JP2004184330A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system capable of surely displaying character information needed by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation system 100, with associating with road map data for drawing a road map and the road map, includes a map data input device 6 for storing characteristic data relating to characters displayed on the road map and a displaying device 10 displaying the road map, and stratifies characteristic data being stored with associating with the road map, into characteristic data including characters input by the user and characteristic data excluding the characters input by the user, and then displays characters based on the one of the stratified characteristic data, when the road map is displayed on the displaying device 10. Thereby, characters needed by user can be surely displayed on the road map. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation system that displays various characters such as facility names and place names on a road map.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional navigation system, character data indicating a place name, a facility name, and the like to be displayed on the road map is stored in correspondence with the road map displayed on the display. If the display positions of the place names and facility names overlap when the display scale is changed, only character data having a high display priority is displayed according to a preset display priority.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional navigation system, character data indicating a place name, a facility name, and the like are stored in advance in correspondence with a road map, and the stored character data is uniformly displayed on the road map. Was something. For this reason, characters that are unnecessary for the user are sometimes displayed. For example, when a user wants to go to a station, it is important to display the station name. If another character is displayed around the character displaying the station name, it becomes rather difficult to confirm the station name. Therefore, displaying other characters is unnecessary for a user who wants to go to the station.
[0004]
In addition, as a result of changing the display scale of the road map, if the display position of another character and the station name overlap, if the display priority of the other character is higher than the display priority of the character indicating the station name, the station name is changed. Characters are not displayed.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a navigation system capable of reliably displaying character information required by a user on a road map.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the navigation system according to claim 1 stores road map data for drawing a road map and character data relating to characters to be displayed on the road map in association with the road map. Storage means for performing
Display means for displaying a road map;
When a road map is displayed on the display means, a selection means is provided for selecting character data of a character to be displayed from character data stored in association with the road map.
[0007]
According to the navigation system of the first aspect, by providing the selection unit for selecting character data of characters displayed on the road map, the user can surely display necessary characters on the road map. Will be possible.
[0008]
As described in claim 2, the selection means extracts only character data including a predetermined character from the character data stored in association with the road map displayed on the display means. It is preferable that characters are displayed on the road map based on the character data.
[0009]
For example, if the user wants to surely display the station name, if "station" is specified as a predetermined character, only character data including the character "station" indicating the station name or the like is extracted, and these are displayed on the road map. Is displayed. Thereby, the user can easily grasp the station name on the road map.
[0010]
As described in claim 3, the selection means excludes character data including a predetermined character from the character data stored in association with the road map displayed on the display means. Characters may be displayed on a road map based on the remaining character data.
[0011]
For example, when the user wants to check the station name, unnecessary characters can be deleted by designating characters displayed around the station name as characters to be excluded. This makes it easy to check the station name, and prevents a situation where the station name is not displayed even if the display scale of the road map is changed.
[0012]
As described in claim 4, the character data has a classification code corresponding to the name type indicated by the character, and the selecting means selects the character data of the character to be displayed on the road map based on the classification code. Is preferred. For example, when the user specifies a classification code corresponding to a station name, characters indicating the station name are displayed on the road map. In this way, it is possible to reliably display the character of the name type that the user wants to display. In addition, regarding the designation of this classification code, by specifying a character indicating a station name on a road map using a cursor or a touch panel, the classification code assigned to the character data of the character is specified, and the same classification code is used. It is preferable to display only characters of character data having. Thus, the user can easily specify the classification code corresponding to the name type to be displayed.
[0013]
The navigation system according to claim 5, wherein road map data for drawing a road map, and storage means for storing character data relating to characters to be displayed on the road map in association with the road map,
Display means for displaying a road map;
When a plurality of characters are overlapped on a road map, a priority setting means is provided for setting a display priority of which character is displayed with priority.
[0014]
As described above, when a plurality of characters are overlapped, the character to be displayed is reliably displayed on the road map by including the priority setting means for setting the display priority of which character is displayed with priority. It becomes possible to do.
[0015]
As described in claim 6, the character data has a classification code corresponding to the name type indicated by the character, and the priority setting means sets the display priority of the character data based on the classification code. preferable. This makes it possible to easily set the display priority of the character data of the character to be displayed.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation system according to the present embodiment includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, an external memory 9, a display device 10, an audio output device 11, a remote control sensor 12, and The control circuit 8 is connected to the control circuit 8.
[0018]
The position detector 1 includes a well-known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from satellites. 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 of each sensor, the position detector 1 may be composed of some of the above-described sensors. Further, a steering angle sensor may be used to detect the turning angle of the vehicle, or a wheel speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of each rolling wheel to detect the traveling distance of the vehicle.
