JP2004069561A - Car navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car navigation device allowing recognition of a road and a place name even when a plurality of facilities are densely located in a displayed map. <P>SOLUTION: A display screen is divided into a plurality of sections (step S40), and the number and the type of logomarks to be displayed in a single section are extracted (step S60). When a single section includes a plurality of logomarks to be displayed, one typical logomark is displayed (step S70). In this way, overlapping display of the logomarks is prevented when a road map of a town center, for example, in which convenience stores and the like are densely located, and a user can recognize display of the road and the place name other than the logomarks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a car navigation device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As one function of a conventional car navigation device, for example, there is a peripheral facility display function for displaying the positions of facilities such as convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc. on a road map in a superimposed manner. This peripheral facility display function, for example, when there is the above-mentioned facility set by the user around the current location, a logo mark or the like corresponding to the type of the facility is displayed on the display screen by superimposing on a road map. I do. The user uses this function to grasp the position of a desired facility existing around the current location.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The conventional peripheral facility display function, for example, when displaying logos overlaid on a road map in the city center where convenience stores are crowded, depending on the scale of the display screen set, the logos overlap and are displayed without gaps Had to be done. When the logos are displayed in an overlapping manner, the user has a problem that the identification of the logo is stupid and the display of the road or the place name cannot be recognized.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device capable of recognizing roads and place names even when a plurality of facilities are crowded on a display map.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The car navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention uses a map data storage unit for storing road map data and a road map data stored by the map data storage unit to indicate a road map and facilities on the road map. A display control means for displaying a logo mark on a display screen of the display means, and when a plurality of logo marks are densely displayed on the display screen, the display control means displays the plurality of logo marks as representative logos. It is characterized by being displayed collectively on a mark.
[0006]
As described above, when a plurality of logos are densely displayed on the display screen, the car navigation device of the present invention collectively displays the logos on the representative logo. Thereby, for example, even when displaying a road map of a city center where convenience stores, restaurants, etc. are crowded, since those logo marks are displayed collectively on the representative logo mark, the user can display the road map on the road map. It is possible to confirm the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo mark.
[0007]
The facility in the present invention is not limited to a particular facility, such as a convenience store, a gas station, a restaurant, a bank, an accommodation facility, a supermarket, etc. I do. However, not limited to these facilities, a specific facility may be added as a target.
[0008]
The car navigation device according to claim 2, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine a facility type of the plurality of logos densely displayed on the display screen, wherein the plurality of logo marks determined to belong to the same facility type by the determination unit. Is characterized in that the display control means replaces and displays the representative logo mark representing the facility type.
[0009]
For example, when there are a plurality of logos of convenience stores having different company names, the plurality of logos are replaced with a representative logo that can be identified as a convenience store and displayed. This allows the user to recognize that there are a plurality of convenience stores on the road map, and also to confirm the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo mark.
[0010]
According to the car navigation device of the third aspect, the display control means displays the representative logo mark representing the facility type in a display mode according to the number of logo marks belonging to the same facility type. .
[0011]
For example, a number indicating the number of logos of a plurality of convenience stores is added to a representative logo mark displayed on behalf of the convenience store. This allows the user to know how many facilities of the same type exist. Also, not limited to the above numbers attached, for example, a representative logo mark is displayed three-dimensionally, the height of the three-dimensional logo is changed according to the number of logo marks, and the color scheme of the logo mark is changed according to the number of logo marks. The same operation and effect can be expected by changing the display mode.
[0012]
In the car navigation device according to claim 4, when the determination means determines that the plurality of logos belong to the plurality of facility types, the display control means further displays a large representative logo representing the representative logo mark of each facility type. Characters are displayed by replacing them with marks.
[0013]
For example, by displaying a plurality of representative logo marks, it may not be possible to recognize the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo marks on the road map. Therefore, the plurality of representative logos are replaced with a large representative logo and displayed. This allows the user to check the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo mark on the road map.
[0014]
As in the car navigation device according to claim 5, when the determination means determines that the plurality of logos belong to a plurality of facility types, the display control means switches the representative logo mark of each facility type one by one. The display allows the user to confirm what kind of facility is present. As described in claim 6, in the switching display, a plurality of representative logo marks can be easily confirmed by switching and displaying the representative logo marks of each facility one by one at a predetermined time. It becomes. By setting the predetermined time to, for example, about 1 second, the user can smoothly check a plurality of representative logo marks.
