JP2001136090A - Radio broadcast receiver and on-vehicle navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car navigation device 10 by which a user can efficiently select another appropriate FM multiplex radio broadcast program with VICS information when a reception state of a FM multiplex radio broadcast program with VICS information is deteriorated. SOLUTION: An FM car radio receiver 45 uses an FM reception section 47 and a VICS decoder to extract VICS information from an FM multiplex radio broadcast program with VICS information that is selected at present and a sensitivity measurement circuit 50 scans an FM radio broadcast frequency band so as to retrieve the presence of an FM multiplex radio broadcast program with VICS information whose electric field strength E is a prescribed value Er or over at all times. A display device 38 displays all the FM multiplex radio broadcast programs with VICS information retrieved by the sensitivity measurement circuit 50 whose electric field strength E is the prescribed value Er or over while its reception frequency R is related to the electric field strength E as information or the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio broadcast receiver and an on-vehicle navigation device equipped with a radio broadcast receiver, and more particularly to a radio broadcast receiver and a radio broadcast receiver equipped with a radio broadcast receiver which can efficiently select a station by a user. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a car navigation system, a VIC is used.
S (Vehicle Information and
VICS information is obtained from FM multiplex radio broadcasting with Communication System information, and the VICS information is displayed on a road map displayed on a display device.

[0003]

As the automobile moves,
The electric field strength of FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information that is currently being received may decrease, and it may be necessary to switch to another FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information. In such a case,
In the conventional in-vehicle navigation device, the user can transmit the FM multiplex radio broadcast with the VICS information instead of the FM multiplex radio broadcast with the VICS information whose electric field intensity has been reduced without giving information on the reception frequency to the radio broadcast frequency. You have to search inside the belt, which makes searching less efficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a radio broadcast receiver capable of overcoming the above-mentioned problems and a vehicle-mounted navigation device equipped with the radio broadcast receiver.

[0005]

According to a radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, a radio broadcast whose electric field strength E of a received radio wave is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er at a current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast. Search processing for searching one or more
The radio broadcast found by this search process is called "radio broadcast S". ) Is performed constantly, periodically, or as appropriate, the result of the search processing is stored in the memory as search processing information, and the search processing information is read out from the memory as appropriate.
A predetermined process is performed.

The predetermined processing for appropriately reading out the search processing information from the memory and performing the processing includes at least each radio broadcast S
And displaying the received frequency to the user.

[0007] The broadcast system of the radio broadcast S is not limited to the FM radio broadcast. An AM radio broadcast or a SW radio broadcast may be used. Furthermore, the radio broadcast S
Normally, only radio broadcasting of the same broadcasting scheme as the currently selected radio broadcasting is used, but radio broadcasting of a different broadcasting scheme may be used. That is, the radio broadcast S is usually, for example, only an FM radio broadcast, but may be an AM radio broadcast or both FM and AM radio broadcasts.

[0008] The radio broadcast S may not be all the radio broadcasts that satisfy the condition that the electric field strength E of the received radio wave is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast. A predetermined number of radio broadcasts, for example, one or two radio broadcasts are also allowed. The radio broadcast S searched for in the search process may be limited to, for example, only FM multiplex radio broadcast or only FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information.

In this manner, the radio broadcast S, that is, a radio broadcast in which the electric field strength E of the received radio wave is equal to or higher than Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast is detected, and the result of this search processing is stored in the memory as search processing information. By storing and appropriately reading out the search processing information from the memory and using it for various processes, the various processes can be performed accurately and quickly.

[0010] According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, one or more radio broadcasts in which the electric field strength E of the received radio wave is equal to or more than the predetermined value Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast are searched. Search processing (hereinafter, the radio broadcast found by this search processing is referred to as “radio broadcast S”)
Is implemented at all times, periodically, or as appropriate, and each radio broadcast S
Is displayed to the user.

The reception frequency of the found radio broadcast S is displayed to the user at all times, when the user instructs, or when the electric field strength of the currently selected radio broadcast falls below the reference value. May be.

