JP2005214684A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device capable of enriching furthermore facility information. <P>SOLUTION: This navigation device 13 loaded on a vehicle 14 includes a facility information retrieval means for retrieving facility information stored in a writable HDD 24 on the basis of a prescribed retrieval condition; a receiver 22 for receiving facility data including information on facilities 12a-12d transmitted from transmitters 11a-11d installed on the facilities 12a-12d; and a facility information writing means for registering the facility information by writing the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiver 22 into the HDD 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle such as a vehicle or carried by a person,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a navigation device that enhances facility information.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of a conventional navigation device. A vehicle speed sensor 2 for acquiring information related to the vehicle speed and a gyro sensor 3 for acquiring information related to the traveling direction are connected to the microcomputer 1, and the microcomputer 1 determines the vehicle position based on the vehicle speed and the traveling direction. It can be determined (autonomous navigation). The GPS receiver 4 receives a GPS signal from a satellite via the antenna 5 and is connected to the microcomputer 1 so that the microcomputer 1 can determine the position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal. (GPS navigation).

Further, a DVD drive 6 capable of fetching road map data, facility data, etc. from a DVD-ROM 7 in which road map data, facility data, etc. are stored is connected to the microcomputer 1, and the microcomputer 1 determines the position of the own vehicle and the determined vehicle position. By matching with the road map data (so-called map matching processing is performed), a map showing the vehicle position can be displayed on the display panel 9a. The display panel 9a is configured with a touch panel,
The position where the finger touches the display panel 9a can be detected, and the detected result is input to the microcomputer 1, and processing corresponding to the result is performed by the microcomputer 1. .

In addition, a switch signal output from the joystick 8a or the button switch 8b provided on the remote controller 8 or a switch signal output from the button switch 9b provided on the display device 9 is input to the microcomputer 1, and according to these switch signals. The processing is performed by the microcomputer 1.

For example, when the destination is set using these switches, the microcomputer 1 searches for the optimum route from the current vehicle position to the destination, and uses this as a guidance route together with the map and the display panel 9.
It is displayed on a. As a destination setting method, for example, the display panel 9a
There are a method of setting by moving the pointer on the map screen displayed on the screen, and a method of setting from the name, address, telephone number, etc. of the facility using the facility data.

In this way, in the navigation device, the map is displayed on the display panel 9a, the destination input by the user on the map, the guidance route to the destination, the vehicle position mark corresponding to the current position of the vehicle, In addition, the traveling locus of the vehicle up to that point is displayed in a superimposed manner, and the user can obtain the route information by sequentially referring to the display panel 9a, and by following the route information You can reach your destination.

Also, with recent navigation devices, the amount of facility data has increased. For example, in the case of buildings, information such as tenant names, addresses, and telephone numbers for each floor is registered, and tourist attractions, amusements, campgrounds, etc. If it is a leisure-related facility, information such as business hours, usage fee, and accommodation fee of each facility is registered.

By the way, facilities often change unlike roads. For example, business hours, usage fees, and accommodation fees of facilities often change frequently, and facilities such as convenience stores are relocated or closed. There are many cases. Moreover, it is not uncommon for the names of facilities (especially banks and gas stations) to change due to mergers of companies due to recent trends. Therefore, even if a certain facility is set as the destination and the destination is reached according to the guidance of the navigation device, there is a possibility that the facility is lost.

In order to prevent such a problem from occurring, the DVD-ROM is adapted to these changes.
It is necessary to update the facility data recorded on the storage medium as needed, but this is not an easy task. Also, even if the facility data can be updated at any time according to these changes, the user cannot frequently replace the storage medium due to problems such as charges.

In order to solve this, the latest facility data may be distributed from the information distribution center to the navigation device using a communication network such as the Internet (see Patent Document 1 below). This eliminates the need for frequent replacement of the storage medium.

However, even if the latest facility data is distributed from the information providing center to each navigation device, it is still not easy to update the facility data as needed in accordance with changes in the actual situation. There is a time difference between the change of the situation and the update of the data. Therefore, as described above, there is a case where the destination has been reached but the facility has been lost. In addition, the information distribution center distributes a lot of facility data regarding facilities that are highly used by many users, and facilities (
For example, it is considered that there are not a few cases where facility data relating to a less famous shop is not distributed from the information providing center.

