JP2003207356A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the discovery of a desired location in the presence of a number of registered locations on the display screen. <P>SOLUTION: Locations in a map are arbitralily registered for the establishment of a destination or intermediate locations, and the registered locations are categorized according to their attributes. The categories may cover, for instance, personal matters, business, and leisure. Furthermore, each category is provided with landmarks for the operator's convenience, and the registered locations are displayed in colors, different by category, on the display. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device capable of arbitrarily registering a destination or waypoint used for route search or the like.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A navigation device having a function of displaying a road map around a current vehicle position, a function of calculating a recommended route from a starting point to a destination, and a function of guiding a route based on the calculated recommended route. It has been known.
This navigation device has a function of specifying a destination name, address, telephone number, etc. to set a destination.
The user inputs data such as the name, address, and telephone number of the destination by using the input switch of the navigation device.

Such a navigation device is provided with a point registration function for registering a destination in consideration of the convenience of reusing the destination once used. In the spot registration function, spot names are stored in the order of registration numbers and displayed on the display monitor in that order. However,
When the number of registered points increases, it becomes complicated to search for a point to be set as a destination or a stopover on the display screen.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device which makes it possible to easily find a desired spot on a display screen even if a large number of spots are registered.

[0005]

(1) A navigation device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a navigation device which detects a current position, a display monitor which displays the detected current position on a map, and an arbitrary on the map. Point registration means to register the point of
And a classifying unit that classifies and registers the registered points according to their attributes. (2) The invention according to claim 2 is the navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the classification means displays a preset category on the display monitor and selects the category to identify the registered point. It is characterized by being classified into categories. (3) The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the navigation device of claim 2, the classifying means comprises subclassifying means for further classifying and registering the categories. (4) The invention of claim 4 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the registered points are displayed on the display monitor, the registered points are grouped for each predetermined category. It is characterized by displaying in order of category. (5) The invention of claim 5 is the navigation device according to claim 3, wherein when the registered points are displayed on the display monitor, the registered points are grouped for each classified category,
Further, it is characterized in that it is displayed in the order of subdivision within each category. (6) According to the invention of claim 6, in the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the registration point to be displayed on the display monitor is displayed using a background color predetermined for each category. Is characterized by. (7) The invention of claim 7 is, in the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, all erasing means for collectively erasing registered points, and points to be excluded from erasure targets by all erasing means. It is characterized by further comprising non-erasing setting means for setting registration. (8) The invention according to claim 8 is the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the destination is determined from a point stored in the point registration means, and the current vehicle position is determined. A route search means for searching for a route to the destination and displaying it on the display monitor, a route guidance means for guiding the vehicle along the searched route, and a waypoint between the current position and the destination are added. The route point adding means is further provided, and the route point adding means, by designating a category, of the registered points stored by the point registering means,
The feature is that only the points of the designated category are displayed and the transit point selected from them is added.

[0006]

1 is a system block diagram of a car navigation system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 10 has a function of presenting information about the traveling of the vehicle, specifically, a function of displaying a road map around the current vehicle position, and calculates a recommended route from a departure point (current position) to a destination (destination). It also has a function of performing route guidance and a function of guiding a route based on the calculated recommended route. It is a device that performs so-called navigation or road guidance.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a current position detecting device for detecting the current position of the vehicle, for example, a direction sensor 11a for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle and a vehicle speed sensor 1 for detecting the vehicle speed.
1b, a GPS sensor 11c for detecting GPS signals from GPS satellites and the like. Reference numeral 12 denotes a map storage memory for storing road map data and address data, which is a recording medium in which the road map data and address data are stored.
A ROM 13 and its reading device. The recording medium is not limited to the CD-ROM, and may be a magnetic tape, a DVD, or any other recording medium.

Reference numeral 14 is a control circuit for controlling the entire apparatus, which comprises a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits.
The control circuit 14 uses the RAM 15 as a work area and ROM.
The control program stored in 16 is executed to perform various controls described later. Reference numeral 17 is an input device having various switches for inputting a destination of the vehicle. A joystick can be used as the input device 17. The joystick is provided with a tilt switch that tilts the entire circumference in 45 directions at intervals of 8 degrees to turn on and off, and a push-down switch (decision switch) that turns on and off by pushing down. The tilt switch is used to move the cursor, select display buttons, or scroll the screen. Enter the decision of the button selected by the push-down switch.