[0015]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the switching display, the representative logo of each facility is switched and displayed one by one according to a user operation. This allows the user to switch and display only when confirming a desired representative logo mark.
[0016]
As in the car navigation device according to the eighth aspect, the display order of the representative logo marks switched and displayed one by one follows the order set by the user, so that the user does not needlessly switch to the desired order. The representative logo mark can be quickly confirmed.
[0017]
In the car navigation device according to the ninth aspect, when the determination unit determines that the plurality of logos belong to the plurality of facility types, the display control unit displays the representative logo marks of the respective facility types side by side. And When the number of the representative logos to be displayed is small (for example, two), the representative logos are displayed vertically or horizontally. As a result, it is possible to display the representative logo mark without hiding the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo mark on the road map in a wide range.
[0018]
In the car navigation device according to the tenth aspect, when the determination unit determines that the plurality of logos belong to the plurality of facility types, the display control unit partially overlaps the representative logo mark of each facility type. It is characterized by displaying. For example, a plurality of representative logos are displayed so as to be overlapped to the extent that their types can be identified. This allows the user to check the number and types of the representative logo marks.
[0019]
12. The car navigation device according to claim 11, wherein the display control means divides the display screen into a plurality of sections, and displays the plurality of logo marks in a representative logo mark in units of the divided sections. Features.
[0020]
By displaying the representative logo mark for each section of the display screen in this way, it is possible to prevent the user from being unable to identify a road, a place name, or the like with a plurality of logo marks. In addition, as described in claim 12, the display control means can display the representative logo mark evenly for each section by displaying the representative logo mark at the center position of the section.
[0021]
In the car navigation device according to the thirteenth aspect, when the scale of the road map displayed on the display screen is reduced to a predetermined value or less, the display control means displays the plurality of logos in a concentrated manner on the representative logo. It is characterized by doing. Thus, when the road map is displayed in a reduced size, the user can confirm the presence of the facility by the representative logo mark.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a car navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a car navigation device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation device according to the present embodiment includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a control circuit 8 connected to them, and an external memory connected to the control circuit 8. 9, a display device 10, a remote control sensor 11, and a transceiver 13.
[0024]
The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components. A program to be executed by the control circuit 8 is written in the ROM, and the CPU and the like execute predetermined arithmetic processing according to the program. Note that this program can be obtained from the outside via the external memory 9.
[0025]
The position detector 1 includes a well-known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for a GPS (Global Positioning System) that detects the position of a vehicle based on radio waves from satellites. are doing. These are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors, since each has an error having a different property. Note that, depending on the accuracy, a part of the above-described components may be used, and a rotation sensor for the steering wheel, a vehicle speed sensor for each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.
[0026]
The map data input device 6 is a device for inputting various data including so-called map matching data, map data and landmark data for improving the accuracy of position detection. As a storage medium for storing such data, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is generally used in view of the amount of data, but a memory card, a hard disk, or the like may be used. The landmark data is composed of data such as the type of facility, facility name, and coordinates of latitude and longitude.
[0027]
The display device 10 is an LCD or the like, and the screen of the display device 10 is generated based on the vehicle position mark corresponding to the current vehicle position input from the position detector 1 and the map data input from the map data input device 6. A road map around the vehicle can be displayed. Furthermore, on this road map, a logo mark indicating a facility or the like, a route for route guidance, or the like can be displayed in an overlapping manner.
[0028]
The transceiver 13 transmits a request signal for receiving information to a beacon laid on the road, and receives information such as road traffic information distributed from the VICS center via the beacon and FM broadcast stations in various places. Device. The received information is processed by the control circuit 8, and, for example, traffic congestion information, regulation information, and the like are superimposed on a road map displayed on the display device 10.
[0029]
Further, the car navigation device of the present embodiment receives a destination position from a remote control sensor 11 via a remote control terminal (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 12 or from a group of operation switches 7, from the current position to the destination. It also has a so-called route guidance function that automatically selects the optimal route up to and forms and displays a guidance route. As a technique for automatically setting the optimum route, a technique such as the well-known Dijkstra method is known. The operation switch group 7 is, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 10 and used for various inputs.