Further, in Patent Document 2 below, facility data is not distributed from an information providing center, but facility data including information on the facility is transmitted from a transmitter installed in each facility. Receiving the facility data transmitted from the transmitter;
An invention is disclosed in which information on the facility is displayed by a navigation device based on the facility data. As described above, if the facility data including the information on the facility is transmitted from the transmitter installed in each facility, the facility data on the facility with low usage can be provided to the navigation device. become.

However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 simply displays information about a facility, for example, setting a destination using facility data transmitted from the transmitter. Was not available and was not fully satisfactory for users.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-94572 JP 2001-74479 A

Means for solving the problems and their effects

This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, Comprising: It aims at providing the navigation apparatus which can aim at the further enhancement of facility information.

In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device (1) according to the present invention is stored in a writable facility information storage means based on a predetermined search condition in a navigation device mounted on or carried by a mobile body. Facility information retrieval means for retrieving facility information, receiving means for receiving facility data including information related to the facility, which is transmitted from the facility or a transmitter installed near the facility, and received by the receiving means It is characterized by comprising facility information writing means for registering facility information by writing facility information included in the facility data stored in the facility information storage means.

According to the navigation device (1), the facility information is registered by writing the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit into the facility information storage unit. This makes it possible to automatically register new facility information in the facility information storage means without the user performing facility location registration or the like. Further, the registered facility information can be searched by the facility information search means.

The facility data is transmitted from each facility or a transmitter installed in the vicinity of the facility, and the facility data includes information on the facility. Therefore, since each facility can freely transmit information about the facility to the navigation device, for example, even if it is a small restaurant or a clothing store that is run by an individual, It can be transmitted to the navigation device.

As explained in the section of “Background Technology”, the navigation device can provide information on small restaurants and clothing stores that are not so well known, such as those mentioned above, which were difficult to provide from the information provision center that accumulated information on many facilities. The facility information can be further enhanced. If the moving body is a vehicle such as a vehicle,
The navigation device is mounted on the moving body. When the moving body is a person, the navigation device is carried by the moving body.

The navigation device (2) according to the present invention includes a facility included in the facility data received by the receiving unit based on the facility information stored in the facility information storage unit in the navigation device (1). A registration necessity determining unit that determines whether the information is information that needs to be registered in the facility information storage unit, and the facility information is registered in the facility information storage unit by the registration necessity determination unit; If it is determined that the information needs to be
The facility information writing means registers the facility information by writing the facility information into the facility information storage means.

The facility data transmitted from the transmitter is not considered to be transmitted only once from the transmitter, and it is considered that the facility data is repeatedly transmitted every predetermined time. Therefore, as usual, the same facility data is stored in the navigation device.
A case of receiving more than once may be considered.

Therefore, if the newly received facility data is the same as the previously received facility data, and the facility information included in the previously received facility data has already been registered in the facility information storage means,
There is no need to re-register the facility information included in the newly received facility data in the facility information storage means. In other words, only when the facility information that has not been registered is received, the registration work to the facility information storage means may be performed.

In addition, when information regarding the facility indicated by the facility information included in the newly received facility data is not registered in the facility information storage unit, the facility information is information to be registered in the facility information storage unit. As described above, the facility information included in the received facility data may or may not need to be registered.

According to the navigation device (2), the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit is registered in the facility information storing unit based on the facility information stored in the facility information storing unit. It is determined whether or not the information is necessary. If it is determined that the information needs to be registered, the facility information is written into the facility information storage means, and the facility information is registered. Thus, necessary information can be surely registered. In addition, useless registration work can be eliminated and work efficiency can be improved.

In the navigation device (3) according to the present invention, in the navigation device (2), the registration necessity determination means includes the facility information stored in the facility data received by the receiving means. If the facility information is not registered, the facility information is determined to be information that needs to be registered in the facility information storage means.

According to the navigation device (3), if the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit is not registered in the facility information storage unit, the facility information needs to be registered in the facility information. It is determined to be some information. Thereby, unregistered facility information can be registered reliably.

In the navigation device (4) according to the present invention, in the navigation device (3), the facility information relating to the same facility as the facility indicated by the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit is stored in the facility information storage. A facility information presence / absence determination unit that determines whether the facility information is registered in the unit, and when the facility information presence / absence determination unit determines that the facility information related to the same facility is registered in the facility information storage unit; The facility information writing means
The facility information indicated by the facility information is updated by overwriting the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit into the facility information storage unit so as to rewrite the old information to the new information. It is characterized by being.

