JP2002071356A - Car navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by providing a minimum wiring connection between a device body and a monitor and attachable/detachable manipulations of an outer recording medium, even during operation. SOLUTION: A device body 2 and a monitor 3 are formed independently and respectively placed at different locations in a vehicle. A microphone 17 for a voice input and a slot 21, where an outer recording medium 19 is attachably/detachably manipulated are placed in the monitor 3 at a front face 10a of a case 10, where a displaying surface 12a of a displaying device 12 is provided. An image pick up part 18a of a solid image pick up device camera 18 is placed at the front surface part 10a of the case 10 in the monitor 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a car navigation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The spread of car navigation systems has been gradually increasing due to cost reduction, improvement of functions and operability, and the like. In addition, the car navigation system uses an automatic toll collection system (ETC: _{Electronic Toll Collection).
System} ), emergency call service, etc., and the next generation mobile communication system, such as the connection function with the Internet network. I have.

[0003] In a car navigation system, a multi-functional optical disk (DVD-ROM) having a high storage capacity capable of recording information of several optical disks is used based on the specification of digital map information using an optical disk (CD-ROM). Things are also being offered. In a car navigation device, a disc player is built in the device body to reproduce these optical disks,
The above-described optical disk is loaded, the recorded information is read out, and displayed on a monitor.

In a car navigation system, not only the above-mentioned read-only optical disk, but also a recordable optical disk (CD-R), a multifunctional optical disk (DVD-ROM) or a hard disk capable of writing information. Use is also being considered. Further, in a car navigation device, use of a small memory card capable of recording information of several megabytes to about 100 megabytes is being studied.

[0005] A car-mounted solid-state imaging device is used in a car for photographing and recording a driving scene or the like while driving to commemorate a trip, or recording fuel consumption by photographing a odometer or a fuel gauge. Camera (CCD camera: _{charge coupled device)}
Camera). In a car navigation device, a multi-function monitor for switching and projecting a scene or the like captured by the CCD camera is also provided.

[0006]

The above-described car navigation system generally comprises an apparatus main body having a built-in disc player and the like, and a monitor and a remote controller. It is installed in the lower space of the trunk and seat. In the car navigation device, the monitor is sized so as not to hinder driving and to make the screen easy to see, and is installed on a dashboard, for example. In a car navigation device, power is generally supplied to a device body and a monitor using a cigar lighter.

[0007] In the car navigation system, a microphone and a CC have been developed along with the above-mentioned multi-function and high-function.
A D camera or a reader / writer for an external storage medium is provided. In car navigation systems,
In the car, the main unit, monitor, microphone and CC
Although the wiring processing of the D camera is required, the wiring is cumbersome and the wiring is exposed, so that there is a problem that the aesthetic appearance in the vehicle is impaired or the wiring is broken due to being caught.

In a car navigation device, for example, an operation such as recording a voice from a microphone, information about a surrounding scenery photographed by a CCD camera, or information provided from the outside in an external storage medium during driving may be performed. is there. In a car navigation device, a drive plan created using a personal computer or the like and guide information obtained using the Internet are recorded in a memory card in advance, and the memory card is loaded into the device body. An operation of displaying recorded information on a monitor is performed.

In the car navigation system, as described above, the main body including the disk player is installed under the trunk or the seat. For this reason, in the car navigation device, when attempting to perform a disc replacement operation or a voice input operation during driving, the function of inserting or removing the external storage medium is difficult or cannot be performed. There was a problem that it could not be demonstrated.

Therefore, the present invention provides a car navigation system in which the operability is improved by connecting the main body of the monitor and the monitor with minimum wiring and enabling the operation of inserting and removing an external storage medium even during operation. It has been proposed for the purpose of providing.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the car navigation system according to the present invention has a main body and a monitor which are independent of each other, and are respectively installed at different positions in the vehicle. The car navigation device is provided with a microphone for voice input and a slot through which an external recording medium is inserted / removed on a front surface of a housing provided with a display surface of a monitor.

Further, in the car navigation device according to the present invention, an imaging section of a solid-state imaging device camera is arranged on a front surface of a housing provided with a display surface of a monitor.