A rotary switch may be used instead of the joystick to instruct movement of the cursor or scroll of the screen. A touch panel switch may be provided in the display screen. The input may be performed by voice using a voice recognition device.

Reference numeral 18 is an image memory for storing image data to be displayed on the display monitor 19, and this image data is created from road map drawing data and various graphic data. The image data stored in the image memory 18 is appropriately read and displayed on the display monitor 19. The control circuit 14 functions as an output device for a display signal to the display monitor 19.

The navigation device 10 thus configured searches for a route with the vehicle position (current position, current position) acquired by the current position detection device 11 as the starting point and the destination set by the operator as the destination. The route search is performed by a known method based on the road map data stored in the map storage memory 12. The resultant searched route is displayed on the display monitor 19 as a bold line, and when approaching the right or left turning point, the vehicle is guided to the destination while being guided by voice.

The search result can be edited. In this case, a waypoint can be added and the route search operation can be redone. The waypoint can be selected from among the points registered as points.

As shown in FIG. 2, the registered points are classified into four categories (personal, business, leisure and special) (major categories), and landmark classifications (subclassifications) that further subdivide the four category classifications. )
It is classified by and. In other words, the registered points are classified and registered according to their attributes.

As shown in FIG. 3, for example, 10 types of landmarks (fine classification marks) are set for each of the large classifications. Therefore, the registered points can be classified into categories, and further, these landmarks can be arbitrarily set to perform detailed classification. The name of the landmark can also be arbitrarily determined.

FIG. 4 shows a storage medium 13 such as a CD-ROM.
It is a figure which shows the detail of the memory area of the spot registration set inside. In this memory area, the registration number. Area 41 for storing a category, area 42 for storing a category, area 43 for registering a landmark, area 44 for storing a name given to a registration point, and must not be erased when erasing all An area 45 for storing erasure lock information for setting
Position information storage areas 46 and 47 for storing the latitude and longitude information of the registration point are provided.

The process of setting and changing the registration point will be described below. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure relating to registration point setting according to this embodiment. The program of FIG. 5 is started when the ignition switch is turned on. In step S1, the menu screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display monitor 19. Step S2
At, it is determined whether or not the navigation menu button 19a is selected. When the navigation menu button 19a in FIG. 10 is selected with the joystick 17, the joystick 17 is pushed down and the decision switch is turned on, it is determined that the navigation menu button 19a has been selected, and step S
Go to 3. In step S3, the navigation menu screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the display monitor 19.

In step S4, it is determined whether the registered location button 19b has been operated from the navigation menu screen. When the registration button 19b is selected with the joystick 17 from the navigation menu screen of FIG. 11 and the joystick 17 is pushed down to turn on the decision switch, the registration point list is displayed on the display monitor 19 in step S5 as shown in FIG. It The registration spot list is displayed in order of spot registration numbers. In FIG. 12, the spot registration numbers of the registration numbers 30 to 35 are displayed. In step S6, the following registration point name process is performed, and the process returns to the predetermined step.

When the mark order button 19c is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on on the registered place display screen of FIG. 12, the mark order display processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed. In step S11, the registration points are rearranged in the mark order, and as shown in FIG. 13, the registration points are grouped (categorized) in the mark order and arranged. In other words, the registration points are arranged and displayed for each category. As described above, in this embodiment, four categories of personal, business, leisure and special are set, and each category is color-coded. For example, the registration number 31 is classified as personal and the background color is orange. Registration number 32 is categorized as business and the background color is green. Registration number 3
0, 34, and 35 are unclassified, and the background color is pink. The background color of the leisure not shown is blue.

As shown in FIG. 13, a personal button 19d and a business button 19 are displayed on the mark order display screen.
e, leisure button 19f, special button 19g,
The category release button 19h is displayed. The color coded band area 19S is also set to these category buttons.

In step S12, one of these category buttons is selected with the joystick 17, the joystick 17 is pushed down, and the decision switch is turned on. In step S13, the process of setting the category of the corresponding registration point is executed. . For example, in FIG.
As shown in, when the unregistered registration number 35 is selected and the business button 19e is pressed, the registration place setting display screen of FIG. 16 is displayed, and landmarks in the business are set as described later.

On the registration location screen of FIG. 12, when the "registerable button" (number for which location registration is not set) 19i is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on, in step S21 of FIG. A display screen is displayed on the display monitor 19. In step S22, the following spot selection processing is executed. For example,
Select the "facility button" 19j with the joystick 17,
Push down the joystick 17 to turn on the decision switch. The point selection is performed based on a so-called tree structure database as shown in FIG. For example,
"Sports &Leisure" is set under "Facilities", "Theme Park" is set under "Sports &Leisure", and "Theme Parks" include XXX Amusement Park, Tokyo YYY Land, and ZZZ Highland. Is set.