As information about facilities, for example, location, name, phone number, address, type, business hours,
Information such as the presence or absence of parking. These pieces of information don't change often, but they don't change at all. For this reason, even when facility data including information on the same facility is received, the facility information included in the facility data may be different.

Even if the information is related to the same facility, it is better to register it in the facility information storage means if the content has changed (of course, it has not been registered). However, simply storing newly received facility information in the facility information storage means may cause old information and new information to coexist and cause various problems.

According to the navigation device (4), the facility data received by the receiving means is rewritten so that old information is rewritten to new information when information on the same facility as the facility indicated by the already registered facility information is received. The facility information included in the facility information is stored in the facility information storage means, and the information on the facility indicated by the facility information is updated. Thereby, regarding the same facility, it is possible to prevent old information and new information from being mixed.

The navigation device (5) according to the present invention includes the navigation devices (1) to (
4) Whether the user permits the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving means to be written in the facility information storage means based on the user's intention information obtained from the input means A writing permission determining means for determining whether or not the writing permission determining means determines that the user is permitted to write the facility information into the facility information storage means. The storing unit writes the facility information into the facility information storage unit, thereby registering the facility information.

According to the navigation device (5), the registration of the facility information is not automatic, but is performed after confirming the user's intention, so that it is possible to prevent registration of information on facilities with low utility value for the user. it can.

The navigation device (6) according to the present invention includes the navigation devices (1) to (
5) The facility information storage means stores at least facility location information as information about the facility, and further stores at least one category information of facility name, telephone number, address, and type. The facility information search unit searches for the facility information stored in the facility information storage unit using one or more categories of position, name, telephone number, address, and type as a search condition. It is characterized by being.

According to the navigation device (6), the facility information stored in the facility information storage means is searched using one or more categories of position, name, telephone number, address, type (so-called genre) as a search condition. Therefore, for example, when the search condition is set to the name “Iroha”, it is possible to read information (location information, etc.) regarding the facility whose name corresponds to “Iroha”.

Therefore, the facility indicated by the facility information stored in the facility information storage means can be displayed not only on the map but also set as the destination. Examples of search forms include name search (including 50-sound search), telephone number search, address search, and genre search.

The navigation device (7) according to the present invention includes the navigation devices (1) to (
6) the presence / absence determining means for determining the presence / absence of the facility indicated by the facility information stored in the facility information storage means based on the reception status of the facility data transmitted from the transmitter; And a non-search target processing means for processing the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost by the presence / absence determination means so as to be excluded from the search target by the facility information search means.

Facilities such as restaurants and clothing stores may be closed or relocated and disappear from the spot. Information about facilities that no longer exist is no longer needed. In addition, if information regarding a facility that no longer exists is stored in the facility information storage unit and is included in a search target when setting a destination, for example, the user may be confused.

According to the navigation device (7), the presence or absence of the facility indicated by the facility information stored in the facility information storage means is determined based on the reception status of the facility data transmitted from the transmitter, and is lost. The facility information related to the facility that is determined to be present is processed so as not to be searched by the facility information search means.

Accordingly, information regarding the facility that no longer exists is excluded from the search target by the facility information search means, so that the above confusion can be prevented from being given to the user. In addition, as a method of removing from the search target, for example, a search target flag associated with facility information is provided, and in the case of a search target, the search target flag is set to “0”.
For example, the search target flag is set to “1” and the facility information search unit is made to check the search target flag.

Further, as a method for determining whether or not the facility indicated by the facility information stored in the facility information storage means exists, for example, in an environment where facility data including information related to a certain facility can be received. Regardless, if the facility data is not received, a method of determining that the facility no longer exists may be used. The environment where the facility data can be received is, for example, that the moving object exists in a range where the facility data reaches and is a time zone (for example, daytime) in which the facility data is transmitted. It is done.

In the navigation device (8) according to the present invention, in the navigation device (7), the facility information related to the facility for which the non-search target processing means is determined to be lost by the presence / absence determining means By deleting the information from the information storage means, the facility information is excluded from the search target by the facility information search means.

According to the navigation device (8), since the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost is deleted from the facility information storage means, the facility information search for the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost is performed. It can be reliably removed from the search target by means.