[0019]
The map data input device 6 displays so-called map matching data for improving the detection accuracy of the current position of the vehicle, road map data for drawing a road map, and characters such as place names and facility names on the road map. For inputting various map data including character data and landmark data such as landmarks to the control circuit 8. The map data input device 6 includes a storage medium for storing various map data. As the storage medium, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is generally used according to the amount of data to be stored. A medium such as a card or a hard disk may be used.
[0020]
Here, the character data described above is stored in association with road map data, and has the following data structure. That is, the character data is based on the kanji data (JIS code) of the name to be displayed on the road map, the reading of the name (ASCII code), the display priority, the name character color, the coordinate data indicating the display position, and the name type. Classification code.
[0021]
The operation switch group 7 includes, for example, mechanical switches installed around the display device 10 and touch switches integrated with the display device 10 and is used for various inputs. A remote controller (remote controller) 13 is also provided as a device for performing various inputs. When the remote controller 13 is operated, the operation signal is received by the remote controller sensor 12 and input to the control circuit 8.
[0022]
The display device 10 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display. On the screen of the display device 10, based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 1 and the map data input from the map data input device 6, a road map around the current position is displayed together with the own vehicle mark. And a selection screen for selecting a destination, a road map around the selected destination, and a setting screen for setting various functions of the navigation device on and off. When a destination is set, an optimal route from the current location to the destination is calculated, and the route is displayed on a road map.
[0023]
The audio output device 11 is constituted by a speaker, and outputs audio for route guidance and audio for explaining operation of the navigation device. The audio data output by the audio output device 11 is created based on the data stored in the external memory 9.
[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 stored in the ROM, and the CPU and the like execute predetermined arithmetic processing according to the program. Note that this program may be obtained from the external memory 9.
[0025]
Next, display processing of characters on a road map related to the characteristic portion of the navigation system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0026]
The process of displaying characters on the road map is periodically executed when the display device 10 displays the road map.
[0027]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main routine of the display processing. In step S10 of FIG. 2, a process of selecting characters to be displayed on the road map is performed. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart relating to the display character selection processing.
[0028]
In step S100 of FIG. 3, it is determined whether to select a character to be displayed or a character for increasing the display priority, or to cancel the setting of the already selected character or display priority. The selection of the display characters and the characters for increasing the display priority and the release of the setting are operated by the operation switch group 7 and the remote controller 13.
[0029]
If it is determined in step S100 that a character to be displayed or a character whose display priority is to be increased is to be selected, the process proceeds to step S110, and the type of character selection is determined. That is, in the navigation system 100 according to the present embodiment, when a display character is selected, a mode in which a character is displayed on a road map (including a mode) based on only character data including a character specified by the user, a mode specified by the user. A mode in which characters including characters are excluded and characters are displayed on a road map based on only the remaining character data (exclusion mode), and the display priority of character data including characters specified by the user is set highest. Mode (priority mode). In step S110, a mode in which character selection is performed based on an input operation of the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 13 is determined from among these modes.
[0030]
If it is determined in step S110 that the mode includes the character, the character selection flag KF is set to 1 in step S120. If it is determined that the mode is the exclusion mode, the character selection flag KF is set to 2 in step S130. If it is determined that the mode is the priority mode, the character selection flag KF is set to 3 in step S140.
[0031]
If it is determined in step S100 that the setting of the already selected character or the display priority is to be canceled, the character selection flag is set to 0 in step S150, and the process of this flowchart ends.
[0032]
In step S160, a state is entered in which character input by the user is accepted. In this state, when a character (hiragana) is input by the user, the input character is added to the character buffer Buff one by one in step S170. That is, the input character (moji) is added (Buff (N) + moji) to the character already stored in the character buffer Buff, and this is set as the storage content of the new character buffer Buff (N + 1).
[0033]
In step S180, it is determined whether or not the character input has been completed. If the input has been completed, the process of this flowchart ends, and if the character input is still continued, the process returns to step S160. Whether or not the character input has been completed is determined by whether or not the user has operated the operation switch group 7 or the completion switch of the remote controller 13, or when a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the character input, the character input is completed. Can be determined to be completed.
[0034]
After the display character changing process is performed as described above, it is determined in step S20 of the main routine of the character display process shown in FIG. 2 whether or not there has been any change in the selection of the display character. At this time, if it is determined that there is a change, the display character change process of step S30 is performed, and if it is determined that there is no change, the main routine of the character display process is terminated as it is.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the display character changing process. In step S200 in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the value of the character selection flag KF is 0. That is, it is determined whether or not the setting of the character or the display priority has been released by the user. If the setting has been released, the navigation system 100 determines in advance in step S210 corresponding to the road map to be displayed. The determined character is drawn over the road map. That is, the characters displayed on the road map are determined in advance corresponding to the road map. A VRAM for temporarily storing a road map to be displayed is provided inside the control circuit 8, and predetermined display characters are drawn on the road map stored in the VRAM. It is.
