JP2004125747A - Car navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to set guiding information and a guiding condition for presenting guiding information without depending on an external device. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of the guiding information supposed to be corresponding to the guiding condition designated by the guiding condition primary determination means 15, and the guiding condition secondary determination means 16 is extracted from a guiding information memory means 18 and presented to a guiding information presenting means 20. Corresponding to a setting operation of an operation means 12, the guiding information to be memorized in a guiding information memory means 18 and the guiding condition to be memorized in the guiding condition primary determination means 15 and the guiding condition secondary determination means 16 are established. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a car navigation device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional car navigation device, an instruction sequence capable of describing at least time information and / or location information and guidance information to be output in accordance with a time and / or a location to be presented conforms to a predetermined specification. Means for obtaining a guide script described on the basis of the information, means for obtaining the current time or / and current location, or means for generating a virtual current time or / and virtual current location; Means for processing the instructions described in the provided guidance script according to the current time or the current location obtained by status acquisition or / status generation, and outputting guidance information along with the processing of the instructions, and And a presentation unit (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-215211 (paragraph number "0012")
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional car navigation device does not include an operation means for setting the guide information and a guide script which is a guide condition for presenting the guide information by a user. , A server, a center, a PC (personal computer), and the like are required, and the setting method is complicated.
Further, in the conventional car navigation device, there is a problem that it is difficult to protect privacy because guide information that is not desired to be known to other users is also presented.
Further, in the conventional car navigation device, since the guide information is always presented in detail according to the guide condition, the time required for presenting the guide information becomes longer, and the load on the navigation ECU as the information processing means becomes heavy. There was a problem that would be.
Further, in the conventional car navigation apparatus, there is a problem that useless guidance information is presented because guidance information which has been presented before and is already grasped by the user is always presented.
Further, in the conventional car navigation device, since guidance information is stored in an external storage means such as an IC card or a prepaid card, there is a problem that abundant guidance information cannot be obtained due to a shortage of storage capacity.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and a user can set guide information and guide conditions for presenting the guide information without depending on external devices such as a server, a center, and a personal computer. An object is to obtain a car navigation device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device capable of protecting the privacy of individual users.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device capable of reducing the time required for presenting guidance information and reducing the load on the navigation ECU.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device that can suppress the presentation of guidance information that has been previously presented and that the user has already grasped.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a car navigation device capable of obtaining abundant guidance information.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A car navigation device according to the present invention stores guidance information storing means for storing a plurality of pieces of guidance information for a traveling vehicle, and stores guidance conditions set for each piece of guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means, and specifies a guidance condition. Guidance condition determination means for determining the presence or absence of guidance information based on the guidance condition, and guidance information for extracting and presenting guidance information determined to correspond to the guidance condition specified by the guidance condition determination means from the guidance information storage means It is provided with a presentation unit and an operation unit for setting guidance information stored in the guidance information storage unit and guidance conditions stored in the guidance condition determination unit in accordance with a setting operation.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a car navigation device according to Embodiment 1, in which a navigation ECU 1 internally connects a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HD (hard disk), an I / O, and these. The system includes a system bus, acquires various sensor information 2 from a GPS receiver, a vehicle speed sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and the like, and calculates a current position based on the sensor information. Based on the calculation result, the current position of the vehicle is superimposed and displayed on the map screen using the map information obtained from the map disk drive 3. Further, it acquires guidance information such as voices, images, and characters recorded on the memory card mounted on the memory card reader 4. Then, an image and characters of the map screen including the current position of the vehicle and the guidance information are displayed on the display 6 by the audio unit 5, and the voice guidance information is emitted from the speaker 7.
[0008]
FIG. 2 is an image example of the guide information displayed on the display 6. In the figure, a current position 61 is displayed on a map 62, and a guide facility 63 and image information of the guide facility are displayed. That is, guidance information (in this example, the location of the capital letter and its image) that matches the user's preference is displayed.
[0009]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing, as hardware, a configuration including a firmware function of the navigation ECU 1 in FIG. 1. A system control unit 11 corresponding to a CPU includes an operation unit 12, a current location detection unit 13, and a guidance information update unit 14. The guide condition primary determination unit 15, the guide condition secondary determination unit 16, the map information storage unit 17, the guide information storage unit 18, the date / time calculation unit 19, and the guide information presentation unit 20 are connected.
[0010]
The system control means 11 processes various data in accordance with the control program stored in the ROM, temporarily stores the processed data in the internal RAM, and performs integrated control on the connected respective means, It manages the data of the guidance condition primary determination means 15, the guidance condition secondary determination means 16, and the guidance information storage means 18, which are constituted by an HD having a large storage area.
