JP2002342330A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make easily downloadable minimum data required for a user in a navigation system for downloading and using map data. SOLUTION: A transmitting/receiving part 47 downloads map data or the like from an information center 59 through the Internet 58 to a map memory 23 by using a portable telephone 45 and performs map plotting or induction route guiding by using these data. When a present position is away from a road map longer than a prescribed distance and such a state is continued longer than the prescribed distance, while using data in a present position/road position comparing part 50 for map matching, a map version retrieving part 53 retrieves download timing and version or the like of data in the map memory 23 and sends them to the information center 59. When a signal showing the existence of new map data is inputted from the information center 59, a menu screen is formed for displaying such data while including fees for every data and according to that screen, the user performs selection and can download only the irreducible minimum data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus in which map data is downloaded from an external device to a memory without using a storage medium in which map data is recorded in advance, such as a DVD-ROM. The present invention relates to a navigation device that can select, download, and use only the minimum necessary data when there is a difference between a route displayed on the display and an actual road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a vehicle navigation system, a CD-ROM storing map data for drawing a map and facility information data for retrieving facilities and the like,
A map / information storage medium such as a DVD-ROM;
A playback device that reads data from an information storage medium, a display device that displays a map, etc., a self-contained navigation device such as a distance sensor or a gyro, and a vehicle position detection that detects the current position of the vehicle and the azimuth of the traveling direction using a GPS receiver, Device, and reads map data including the current position of the vehicle from the map / information storage medium, draws a map image around the vehicle position on a screen of a display device based on the map data, and displays the current position of the vehicle. Performs map matching to match the road, displays the vehicle position mark superimposed on the display screen, scrolls the map image according to the movement of the vehicle, or fixes the map image on the screen and moves the vehicle position mark. To see at a glance where the vehicle is currently traveling.

[0003] Maps such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
The map data stored in the information storage device is divided into longitude and latitude widths of appropriate sizes according to various scale levels, and roads and the like are coordinate sets of nodes represented by longitude and latitude. It is remembered. A road is composed of a connection of two or more nodes, and the map data displays a road layer including a road list, a node table, an intersection configuration node list, and the like, and roads, buildings, facilities, parks, rivers, and the like on a map screen. Data such as background layers and the like, and information data for displaying characters and map symbols such as administrative division names such as municipal names, road names, intersection names, and facility names. The road layer may be divided into a layer indicating only major roads such as expressways and national roads, and a layer indicating other general roads.

[0004] This navigation device also has a route guidance function for allowing a user to easily travel to a desired destination without making a mistake on a road. According to this route guidance function, when the map information is used to specify the departure point to the destination and, if necessary, the stopover, the route, time, distance,
Automatically search for the most appropriate route taking into account conditions such as fees,
The searched route is stored as a guidance route, and during driving, the guidance route is displayed on the map image in a different color from the other routes and displayed thicker, or the vehicle changes the route on the guidance route. When approaching an intersection to be reached within a certain distance, the intersection is enlarged and displayed, and an arrow or the like indicating the direction in which the course should be changed is drawn and displayed on the screen, or voice guidance to turn right and left is used. People to their destination.

[0005] In the above navigation device, when a destination is set and an optimum route from the current position is searched, the source is stored in a map data storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. It is road map data. Therefore, when the road map data is not the latest one, for example, a road set as a guidance route is closed or lost, and a new road may be different from an actual road, for example.

For example, when traveling along a guidance route, when there is no road on the map displayed by guidance, a person guided by the navigation device cannot travel on the guided road. Suddenly noticed,
Then, stop and perform the re-search operation of the guidance route, or proceed for a while on another road close to the guidance route for a while, and run the guidance route re-search program due to running a predetermined distance from the guidance route, thereby re-generating the guidance route. Wait for the search to be performed.

In addition, new roads are constantly being constructed, and for general roads, for example, bypass roads in major cities are being used year by year while being extended, and for highway construction, they are used every time an interchange section is completed. Often. Therefore, when traveling along the above-mentioned bypass along the guidance route, when the map data is old, even though the bypass has already been made to a considerable extent, the guidance route starts from the middle. It may be set to proceed past another road, in which case the user will immediately notice that this bypass has been extended since the current map data was created. For this reason, the vehicle travels on the bypass road ignoring the guidance route.

Similarly, while traveling on a highway along a guidance route, the guidance route guides the user off the interchange indicated as the end point of the highway and proceeds along the general road. At times, when the user proceeds to the interchange, he or she may notice that the expressway is extending further, and may ignore the guidance route and drive on the expressway as it is.