In the navigation device (9) according to the present invention, in the navigation device (8), among the facility information related to the facility, the non-search target processing unit is determined to be lost by the presence / absence determination unit. Only the facility information written in the facility information storage means by the facility information writing means is deleted from the facility information storage means.

The facility information deleted from the facility information storage means is a natural story, but the deleted information cannot be used thereafter. For this reason, erroneous deletion processing must be avoided.
By the way, the facility information stored in the facility information storage means includes information written by the facility information writing means (that is, additionally registered), information previously written by a manufacturer, etc. is there. If the information written by the facility information writing means can be newly received by the receiving means, the once deleted information can be registered again. On the other hand, re-registration is not easy for those previously written by a manufacturer or the like. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid the latter deletion.

According to the navigation device (9), only the facility information written in the facility information storage unit by the facility information writing unit among the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost is the facility information storage unit. Deleted from. As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous deletion of information that is difficult to re-register.

The navigation device (10) according to the present invention includes the navigation devices (7) to (7) to
In any one of (9), when the facility data is not received in an environment where the presence / absence determining means can receive facility data transmitted from a facility or the transmitter installed in the vicinity of the facility, It is characterized by judging that the facility is gone.

According to the navigation device (10), an environment in which facility data transmitted from the transmitter can be received (for example, the moving body exists in a range where the facility data reaches and the facility data is transmitted). If the facility data is not received in the time zone)
It is determined that the facility is gone. As a result, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not there is no facility.

The navigation device (11) according to the present invention includes the navigation devices (7) to (7) to
In any one of (10), the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost by the presence / absence determining unit based on the user's intention information obtained from the input unit is excluded from the search target by the facility information searching unit. And processing permission determining means for determining whether or not the user permits processing, and the facility permission determining means processes the facility information so that the facility information is not subject to search by the facility information searching means. When it is determined that the user has permitted this, the non-search target processing means processes the facility information so that the facility information is not searched by the facility information search means.

According to the navigation device (11), it is not automatic that the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost is excluded from the search target by the facility information search means (for example, deletion of the facility information). Since it is performed after confirmation, it is possible to prevent erroneous processing. It is also possible to inform the user which facilities are missing.

Embodiments of a navigation device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
These are the block diagrams which showed roughly the principal part of the information processing system comprised including the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1).

In the figure, 11a to 11d indicate transmitters installed in the facilities 12a to 12d. The transmitters 11a to 11d include information on the facilities 12a to 12d (for example, location, name, telephone number, address, genre, etc.). Information) is stored, and the transmitters 11a to 11d are connected to the facility 1.
The facility data including information on 2a to 12d is transmitted at regular intervals. In addition, the facility data is transmitted using, for example, a radio signal having a reach distance of about several tens to a hundred meters, and areas Ea to Ed are the reach ranges of facility data transmitted from the transmitters 11a to 11d (for example, (Within a radius of 100 meters centering on the transmitters 11a to 11d).

In the figure, reference numeral 13 denotes a navigation device mounted on the vehicle 14, and the navigation device 13 receives a facility data transmitted from a transmitter 11 (for example, transmitters 11a to 11d) (see FIG. (Not shown) is provided so that facility data transmitted from the transmitter 11 can be received, and facility information included in the received facility data can be accumulated.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of the navigation device according to the embodiment (1). However, the same components as those of the navigation apparatus shown in FIG. 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted here. The microcomputer 21 is connected to the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the gyro sensor 3, and the microcomputer 21 can determine the position of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed and the traveling direction (autonomous navigation). The GPS receiver 4 is connected to the microcomputer 21 so that the microcomputer 21 can determine the position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal (GPS navigation).

A DVD drive 6 is connected to the microcomputer 21 so that road map data, facility data, and the like can be taken from the DVD-ROM 7. Further, the microcomputer 21 can display a map showing the vehicle position on the display panel 9a by performing a so-called map matching process that matches the vehicle position obtained by the calculation with the road map data. ing. Further, the display panel 9a is constituted by a touch panel so that the position where the finger touches the display panel 9a can be detected. The detected result is input to the microcomputer 21, and processing corresponding to the result is performed. Is performed by the microcomputer 21. The microcomputer 21 includes a joystick 8a, a button switch 8b,
The switch signal output from 9b is input, and the microcomputer 21 performs processing corresponding to the switch signal.