As described above, in the radio broadcast receiver (45),
Since the radio broadcast S, that is, a radio broadcast in which the electric field strength E of the received radio wave is equal to or higher than Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast, is detected and the reception frequency of the radio broadcast S is displayed to the user. For example, if the reception condition of the currently selected radio broadcast is deteriorated (note:
The switching of the channel selection by the user is not limited to the deterioration of the reception state of the currently selected radio broadcast. ), It is possible to efficiently switch to another appropriate radio broadcast based on the display of the reception frequency of the radio broadcast S.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, the electric field strength E or the classification of the electric field strength E of the found radio broadcast S is displayed together with the user.

The classification of the electric field strength E is, for example, when the electric field strength is classified into a plurality of ranks (for example, rank 1, rank 2, rank 3,... From the higher electric field strength rank). , The rank to which the electric field strength E belongs.

The radio broadcast S displayed on the display means (38) is in descending order (preferably in descending order, but may be in ascending order) using a predetermined reference, for example, the electric field intensity E or the classification of the electric field intensity E as a key. May be sorted.

Since the electric field strength E of the radio broadcast S is also displayed, when there are a plurality of radio broadcasts S being displayed, the user can select the electric field strength E or the electric field strength of the radio broadcast S from the plurality of radio broadcasts S. By selecting a desired radio broadcast S (for example, the radio broadcast S having the highest electric field strength E) based on the classification of E and selecting it in place of the currently selected radio broadcast, the optimum radio broadcast S is selected. Efficient tuning.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, the reception frequency of the currently selected radio broadcast and the electric field intensity or the classification of the electric field intensity are displayed together with the user.

The user also knows the received radio wave of the currently selected radio broadcast and the electric field strength or the classification of the electric field strength, and regarding the electric field strength or the classification of the electric field strength, the currently selected radio broadcast and other radio waves are selected. In comparison with broadcasting, if there is a more appropriate radio broadcast, for example, a radio broadcast with a large electric field strength, the channel selection can be switched to another appropriate radio broadcast.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, while the reception frequency is scanned from one end to the other end of the radio broadcast frequency band, the electric field intensity E at each reception frequency is not less than the predetermined value Er. It is determined whether or not there is, and if the determination is YES, the radio broadcast of the received radio wave is set as the radio broadcast S.

In searching for the radio broadcast S, the reception frequency is scanned from one end of the radio broadcast frequency band to the other end, so that the radio broadcast S whose electric field strength E is equal to or more than Er within the radio broadcast frequency band. Can be found efficiently and without omission.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, the frequency of the radio broadcast predicted to be receivable in each region in the whole country (hereinafter, this frequency is referred to as "F") is defined as the region range. Is stored in advance in a memory (hereinafter, this memory is referred to as “memory M”), the current location is detected, and the frequency F in the area range including the detected current location is read out from the memory M and read out. It is determined whether or not the actual electric field strength E at the current location is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Er for each frequency F. If the determination is YES, the radio broadcast of the frequency F is set to the radio broadcast S.

The frequency F is a specific radio broadcast (for example, FM multiplex radio broadcast or FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information) even if it is the frequency of all radio broadcasts that are predicted to be receivable in each region. It is OK.

The reception frequency is scanned from one end to the other end of the radio broadcast frequency band, and the radio broadcast frequency F is read from the memory M as compared with the method of searching for the radio broadcast S. , The actual electric field strength is a predetermined value E
The radio broadcast S can be searched more efficiently by determining whether or not the number is equal to or larger than r.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, whether or not the electric field strength E of the received radio wave in the radio broadcast is equal to or more than the predetermined value Er is determined by the electric field strength of the received radio wave in the predetermined time T. The determination is made based on whether or not the average value of E is equal to or greater than a predetermined value Er.

For example, when the radio broadcast receiver (45) is mounted on a car or is portable, the current location of the radio broadcast receiver (45) constantly changes, , The reliability of the detected value of the electric field strength of the received radio wave decreases. Therefore, the electric field strength is determined for a predetermined time (eg,
The radio broadcast S can be accurately detected by comparing the average value of several seconds in the case of the automobile equipment) with the predetermined value Er.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, the radio broadcast S is limited to the FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information which multiplexes the main broadcast and the sub broadcast of the traffic information.

