JP2005331579A - Map data updating system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map data updating system wherein, when map data for update is distributed to a user, fraudulent use of the map data for update is effectively prevented. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation device 1 reads map data for update (difference between the old and new version) written in a recording medium 6, and writes it to a hard disk. The navigation device 1 writes a unique individual ID to the recording medium 6 when the recording medium 6 is initialized. A personal computer 2 accesses a server 3 of a map data distribution center, transmits the individual ID to the server 3, receives the map data for update from the server 3 and writes it to the recording medium 6. The server 3 distributes the map data for update to which the individual ID transmitted from the personal computer 2 is added as attribute data to the personal computer 2 of a member or a paying user. When writing the map data from the recording medium 6 to the hard disk, the navigation device 1 judges whether or not its own individual ID coincides with the individual ID added to the map data as attribute data. When the data coincide, writing is permitted, and when the data do not coincide, the use of the data is prohibited. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In the present invention, update map data distributed from a map data distribution center via communication means is written to a recording medium, and the map data in an in-vehicle navigation device is updated using the recording medium. The present invention relates to a map data update system.

  In general, a navigation device mounted on an automobile realizes various navigation functions using map data stored on an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD. In this case, since the map data becomes old data that does not match the actual situation due to aging, conventionally, optical discs in which a new year version of map data is recorded on a regular basis (for example, every year) are released. I was trying to respond by buying new ones as needed.

However, in this case, although the map data is partially updated, since it is newly purchased and exchanged for the entire map data unit, it is not efficient, and the economic burden on the user is large. Become. Therefore, in recent years, a system that can cope with the navigation apparatus user by distributing only the map data of the difference between the old and new versions (for update) from the map data supply server through the Internet. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-296042 A

  By the way, in the system which distributes only the map data for update to the user as described above, the map data for update should be distributed only for a specific member who is distributed for a fee or registered. However, in a conventionally considered system, for example, update map data received by a personal computer is written in a recording medium such as a card-type memory, and an update map is transferred from one recording medium to a plurality of navigation devices. There is a risk of unauthorized use such as copying data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to distribute update map data to a user, effectively preventing unauthorized use of the update map data. It is in providing a map data update system that can do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a map data update system of the present invention writes update map data distributed from a map data distribution center to a recording medium, and uses the recording medium to map a map in an in-vehicle navigation device. The data is updated, and the navigation device is configured to add a unique individual ID assigned to the navigation device to the map data for update written in the recording medium as attribute data. A determination unit that determines whether the individual ID assigned to the device and the individual ID added to the update map data match, and the individual ID does not match by the determination unit And a prohibiting means for disabling use of the update map data written in the recording medium when judged. Having a (invention of claim 1).

  According to this, the map data in the navigation device can be updated to the latest by using the recording medium in which the update map data distributed from the map data distribution center is written. In this case, since only a part of the map data that has changed from the old version is updated, the data can be updated efficiently and the economic burden on the user can be reduced.

  Then, the unique individual ID assigned to the navigation device is added as attribute data to the recording medium, so that when the recording medium is used in the navigation device, the individual given to itself by the judging means It is determined whether the ID and the individual ID recorded on the recording medium match. If the individual ID does not match, the update map data written on the recording medium is recorded by the prohibiting means. Unusable. Therefore, unauthorized use of the update map data can be prevented.

  In the above system, when receiving the distribution of the update map data, the individual ID is transmitted to the map data distribution center, and the individual ID is added to the update map data on the map data distribution center side. (Invention of claim 2). According to this, since the individual ID is recorded on the recording medium based on the data distributed from the map data distribution center side, it is excellent in the effect of preventing impersonation of the individual ID itself, and illegal use of the update map data Can be more effectively prevented.