As described above, when traveling along the guidance route, when the map data used by the navigation device is old, there is a case where the road to be guided does not exist, or In some cases, a bypass road or an expressway extends further and is usable, and in such a case, the vehicle may travel without relying on a guidance route according to a user's judgment. In such a case, since the navigation device only re-searches the guidance route based on the map data currently provided, an appropriate guidance route is not guided as long as the vehicle travels on a road not included in the map data.

[0010] Therefore, it is necessary for the user of the navigation apparatus to always obtain a storage medium on which the latest map data is recorded.
Since the RAM and the like are expensive, updating them requires a lot of cost. The need for such new map data is not limited to the vehicle navigation device as described above,
The same applies to a navigation device that installs navigation software in a portable personal computer or a portable information terminal, records map data in advance on a hard disk, and connects and uses a GPS antenna.

On the other hand, various means have been proposed for updating to the latest road map data without replacing the storage medium for the map data. For example, it is possible to import dot data of a new map by facsimile, or to use the Internet. Updating the map has also been proposed. Furthermore, by using a hard disk or memory in the navigation device without using a map data storage medium, the latest map data of the required area can be taken from the information center that stores the latest map information, and the fee can be paid and used. It has also been proposed to be able to do so.

[0012]

The above-mentioned C
By providing a hard disk and a memory in the navigation device without using a map data recording medium such as a D-ROM or a DVD-ROM, the latest map data of a necessary area can be fetched from an information center storing the latest map information. A so-called download navigation system that can be used has been considered. As a method of this download, besides directly using a general telephone line, download using an Internet communication system can be considered.

[0013] Such a download navigation system has not yet been established in its use form, but as one use form, for example, first downloads map data in the Kanto region from a map information center or the like, and thereafter, in the map information center. When you update the map data,
It is considered that the user is notified by e-mail or the like that the data has been updated, and the user downloads the data of the changed portion as necessary and pays the corresponding fee.

Although this method can always use the latest data, it takes a lot of time and cost for the first download, and download of new data is performed by the user every time a contact is made. Doing this for a long period of time is a burden on the user. In addition, new data is often downloaded before the updated data is almost not used, so that unnecessary download fees and communication costs may be paid. As a result, many people rarely download such updates, and at this time, this system for using the latest data is not effectively used.

Further, as described above, downloading all of a wide range of data requires a lot of map data of an area outside the range usually used by the user and facility information data of a genre not necessarily required by the user. In some cases, it is necessary to repeatedly update data that is originally unnecessary, and pay useless charges and communication costs. In particular, when the download navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, the data download as described above uses a mobile phone, particularly a mobile phone that has become popular in recent years. Must be expensive.

As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to designate and download only map data of an area selected by the user, and to download only facility information of a specific genre. However, since it is not known how much communication cost is required to select and how much it will be cheaper, data may be imported in an excessively narrow range, and there is a need for a long study. In some cases, there may be no point in making a selection in terms of fees.

In addition, when updating downloaded data, the system is not updated except when the data is updated from the map information center or the like as described above. It is also conceivable that the system accesses the map information center when necessary and downloads only the necessary information. Although this system can capture the required range of data only when the user really needs it, the data may not have changed if the date and time has not passed much since the previous download, Even in such a case, the data of that part may be taken in, and in some cases, a useless fee may be paid.

As another usage, in order to make the memory provided in the navigation device as small as possible,
Every time this navigation device is used, for example, it is conceivable to take in map data and facility information data in a predetermined range along the route from the current position to the destination, and pay a fee corresponding to the data amount.

According to this method, since downloading in the minimum range is sufficient, the charge and communication cost are low, and it is preferable in that the latest data can always be used. However, in this case, since the data for calculating the guidance route from the current location to the destination is based on the captured map data, it is necessary to widely capture the data of the area that may be used to obtain the guidance route. And it is extremely difficult to determine its scope. In addition, it is difficult to determine the range to be selected at this time because it is difficult to determine the range to be selected and how much the fee will be charged in the same manner as described above.

Therefore, the present invention provides a navigation device which downloads and uses map data, and which is used by a user only when map data newer than the currently downloaded map data exists in the information center. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can download data without requiring a user to perform a lot of trouble.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a navigation device according to the present invention is a navigation device that uses map data downloaded to a memory from an information center by a communication means, and is newer than the downloaded map data. A map version search means for searching whether or not the map data exists in the information center; and when the map version search means searches the information center for newer map data than the map data downloaded to the memory, It comprises a download menu forming means for forming a screen for selecting data to be downloaded, and a download means for downloading, from the information center, data selected by the user in response to the download menu from the information center.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, data to be selected in the download menu is
It is map data of a plurality of scales.