[0011]
The operation means 12 is for operating the navigation system, and performs operations for reading / updating guidance information and setting guidance conditions for guidance information. The current position detection means 13 has a function of acquiring GPS information, vehicle speed information, rotation angle information, and the like from various sensors, collating it with map data, and obtaining a current position of the vehicle.
[0012]
The guidance information storage means 18 stores guidance information such as voices, images, characters, and the like, and is composed of an HD storage area. The guide information updating means 14 adds the guide information read from the memory card inserted into the memory card reader 4 of FIG. 1 to the guide information storage means 18, or adds the guide information stored in the guide information storage means 18 to the memory. It has a function of replacing the guidance information read from the card and deleting the guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means 18.
[0013]
The date / time calculation means 19 has a function of obtaining a date, a day of the week, and a time from GPS information. The guidance condition determination means, which is composed of the guidance condition primary determination means 15 and the guidance condition secondary determination means 16, has a function of storing and managing guidance conditions for each piece of guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means 18. The guide condition primary determination means 15 makes the primary determination, and the guide condition secondary determination means 16 makes the secondary determination. The primary determination and the secondary determination will be described later in detail.
[0014]
The map information storage means 17 temporarily stores the map information read from the map disk drive 3 in FIG. 1, and is composed of an HD storage area or a semiconductor memory. The guidance information presentation means 20 converts the guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means 18 based on the determination results of the primary guidance condition determination means 15 and the secondary guidance condition determination means 16 as shown in FIG. Has a function of displaying on the display 6 and presenting it to the user.
[0015]
Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 4 is a main flowchart executed by the navigation ECU 1. First, it is determined whether or not a user ID has been input (step ST1), and when input, it is determined whether or not the ID is registered (step ST2). If the user is not authorized, the process is terminated. If the user is authorized, a process corresponding to the content of the input information is executed.
[0016]
That is, it is determined whether or not the input information is the current position information from the current position detecting means 13 (step ST3). When the current position information is input, the information is compared with the previously input contents. Then, it is determined whether or not the current position has changed (step ST4). If there is no change, this flow is ended. If there is a change, the changed current position information is notified to the guide condition primary determination means 15 and the guide condition secondary determination means 16 (step ST5). Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the input information is the time information from the date / time calculation means 19 (step ST6). When the time information is input, the information (date, day of the week, time) is provided. The condition primary determination means 15 and the guidance condition secondary determination means 16 are notified (step ST7).
[0017]
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the input information is the operation information from the operation means 12 (step ST8). When the operation information is input, the screen of the display 6 is updated by the guidance information presenting means 20 (step ST8). ST9). Further, it is determined whether or not the operation information is information for setting guidance conditions (step ST10). If the information is guidance condition setting information, the information is notified to the guidance condition primary determination means 15 based on the content of the condition setting (step ST11). Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the input operation information is an update of the guide information (step ST12). If the input is the update of the guide information, the information is notified to the guide information updating means 14 (step ST13). .
[0018]
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the input information is guidance instruction information (step ST14). When the guidance instruction information is input, a guidance target data number of the guidance information is designated, and the guidance information presenting means 20 is designated. Is notified of the guidance instruction information (step ST15). FIGS. 5 to 7 show screen state transitions when the input information is guidance instruction information. On the left side of the screen 6a in FIG. 5, icon switches including a “current location” switch, a “menu” switch, up, down, left and right cursor switches, an “execute” switch, and a “return” switch are displayed. These icon switches are omitted from the other screens 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, and 6i in FIGS.
[0019]
The "current location" switch is a switch for transitioning from the screens 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i to the current location screen 6a. The “menu” switch is a switch for calling a menu for selecting the update of guidance information and the setting of guidance conditions. The up, down, left, and right cursor switches are used to move the cursor position in the menu screen. The “execute” switch is a switch for selecting a menu at the cursor position in the menu screen. The "return" switch is a switch for returning the transition of the menu screen to the state immediately before.
[0020]
When the "menu" switch is turned on on the screen 6a, the screen transits to the screen 6b, and menu selection switches for "update guidance information" and "set guidance conditions" are displayed. On the screen 6b, the default cursor position is on the upper side, and the menu screen is "update guidance information". When the down cursor switch (▼) is turned on on this screen, the screen transits to a menu screen of “setting guidance conditions” on the screen 6c. When the up cursor switch (▲) is turned on on the screen 6c, the screen transits to the screen 6b.