  In this case, it is effective if the individual ID is composed of information specific to the navigation device or the vehicle on which the navigation device is mounted (invention of claim 3). More specifically, as the specific information, it is possible to employ information related to a part of a registration point and a travel history stored in the navigation device, or information related to the current position of the vehicle and the cumulative travel distance (claims). Invention of 4). Thereby, it becomes more effective in prevention of impersonation etc. of individual ID itself.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of a map data update system according to the present embodiment. Here, this system is provided in a navigation device 1 mounted on a vehicle (automobile) possessed by a user, an information terminal that can be used by the user, such as a personal computer 2 (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer 2), and a map data distribution center. The server 3 and the map database 4 are configured.

  Of these, the navigation device 1 is not shown in detail, but includes a control circuit configured mainly by a microcomputer for overall control, a vehicle position detection unit connected to the control circuit, a map data input device, and a display unit comprising a liquid crystal panel. A key operation unit for a user to input various instructions, a voice input / output device, a hard disk device, and the like are provided. The own vehicle position detection unit includes a GPS receiver and a gyroscope or a geomagnetic sensor mounted on the vehicle, and based on these signals, the current position, traveling direction, current time, etc. It comes to detect.

  The map data input device is composed of a drive device that reads map data from an optical disk 5 (eg, DVD) as a medium storing map data and the like. The optical disk 5 is purchased at the time of assembling to the vehicle, and the latest fiscal year version map data at the time of purchase is recorded. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the optical disk 5 is stored with a unique individual ID assigned in advance.

With the above-described configuration, the navigation device 1 can display a location function for displaying the current position and traveling direction of the navigation device 1 on the display unit so as to overlap with the road map, or to a destination designated by the user. A route guidance function for searching and guiding recommended routes by calculation is realized.
Further, the navigation device 1 is configured such that a recording medium 6 made of, for example, a card-type flash memory is detachably set, and data can be read from and written to the recording medium 6. At this time, as will be described in detail later, the navigation device 1 reads the update map data written in the recording medium 6 and writes it in the hard disk. In addition, the navigation device 1 is configured to initialize the recording medium 6, and at this time, the unique individual ID assigned to the optical disk 5 is written to the recording medium 6.

  The personal computer 2 is configured to be connectable to the server 3 of the map data distribution center through, for example, the Internet, and the recording medium 6 is detachably set so that data can be read from and written to the recording medium 6. Has been. Thus, as will be described later, the personal computer 2 receives distribution of the map data for updating, that is, the difference between the old and new versions from the server 3 and writes the map data to the recording medium 6. . At this time, in this embodiment, the personal computer 2 transmits the individual ID stored in the recording medium 6 to the server 3 when receiving the distribution of the update map data.

  In the map data distribution center, the map database 4 stores map data of Japan used by the navigation apparatus 1 and always builds new map data. Then, the server 3 becomes a member of the map data of the difference (changed and added) from the old version (yearly map data stored in the optical disc 5), that is, the map data for updating. It is distributed to the user's personal computer 2 through the Internet or the like for a certain user or for a fee. At this time, in this embodiment, when the server 3 distributes the update map data to the user's personal computer 2, the individual ID transmitted from the personal computer 2 is attributed to the update map data. Distribution is performed with data added.

  Now, by removing the recording medium 6 in which the map data for update described above is written from the personal computer 2 and setting the recording medium 6 in the navigation device 1, the navigation device 1 removes the recording medium 6 from the recording medium 6. Update map data is read out and written to the hard disk, so that navigation processing can be executed while updating the map data to the latest version.

  At this time, as will be described in the description of the next action (flow chart), the control circuit of the navigation device 1 can automatically update the map data for updating from the recording medium 6 to the hard disk due to its software configuration. It is determined whether the assigned individual ID (stored on the optical disk 5) matches the individual ID added as attribute data to the update map data. If it is allowed and does not match, the use of the update map data is prohibited. In this case, copying to the hard disk is prohibited. Therefore, the control circuit of the navigation device 1 functions as a determination unit and a prohibition unit.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. Now, when the user of the navigation device 1 (vehicle) wants to update the map data on the optical disc 5 due to aging, the map data for update using the recording medium 6 is acquired. In this case, first, the recording medium 6 is set in the navigation apparatus 1 to execute the initialization process. The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure when formatting the recording medium 6 executed by the navigation device 1 (control circuit). In step S1, initialization processing of the recording medium 6 is executed. In the next step S2, the individual ID recorded on the optical disc 5 is copied to the recording medium 6, and this process is completed.