[0023] Further, another navigation device according to the present invention includes the following:
This is map data corresponding to the type of road to be displayed.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, data to be selected in the download menu is
This is information data corresponding to the genre of information other than the map.

Further, another navigation device according to the present invention displays a fee corresponding to data selected in the download menu.

In another navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the fee includes a communication time fee corresponding to the amount of data to be downloaded.

In another navigation apparatus according to the present invention, there is provided a current position detecting means for comparing a current position detected by the current position detecting means with a road position of map data downloaded to the memory. A location road comparison means, and a map version search when the current location road location comparison means is at least a predetermined distance from the closest road position and the state continues for a predetermined distance or for a predetermined time. Means for searching whether or not map data newer than the downloaded map data exists in the information center.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation device for a vehicle in which the navigation device is mounted on a vehicle.

[0029]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing main functional blocks in the control device portion of the navigation device of the present invention, their mutual relations, and relations with peripheral devices. Navigation control device 10 shown in the embodiment of FIG.
Is provided with a GPS receiver 12 in the same manner as in the prior art, and obtains own vehicle position data by processing signals from satellites received by the antenna 11 and stores the data in the data storage unit 13. On the other hand, a signal from a self-contained navigation sensor 16 composed of an angle sensor 14 provided in the vehicle and detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle and a distance sensor 15 is input to a vehicle position / azimuth calculation unit 17, and the position data from the self-contained navigation sensor is obtained. It has gained.

The vehicle position signal generation unit 18 stores the vehicle position data by GPS in the data storage unit 13 into the vehicle position data.
Correction is performed using the position data in the azimuth calculation unit 17 to obtain accurate vehicle position data. The vehicle position signal obtained by the vehicle position signal generator 18 is output to various functional units in the navigation control device 10 to be described later via the vehicle position data line 19 and is used by each unit.

Remote control 4 attached to navigation device
0, the user's operation signals from the touch panel 41 provided on the display and other various operation switches 42
It is input to the operation signal input unit 43. The signal is transmitted via the operation signal data line 39 to the navigation control device 1.
It is output to various functional units within 0 and is used as a user's instruction signal. Further, when the voice recognition device is provided, various instruction voices of the operator from the microphone are recognized thereby, and as the operation signal input unit 43, as an operation signal by voice,
The signal is output to the operation signal data line 39 and is used as an instruction signal for various functional units described later.

The transmission / reception unit 47 is provided in this navigation device.
And can communicate with the outside via the mobile phone 45 on the holder 46. In the example shown in FIG. 1, by communicating with the provider 57 connected to the Internet 58, And an information center. Accordingly, the latest map data is provided, managed, and used from an information center 59 that can provide the map data and various related facility information data and the like via the Internet network 58 for a fee. The user can take in any desired data.

The map fetched from the transmission / reception unit 47 as described above and the facility information related thereto are recorded in the map information memory 23 via the map information data line 26. The map information memory 23 can be set to an arbitrary capacity by using an arbitrary type of memory medium. For example, a memory chip or a hard disk which is inexpensive and has a large capacity in recent years can be used. A recording medium such as a CD-RW that has been widely used in recent years can also be used. Further, the data in the map information memory 23 can be used by other various functional units via the map information data line 26. As described above, in the navigation device according to the present invention, the conventionally used CD is used. -RO
M, or without a map information storage medium such as a DVD-ROM, downloads only the map information data required by the user from the information center 59 and records it in the map information memory 23 as described later. It can be used in the functional unit.

The data recorded in the map information memory 23 is transmitted from the operation signal input section 43 to the operation signal data line 39.
The predetermined data is read out by a user's instruction input via the vehicle position signal generation unit 18 and a current position signal of the vehicle input via the vehicle position data line 19 from the vehicle position signal generation unit 18. This is output, and a predetermined map is calculated and created based on the vehicle position in accordance with the designation of, for example, a bird's-eye view display, a 3D display, or the like from the operation signal input unit 43 input via the display method designation unit 24. Further, various image data such as place name information data and related information data such as facility names are superimposed on the map as necessary and output to the image synthesizing section 27 as a map image. Image synthesis unit 27
In addition, as necessary, the images of the various mark generation units 34 and the operation screen generation unit 35 are also input, synthesized, and displayed.

In the current position road position comparing section 50,
The current vehicle position from the vehicle position data line 19 is compared with the road position from the map data line 26, and the result is output to the map matching unit 51. When the vehicle position does not coincide with the road position, the map matching unit 51 performs a map matching process adapted to the road that is considered to be the most appropriate, and outputs this to the image combining unit 27 as image data in the vehicle position drawing unit 52. Are combined with the map image from the map drawing unit 25 and displayed. It should be noted that the above-described map matching processing usually takes several hundred ms.
It is performed periodically, and it is possible to determine whether or not oneself is currently on the road every several hundred ms.