[0030]
Next, a representative display process of a logo mark, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First, the representative display processing of the logo mark according to the present embodiment is performed when the conventional peripheral facility display (hereinafter, referred to as a logo mark display) is valid. It is checked whether it is "ON" (step S10). Here, if the logo mark display setting is not “ON”, the present process is terminated, and if it is “ON”, the process proceeds to step S20.
[0031]
In the present embodiment, if the setting of the logo display is not “ON”, the present processing is terminated. However, during the execution of the other processing of the car navigation device, the setting of the logo display is changed. In preparation for the case where the processing is changed to “ON” and the processing of the present embodiment is started, only the processing of steps S20, S40, and S60 described later may be executed, and the processing of step S10 may be repeated again.
[0032]
As a result, while the car navigation device is executing another process, the setting of the logo mark display is changed to “ON”, and the logo mark is promptly displayed even when the present process is started. It becomes possible.
[0033]
In step S20, in the road map displayed on the display device 10, the landmark data of the facility to be displayed with the logo mark is read. As described above, the mark data includes data such as the type of facility, facility name, and coordinates of latitude and longitude.
[0034]
In step S30, it is confirmed whether the representative display of the logo is permitted. Here, if the representative display of the logo mark is not permitted, the process proceeds to step S80, and if it is permitted, the process proceeds to step S40. The determination in step S30 is based on the state of the setting switch for switching between modes (normal display mode and representative display mode described later) provided in advance.
[0035]
In step S80, based on the landmark data read in step S20, a logo indicating a facility is superimposed on the road map and displayed (normal display mode).
[0036]
Next, the processing in the representative display mode will be described. First, in step S40, a section for grouping the mark data of the facility to be displayed with the logo mark is determined. This is determined by dividing the display area of the display device 10 into a plurality of sections. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the division is determined by dividing the display area of the display device 10 into six in the vertical direction and eight in the horizontal direction. After the sections are determined, the coordinates (latitude / longitude) of the four corners of each section are stored in the RAM based on the display scale of the road map on the display device 10. Thereafter, the coordinates of each section are compared with the coordinates of the mark data read in step S20 to determine the mark data to be grouped.
[0037]
It should be noted that the method of determining the section is not limited to the method shown in FIG. For example, based on the size of the logo mark to be displayed on the display device 10, an area formed by lengths each of which is an integral multiple of the vertical and horizontal lengths of the logo mark may be defined as one section.
[0038]
In step S50, it is determined whether or not the grouping of the mark data has been completed for all the sections determined in step S40. Then, when the grouping process is completed for all the sections, the present process is completed, and when this is not the case, the process proceeds to step S60.
[0039]
Next, a description will be given of the mark data grouping process (step S60) and the representative display process (step S70) executed for each section with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0040]
First, in step S110 of FIG. 3, landmark data included in the block is extracted from the landmark data of the display target facility read in step S20. The target section is one of the plurality of sections determined in step S40, and thereafter, the processing of steps S50 to S70 is repeated to execute the processing for all the sections.
[0041]
In step S120, each data (the number of facilities in a section, the number of facilities in a section, the facility type [type name, facility) Number]) are all initialized. The facility type [type name, number of facilities] data is stored as array data in order to store the type name and the number of facilities in association with each other. Each of these data is stored for each section.
[0042]
A step S130 decides whether or not the grouping process has been performed for all the mark data in the section. Then, when the grouping process has been performed on all the mark data, the grouping process of the mark data is ended. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S140.
[0043]
In step S140, one unmarked landmark data is read out, and in step S150, 1 is added to the number of facilities in the section.
[0044]
In step S160, it is determined whether or not the facility type of the read landmark data is the same as the facility type of the landmark data that has already been grouped. If the facility types are the same, 1 is added to the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities] corresponding to the facility type (step S210). A step S220 invalidates the representative coordinates of the facility type. The representative coordinates will be described later.
[0045]
On the other hand, in step S160, if the facility type of the read landmark data is different from the facility type of the landmark data that has already been subjected to grouping processing, the following processing is performed because a new facility type is added. That is, in step S170, 1 is added to the number of facility types in the section, and in step S180, array data of facility types [type name, number of facilities] is added. Then, the facility type of the read mark data is stored as the type name of the facility type [type name, number of facilities].