Further, the microcomputer 21 includes a transmitter 11 (for example, the transmitters 11a to 11d shown in FIG. 1).
A receiver 22 for receiving the facility data transmitted from is connected, and an antenna 23 is connected to the receiver 22. The microcomputer 21 is connected to an HDD 24 that is a rewritable storage device. The microcomputer 21 writes facility information included in the facility data received by the receiver 22 in the HDD 24 and registers the facility information. It can be done. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a storage format of facility information stored in the HDD 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, the HDD 24 stores information on the location, name, telephone number, address, and genre of the facility as facility information, and these information are associated with the information, and the information is an information manager (for example, facilities 12a to 12d). Information indicating the date and time created by the management of the company) and information indicating the latest date and time when these pieces of information are received are stored.

For example, a facility with the name “○ × canteen” exists at the location (x ₁ , y ₁ ), the phone number of the facility is “06 ********”, and the address is “Osaka Prefecture Osaka” The information that the genre is “Restaurant” is stored, the creation date of these information is September 21, 2003, and the latest reception date of these information is November 5, 2003. Has been.

Next, the processing operation [1-a] performed by the microcomputer 21 in the navigation device 13 according to the embodiment (1) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, processing operation [
1-a] is an operation performed when the receiver 22 receives data transmitted from the outside (for example, the transmitter 11).

First, it is determined whether the received data is facility data transmitted from the transmitter 11 (
If it is determined in step S1) that the received data is facility data, it is next determined whether or not information related to the facility indicated by the facility information included in the received facility data is registered in the HDD 24 (step S1). S2). On the other hand, if it is determined that the received data is not facility data, the processing operation [1-a] is terminated as it is.

If it is determined that the information regarding the facility indicated by the facility information included in the received facility data is not registered in the HDD 24, the user is then asked whether it is better to register this facility information in the HDD 24. (Step S3). For example, a registration confirmation screen on which the user can select Yes / No is displayed on the display panel 9a to confirm the user's intention.

Next, it is determined whether or not the user has permitted registration (step S4). If it is determined that the user has permitted registration, the facility information included in the received facility data is newly registered.
Write to the DD 24 (step S5), and associate the information indicating the current date and time with the facility information as information indicating the registration date and time of the facility information in the item of latest received date and time (
Step S6). On the other hand, if it is determined that the user does not permit registration, the processing operation [1-a] is terminated as it is.

If it is determined in step S2 that the information regarding the facility indicated by the facility information included in the received facility data is already registered in the HDD 24, first, the information is associated with the information regarding the facility registered in the HDD 24. Then, information indicating the current date and time is registered in the item of the latest reception date and time as information indicating the latest reception date and time of the information related to the facility (step S
7).

Next, it is determined whether or not the facility information included in the received facility data is the same information as that already registered (step S8). For example, when the creation date and time are the same, the facility information included in the received facility data can be determined to be the same information as that already registered.

If it is determined in step S8 that the facility information included in the received facility data is not the same information as that registered (that is, new information), the facility information included in the received facility data is Based on the information, the information on the facility is rewritten to update the information (step S9). On the other hand, the facility information included in the received facility data is:
If it is determined that the information is the same as the registered information, there is no need to update the information.
The processing operation [1-a] is finished as it is.

Next, the processing operation [1-b] performed by the microcomputer 21 in the navigation device 13 according to the embodiment (1) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, processing operation [
1-b] is an operation performed every predetermined time. First, based on the position information of the vehicle 14 obtained from a GPS signal or the like, an area having a radius r (for example, 30 meters) around the vehicle 14 is calculated (step S11), and the calculated area and the HDD 24 are registered. Based on the location information of the existing facility, it is determined whether there is a facility existing in the area among the facilities indicated by the facility information registered in the HDD 24 (step S12).

If it is determined that there is a facility existing in the area among the facilities indicated by the facility information registered in the HDD 24, it is determined whether or not facility data including information on one corresponding facility has been received. (Step S13). Since the facility data reaches within a radius of 100 meters centering on the transmitter 11 (facility 12) as the transmission source, the vehicle 1
When 4 approaches within 30 meters from the facility 12, the navigation device 13 mounted on the vehicle 14 should receive facility data transmitted from the transmitter 11 installed in the facility 12. In other words, when the facility data cannot be received even though the facility data can be received, the facility data is not transmitted from the transmitter 11.