By inputting such various data, the navigation control device 10 can perform various operations with various functional parts provided therein. For example, in the guidance route calculation unit 30, a vehicle position data line is provided. The user inputs the current position data from 19, specifies a destination and a stopover from the operation signal data line 39, and inputs a search instruction such as expressway priority, and records various cost data recorded in the map information memory 23. Is used to calculate an optimal guidance route by performing a predetermined cost calculation. The result is stored in the guidance route memory 31.
The guide route output unit 33 creates data for guiding the guide route in various forms. The image data is output to the image synthesizing unit 27 and can be displayed on the image display device 28 while being superimposed on the map.

In the intersection guidance output unit 32, based on the vehicle position from the vehicle position signal generation unit 18, the map data from the information / map data line 26, the guidance route information from the guidance route memory 31, etc. It is determined whether or not the current position of the vehicle has reached the vicinity of the right / left turn intersection on the guidance route. When the vehicle has reached the vicinity, an intersection guide map is created and output to the image synthesis unit 27, and the voice synthesis unit (not shown) Then, the voice of the guidance for the intersection is output from the speaker 63.
In addition, the intersection guidance output unit 32 is not limited to the above-described guidance for the intersection, but also provides guidance for the entrance and exit of an interchange.
Guidance where there is no right / left intersection for a while will be provided as appropriate.

The current position road position comparing section 50 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 detects that the vehicle position is separated from the road on the map by a predetermined distance or more and has continued for a predetermined distance or more. Map version search section 5
3 is output. The map version search unit 53 detects what version of the data recorded in the map information memory 23 or when it was downloaded, and outputs this to the transmission / reception unit 47. . When this signal is input to the transmission / reception unit 47, the mobile phone 45 connects to the Internet, transmits this data to the information center 59, and transmits the data to the information center 5.
In step 9, it is determined whether or not the map data of the user is the latest one, and the result is output. The transmission / reception unit 47 receives this output and outputs the signal to the download request output unit 56.

When the received signal from the information center is a signal indicating that newer data is present than the currently used map data, the download request output unit 56 transmits and receives a signal for downloading the map data. The transmission / reception unit 47 outputs the information to the information center 59.
To send a menu for selecting download data. When this transmission request is received, the information center 59 transmits various data corresponding to map scales and charges, data corresponding to information categories and charges, and screen display data for selecting them. As the data of this fee, in addition to the data fee received by the information center, the communication fee is calculated by calculating according to the data amount, the data communication speed of the communication equipment, and the communication fee per unit time, and the amount is separately calculated. Alternatively, it is added to the data fee and transmitted.

When this data is received by the transmitting / receiving section 47, it is output to the download menu forming section 54,
The download menu forming unit 54 performs an image display process on the image, outputs it to the image synthesizing unit 27, synthesizes the image with an appropriate screen, and displays the image on the image display device 28. In response to this image display, the user operates a remote controller or the like to select and instruct a data range desired to be downloaded, and the map download selection unit 55 sends the selection instruction signal to the operation signal input unit 4.
3. Input via the operation signal data line 39. The map download selection unit 55, based on the instruction signal,
The user specifies a corresponding item of the menu created by the download menu forming unit 54 and outputs the item to the download request output unit 56.

The download request output section 56 outputs this to the transmission / reception section 47 and transmits it to the information center 59 by the mobile phone 45 to request output of predetermined data. The information center 59 transmits the data corresponding to the output request, and the transmission / reception unit 47 receiving the data outputs the data to the map memory 23 via the map information data line 26 and outputs the data to the map memory 2.
In No. 3, the old version data is rewritten to the downloaded new version data.

In the navigation device of the present invention configured as described above, the navigation device can be operated sequentially in accordance with an operation flow as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example. Hereinafter, each operation flow will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 1 and FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the example of FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation flow of downloading a new version of the map from the information center by traveling on a road that does not exist on the map when the vehicle moves. When the movement of the vehicle is started (step S1), it is determined whether or not the vehicle position is separated from the road position by a predetermined distance or more (step S1).
2). This determination is made in the current position road position comparing section 50 of FIG. 1 by the current vehicle position data input from the vehicle position signal generating section 18 via the vehicle position data line 19 and the map information data line 26 from the map memory 23. By comparing with the road data of the input map.

