JP2002328598A - Navigation system, navigator, and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigator which, by previously storing reduced-scale map information, prevents discontinuity of map information even in an area where communication is impossible. SOLUTION: The navigator 1 is equipped with a RAM8 storing map information, a telephone section 9 receiving map information, and a display section 7 displaying map information. In the case the telephone section 9 cannot receive information of detailed sectional-map information, the reduced-scale map information stored in the RAM8 is displayed on the display section 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a navigation system for distributing map information from a server device to a navigation device, a navigation device of the navigation system, and a server device of the navigation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional navigation device is a CD-RO.
M and DVD-ROM, etc., read and display map information stored on a disk, but it was difficult to reduce the size and weight because a disk reading mechanism was required.

[0003] In order to reduce the size and weight of the CD-RO,
A navigation device that does not include a disk drive device such as an M or a DVD-ROM but includes a small storage medium such as a smart media, a compact flash, a memory stick, or an SD card has been considered. Since the storage capacity of such a small storage medium is small, the navigation device uses a VICS (Vehicle Information an
d Communication System) It is necessary to periodically receive and display information through communication such as FM multiplex broadcasting, radio beacons, optical beacons, and the Internet known as services.

[0004]

However, as described above, in the above-mentioned mechanism, since the map data must be received by communication according to the moving situation, the user is in a place outside the communication area such as a mountain area, a tunnel, or an underground. Communication cannot be performed, and the map information is interrupted, and the display of the map information cannot be performed.

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention receives and stores map information of a small scale in advance, and the point where detailed partial map information must be received is in an area where communication is impossible. In this case, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that does not interrupt display of map information by displaying map information of a small scale stored in advance. In addition, even when the navigation device is in an area where communication is not possible, one-screen full-area map information including a departure position and a destination position in advance and a current position are set so that display of map information is not interrupted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a server device that distributes detailed partial map information of a predetermined area including the above to a navigation device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in a navigation device according to the present invention, a server device for delivering map information and a navigation device for receiving map information delivered from the server device are provided. In the navigation system, the navigation device transmits a departure position information, a destination position information, and a map distribution request to the server device, and the server device that receives the request transmits the whole area map including the departure position and the destination position. Distribute information to the navigation device.

[0007] Further, in a navigation apparatus provided with a receiving means for receiving map information from a server device by communication, a storage means for storing the map information received by the receiving means, and a display means for displaying the map information, Requesting the server device to deliver the entire area map information including at least the departure position and the destination position in advance, storing the entire area map information received by the receiving means in the storage means, Control means for causing the receiving means to receive partial map information having a scale larger than the whole area map information, wherein the control means, when the receiving means can receive the partial map information, The received partial map information is displayed on the display unit, and when the receiving unit cannot receive the partial map information, the partial map information is stored in the storage unit. And displays the entire area map information on the display means.

As described above, when the map information to be displayed cannot be received because the point where the map information must be received is an area where communication is impossible, the receiving means receives the map information in advance and stores the map information stored in the storage means. Is displayed, it is possible to provide a navigation device in which the display of the map information is not interrupted.

[0009] The control means can cause the receiving means to receive the entire area map information at the start of traveling on a route, and store the full area map information in the storage means.

In the server device for distributing map information to the navigation device, when receiving the departure position information, the destination position information, and the map distribution request from the navigation device, the navigation device includes the departure position and the destination position. The entire area map information for one screen is distributed to the navigation device.

Further, when the server device receives the current position information from the navigation device, the server device distributes partial map information including a current position having a scale larger than the whole area map information.

As described above, by distributing the entire area map information and the partial map information at the request of the navigation apparatus, the navigation apparatus can display the map information even when the server cannot communicate with the navigation apparatus. A server device can be provided.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication system using a navigation device and a server device according to the present invention. Navigation device 1 and server device 2
Communicates via the Internet using a telephone network such as a car phone or a mobile phone.

When the navigation device 1 requests map information from the server device 2, the server device 2 reads out appropriate map information 4 from the information database 3 based on the conditions requested by the navigation device 1, and sends the map information 4 to the navigation device 1. To deliver.