According to the car navigation system of the present invention constructed as described above, since the microphone and the solid-state imaging device camera do not need to be wired, they are installed in the vehicle in the same manner as in the prior art, thereby improving workability. In addition, the aesthetic appearance in the vehicle can be maintained, and disconnection due to hooking can be prevented. According to the car navigation device, the operation of inserting and removing the external recording medium is performed quickly even during driving, and various information can be recorded on this external recording medium in a timely manner and recorded on the external recording medium. The information thus obtained can be quickly displayed on the monitor. Therefore, according to the car navigation device, the mounted functions can be sufficiently exhibited even during driving.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. A car navigation device 1 shown as an embodiment has a device main body 2, a monitor 3, a remote controller 4, and a not-shown GPS antenna (GPS: _{Global
Positioning System} ). Although the details of the car navigation device 1 are omitted, power is supplied to the device main body 2 and the monitor 3 using a terminal box and a cigar lighter 5, and a GPS antenna is attached to a rear tray or a trunk lid. In the car navigation device 1, a power cord and various cables for connecting the device main body 2 and the monitor 3 are accommodated in a single coaxial cable.

The apparatus main body 2 is provided with a disk player and a disk changer for reproducing recorded information from an optical disk, a video disk, a musical sound disk, or the like on which loaded map information or version upgrade information is recorded. The apparatus main body 2, and a GPS receiving unit for example, traffic jam information service (VICS: _{Vehicl e
Information and Communication System} ), a FM text multiplex broadcast receiving unit that provides news, weather forecast, traffic information, and the like, a voice recognition unit, and the like. The apparatus main body 2 has a box shape as a whole, and is installed in a lower space between a seat and a floor or in a trunk as in the related art.

As shown in FIG. 1, the monitor 3 has a mounting bracket 11 attached to the bottom of the housing 10 and omitting details.
Is installed on the dashboard 6 by using. Of course,
The monitor 3 may be incorporated in the console box 7. The monitor 3 includes a liquid crystal display 12 for displaying various information supplied from the apparatus main body 2, and is attached so that a display surface 12a thereof can be confirmed by a driver as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the monitor 3 is provided with a power switch 13 on the front surface 10a of the housing 10 provided with a display surface 12a, and a power indicator lamp 14 for lighting and displaying a power-on state.

The monitor 3 is provided on the front surface 10a of the housing 10 with a receiving unit 15 for receiving a control signal transmitted from the remote controller 4 by infrared rays, short-range wireless communication, or the like. The monitor 3 is provided with a speaker 16 that emits sound guides for map information supplied from the apparatus main body 2 and external sound input information and the like, and the sound emitting section has a display surface 12a as shown in FIG. It is provided on the front part 10 a of the provided housing 10. The speaker 16 is disposed on one side surface of the front portion 10a located on the driver side when the car navigation device 1 is installed on the dashboard 6, so that a clear sound is emitted to the driver. When performing stereo sound emission, the speaker 16
They are arranged on both sides of the display surface 12a.

The monitor 3 is provided with a voice input unit for inputting voice to a recording medium or the like or for making a call, and a microphone 17 for voice input is provided with a display surface 12a as shown in FIG. It is provided on the front part 10 a of the housing 10. The microphone 17 is arranged on one side of the front part 10a located on the driver side when the car navigation device 1 is installed, so that a clear voice input by the driver is performed even during driving.

The monitor 3 is equipped with a CCD camera 18 used for photographing the inside of the vehicle, photographing materials and the like, and the image pickup unit 18a is provided on the front surface of the housing 10 provided with the display surface 12a. It is provided in the unit 10a. CCD
The camera 18 captures moving image information or still image information.
Although not shown, the CCD camera 18 has an imaging unit 18a supported via a swing mechanism, and is driven up, down, left, and right by operation of the remote controller 4 to be able to image the entire interior of the vehicle.

The CCD camera 18 displays the image information obtained by the operation of the remote controller 4 on the liquid crystal display 1.
2 to be switched and displayed from the map image. The CCD camera 18 records the captured still image information and moving image information on an external recording medium 19 to be described later by operating the remote controller 4. The external recording medium 19 records not only the image information supplied from the CCD camera 18 but also the audio information supplied from the microphone 17 at the same time.

The CCD camera 18 is mounted on the front part 1 of the housing 10.
Although it is arranged at the center upper portion of Oa, it may be attached to the upper surface of the housing 10 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. CC
In this case, the D camera 18 is attached to the housing 10 via a swing mechanism 20 having a spherical joint, though details are omitted in this case. The swing mechanism 20 drives the CCD camera 18 not only in the vertical and horizontal directions but also in the rotational direction based on, for example, an instruction from the remote controller 4.
Thus, the CCD camera 18 not only captures the inside of the vehicle, but also captures the driving scenery and the like during driving by turning the imaging unit 18a forward. The car navigation device 1 can create original drive map information by recording, for example, still image information and moving image information of a running scene captured by the CCD camera 18 on the external recording medium 19.