When it is determined in step S2 that the vehicle position is not more than a predetermined distance from the road position, this operation is repeated. When it is determined that the vehicle position is more than a predetermined distance, the process proceeds to the next step. It is further determined whether or not has continued a predetermined distance (step S3). Here, when it is determined that the vehicle has not been separated for a predetermined distance, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the above operation. When it is determined that the vehicle has been continuously separated by a predetermined distance or more, the map version is transmitted to the map information center. This operation is performed by the map version search unit 53 in FIG.
In step S2, the current position road location comparing unit 50 performs the determination in steps S2 and S3, and determines that the vehicle has been continuously separated by a predetermined distance or more, and determines the version of the map data recorded in the map memory 23 or the time of downloading. The detection is performed, and the detection is output from the transmission / reception unit 47 to the information center 59 connected to the Internet 58.

As a result of the above operation, as an example, FIG.
Then, a map as shown in FIG. 5 is downloaded.
That is, when the vehicle is traveling on the road R1 based on the map display and the guidance route display based on the old map data as shown in FIG. 4A at first, the driver can compare the road R1 with the surrounding roads. It is assumed that the vehicle arrives at the point A when traveling while noticing that the road is a newly constructed road and has just been recently constructed as a road for bypassing the city. At this time, the user is asked that this bypass road is point A
While the route on the screen indicates that the guidance route indicates that the vehicle returns to the old road R3 at the point C through the road R2, while a road that does not exist on the map displayed on the screen is the road R1. When the user finds out that the bypass road is further extended, the user thinks that the one who went straight on this road is a better road than the road of the guidance route displayed. Let's say you drive along the road.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the vehicle travels on a road that is not on the map and is separated from the road map by a predetermined distance L1 or more and continues for a predetermined distance L2, the process proceeds to step S3. Is determined, the map version is transmitted to the map information center (step S
4). The information center checks the transmitted version, searches whether the map is new or a newer map has already been made, and transmits the result as a response. Thereby, the navigation device of the user receives the new / old notification of the version from the information center (step S5). Based on the result, it is determined whether the version of the map currently used is older or not (step S6). If there is no map newer than the currently used map, the map data download process ends (step S10). . Such a situation occurs because the update of the map data of the information center is delayed, and the data of the bypass road as an extension of the road R1 is not updated.
In the present invention, by performing such a check, download of map data as old data is prevented.

In the above embodiment, the fact that the vehicle is traveling on a road that is not on the map is determined by a predetermined distance L1 from the road map.
In the example described above, when the distance is longer than a predetermined distance L2 and the distance is longer than a predetermined distance L2, the detection is performed. It can also be set to detect that the vehicle is traveling.

When the navigation device receives from the information center that there is map data newer than the currently used map data, the process proceeds to step S6.
In step S7, it is determined that the version of the map currently being used is old, and a selection screen for whether or not to update the map is displayed (step S7). As this selection screen, for example, a selection screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and the processing is automatically performed without any operation by the user so far. Confirmation is performed and downloading is not performed against the intention of the user. Here, it is confirmed whether or not the user downloads the new version (step S8). If the user does not download the new version of the map, step S8 is performed.
Proceed to 10 and end this flow. On the other hand, if the user selects to download the new version of the map, the new map data is immediately downloaded (step S9). Note that the example shown in FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which the user has selected to update the map data.

In the download processing of the new map data, the processing is performed, for example, according to the operation flow shown in FIG. That is, when the information that there is a map newer than the currently used map is obtained by the above-described operation, the area for which the download is desired is transmitted to the information center (step S11). In this case, as the area to be designated at this time, in the above-described embodiment, a map of the area including the point is requested when the distance from the road on the map is equal to or more than a predetermined distance and the distance continues for a predetermined distance or more. The current location data can be automatically transmitted, and when manually setting a point, various point setting methods conventionally used for destination setting and the like can also be used.

When downloading the latest map data in the present invention, the operation flow shown in FIG.
And, when the user is away from a road on the map by a predetermined distance or more and continues for a predetermined distance or more as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to downloading a new map, the user also uses the previously downloaded map data to perform navigation. When using the device, if it is likely that the map data is out of date because a certain period has elapsed since the first download, the map data currently used for the information center When the information center checks the new and old states by notifying the version or the time of download, and there is a reply that there is newer map data, in step S11 in the operation flow shown in FIG. The download area may be specified and transmitted to the information center.