The communication means between the navigation device 1 and the server device 2 is not particularly limited as long as it can communicate. In addition to the above-described means for performing communication via the Internet, for example, when distributing via a VICS service, , FM multiplex broadcasting, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the navigation device 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes a control circuit constituted by a microcomputer or the like, which controls the navigation device 1 based on a program written in the ROM 6 and displays map information on a display unit 7 of a liquid crystal.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a RAM for storing information necessary for the operation of the control circuit 5. When the storage capacity is increased, the amount of information that can be received at one time increases, and the frequency of receiving information decreases. However, it is necessary to select the RAM 8 in consideration of the fact that the RAM 8 becomes expensive. Also RAM
8 is a compact flash (registered trademark), a memory stick, an S
An external storage medium such as a D card may be used.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a telephone unit, which is a server unit 2 shown in FIG.
And requests for positional information such as the current position, departure position, and destination position and map information, and receives map information.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a GPS (Global Positioning System).
m) Positioning means, which receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite, measures the current position, and provides measurement data to the control circuit 5.

An input unit 11 has a target position input key 11a for inputting a target position. The input unit 11
In FIG. 2, the input is performed by key operation, but a touch panel method may be used.

Under the control of the control circuit 5, the navigation device 1 receives the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position and stores it in the RAM 8. In addition, it receives detailed partial map information around the current location and
The partial map information for one screen including the current position is read out from the RAM 8, and the current position measured by the GPS positioning means 10 is superimposed and displayed on the display unit 7. During traveling, in order to update the information so that the detailed partial map information near the current position is not interrupted, the detailed partial map information is intermittently received for each predetermined traveling distance, and the information of the untraveled portion is While remaining, the traveled information is deleted from the RAM 8 and rewritten with new information.

Here, the control circuit 5 calculates the traveling distance in order to measure the predetermined traveling distance. The mileage is, for example, R
It can be obtained from the moving distance of the current position on the map stored in AM8.

However, if detailed map information cannot be received and there is no more map information to be displayed, the map information is received in advance and stored in the RAM.
By displaying the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position stored in the display area 8, the display of the map information is performed without interruption.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the navigation device 1, and FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the server device 2. When the power of the navigation device 1 is turned on and the input of the target position by the target position input key 11a is completed, the telephone unit 9 is automatically activated to use the wireless telephone network and access the server device via the Internet. Then, the current position measured by the GPS positioning means 10 is regarded as the starting position, and the position information of the starting position and the position information of the input destination position are transmitted to the server device 2 (step S1).

Here, the current position when the destination position is set is set as the starting position, but the starting position may be arbitrarily set by the user.

When the server device 2 receives the position information transmitted from the navigation device 1 (step S1)
1) In step S12, it is determined whether the received position information is the position information of the start position and the destination position or the position information of the current position.

If it is determined that the position information of the departure position and the destination position transmitted from the navigation device 1 has been received, the server device 2 proceeds to step S13.
The whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position is read from the information database 3 and distributed to the navigation device 1.

The whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position distributed by the server apparatus 2 to the navigation apparatus 1 is stored in the information database 3 in the server apparatus 2 in a plurality of scales. May be stored, and the map information of the scale including the departure position and the destination position may be read and transmitted to the navigation device 1, or the distance between the departure position and the destination position transmitted from the navigation device 1 may be used. Map information of a plurality of scales may be created by calculation and distributed to the navigation device 1.

In step S1, the navigation apparatus 1 transmits the display screen size of the display unit 7 together with the position information to the server apparatus 2 in step S1, and the server apparatus 2 receives the image size of the entire area map information for one screen. Map information suitable for the displayed display screen size, and selects the navigation device 1
May be transmitted.

In step S2, the navigation device 1 receives the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position distributed from the server device 2,
Store it in AM8.

Then, in step S3, under the control of the control circuit 5, the position information of the current position measured by the GPS positioning means 10 is transmitted to the server device 2. The server device 2 receives the position information of the current position transmitted from the navigation device 1 (step S11), determines the position information of the current position in step S12, and provides detailed partial map information of a predetermined area including the current position as information. The data is read from the database 3 and distributed to the navigation device 1 (step S14).

When the server device 2 receives the position information of the departure position and the destination position, the server device 2 distributes the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position, and When the position information is received, detailed partial map information of the predetermined area including the current position is distributed, but the method of selecting the map to be distributed is not limited to this. For example, the user may input a desired region and scale into the navigation device, and the server device 2 may distribute the map information to the navigation device 1 based on the input conditions.

In step S4, under the control of the control circuit 5, the navigation device 1 determines whether detailed partial map information of a predetermined area including the current position has been received.

At this time, if detailed partial map information of the predetermined area including the current position cannot be received, in step S5, the entire area for one screen including the starting position and the destination position stored in the RAM 8 in step S2. The map information is read, and the current position measured by the GPS positioning means 10 is superimposed and the image 12 of FIG. In FIG. 5, the arrow image indicates the current position.