The traffic information of the FM multiplex broadcasting with traffic information is, for example, VICS information.

For example, an in-vehicle navigation device (10)
A radio broadcast receiver (45) is provided, in which the radio broadcast S is all FM multiplex broadcasts with traffic information multiplexing a main broadcast and a sub-broadcast of traffic information. If the reception state of the FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information inside deteriorates, based on the display of the reception frequency of the FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information S, the new FM with broadcast information can be efficiently created.
The multiplex broadcast S can be selected.

According to the radio broadcast receiver (45) of the present invention, is the radio broadcast S limited to (a) FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information which multiplexes the main broadcast and the sub-broadcast of traffic information? (B) The user can freely switch between FM broadcast and radio broadcast.

For example, when traffic information is required, for example, when displaying traffic information on a map of the display means (38) of the on-vehicle navigation device (10), the radio broadcast S is set to (a) the main broadcast and the traffic information. The FM multiplex broadcast with all traffic information multiplexed with the sub-broadcast of the sub-broadcast can be used for the radio, such as when the traffic information is not particularly displayed on the map of the display means (38) of the on-vehicle navigation device (10). When the traffic information from the broadcast is not required, the radio broadcast S is changed to (b) all FM radio broadcasts and the sound is heard, so that the radio broadcast receiver provided in the vehicle-mounted navigation device (10) is provided.
(45) can be used appropriately according to the use situation.

In-vehicle navigation device (10) of the present invention
According to the above, a radio broadcast receiver (45) having the above-mentioned features is provided.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the car navigation device 10. 12 is a main controller composed of a microcomputer or the like, 14 is a vehicle position processing device, 16 is a map database composed of a CD-ROM or the like, 18
Is a recording medium reading device including a CD-ROM drive, etc., 20 is a main storage memory including a RAM or the like, 22 is an input device, 24 is a video processing device, 26 is an audio output device (speaker), 45 is FM with VICS information. This is an FM car radio that receives multiplex radio broadcasts and extracts VICS information. The own-vehicle position processing device 14 further includes an autonomous navigation sensor 28 including an angular velocity sensor that detects the rotational angular velocity of the own vehicle and a distance sensor that detects the traveling distance of the own vehicle, and measures the current position and current direction of the vehicle by satellite navigation. A GPS receiver 30 for calculating the position of the vehicle based on inputs from the autonomous navigation sensor 28 and the GPS receiver 30 is provided.
The recording medium reading device 18 reads map data from the map database 16 and outputs the map data to the main controller 12. The main controller 12 outputs the unit data of the road network from the recording medium reader 18, the current position data of the own vehicle from the own vehicle position processing device 14, and the departure place and the purpose of the own vehicle input from the input device 32 by the user. The position data relating to the ground is stored in the main storage memory 20. The main controller 12 calculates recommended route guidance data and the like based on the data read from the main storage memory 20, and converts the recommended route guidance data, the map data of the area including the own vehicle position, the own vehicle position data, and the like to the image processing device. Output to 24. Further, the main controller 12 sends data to the audio output device 26, and notifies the user of the information from the audio output device 26 as appropriate. The image processing device 24 is a display device (display)
38, a graphics controller 34 and a video RAM
36, the recommended route guidance data is stored in the video RAM 36 by the graphic controller 34, and the video RA
The recommended route guidance data read from M36 is output to the display device 38 and displayed.