[0021]
When the "execute" switch is turned on in the menu screen of "update guidance information" on the screen 6b, the screen transits to a screen labeled "update guidance information" on the screen 6d of FIG. "Replacement,""deletion," and "addition." For example, in order to replace "wave sound", which is voice guidance information, with "chicken voice" guidance information on a memory card, select "replace" with the cursor switch and turn on the "execute" switch. To As a result, the screen transits to a screen on which “Replace with memory card guide information” is displayed on the screen 6e. Further, when the “execute” switch is turned on on this screen, the screen is changed to a screen described as “update the guidance information” on the screen 6f, and the replacement of the guidance information is completed. Then, the updated guidance information is notified to the guidance information updating means 14. Similarly, when “delete” or “add” of the current guidance information is selected, the guidance information updating unit 14 is notified.
[0022]
On the other hand, when the "execute" switch is turned on on the menu screen of "set guidance conditions" on the screen 6c in FIG. 5, the screen transits to the screen described as "set guidance conditions" on the screen 6g in FIG. . The guidance conditions to be set include “date and time” of condition 1 and “location” of condition 2. For example, if the current location is Wakayama on July 20, and a condition is set to output a sound of “wave sound”, and if you want to change this to a new date, set the condition 1 with the cursor. Turn on the "Execute" switch by selecting with the switch. As a result, the screen transits to a screen in which "Change the guidance condition" is displayed on the screen 6h, and the calendar is displayed. When a new date, August 1 is selected on this screen and the "execute" switch is turned on, the screen transits to a screen described as "Set guidance conditions" on the screen 6i and is newly set. Is displayed.
[0023]
The set guide condition is notified to the guide condition primary determination means 15, and the guide condition data for primary determination described later is updated. When the condition 2 is newly set on the screen 6g, the set guidance condition is notified to the guidance condition secondary determination means 16, and the guidance condition data for secondary determination described later is updated. Note that “history” may be set as the condition 3. When the condition 3 is newly set, the set guidance condition is notified to the guidance condition secondary determination means 16 and the guidance condition data for secondary determination is updated.
[0024]
8 is a flowchart of a primary determination process performed by the primary guide condition determination unit 15, FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a secondary determination process performed by the secondary guide condition determination unit 16, and FIG. FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the primary determination guidance condition data for each number, and FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the secondary determination guidance condition data. In this case, the guidance condition primary determination means 15 stores the primary determination guidance condition data of the upper hierarchy, and the guidance condition secondary determination means 16 stores the secondary determination guidance condition data of the lower hierarchy.
[0025]
The primary determination guidance condition data is in a table format including fixed-length records for each attribute of the guidance condition so that a large amount of guidance information can be searched at high speed. On the other hand, the guidance condition data for secondary determination is in a list format consisting of variable-length records so that a plurality of guidance conditions can be set for each piece of guidance information. That is, a plurality of pieces of secondary determination guidance condition data having different attributes can be set. When a plurality of attributes are set, the “number of attributes of the secondary determination guidance condition” in the secondary determination guidance condition data of the guidance target data in FIG. 11 is set to two or more, and the “attribute of the secondary determination guidance condition” and “secondary The number of "determination guidance conditions" is connected. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which “history” is set as the guidance condition attribute 5 in the attribute of the secondary determination guidance condition. The history expresses a period. For example, if a period of one month is set in order to avoid frequent presentation of the same guidance information, the period within one month satisfies other guidance conditions. If they do, they will not be presented.
[0026]
Next, the operation of the primary determination process and the secondary determination process will be described.
In the flowchart of the primary determination process in FIG. 8, the primary determination process is performed according to information input. That is, it is determined whether or not the current position information has been input (step ST21). If the current position information has been input, the guidance condition data having the attribute “place” is referred to in the primary determination guide condition data, A search is made for condition data within a predetermined distance from the current location (step ST22). Then, it is determined whether there is condition data within a predetermined distance (step ST23). If there is no such condition data, this flow is terminated.
[0027]
If the current position information has not been input, it is determined whether or not time information has been input (step ST24). If the time information has been input, the attribute is “date” in the primary determination guidance condition data, The guidance condition data of "day of the week" or "time" is searched (step ST25). Then, it is determined whether there is a date change and whether there is date condition data (step ST26). If at least one of the date change and the date condition data is not present, it is determined whether or not there is a day change and whether there is a day condition data (step ST27). If at least one of the day change or the day condition data is not present, it is determined whether there is a time change and whether there is time condition data (step ST28).