The monitor 3 has, for example, several megabytes to 10
A compact recording / reproducing apparatus that records information and the like on an external recording medium 19 composed of a small memory card called a compact flash or a smart media having a recording capacity of 0 megabytes, and reproduces the recorded information or the like. Is built-in. The recording / reproducing apparatus supplies information reproduced from the external recording medium 19 to the apparatus main body 2 and the monitor 3, and
The device body 2, the microphone 17, or the CCD camera 18
The audio information and the image information supplied from the
To record.

The monitor 3 is provided with a slot 21 for inserting and removing the external recording medium 19 on the front surface 10a of the housing 10 provided with the display surface 12a. Monitor 3 has
An eject button 22 for ejecting the external recording medium 19 loaded therein is provided alongside the slot 21. The eject button 22 drives an eject mechanism (not shown) to eject the external recording medium 19 when pressed. Eject button 2
2 is driven by the operation of the remote controller 4 together with the manual pushing operation by the driver or the like.

The monitor 3 is provided with operation display lamps 23 in line with the slots 21. Operation indicator lamp 23
Is lit when the external recording medium 19 is loaded inside and a recording or reproducing operation of information or the like is being performed, and this state is displayed.

It should be noted that the monitor 3 has the slot 21
Although it is provided as a horizontal opening below the front surface portion 10a of the “0”, it is not limited to such a position.
The slot 21 may be provided, for example, as a vertical opening in a side surface portion where the speaker 16 is arranged, or may be provided in an upper surface portion. The slot 21 is provided on the front surface 10a of the housing 10 as a rectangular opening because the card-type external recording medium 19 is used. The opening shape conforms to the outer shape. Although not shown, a cover may be attached to the slot 21 in order to prevent dust or the like from entering the slot 21.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the car navigation system of the present invention, the map guide function is provided by mounting the recording / reproducing function of the microphone, the solid-state imaging device camera or the external recording medium on the monitor. Not only that, it is possible to cope with various high functions and multiple functions. According to the car navigation device, wiring of the microphone and the solid-state imaging device camera is unnecessary, and the installation in the vehicle is performed similarly to the conventional car navigation device, so that the workability is improved and the interior beauty is maintained. At the same time, it is possible to prevent an accident such as disconnection by hooking a wiring. Further, according to the car navigation device, the operation of inserting and removing the external recording medium can be quickly performed even during driving, and various information can be recorded on this external recording medium in a timely manner. Can be quickly displayed on the monitor, so that the mounted functions can be fully exhibited even during operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the inside of a vehicle equipped with a car navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a monitor constituting the car navigation device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of another monitor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 car navigation device, 2 device body, 3 monitor, 4 remote controller, 10 housing, 10a
Front part, 12 liquid crystal display, 12a display surface, 16 speakers, 17 microphone, 18 CCD camera, 1
8a imaging unit, 19 external recording medium, 20 swing mechanism, 21 slots

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F029 AA01 AB07 AC02 AC18 5H180 AA01 BB04 BB12 BB13 CC04 CC12 FF05 FF22 FF25 FF27 FF33 FF38

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A car navigation device in which an apparatus main body and a monitor are independently configured and each is installed at a different position in a vehicle, wherein the monitor has a sound on a front surface of a housing provided with a display surface. A car navigation device provided with an input microphone and a slot for inserting and removing an external recording medium. 2. The car navigation device according to claim 1, wherein an image pickup section of a solid-state image pickup device camera is disposed on a front surface of the housing provided with a display surface of the monitor. 3. The car navigation device according to claim 2, wherein at least the imaging section of the solid-state imaging device camera is attached to the monitor housing so as to swing freely. 4. A car navigation system in which an apparatus main body and a monitor are independently configured, and each is installed at a different position in a vehicle, wherein the monitor has a solid-state on a front surface of a housing provided with a display surface. A car navigation device comprising an imaging unit of an imaging device camera. 5. The car navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the solid-state imaging device camera has at least an imaging unit attached to a housing of the monitor so as to swing freely.