In the FM car radio 45, the received radio wave is received by the antenna 46, and the FM receiver 47 receives the VICS information from the selected FM multiplex radio broadcast with the VICS information out of the received radio waves received by the antenna 46. The signal is extracted and sent to the VICS decoder 48. VICS decoder
48 decodes the input signal from the FM receiving unit 47, and
S information is obtained, and the VICS information is sent to the main controller 12. On the other hand, in the sensitivity measuring circuit 50, the FM radio broadcast of the reception frequency selected by the PLL 52 is extracted by the filter 51 out of the radio waves received by the antenna 46,
Further, after being converted into an intermediate frequency, the signal is passed through a filter 53, and the sensitivity (= electric field intensity E) is measured in a sensitivity measuring unit 54. The measurement value of the sensitivity measurement unit 54 is sent to the main controller 12.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a job for searching for an FM multiplex radio broadcast with VICS information at which VICS information can be obtained at the current location and creating a user display list. The job is repeatedly executed without interruption, or is executed at regular time intervals. In S61, the lower limit frequency Rl of the FM radio broadcast frequency band is substituted for the reception frequency R, and 1 is substituted for i. S62
Then, for the electric field intensity E of the reception frequency R, the electric field intensity E ≧
It is determined whether or not it is the predetermined value Er. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to the next S63, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to S66. In S63, it is determined whether or not the FM radio broadcast detected as E ≧ Er is an FM multiplex radio broadcast with VICS information. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to the next S64, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to S66. move on. In S64, R and E are written in the record number i of the user display list.
In S65, i is incremented by one. In S66, R is incremented by a predetermined amount ΔR. ΔR is, for example, 100 kHz. In S67, it is determined whether or not R> Ru (where Ru is the upper limit frequency of the FM radio broadcast frequency band).
Proceed to S68, and if NO, return to S62. In S68, the contents of the i-th and subsequent records in the user display list are cleared. Thus, the receiving frequency is scanned from the lower limit Rl to the upper limit Ru of the FM radio broadcast frequency band, and the electric field strength E
Is searched for the FM multiplex radio broadcast with VICS information that is equal to or more than the predetermined value Er, and all the searched FM multiplex radio broadcasts with VICS information S are registered in the user display list.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a job for creating a user display list by a method different from that of FIG. The job is also repeatedly executed without interruption, or executed at regular time intervals, similarly to the job of FIG. S7
In step 1, the current position is detected based on information from the GPS receiver 30. In S72, all reception frequencies Rj of FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information registered as FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information in the area including the current location are read from the ROM. In the ROM, the whole of Japan is divided into predetermined regions such as prefectures, and reception frequencies of FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information, which are predicted to be receivable in each region, are registered in association with the region. is there. In S73, the number of Rj read in S72 is substituted for n. In S74, 1 is substituted for i and j, respectively. In S75, the electric field intensity E of the reception frequency Rj is measured, and it is determined whether or not the electric field intensity E ≧ the predetermined value Er. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to S76, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to S76.
Proceed to 78. In S76, Rj, E is written to the i-th record of the user display list. In S77, i is set to 1
In step S78, j is incremented by one. In S79, it is determined whether or not j> n. If the determination is YES, that is, for all Rj,
If the determination in S75 is completed, the process proceeds to S80, and if NO, the process returns to S75. In S80, the contents of the i-th and subsequent records in the user display list are cleared. Thus, the receivable VICS in the area range to which the current location belongs
All the Rjs written in the ROM as the FM multiplex radio broadcasting with information are read out, the electric field strength E ≧ Er is determined for only those Rjs, and only the Rjs that clear the determination are registered in the user display list. Electric field strength E ≧
Since the determination of Er only needs to be performed for Rj, the user display list creation processing is streamlined.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a job for displaying the user display list created in FIG. 2 or 3 on the display device 38 of the car navigation device 10. In S86, it is determined whether or not the user display list has been updated.
If it is ES, the process proceeds to S87, and if NO, the job is ended. In S87, the display of the user display list on the display device 38 is updated. The user display list displayed on the display device 38 includes V-codes that can be appropriately received at the current location.
Along with the reception frequency of the FM multiplex radio broadcasting with ICS information and the electric field strength thereof, the name of the broadcasting station, a mark indicating whether the currently selected FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information is lost, or the like may be displayed. Also, each record of the user display list displayed on the display device 38 is sorted in descending order of the electric field strength, or the electric field strength is classified into a plurality of ranks instead of the electric field strength itself, and the rank is displayed. It may be as follows. The user looks at the display on the display device 38 or sees the inappropriateness of the VICS information on the map display screen of the display device 38 and sees the VI currently selected.
When the receiving condition of the FM multiplex radio broadcasting with CS information is deteriorating, it is switched to another appropriate FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information. The user may then select another appropriate V
Since the reception frequency of the FM multiplex radio broadcasting with ICS information can be known from the display device 38, the reception frequency of the other FM multiplex radio broadcasting with VICS information can be compared with arbitrarily searching for the reception frequency. Appropriate V
Tuning to FM multiplex radio broadcasting with ICS information can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a car navigation device.