[0028]
If there is condition data within a predetermined distance in step ST23, there is a date change in step ST26, and there is date condition data, if there is a day change in step ST27, and there is day condition data, or If there is a time change in step ST28 and there is time condition data, it is determined in each case whether or not there is a secondary determination condition (step ST29). In the guidance condition data record of each guidance condition attribute shown in FIG. 10, when the secondary determination condition flag is "1", it is determined that there is a secondary determination condition, and when this flag is "0", the secondary determination is made. It is determined that there is no condition. That is, when the secondary determination condition flag is “1” in the primary determination guidance condition data of the upper hierarchy, the secondary determination guidance condition data of the lower hierarchy is referred to.
[0029]
If there is a secondary determination condition, a guidance target data number is designated, and a secondary determination instruction is notified to the guidance condition secondary determination means 16 (step ST30). If there is no secondary determination condition, the guidance target data number is designated, and guidance instruction information is notified to the system control means 11 (step ST31).
If no time information has been input in step ST24, it is determined whether or not guidance condition setting information has been input (step ST32). When the guidance condition setting information is input, the guidance condition data is updated (step ST33).
[0030]
In the flowchart of the secondary determination process in FIG. 9, the secondary determination process is performed according to the information input. That is, it is determined whether or not the current position information has been input (step ST41). When the current position information has been input, the current position information is saved (step ST42). If no current position information has been input, it is determined whether or not time information has been input (step ST43). If time information has been input, date, day of the week, and time information are saved (step ST44). .
[0031]
If neither the current position information nor the time information is input, it is determined whether or not a secondary determination instruction has been input (step ST45). When the secondary determination instruction is input, the guidance condition of the designated guidance target data number is referred to (step ST46). Then, it is determined whether or not the guidance conditions match (step ST47). When the guidance conditions match, a guidance target data number is designated, and guidance instruction information is notified to the system control means 11 (step ST48). The system control means 11 inputs the notified guidance instruction information to the guidance information presentation means 20.
[0032]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the guidance information instruction processing executed by the guidance information presenting means 20. It is determined whether or not guide information instruction information has been input from the system control means 11 (step ST51). When the guide information instruction information has been input, whether the specified guide information has a history of output up to a predetermined time ago It is determined whether or not it is (step ST52). If the guide information is output before a predetermined time, the output is not performed again. For example, if the power is turned off after outputting the guidance information a few minutes ago and the power is turned on again, even if the same guidance information instruction information is input from the system control unit 11, the user has already grasped it. Therefore, such guidance information is not output again. If the guidance information has not been output before a predetermined time, the guidance information is output by referring to the guidance information storage means 18 based on the designated guidance target data number (step ST53).
[0033]
In step ST52, when it is determined whether or not the designated guidance information has a history output up to a predetermined time ago, if the configuration is such that the history period is set as the condition 3 in setting the guidance condition, it takes several minutes. One month or one year can be set as the history period, not limited to the short time as before. That is, the guidance information presenting means 20 determines that the period from the date and time of the history data to the current date and time is within the set predetermined period when the secondary determination guidance condition data includes history data indicating the date and time of the previous presentation. For example, it is possible to configure so that the guidance information corresponding to the guidance condition data for secondary determination is not presented.
[0034]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, the guidance information determined to correspond to the designated guidance condition by the guidance condition primary determination unit 15 and the guidance condition secondary determination unit 16 is stored in the guidance information storage unit 17. When the information is extracted and presented to the guidance information presentation means 17, the guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means 17, the guidance condition primary determination means 15, and the guidance condition secondary determination means according to the setting operation of the operation means 12. Since the guidance conditions stored in the storage unit 16 are set, there is an effect that the user can set the guidance information and the guidance conditions for presenting the guidance information without depending on external devices such as a server, a center, and a personal computer.
[0035]
According to the first embodiment, guidance conditions are stored for each user ID for identifying a user, and when a registered user ID is input, guidance is performed based on the guidance condition corresponding to the user ID. Since the presence or absence of the information is determined, the effect that privacy of each user can be protected is obtained.
[0036]
Further, according to the first embodiment, since the primary determination guidance condition data having a fixed data length in which a single attribute can be set is stored, the time required for presenting the guidance information is reduced, and the load on the navigation ECU 1 is reduced. The effect of being able to reduce is obtained.
In this case, since guidance information data for secondary determination having a variable data length in which a plurality of different attributes can be set is stored, more detailed guidance information can be presented.