In downloading the latest map data according to the present invention, in addition to the update to the latest map for the previously downloaded areas as described above, for the areas which have not been downloaded yet, It can also be implemented when downloading map data. In that case, for example, when the user goes on a trip to an area where the map data has not yet been downloaded, the map of the area from the current location to the destination is downloaded,
When it is desired to obtain a guidance route based on the map data, the current location and the destination can be transmitted to the information center to download a map in the range. At this time, the step S11 is replaced with the transmission of the current location and the destination. Further, when the user is traveling using the navigation device and thinks that the situation of surrounding roads that the user is looking at is different from the situation of the road displayed on the screen, the user must manually Thus, the download process can be started, the data of the current location can be transmitted to the information center, a check can be made as to whether or not newer map data exists, and a newer map data can be downloaded as needed.

According to the designation of the download area as described above, the information center transmits the download fee information for each data, and the navigation device receives the information (step S12). Based on the received download fee information for each data, a predetermined menu screen is created by the download menu forming unit 54 of the navigation device in FIG. 1, and the menu screen is displayed on the image display device.

The menu screen to be displayed can be displayed in various modes. For example, a menu display as shown in FIG. 6 can be performed. In this example, when the current location is Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, and the destination is Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, an example is shown in which a menu is displayed based on the information transmitted as a result of transmitting this data to the information center. A data selection menu and an information data selection menu accompanying the data selection menu are displayed. In displaying the menu, if the data string is long, scroll display can be appropriately performed in the vertical direction.

In the example of FIG. 6, a desired map can be selected as a map selection menu according to the scale of the map. The illustrated example shows an example in which four types of menus are presented according to the minimum value of the map scale. For example, a map indicating a distance of 10 m per unit length of about 1 cm on a display screen is referred to as a “10 m map”. In this example, the map can be selected from four stages, that is, a map of 25 m, a map of 50 m, and a map of 100 m, and the map having the largest scale is the same for all 50 km maps.

A fee is displayed in each selection column, and when downloading a map for displaying a map for 35 km from the current location to the destination, the unit length is 1 unit.
50 yen for downloading a fine map of 0m,
The display shows that the price is 40 yen for a map up to 25 m, 30 yen for downloading a map up to 50 m, and 20 yen for a map up to 100 m. The user considers the scale of the map to be downloaded with reference to this amount.

When a map with a minimum scale of 10 m is selected, for example, a map of 25 m, a map of 50 m, a map of 100 m
Are included, and even in the case of a map of 100 m, there are usually a map of 1 km, a map of 5 km, a map of 10 km, and the like. The display of the above amount may be a download fee received by the information center for map data transmitted from the information center,
Here, the communication time varies according to the amount of data to be downloaded, and the communication fee differs.Therefore, the communication fee based on the data amount is added or displayed separately, and the user can refer to it to reduce the scale of the map to be downloaded. You may make it select.

On the download map selection screen shown in the figure, the cursor is selected by selecting the smallest scale map in the column where the map up to 25 m can be downloaded, and the check box in the right column of the table is different from the others. In the illustrated embodiment, the scale display section is similarly colored differently from the others so that the user can see at a glance which map the user has selected.

In the above example, an example is shown in which the same scale map is selected from the current location of Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture to the destination of Shirakawa City in Fukushima Prefecture. Since a more detailed map may be needed for setting, another map data selection screen may be displayed for the vicinity of the destination, and selection may be made there. When downloading such detailed data in the vicinity of the destination, similarly, the downloading of information data described later may also enable the downloading of more detailed data separately only in the vicinity of the destination.

In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the map data selection screen is used for selection according to the scale. For example, as shown in FIG.
If you download only expressways and national roads,
It is divided into the case of downloading including other roads such as municipal roads. The cost is 30 yen for downloading only expressways and national roads, and 50 yen for downloading including other roads such as prefectural roads, municipal roads. It shows that. FIG.
In the example of (a), a check is made in the column on the right side of the column to download only the expressway and the national road,
On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 2B, a check is performed in the other columns of the prefectural road, and as a result, a display indicating that the road layers of the expressway and the national road are also automatically downloaded is shown. .

In the example of FIG. 6, as described above, the desired map data is selected according to the scale, and then the information data is selected. In the illustrated example, the genres of restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, and amusement parks are displayed as the genres of facility information displayed on the map, and it is shown that each genre can be downloaded for 20 yen. In the illustrated example, when the user selects a gas station or a convenience store from among the genres, the check column and the display column are displayed in colors different from the others. Such genre types are used in conventional navigation devices.
The same data as the genre to be displayed in the destination setting or the like can be used.

When selecting the genre, for example, the genre of a restaurant can be re-classified into genres such as a family restaurant, a sushi, a ramen, a steak, an Italian restaurant, a French restaurant, etc., and prepared.
Further, for family restaurants, items of affiliated store names such as Skylark and Denny's can be developed and prepared. In this case, for the convenience store, items such as Seven-Eleven and Lawson may be provided below the convenience store and selected.