In step S7, it is determined whether the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance based on the travel distance measured by the control circuit 1. At this time, a predetermined distance (for example, 10 k
m) If the vehicle is not traveling, the determination is made again in step S7. On the other hand, if the vehicle has traveled the predetermined distance, the travel distance measured by the control circuit 1 is reset in step S8, and the process returns to step S3, and the position information of the current position measured by the GPS positioning means 10 is transmitted to the server device 2. Send.

If the detailed partial map information of the predetermined area including the current position can be received in step S4, the detailed partial map information received under the control of the control circuit 5 is stored in the RAM 8 and the current position is stored in the RAM 8 in step S6. Is read, and the current position measured by the GPS positioning unit 10 is superimposed on the map information, and the image 13 in FIG. In FIG. 6, the arrow image indicates the current position.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance based on the traveling distance measured by the control circuit 5.
7 and S8, and are omitted here.

The update timing of the detailed map information may be determined, for example, by the method of receiving the detailed map information at predetermined intervals as described above. When the number of receptions decreases to two screens), a new reception method may be used.

The navigation apparatus 1 stores the entire area map information of one screen including the departure position and the destination position in the RAM 8 in advance, and stores detailed information of the predetermined area including the current position during driving. When the partial map information cannot be received, the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position stored in the RAM 8 is displayed on the display unit 7. This is not immediately deleted from the RAM 8 but the stored detailed partial map information is stored in the RAM 8 as the old detailed partial map information of the information content, and the new detailed partial map information of the information content is stored during traveling. When the detailed partial map information cannot be received at the time of return, at a later date, or the like, for example, the old detailed partial map information stored in the RAM 8 may be displayed.

As described above, when the point at which the detailed partial map information of the predetermined area including the current position must be received is within the unreceivable area, the departure position and the destination position which are received and stored in advance are stored. By displaying the full-area map information for one screen including the following, it is possible to provide a navigation device in which the display of the map information is not interrupted.

Further, in order to keep the display of the map information of the navigation device uninterrupted, the whole area map information for one screen including the departure position and the destination position and the detailed partial map of the predetermined area including the current position are provided. A server device for distributing information is provided.

[0042]

According to the navigation device of the present invention,
When map information with a small scale is stored in advance, and when a point where detailed partial map information must be received is an area where communication is not possible, map information with a small scale stored in advance is displayed. Thus, it is possible to provide a navigation device that does not interrupt the display of the map information.

Further, a server device for distributing map information of a small scale and detailed map information of a predetermined area so that the display of the map information of the navigation device is not interrupted is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system of a navigation device and a server device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image displaying whole area map information including a current position and a destination position according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image displaying detailed partial map information of a predetermined area including a current position according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 navigation device 2 server device 4 map information

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Tanaka 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori-shi, Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Sugai 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori-shi, Tottori Sanyo Tottori (72) Inventor Isao Umezawa 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori-shi, Tottori Pref. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Yuichi Abe 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori-shi, Tottori Pref., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Nakajima 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori-shi, Tottori Pref. Person Shinji Takuno 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Taguchi Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Chome 201 address Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. in the F-term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB23 HB25 HC24 HD16 2F029 AA02 AB07 AC02 AC14 AD07 5H180 AA01 BB04 BB05 BB12 CC12 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF27 FF33

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A navigation system comprising a server device for distributing map information and a navigation device for receiving map information distributed from the server device, wherein the navigation device distributes departure position information, destination position information, and a map. A navigation system comprising: transmitting a request to the server device; and receiving the request, the server device distributes the entire area map information including a departure position and a destination position to the navigation device. 2. A receiving means for receiving map information from a server device by communication, a storage means for storing the map information received by the receiving means, a display means for displaying the map information,
Requesting the server device to distribute the entire area map information including the departure position and the destination position in advance, and storing the entire area map information received by the receiving means in the storage means, Control means for requesting the server device to deliver partial map information having a scale larger than that of the whole area map information during traveling on the route, and causing the receiving means to receive the partial map information; When the information is received, the received partial map information is displayed on the display means. When the receiving means cannot receive the partial map information, the whole area map information stored in the storage means is displayed on the display means. A navigation device characterized in that it is displayed on a navigation device. 3. The navigation according to claim 2, wherein said control means causes said receiving means to receive said whole area map information at the time of starting traveling of a route, and stores said whole area map information in said storage means. apparatus. 4. A server device for distributing map information to a navigation device, wherein upon receiving departure position information, destination position information, and a map distribution request from the navigation device, the navigation device includes a departure position and a destination position. A server device for delivering the entire area map information to the navigation device. 5. The server device according to claim 4, wherein when receiving the current position information from the navigation device, the server device distributes partial map information having a scale larger than that of the whole area map information and including the current position.