[0037]
Further, according to the first embodiment, the guide condition data for primary determination of the upper layer and the guide condition data for secondary determination of the lower layer are stored, and the presence or absence of guide information corresponding to the designated guide condition is determined. When it is determined by the primary determination guidance condition data, the data indicating the presence or absence of the secondary determination in the primary determination guidance condition data is specified by the secondary determination guidance condition data when the secondary determination is required. Since the presence / absence of the guide information corresponding to the guide condition is determined, an effect that detailed guide information can be presented by setting according to the user's need is obtained.
[0038]
Also, according to the first embodiment, when the secondary determination guidance condition data includes history data indicating the date and time of the previous presentation, the guidance information presenting unit 20 performs the process from the date and time of the history data to the current date and time. If the period is within the set predetermined period, the guidance information corresponding to the secondary determination guidance condition data is not presented, so that it is possible to suppress the presentation of the guidance information that was previously presented and is already grasped by the user. The effect is obtained.
[0039]
According to the first embodiment, the guidance information storage unit 18, the primary guidance condition determination unit 15, and the secondary guidance condition determination unit 16 are hard disks, which are storage media having a storage capacity equal to or more than a rewritable predetermined capacity. With the configuration, an effect that abundant guidance information can be obtained can be obtained.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a car navigation device is provided with guidance information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of guidance information for a traveling vehicle, and guidance set for each piece of guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means. A guidance condition determining means for storing the condition and determining the presence or absence of guidance information based on the designated guidance condition; and providing guidance information determined to correspond to the guidance condition specified by the guidance condition determining means from the guidance information storage means. A guide information presenting means for extracting and presenting, and an operation means for setting guide information stored in the guide information storage means and guide conditions stored in the guide condition determination means in accordance with a setting operation are provided. The user can set guidance information and guidance conditions for presenting the guidance information without depending on external devices such as a server, a center, and a personal computer. There is a result.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a car navigation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image of guidance information displayed on the display of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a navigation ECU in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a main flowchart executed by the navigation ECU of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a state transition diagram of a screen when guidance instruction information is input.
FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram of a screen when guidance instruction information is input.
FIG. 7 is a state transition diagram of a screen when guidance instruction information is input.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a primary determination process performed by a guidance condition primary determination unit of FIG. 3;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a secondary determination process executed by a guidance condition secondary determination unit in FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of primary determination guidance condition data.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of guidance condition data for secondary determination.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of guidance information instruction processing executed by the guidance information presenting means of FIG. 3;
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 navigation ECU, 2 various sensor information, 3 map disk drive, 4 memory card reader, 5 audio unit, 6 display, 7 speaker, 11 system control means, 12 operation means, 13 current location detection means, 14 guidance information update means, 15 Guidance condition primary determination means, 16 guidance condition secondary determination means, 17 map information storage means, 18 guidance information storage means, 19 date / time calculation means, 20 guidance information presentation means.

Claims (6)

Guidance information storage means for storing a plurality of guidance information for the traveling vehicle;
Guidance condition determination means for storing guidance conditions set for each piece of guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means and determining the presence or absence of guidance information based on the designated guidance condition;
Guidance information presentation means for extracting and presenting guidance information determined to correspond to the designated guidance condition from the guidance information storage means by the guidance condition determination means,
A car navigation device comprising: operation information for setting guidance information stored in the guidance information storage means and guidance conditions stored in the guidance condition determination means in response to a setting operation. The guidance condition determination means stores guidance conditions for each user ID for identifying a user and, when a registered user ID is input, determines presence / absence of guidance information based on the guidance condition corresponding to the user ID. The car navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: The guidance condition determination means is composed of a guidance condition primary determination means for storing primary determination guidance condition data for an upper hierarchy and a guidance condition secondary determination means for storing secondary determination guidance condition data for a lower hierarchy. When the presence / absence of guidance information corresponding to the primary determination guide condition data is determined based on the primary determination guidance condition data, the secondary determination is required when data indicating presence / absence of secondary determination is required. 3. The car navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the presence / absence of guidance information corresponding to the designated guidance condition is determined based on use guidance condition data. The guidance condition determination means stores primary determination guidance condition data having a fixed data length in which a single attribute can be set and variable determination secondary guidance condition data having a variable data length in which a plurality of different attributes can be set. The car navigation device according to claim 3. The guidance information presenting means sets a period from the date and time of the history data to the current date and time when the secondary determination guidance condition data stored in the guidance condition determining means includes history data indicating the date and time of previous presentation. 5. The car navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the guidance information corresponding to the secondary determination guidance condition data is not presented within the predetermined period. The car navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the guidance information storage means and the guidance condition determination means are storage media having a rewritable storage capacity or more. .

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