Therefore, when the operations are sequentially performed according to the screen display, the XXX amusement park, Tokyo YYY land, and ZZZ high land are displayed on the display monitor 19 in step S23. For example, if you select Tokyo YYY Land with the joystick 17 and turn on the decision switch,
The registration location setting display screen 6 is displayed.

In step S24, it is determined whether the map display button 19k shown in FIG. 16 has been selected. When the map display button 19k is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on, the step S24 is affirmative, and the map centering on the Tokyo YYY land is displayed on the display monitor 19 in the step S25.

In step S26, it is determined whether the name change button 19m has been selected. Joystick 17
When the name change button 19m is selected with and the decision switch is turned on, the keyboard is displayed as shown in FIG. 17 in step S27. In step S28, the name is changed by operating the keyboard with the joystick 17. Specifically, the name data in the name area 44 of FIG. 4 is replaced with the newly input name.

In step S29, it is determined whether the landmark change button 19n has been selected. When the landmark change button 19n is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on, the landmark setting screen shown in FIG. 18 is displayed in step S30. FIG.
Then, for example, 10 landmarks of the leisure subcategory, which is the category of the currently registered point, are displayed. In step S31, change landmark /
Execute the setting process. That is, when one of the 10 kinds of landmarks is selected by the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on, the landmark is changed. Specifically, the data in the landmark area 43 in FIG. 4 is replaced with the newly input landmark data.

In step S32, the delete button 19
Determine whether o has been selected. Select the delete button 19o with the joystick 17 and turn on the decision switch,
In step S33, the point registration data regarding the registered point Tokyo YYY Land is deleted. Specifically, all the data of registration number 2 is erased.

When changing the category of the registration point from leisure to another category, one of the three category buttons 19e to 19g of personal, business and special, for example, the business button 19e is selected by the joystick 17 in FIG. And turn on the decision switch. As a result, the landmarks of the business subclass shown in FIG. 3 are displayed on the display screen. When any one of the landmarks is selected with the joystick 17 and the determination switch is turned on, the landmark is changed and the category is changed from leisure to business. Specifically, the selected category is changed in the category area 42 of FIG. 4 and the selected landmark is stored in the mark area 43.

When the lock button 19p is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on in the display screen of FIG. 12, the stored contents of the corresponding spot registration are locked in step S41 of FIG. 8 and updating and erasing are prohibited. It FIG. 12 shows that the location registration content of registration number 32 is locked. Specifically, the data in the lock / unlock area 45 of FIG. 4 is set to the lock. It should be noted that the already locked point can be unlocked by performing the same operation.

On the display screen of FIG. 12, when the erasure button 19q is selected with the joystick 17 and the decision switch is turned on, in step S51 of FIG. 9, all the point registrations except the stored point registration memory contents are locked. Data is erased all at once.

As described above, in the present embodiment, four categories of personal, business, leisure, and special are set as major classifications, and each category is reclassified into 10 types of landmarks to classify point registration. I tried to register (categorize). Specifically, (1) preset category buttons 19d to 19h are displayed on the display monitor 19 and the category button 19d is displayed.
By selecting ~ h, the registered points are classified by category. (2) The landmarks that are further classified into categories are registered at each point. (3) When the registered spots are displayed on the display monitor 19, the registered spots are grouped for each predetermined category and further displayed in the reclassification order. (4) The registration points to be displayed on the display monitor 19 are displayed by using the background color predetermined for each category.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained. In the conventional display in the order of registration numbers, points used for work (business points)
Also, the points used for personal use (personal points) were mixedly displayed. In this respect, according to this embodiment, since the images are classified and displayed for each category, it is easy to search from the display screen even if the number of registration points is increased. Further, since the colors are classified for each category and the landmarks are displayed by further re-classifying, it is possible to provide a user interface that is visually clear and easy to use.

Further, according to this embodiment, since the lock process for prohibiting the deletion of the point registration is set for each point registration, the locked point registration is not deleted even if the all deletion process is performed. In other words, since the non-erasing setting that excludes the predetermined spot registration from the deletion target is enabled, the spot registration is not deleted by an erroneous operation.

