition after confirmation, and for the information type designated for acquisition after confirmation, If the type of information selected by is not specified for all information types, and if it is determined that the current position is outside the area set by the setting information, 2. The communication navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an information menu including an outline is displayed, and a type of the information selected by the input unit is obtained. 4. The communication type navigation device according to claim 1, wherein said control means detects said current position based on a current position detected by said position detection means. 5. The control unit determines that the current position is near the target area of the information by the communication unit receiving a radio signal of a local information providing center. The communication type navigation device according to claim 1. 6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, instead of the detected current position, the control unit determines that the position designated by the input unit is near the target area of the information. Communication type navigation device. 7. The communication navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a time range to be acquired is set in the setting information in addition to a type of information to be acquired. 8. The communication-type navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the type of the obtainable information is obtained from a local information center and displayed. 9. When the setting information is set, an information menu including an overview of obtainable information types and an information acquisition method are displayed, and the information type selected by the input unit and the information acquisition method are displayed. The communication-type navigation device according to claim 2, wherein is set as the setting information. 10. The display of information that is not related to the running of a car in the acquired information on the display means is performed only when the vehicle is stopped when there is no passenger other than the driver. The communication type navigation device according to claim 1 or 2. 11. When it is determined that the current position of the apparatus is near the target area of information, an external information network is further referred to by referring to setting information in which the area and the type of information to be acquired in the area are set. An information acquisition method for a communication-type navigation device, wherein information is acquired using more wireless communication. 12. The information acquisition method for a communication-type car navigation device according to claim 11, further comprising a step of specifying whether to automatically acquire at least the set information type. 13. As a method of acquiring information by referring to the setting information, when it is determined that the current position is within an area set by the setting information, the setting information of the area includes: For information types for which automatic acquisition is specified,
For information types specified to be acquired after confirmation of the information type, an information menu containing an overview of those information types is displayed, and the information type selected in the information menu is specified for all information types. If not, and if it is determined that the current position is outside the area set in the setting information, to display an information menu including an overview of the information type that can be obtained, selected from among the The method for acquiring information of a communication-type navigation device according to claim 11, wherein the type of the acquired information is acquired. 14. The information acquisition method for a communication-type navigation device according to claim 11, wherein the determination of the current position is performed based on a current position detected by position detection means provided in the device. 15. The communication type navigation according to claim 11, wherein a determination is made that said current position is near a target area of information by receiving a radio signal of a local information providing center. Device information acquisition method. 16. The information acquisition method for a communication-type navigation device according to claim 11, wherein, instead of the detected current position, it is determined that the designated position is near the information target area. . 17. The method according to claim 11, wherein a time range to be acquired is set in the setting information in addition to a type of information to be acquired. 18. The information acquisition method for a communication-type navigation device according to claim 13, wherein said obtainable information type is obtained from a local information center and displayed. 19. When setting the setting information, an information menu including an overview of obtainable information types and an information obtaining method are displayed, and the information type selected and the information obtaining method are displayed. 14. The information acquisition method for a communication-type navigation device according to claim 13, wherein the setting information is set. 20. The method according to claim 10, wherein the display of information that is not related to the driving of the vehicle in the acquired information is performed only when the vehicle is stopped when there is no passenger other than the driver.
An information acquisition method for a communication type navigation device according to claim 13.