[0046]
Further, in step S190, the number of facilities of the newly added facility type [type name, number of facilities] is set to one. In step S200, the coordinates of the latitude and longitude of the read mark data are extracted as representative coordinates of the newly added facility type, and the coordinates are stored as representative coordinates.
[0047]
Then, when the grouping process is completed for all the landmark data in the target section, the grouping process of the real landmark data is completed according to the determination in step S130.
[0048]
In this way, the landmark data of the facility to be displayed with the logo mark in the section can be summarized into the number of facilities in the section, the number of facility types in the section, and the facility type [type name, number of facilities]. The same type of mark data is counted as the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities].
[0049]
Next, referring to the data of the number of facilities in the section, the number of facility types in the section, and the type of facility [type name, number of facilities] summarized for each section, the process of representing the logo mark (representative display process) This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0050]
First, in step S310, the number of facilities in the section to be processed is referred to, and the number of facilities in the section is not one or more, that is, there is a logo mark to be displayed in the section to be processed. If it is determined not to do so, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of facilities in the section is one or more, the process proceeds to step S320.
[0051]
In step S320, it is determined whether or not the number of facility types in the section is 1 with reference to the number of facility types in the section. If it is determined that the number of facility types in the section is not one (that is, there are two or more types of facilities), the process proceeds to step S360, and if it is determined that this does not apply, the process proceeds to step S360. The process proceeds to S330.
[0052]
In step S330, referring to the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities], if it is determined that the number of facilities is greater than 1 (the number of facilities is 2 or more), the process proceeds to step S350. If not, the process proceeds to step S340.
[0053]
In step S340, since the number of facilities in the section is 1, the number of facility types in the section is 1, and the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities] is 1, one logo mark is displayed in the section. I do. For example, when there is one restaurant “Store A”, a logo mark “Store A” is displayed at the position of the representative coordinates stored in step S200.
[0054]
In step S350, the number of facilities in the section is 2 or more, the number of facility types in the section is 1, and the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities] is 2 or more. This is a case where two or more are displayed. Here, a representative logo mark corresponding to the type name of the facility type [type name, number of facilities] is displayed at the center position of the section.
[0055]
For example, when the type name is "restaurant" and the company name is different, such as A store, B store, C store, etc., displaying the logo of any store is a problem. Therefore, a representative logo mark (for example, “restaurant” or “food”) representing each store is displayed at the center position of the section regardless of the position of each store.
[0056]
Further, the representative logo mark in step S350 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a number indicating the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities] is added to the representative logo mark. Display the representative logo mark three-dimensionally, change the height of the three-dimensional object according to the number of facilities of the facility type [type name, number of facilities], or display the representative logo mark according to the number of facilities. Changing the color scheme is also effective. This allows the user to know how many facilities of the same type exist in the section.
[0057]
Step S360 is a case where the number of facilities in a section is 2 or more and the number of types of facilities in a section is 2 or more, and two or more logo marks of two or more types are normally displayed. However, in this case, in this embodiment, a large representative logo mark further representing the representative logo mark corresponding to the type name of each facility type [type name, number of facilities] is displayed at the coordinate position of the center of the section.
[0058]
For example, a large representative logo mark that displays the characters “facility” is displayed at the center of the logo mark to indicate that there is any facility in the section. In addition, one facility type is extracted from a plurality of facility types, a representative logo mark corresponding to the extracted facility type is displayed, and a character such as “etc.” is displayed. As a result, a plurality of logos are not displayed, and the user can check the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logos on the road map.
[0059]
As described above, the car navigation apparatus of the present invention groups a plurality of logo marks to be displayed for each section and replaces the plurality of logo marks with representative logo marks representing the types of the plurality of logo marks. Thereby, for example, even when displaying a road map of a city center where convenience stores, restaurants, and the like are densely arranged, those logos are displayed by being replaced with representative logos. It is possible to confirm the display of roads and place names other than the logo mark.
[0060]
Also, the car navigation device of the present embodiment has been described as performing the above-described representative logo mark display regardless of the scale of the road map display, but the scale of the road map is reduced to a predetermined value or less. Only in this case, a representative logo may be displayed. That is, on a detailed scale (for example, 1 / 10,000 or less), a conventional normal logo mark may be displayed without performing this processing. By doing so, it is possible to recognize the presence of the representative logo mark to some extent on the scale of the wide-area road map, and to be able to confirm all the logo marks on a detailed map scale.