The facility information as described above is calculated as a guidance route,
The setting is not directly affected, so there is no need to select this option unless the user wants to do so. To select any genre. Since such a genre has a certain tendency depending on the user, the genre selected by the user as described above is stored in the navigation device, and when the selection screen as described above is displayed, the genre is displayed as a candidate. The information may be displayed as a genre, and when the user does not particularly need to correct the genre, the user may directly perform the confirmation operation to determine and transmit the genre to the information center. Further, in the above example, a column indicating the total amount is displayed at the end, and when each of the above-mentioned columns is checked, the total amount is automatically calculated and displayed. In the embodiment shown in the figure, a column is provided at the last part of the menu so that a user can make a selection when downloading all data at once, and it costs 540 yen to download all data at once. Is shown.
Note that such a selection column for all data may be arranged in an appropriate portion at the top of the menu screen.

In the operation flow of FIG. 3, step S13 is executed.
, The download menu as described above is displayed, and based on it, the user can see the scale of the download map,
Alternatively, a road layer or the like is selected (step S1).
4) Then, it is determined whether or not the facility information is also downloaded (step S15). When it is determined that the facility information is also downloaded, a check operation is performed in which the cursor is set on a selection menu field for the genre of the facility to be downloaded and a confirmation operation is performed. (Step S1)
6). When it is determined in step S15 that the facility information does not need to be downloaded, and in step S1
After the genre is selected in 6, the download request data is finally confirmed (step S17), and this data is transmitted to the information center as download request data (step S18). The information center transmits corresponding data based on the request data, receives the data in the navigation device of the user, and downloads it to the map memory 23 of FIG. 1 (step S1).
9).

After the download processing of the new map data is performed as described above, the normal operation of the navigation device is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a predetermined distance L1 is separated from the road on the map, and this is a predetermined distance L2. When the above is continued, the map is downloaded as described above, and as a result of importing a new map, a map such as that shown in FIG. 5A is displayed. In the map shown in FIG. 5A, the road R1 existing in the previous map is used.
There is a road R4 indicated by hatching in the figure, and this road crosses the road R3 at the point D, bypassing the city. In addition, as a result of the presence of such a road R4, a guidance route is reset, for example, as shown in FIG.

In the figure, the route traveled by the vehicle is indicated by a broken line on the road, and the guidance route is indicated by a solid line. As can be seen from this figure, the vehicle has arrived at point A on road R1, and a new road R1, which is supposed to have been constructed recently, has extended further, and its direction is almost the same as the direction in which the vehicle is going from now on. At this time, as shown in FIG.
The guidance route is reset as shown in (b), and the user can travel with confidence along the new guidance route.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a user selects map data and information data related to a map as appropriate as a type of data requested to be downloaded, and downloads the data. A selection menu for determining whether or not this data is necessary may be displayed so that the user can arbitrarily select this data. Furthermore, in addition to simply displaying the facility as the facility-related information, it may be possible to select whether or not to take in facility information such as an amusement park or a zoo opening time. .

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned download is performed while the vehicle is running, the user enters the tunnel during the download and waits until the vehicle enters the tunnel corresponding to the running speed so that all the downloaded data is not wasted. Is preferably compared with the estimated time required for download, and a download request is made so as to end before entering the tunnel. In addition, even if you enter the tunnel during download, the data to be downloaded is finely divided so that all the data up to that point is not wasted,
By storing the classified data every time the downloaded data is downloaded, it is possible to set so that even if the user enters the tunnel on the way, a download request from the next data that has already been downloaded is requested from the next data. it can.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an embodiment is described in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle navigation device mounted on a vehicle as a navigation device for downloading the latest map data. The navigation program can be installed in a book personal computer, a palmtop personal computer, a portable information terminal, or the like, and can be similarly used in various types of navigation devices such as a navigation device connected to a GPS receiver.

[0068]