[0036]
When it is determined in step S200 that the value of the character selection flag KF is other than 0, in step S220, the input character of the user and the character data stored in association with the displayed road map are compared. Make a comparison. That is, character data stored in association with the road map is classified into character data including characters stored in the character buffer Buff and character data not including the characters.
[0037]
In step S230, it is determined whether the value of the character selection flag KF is one. At this time, when the value of the character selection flag KF is determined to be 1, it can be estimated that the user intends to display only character data including the input character on the road map. Therefore, the character is drawn on the road map in the VRAM based on only the character data including the character input by the user in step S240.
[0038]
If it is determined in step S230 that the value of the character selection flag KF is other than 1, it is determined in step S250 whether the value of the character selection flag KF is 2. At this time, if the value of the character selection flag KF is determined to be 2, it can be assumed that the user intends to display character data excluding character data including the input character on the road map. Therefore, the character data including the character input by the user in step S260 is excluded, and the character is drawn on the road map in the VRAM based on only the character data not including the character.
[0039]
If it is determined in step S250 that the value of the character selection flag KF is other than 2, the value of the character selection flag KF is 3, and the user intends to preferentially display character data including the input character. I can guess. Therefore, in step S270, the character is drawn on the road map in the VRAM after the display priority of the character data including the input character is changed to the highest priority. As a result, even when the display character overlaps with another display character, the display priority of the character data including the input character is increased, and the character based on the character data is displayed with priority.
[0040]
The above-described character display processing allows the user to reliably display necessary characters on the road map.
(Modification)
In the above-described embodiment, a display character or a character whose display priority is to be increased is selected according to any of the included mode, the exclusion mode, and the priority mode based on the character input by the user. However, the display characters and the like may be selected by combining these modes. That is, for a certain character, character data including the character is selected and displayed, and for other characters, the display priority is set when display is performed for a plurality of characters. To the superiority. By selecting a display character or a character having a higher display priority by combining such modes, it is possible to perform a character display that can flexibly respond to a user's request.
[0041]
When the modes are used in combination, the type of character selection (including mode, exclusion mode, and priority mode) may be specified for a plurality of characters input by the user.
[0042]
In the above-described embodiment, when a user inputs a character, character data including the character is set as a display target or excluded from the display target. However, other methods can be used to specify a character to be displayed or a character to increase the display priority. For example, when a road map and characters are displayed on the screen of the display device 10, a character to be displayed or a character whose display priority is to be increased is designated by a cursor, or the character is directly touched by using a touch switch. May be specified. Then, when displaying only the specified character, reference is made to the classification code in the character data of the character specified by the cursor or the touch switch, and only the character data having the same classification code as the classification code is selected. A character is displayed on a road map based on the selected character data. Thus, for example, when the user wants to display a predetermined station, by specifying a character indicating one of the station names, only the character indicating the station name is displayed. Also, when increasing the display priority of the designated character, similarly, the classification code in the character data of the designated character is referred to, and the display priority of the character data having the same classification code as the classification code is increased. . Thus, the facility name, the place name, and the like that the user wants to confirm can be displayed with priority at any time.
[0043]
Furthermore, character data having the same classification code as the designated character can be deleted from the road map.
[0044]
When such a method of designating a character is adopted, the user can easily designate a character to be displayed, a character to be erased, a character for which the display priority is to be raised, and the like.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an entire configuration of a navigation system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a character display process executed in the navigation system.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a display character selection process.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a display character changing process.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detector 6 Map data input device 7 Operation switch group 8 Control circuit 9 External memory 10 Display device 11 Audio output device 12 Remote control sensor 13 Remote control

Claims (6)

Storage means for storing road map data for drawing a road map, and character data relating to characters to be displayed on the road map in association with the road map;
Display means for displaying the road map,
When a road map is displayed on the display unit, the navigation system further includes a selection unit that selects character data of a character to be displayed from character data stored in association with the road map. The selection means extracts only character data including a predetermined character from character data stored in association with a road map displayed on the display means, and based on the extracted character data, The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein characters are displayed on a map. The selection unit is for excluding character data including a predetermined character from character data stored in association with a road map displayed on the display unit, and based on character data remaining without being excluded. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein characters are displayed on the road map. The character data has a classification code according to the name type indicated by the character,
The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects character data of a character to be displayed on a road map based on the classification code. Storage means for storing road map data for drawing a road map, and character data relating to characters to be displayed on the road map in association with the road map;
Display means for displaying the road map,
When a plurality of characters are overlapped on the road map, a priority setting means for setting a display priority of which character is displayed with priority is provided. The character data has a classification code according to the name type indicated by the character,
The navigation system according to claim 5, wherein the priority setting means sets a display priority of the character data based on the classification code.

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