As described above, in the car navigation system, the destination is determined from the point stored in the point registration memory, the route from the current vehicle position to the destination is searched, displayed on the display monitor, and searched. It has a route guidance function that guides the vehicle along the route. Further, for the purpose of changing the searched route, there is also a function of adding a transit point from the current position to the destination and recalculating the route. By specifying the above category when adding waypoints, by displaying only the points of the specified category among the registered points stored in the point registration memory, the setting operation of the waypoints is simplified. It

That is, such a navigation device determines the destination from the point stored in the point registration means, and the route from the vehicle current position to the determined destination and searches on the display monitor. The route addition means for displaying the route, the route guidance means for guiding the vehicle along the searched route, and the waypoint addition means for adding the waypoint between the current position and the destination are additionally provided. By means of designating a category, the means displays only the locations of the designated category among the registered locations stored by the location registration means, and adds the transit point selected from them.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the example of the navigation device has been described, but it is not necessary to limit to this content.
The present invention can also be applied to a portable navigation device.
In the above embodiment, the control circuit 1 of the navigation device
The control program executed by No. 4 has been described as an example stored in the ROM 12, but the contents need not be limited to this. Control program and its installation program are C
It may be provided by a recording medium such as the D-ROM 14.

Furthermore, it is also possible to provide those programs via a transmission medium such as a communication line typified by the Internet. That is, the program
It is also possible to convert into a signal on a carrier wave that carries a transmission medium and transmit the signal. In this case, the programs may be received all at once, or may be received via a communication line as needed. It should be noted that the large classification and the fine classification are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various classifications are possible. In some cases,
It is also possible to sort the detailed classification into the detailed classifications, and the number of classifications does not matter.

In the above embodiments, the point registration means, the classification means, the subclassification means, the all deletion means, the non-erasure setting means, the determination means, the route search means, the route guidance means, and the waypoint addition means are control circuits. It is realized by the program executed in 14 and various buttons on the screen.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the registered points are classified and displayed, even if a large number of points are registered, the destination can be easily searched from the display screen.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a tree structure of major categories and minor categories.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing landmarks preset in each category.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a database structure of a registration point memory.

FIG. 5 is a main flowchart showing a procedure example of a location registration process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure executed by operating a mark order button.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure executed by operating an unregistered button.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure executed by operating a lock button.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure executed by operating an all delete button.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a main menu screen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a navigation menu screen.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a screen display example in which registered locations are displayed in numerical order.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example in which registered places are displayed in the order of marks.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a destination setting screen

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a tree structure from selecting a facility name to another facility.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a registration place setting screen.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a keyboard input screen.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a landmark change screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

12: Map storage memory 13: Storage medium 14: Control circuit 19: Display monitor 19d-19h: Category button

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Matsumiya             180 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Standing Communication System Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB15 HB22 HC08 HC11                       HC16 HC22 HC25 HC31 HD03                       HD16 HD24                 2F029 AA01 AA07 AB01 AB07 AB13                       AC02 AC14 AC16                 5H180 AA01 AA21 BB04 BB13 CC12                       FF04 FF05 FF22 FF25 FF27                       FF32

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting a current position, a display monitor for displaying the detected current position on a map, a point registering means for registering an arbitrary point on the map, and a register for registering the registered point. A navigation device comprising: a classification unit that classifies and registers according to an attribute. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the classification means displays a preset category on the display monitor and selects the category to classify the registered points into categories. A navigation device characterized by the above. 3. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the classifying unit includes a subclassifying unit that further classifies and registers the categories. 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the registered point is displayed on the display monitor.
A navigation device characterized in that registration points are collected for each classified category and displayed in order of category. 5. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the registered point is displayed on the display monitor.
A navigation device characterized in that registration points are grouped for each classified category and further displayed in the order of being subdivided within each category. 6. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the registration point displayed on the display monitor is displayed using a background color predetermined for each category. Navigation device. 7. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein all erasing means for erasing the registered points in a lump, and point registration for excluding from erasing by the all erasing means are set. And a non-erasing setting means for controlling the navigation device. 8. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines a destination from a point stored in the point registering means, and the destination determined from the current vehicle position. The route searching means for searching the route of the vehicle and displaying it on the display monitor, the route guiding means for guiding the vehicle along the searched route, and the route searching means are the transit points from the current position to the destination. Further comprising a waypoint adding means for adding, the waypoint adding means, by indicating the category, among the registered points stored by the point registration means,
A navigation device that displays only points in a designated category and adds a waypoint selected from the points.