[0061]
The facility in the present invention is not limited to a particular facility, such as a convenience store, a gas station, a restaurant, a bank, an accommodation facility, a supermarket, etc. I have. However, not limited to these facilities, other facilities may be added as targets.
[0062]
(Modification)
In step S360 of this embodiment, a large representative logo mark further representing the representative logo mark corresponding to the type name of each facility type [type name, number of facilities] is displayed. May be displayed.
[0063]
For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, a plurality of representative logo marks are switched and displayed one by one at a predetermined time (for example, one second or the like), or one representative logo mark is displayed one by one according to a user operation. The logo is switched and displayed.
[0064]
This allows the user to check what kind of facilities are present in the section and to easily check the representative logo mark by switching every predetermined time. In addition, by switching the representative logo marks one by one according to the operation of the user, the user can switch and display only when confirming a desired representative logo mark.
[0065]
The switching order follows the order set by the user, so that the user can quickly check the desired representative logo mark without unnecessary switching.
[0066]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the number of representative logos to be displayed is small (for example, two), these representative logos may be displayed side by side. As a result, it is possible to display the representative logo mark without hiding the display of roads, place names, and the like other than the logo mark on the road map in a wide range.
[0067]
Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, a plurality of representative logo marks may be displayed in a partially overlapped manner. In this way, by displaying the representative logos in a partially overlapping manner to the extent that their types can be identified, the user can check the number and types of the representative logos.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a car navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the car navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first half of a flow of a peripheral facility grouping process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the latter half of the flow of the peripheral facility grouping process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a peripheral facility grouping display process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a section of a display area of the display device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a representative logo mark according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 8A to 8C are diagrams showing modified examples of display of a representative logo mark.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 position detector 2 geomagnetic sensor 3 gyroscope 4 distance sensor 5 GPS receiver 6 map data input device 7 operation switch group 8 control circuit 9 external memory 10 display device 11 remote control sensor 12 remote control 13 transceiver

Claims (13)

Map data storage means for storing road map data;
A car navigation device comprising: display control means for displaying a road map and a logo mark indicating a facility on the road map on a display screen of the display means using the road map data stored by the map data storage means. hand,
When a plurality of the logos are densely arranged on the display screen, the display control means displays the plurality of logos collectively on a representative logo and displays the car logo. A determination unit for determining a facility type of a plurality of logos densely arranged on the display screen,
2. The car according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of logos determined to belong to the same facility type by the determination unit are displayed by the display control unit replacing the representative logo mark representing the facility type. Navigation device. The car navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the display control means displays a representative logo mark representing the facility type in a display mode according to the number of logo marks belonging to the same facility type. When the determination unit determines that the plurality of logos belong to a plurality of facility types, the display control unit replaces the representative logo mark of each facility type with a larger representative logo mark and displays it. 3. The car navigation device according to claim 2, wherein: If the plurality of logos are determined to belong to a plurality of facility types by the determination unit, the display control unit switches and displays one representative logo mark of each facility type. 3. The car navigation device according to 2. 6. The car navigation device according to claim 5, wherein, in the switching display, the representative logo mark of each facility is switched and displayed one by one at predetermined time intervals. 6. The car navigation device according to claim 5, wherein, in the switching display, a representative logo mark of each facility is switched and displayed one by one according to a user operation. The car navigation device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the display order of the representative logo marks switched and displayed one by one follows an order set by a user. 3. The car according to claim 2, wherein when the determination unit determines that the plurality of logos belong to a plurality of facility types, the display control unit displays the representative logo marks of the respective facility types side by side. Navigation device. 3. The display control unit according to claim 2, wherein when the determination unit determines that the plurality of logos belong to a plurality of facility types, the display control unit partially displays the representative logo mark of each facility type. The car navigation device according to any one of the preceding claims. 11. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit divides the display screen into a plurality of sections, and displays a plurality of logo marks in a representative logo mark in units of the divided sections. The car navigation device according to any one of the above. The car navigation device according to claim 11, wherein the display control unit displays the representative logo mark at a center position of the section. The display control means, when the scale of a road map displayed on the display screen is reduced to a predetermined value or less, displays the plurality of logos in a concentrated manner on a representative logo. 13. The car navigation device according to any one of 1 to 12.

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