As described above, in the navigation device according to the present invention, in the navigation device using the map data downloaded from the information center to the memory by the communication means, map data newer than the downloaded map data is transmitted to the information center. A map version search unit for searching whether or not the map data exists, and selecting the data to be downloaded when the map version search unit searches for a map data newer than the map data downloaded to the memory in the information center. A download menu forming means for forming a screen and a download means for downloading data selected and instructed by the user corresponding to the download menu from the information center to the memory, so that map data is downloaded and used. Only when there is map data newer than the currently downloaded map data in the information center, the minimum data required by the user can be saved without the user having to perform much trouble. This can be downloaded.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, data to be selected in the download menu is
Since the map data has a plurality of scales, the user can select and download the scale map data having the minimum data required by the user, and can efficiently download the map data.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, data to be selected in the download menu is
Since the map data corresponded to the type of road to be displayed,
Only the map data that can display the minimum types of roads required by the user can be selected and downloaded, and the map data can be downloaded efficiently.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, data to be selected in the download menu is
Since the information data corresponds to the genre of information other than the map, it is possible to select and download only the minimum data required by the user regarding the genre of information of various facilities other than the map data, Various types of information data can be downloaded efficiently.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, the fee corresponding to the data to be selected is displayed on the download menu. Therefore, when the user selects the data to be downloaded according to the download menu, the fee is set. Since it is possible to compare and select, it is possible to perform a download appropriate for the user.

In another navigation device according to the present invention, the fee includes a fee for communication time corresponding to the amount of data to be downloaded, so that when a user selects data along a download menu. In addition, the user can know the charge in consideration of the communication time, and can perform appropriate download.

Further, another navigation device according to the present invention comprises a current position detecting means for comparing a current position detected by the current position detecting means with a road position in the map data downloaded to the memory. A location road comparison means, and a map version search when the current location road location comparison means is at least a predetermined distance from the closest road position and the state continues for a predetermined distance or for a predetermined time. Since the means searches the information center for newer map data than the downloaded map data, it is ensured that the currently used map data does not match the actual road condition. At this time, and in that case, it is determined whether there is map data newer than the currently used map data. It is possible to search from the coater, it is possible to perform the download at the appropriate time.

Further, since another navigation device according to the present invention is a vehicular navigation device in which the navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, a driver who mainly uses this navigation device can reduce the driving attention. The data required by the user can be selected and easily and safely downloaded without being operated by the navigation device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart for performing an automatic download process when the navigation device moves in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart for performing a download process of new map data in the embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a state in which the vehicle travels on a road that is not on the map when the navigation device is moved in the embodiment, where FIG. 4A shows a map and guidance routes based on old map data, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state where the vehicle has traveled on a road that is not in the vicinity.

5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a state in which the vehicle travels on a road that is not on the map when the navigation device is moved according to the embodiment; FIG. 5A illustrates a map based on downloaded latest data; It is a figure showing a guidance route by. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a download menu screen when requesting the information center to download data according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of a map data download menu screen when requesting the information center to download data in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen when a request for downloading map data is made to the information center in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 navigation control device 12 GPS receiver 16 self-contained navigation sensor 18 vehicle position signal generating unit 19 vehicle position data line 23 map information memory 24 display method designation unit 25 map drawing unit 26 map information data line 27 image synthesizing unit 28 image display device 39 Operation signal data line 43 Operation signal input unit 45 Mobile phone 47 Transmission / reception unit 50 Current position road position comparison unit 51 Map matching unit 52 Vehicle position drawing unit 53 Map version search unit 54 Download menu creation unit 55 Map download selection unit 56 Download request output Department 57 provider 58 internet network 59 information center

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G01C 21/00 G01C 21/00 G G08G 1/137 G08G 1/137 G09B 29/00 G09B 29/00 F Z 29/10 29/10 A (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Kotaki F-term (reference) 2C032 HC16 HC27 HD07 HD21 HD30 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC01 AC02 AC04 AC14 AD01 5B075 ND06 PP13 PQ76 UU13 5H180 AA01 BB05 FF04 FF05 FF22 FF27 FF32

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device using map data downloaded to a memory from an information center by a communication means, comprising: a map version search means for searching whether or not map data newer than the downloaded map data exists in the information center; Download menu forming means for forming a screen for selecting data to be downloaded, when the map version search means searches the information center for map data newer than the map data downloaded to the memory; and the download menu. And a download unit for downloading data selected and instructed by the user in response to the request from the information center to the memory. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the data selected in the download menu is map data of a plurality of reduced scales. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the data selected in the download menu is map data corresponding to a type of a road to be displayed. 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the data selected in the download menu is information data corresponding to a genre of information other than a map. 5. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a fee corresponding to data to be selected is displayed on the download menu. 6. The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein the fee includes a fee for a communication time corresponding to an amount of data to be downloaded. 7. A current position detecting means, a current position road position comparing means for comparing a current position detected by the current position detecting means with a position of a road in the map data downloaded to the memory, and the current position When the road position comparing means is at least a predetermined distance from the closest road position and the state has continued for a predetermined distance or for a predetermined time, the map version searching means is newer than the downloaded map data. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a search is performed to determine whether or not the map data exists in the information center. 8. A vehicle navigation device, wherein the navigation device is mounted on a vehicle.