FIG. 2 is a VI where VICS information can be obtained at the current location.
It is a flowchart of the job which searches for FM multiplex radio broadcasting with CS information and creates a user display list.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a job for creating a user display list by a method different from that of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a job for displaying the user display list created in FIG. 2 or 3 on a display device of a car navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 car navigation device (vehicle navigation device) 38 display device (display means) 45 FM car radio (radio broadcast receiver)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H03J 7/18 H03J 7/18 H04H 1/00 H04H 1/00 PF term (Reference) 5H180 AA01 EE18 FF04 FF05 FF12 FF13 FF22 FF25 FF27 FF40 5J103 AA13 BA02 BA06 CA04 CB04 DA44 GB04 HB01 HC03 HD05 JA09 JA19 LA02 LA04 5K061 AA09 BB00 BB04 BB19 CC00 CC11 CC27 CC45 DD03 DD04 DD12 DD14 FF02 FF13 JJ18 JJ07 JJ07

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A search process for searching for one or more radio broadcasts whose electric field strength E of a received radio wave is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast (hereinafter, this search process is performed). The radio broadcast is referred to as “radio broadcast S”). The search processing result is stored in a memory as search processing information at all times, periodically, or as appropriate. Read out,
A radio broadcast receiver configured to perform a predetermined process. 2. A search process for searching for one or more radio broadcasts in which the electric field strength E of a received radio wave is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er at the current location other than the currently selected radio broadcast (hereinafter, this search process is performed). Radio broadcasts are referred to as “radio broadcasts S”) at all times, periodically or appropriately, and the reception frequency of each radio broadcast S is displayed to the user. Machine. 3. The radio broadcast receiver according to claim 2, wherein the electric field strength E or the classification of the electric field strength E of the found radio broadcast S is displayed together with the user. 4. The radio broadcast receiver according to claim 3, wherein the reception frequency of the currently selected radio broadcast and the electric field intensity or the classification of the electric field intensity are also displayed to the user together. . 5. While scanning the reception frequency from one end of the radio broadcasting frequency band to the other end, it is determined whether or not the electric field strength E at each reception frequency is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er. The radio broadcast receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the radio broadcast of the received radio wave is radio broadcast S, if any. 6. A memory (hereinafter, this memory is referred to as “F”) in which radio broadcast frequencies (hereinafter, this frequency is referred to as “F”) predicted to be receivable in each region in the whole country are associated with the region. The current position is detected in advance, and the frequency F in the area range including the detected current position is stored in the memory M.
It is determined whether or not the actual electric field strength E at the current location is equal to or greater than a predetermined value Er for each frequency F read. If the determination is YES, the radio broadcast of the frequency F is set to the radio broadcast S Claim 1 characterized by the following:
The radio broadcast receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. Whether or not the average value of the electric field strength E of a received radio wave in a predetermined time T for a radio broadcast is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er is determined whether or not the electric field intensity E of the received radio wave is equal to or more than a predetermined value Er. The radio broadcast receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the determination is made based on whether or not the radio broadcast is received. 8. The radio broadcast S is limited to an FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information in which a main broadcast and a sub broadcast of traffic information are multiplexed. The described radio broadcast receiver. 9. The radio broadcast S may be limited to (a) an FM multiplex broadcast with traffic information in which a main broadcast and a sub broadcast of traffic information are multiplexed, or (b) an FM radio broadcast. The radio broadcast receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a user can switch the radio broadcast receiver. A radio broadcast receiver according to claim 7. 10. An on-vehicle navigation device equipped with the radio broadcast receiver (45) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.