As a method for determining whether or not facility data is received, for example, based on information indicating the latest reception date and information indicating the current date and time registered in the item of the latest reception date. A method of determining whether or not the facility data has been received immediately before, or several seconds to several minutes ago.

The facility data including the information related to the one corresponding facility has not been received (that is, the facility data is not transmitted from the transmitter 11 that should be installed in the facility).
If it is determined that the facility is closed (or moved), the information regarding the facility is deleted from the HDD 24 (step S14), and then the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if it is determined that the facility data including the information related to the facility is received, it is not necessary to delete the information related to the facility from the HDD 24, and the process directly proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the reception check has been completed for all the facilities existing in the area. If it is determined that there is a remaining facility, the process returns to step S13 to determine the next facility. Check the reception. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no remaining facility, the processing operation [1-b] is terminated as it is.
In step S12, the facility indicated by the facility information registered in the HDD 24 is
If it is determined that there is nothing in the area, it is not necessary to perform the operations after step S13, so the processing operation [1-b] is terminated as it is.

Next, the processing operation [1-c] performed by the microcomputer 21 in the navigation device 13 according to the embodiment (1) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, processing operation [
1-c] is an operation performed when the user requests destination setting from the facility by operating the remote controller 8 or the display device 9.

First, a condition input screen that enables input of search conditions for searching for facilities is displayed on the display panel 9.
When the search condition is input through this condition input screen, the facilities registered in the HDD 24 and the DVD-ROM 7 are searched based on the input search condition, and the search condition It is determined whether there is a facility that satisfies the conditions (step S22).

If it is determined that there is a facility that satisfies the search condition, a list of facilities that satisfy the search condition is displayed on the display panel 9a (step S23). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no facility that satisfies the search condition, the process returns to step S21 to prompt the user to input the search condition again.

Next, it is determined whether or not the facility has been selected by the user through the screen displaying the facility list (step S24). If it is determined that the facility has been selected, the current position information of the vehicle 14 and the selected facility are determined. Based on the position information and road map data, a route is searched for the facility as a destination (step S25), and then a route guidance to the destination is performed (step S26).

Next, a navigation device according to embodiment (2) will be described. However, the navigation device 13A according to the embodiment (2) has the same configuration as the navigation device shown in FIG. 2 except for the microcomputer and the HDD, and therefore the microcomputer 21 and the HDD 24.
Are denoted by different reference numerals, and other descriptions are omitted here.

The microcomputer 21A transfers the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiver 22 to the HDD 24.
The facility information can be registered by writing in A. FIG. 7 shows the HDD
It is the figure which showed the storage format of the facility information memorize | stored in 24A.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the HDD 24A, the facility location, name, telephone number,
Information indicating the address and genre, information indicating the date and time when the information was created by the information manager (for example, the manager of the facility 12a to 12d), and information indicating the latest date and time when the information was received And a non-search target flag for determining whether or not to exclude these pieces of information.

For example, a facility with the name “○ × canteen” exists at the location (x ₁ , y ₁ ), the phone number of the facility is “06 ********”, and the address is “Osaka Prefecture Osaka” Information such as “City ...” and “Genre” is stored, the creation date of these information is September 21, 2003, and the latest reception date of these information is November 5, 2003. It is stored that the flag is “0”. When the non-search target flag is “1”, the search is not performed. It differs from the storage format of facility information stored in the HDD 24 (see FIG. 3) in that an item of non-search target flag is provided.

Next, the processing operation [2-a] performed by the microcomputer 21A in the navigation device 13A according to the embodiment (2) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. However, the processing operation [2-a] has many parts in common with the processing operation [1-a] performed by the microcomputer 21 shown in FIG. 4, and only different parts will be described here. The processing operation [2-a] is an operation performed when data transmitted from the outside (for example, the transmitter 11) is received by the receiver 22, similarly to the processing operation [1-a]. .

If it is determined in step S31 that the received data is facility data, it is next determined whether or not information related to the facility indicated by the facility information included in the received data is registered in the HDD 24A (step S32). ).
Information about the facility indicated by the facility information included in the received facility data has already been stored in the HDD 2.
If it is determined that the information is registered in 4A, then the information indicating the current date is associated with the information related to the facility registered in the HDD 24A as the information indicating the latest reception date and time of the information related to the facility. It is registered in the item of reception date and time (step S37), and the non-search target flag is set to 0 (step S38). The processing operation after step S39 is the same as the processing operation after step S8 shown in FIG.

Next, the processing operation [2-b] performed by the microcomputer 21A in the navigation device 13A according to the embodiment (2) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. However, the processing operation [2-b] has many parts in common with the processing operation [1-b] performed by the microcomputer 21 shown in FIG. 4, and only different parts will be described here. Note that the processing operation [2-b] is an operation performed at predetermined time intervals similarly to the processing operation [1-b].

First, based on the position information of the vehicle 14 obtained from a GPS signal or the like, an area having a radius r (for example, 30 meters) centered on the vehicle 14 is calculated (step S41), and the calculated area and the HDD 24A are registered. Based on the location information of the existing facility, it is determined whether or not there is a facility existing in the area among the facilities indicated by the facility information registered in the HDD 24A (step S42).

If it is determined that there is a facility that exists in the area among the facilities indicated by the facility information registered in the HDD 24A, it is determined whether or not facility data including information related to one corresponding facility has been received. (Step S43). As described above, since the facility data reaches within a radius of 100 meters centering on the transmitter 11 (facility 12) as the transmission source, the vehicle 14 approaches within 30 meters from the facility 12. In this case, the navigation device 13A mounted on the vehicle 14 should receive the facility data transmitted from the transmitter 11 installed in the facility 12. In other words, when the facility data cannot be received even though the facility data can be received, the facility data is not transmitted from the transmitter 11.

The facility data including the information related to the one corresponding facility has not been received (that is, the facility data is not transmitted from the transmitter 11 that should be installed in the facility).
If it is determined that the facility is closed (or moved), the non-search target flag associated with the information on the facility is set to 1 (step S44). The processing operation after step S45 is the same as the processing operation after step S15 shown in FIG.

Next, the processing operation [2-c] performed by the microcomputer 21A in the navigation device 13A according to the embodiment (2) will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. However, the processing operation [2-c] has many parts in common with the processing operation [1-c] performed by the microcomputer 21 shown in FIG. 6, and only different parts will be described here. Note that the processing operation [2-c] is performed when the user requests destination setting from the facility by operating the remote controller 8 or the display device 9 in the same manner as the processing operation [1-c]. It is an operation.

First, a condition input screen that enables input of search conditions for searching for facilities is displayed on the display panel 9.
When the search condition is input through this condition input screen, the facility registered in the HDD 24A and the DVD-ROM 7 is searched based on the input search condition, and the search condition It is determined whether there is a facility that satisfies the condition (step S52).
. However, in this search, facilities whose search target non-search flag is 1 are excluded from the search target.

If it is determined that there is a facility that satisfies the search condition, a list of the facilities that satisfy the search condition is displayed on the display panel 9a (step S53). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no facility that satisfies the search condition, the process returns to step S51 to prompt the user to input the search condition again. The processing operation after step S54 is the same as the processing operation after step S24 shown in FIG.

According to the navigation device of the embodiment (1) or (2), the facility information is registered by writing the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiver 22 in the HDDs 24 and 24A. . This makes it possible to automatically register new facility information in the HDDs 24 and 24A without the user performing facility location registration or the like.

The facility data is transmitted from a transmitter 11 (for example, the transmitters 11a to 11d) installed in each facility 12 (for example, the facilities 12a to 12d), and includes information regarding the facility 12. Accordingly, each facility 12a to 12d can freely transmit information related to each facility to the navigation devices 13 and 13A. For example, it is assumed that the facility is a small restaurant or a clothing store that is managed by an individual. In addition, information about each store can be transmitted to the navigation devices 13 and 13A.

As explained in the section of “Background Technology”, the navigation device can provide information on small restaurants and clothing stores that are not so well known, such as those mentioned above, which were difficult to provide from the information provision center that accumulated information on many facilities. Since it can be provided to 13, 13A, the facility information can be enhanced.

In the navigation device according to the embodiment (1) or (2), the facility search target for setting the destination is the facility registered in the HDD 24, 24A and the DVD-ROM 7. In a navigation device according to another embodiment, for example,
The facility information registered in the DVD-ROM 7 is registered in advance in the HDD 24, 24A,
Only the facilities registered in the HDDs 24 and 24A may be searched. Further, the facility information to be deleted is only the information transmitted from the transmitter 11, for example,
Information that is read out from the DVD-ROM 7 and registered may be excluded from the deletion target.

The road map data is also registered in the HDD 24, 24A, and the DVD
The drive 6 may be unnecessary. Here, the HDD is exemplified as the writable storage device, but the writable storage device is not limited to the HDD, and may be a flash memory or the like.

It is the block diagram which showed roughly the principal part of the information processing system comprised including the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1) of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed roughly the principal part of the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1). It is the figure which showed an example of the storage format of the facility information memorize | stored in HDD in the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment (1). It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (1) performs. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (1) performs. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (1) performs. It is the figure which showed an example of the storage format of the facility information memorize | stored in HDD in the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment (2). It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (2) performs. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (2) performs. It is the flowchart which showed the processing operation which the microcomputer in the navigation apparatus concerning Embodiment (2) performs. It is the block diagram which showed the principal part of the conventional navigation apparatus schematically.

Explanation of symbols

11a to 11d Transmitters 12a to 12d Facility 13, 13A Navigation device 21, 21A Microcomputer 22 Receiver 24, 24A HDD

Claims (11)

In a navigation device mounted or carried on a mobile object,
Facility information search means for searching for facility information stored in a writable facility information storage means based on a predetermined search condition;
Receiving means for receiving facility data including information on the facility transmitted from the facility or a transmitter installed in the vicinity of the facility;
A navigation apparatus comprising facility information writing means for registering facility information by writing facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving means to the facility information storage means. Whether the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit is information that needs to be registered in the facility information storing unit based on the facility information stored in the facility information storing unit. A registration necessity judging means for judging,
When it is determined by the registration necessity determination means that the facility information is information that needs to be registered in the facility information storage means,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facility information writing means registers the facility information by writing the facility information into the facility information storage means. If the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit is not registered in the facility information storage unit, the registration necessity determination unit needs to register the facility information in the facility information storage unit. 3. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the navigation apparatus determines that the information is certain information. A facility information presence / absence determining means for determining whether or not facility information related to the same facility as the facility indicated by the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving means is registered in the facility information storage means;
When it is determined by the facility information presence / absence determining means that the facility information related to the same facility is registered in the facility information storage means,
The facility indicated by the facility information by overwriting the facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit into the facility information storage unit so that the facility information writing unit rewrites old information to new information. The navigation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein information related to the information is updated. Writing to determine whether or not the user is allowed to write facility information included in the facility data received by the receiving unit to the facility information storage unit based on the user's intention information obtained from the input unit Provided with permission judging means,
If it is determined by the writing permission determining means that the user has permitted to write the facility information to the facility information storage means,
The navigation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the facility information writing means registers the facility information by writing the facility information into the facility information storage means. apparatus. The facility information storage means is configured to store at least facility location information as information about the facility, and further store at least one category information of a facility name, telephone number, address, and type,
The facility information search means searches for the facility information stored in the facility information storage means by using one or more categories of position, name, telephone number, address, and type as search conditions. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Presence / absence determination means for determining presence / absence of the facility indicated by the facility information stored in the facility information storage means based on the reception status of the facility data transmitted from the transmitter;
And a non-search target processing means for processing the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost by the presence / absence determination means so as to be excluded from the search target by the facility information search means. The navigation device according to any one of 1 to 6. The facility information retrieval unit retrieves the facility information from the facility information storage unit by deleting, from the facility information storage unit, the facility information regarding the facility that is determined to be lost by the existence determination unit. 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
The navigation device described. Of the facility information related to the facility that is determined to be lost by the presence / absence determining unit, the non-search target processing unit is only the facility information written in the facility information storage unit by the facility information writing unit. 9. The navigation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the navigation apparatus is deleted from the facility information storage means. If the facility data is not received in an environment where the presence / absence determining means can receive the facility data transmitted from the facility or the transmitter installed in the vicinity of the facility, it is determined that the facility is lost. The navigation device according to claim 7, wherein the navigation device is a device. Based on the user's intention information obtained from the input means, the user processes the facility information related to the facility determined to be lost by the presence / absence determination means so that the facility information search means is excluded from the search target. A process permission judging means for judging whether or not the permission is permitted;
When it is determined by the processing permission determining means that the user has permitted the processing of the facility information so that the facility information is not subject to search by the facility information searching means,
The navigation device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the non-search target processing means processes the facility information so that the facility information is not searched by the facility information search means. .

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