  When the initialization processing of the recording medium 6 is completed, the user removes the recording medium 6 from the navigation device 1 and sets it in the personal computer 2 this time. Then, the map data for update is downloaded by connecting the personal computer 2 to the map data distribution center (server 3). The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure for downloading map data for update executed by the personal computer 2.

  That is, first, in step S11, connection and authentication with the server 3 of the map data distribution center are performed. Subsequently, in step S12, a process of transmitting the individual ID stored in the recording medium 6 to the map data distribution center is executed. Thus, as described above, the server 3 distributes to the user's personal computer 2 in a state where the individual ID is added as attribute data to the map data for update. In step S13, update map data is downloaded from the map data distribution center, and in step S14, the update map data is written to the set recording medium 6.

  When the update map data is acquired in this way, the user removes the recording medium 6 from the personal computer 2, sets it again in the navigation device 1, and stores the update map data written in the recording medium 6 on the hard disk. Make a copy on the device. The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows the processing procedure of the update map data copy executed by the navigation device 1 (control circuit) at that time. When copying the map data of the recording medium 6, first, step S21 is performed. Thus, it is determined whether or not the individual ID added to the map data recorded on the recording medium 6 matches the individual ID assigned to the navigation device 1 (optical disc 5).

  If it is determined that the individual IDs match (Yes in step S21), the update map data recorded in the recording medium 6 is copied to the hard disk in the next step S22. Thus, in the navigation apparatus 1, the map data is updated to the latest one, and various navigation processes can be executed using the latest map data. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the individual IDs do not match (No in step S21), the update map data recorded in the recording medium 6 is copied in step S23. It will be rejected.

  Thereby, the update map data distributed from the map data distribution center can be used only in the navigation device 1 of a regular user (who is a member or pays a usage fee). Even if the map data in the recording medium 6 is copied to another recording medium and used, it is impossible to use the map data in another navigation device whose individual IDs do not match. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the map data in the navigation device 1 is updated to the latest by using the recording medium 6 in which the update map data distributed from the map data distribution center is written. In this case, data can be updated efficiently, and the user's economic burden can be reduced. When a unique individual ID is added as attribute data to the update map data of the recording medium 6, the individual IDs do not match when the recording medium 6 is used in the navigation device 1. In this case, the map data for update written in the recording medium 6 cannot be used, so that illegal use of the map data for update can be effectively prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be expanded and changed as follows.
That is, first, in the above embodiment, the individual ID is assigned to the optical disc in advance, but the individual ID may be assigned to the hardware of the navigation device 1 itself. Alternatively, the individual ID can be composed of information specific to the navigation device 1 or a vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted. In this case, it is effective to prevent impersonation of the individual ID itself. More specifically, as specific information, information on registered points (for example, home position information) stored in the navigation device 1 or information on a part of the travel history (for example, which vehicle has been at a predetermined time in the past) Information on whether or not the vehicle is at a position), or information on the current position of the vehicle and the accumulated travel distance can be used as the individual ID.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when receiving the distribution of the map data for update, the individual ID is transmitted from the personal computer 2 to the map data distribution center, and the individual ID is added to the map data for update on the map data distribution center side. In the personal computer 2, when the update map data is written in the recording medium 6, the individual ID may be written in the data attribute area. In the personal computer 2, update map data may be downloaded in advance, and then the map data may be written in the recording medium 6. For example, the map data for update may be received using an information terminal (a so-called kiosk terminal) installed in a convenience store, a station, or the like without being limited to using the personal computer 2.

  The recording medium 6 is not limited to a card type flash memory, and various media such as a magnetic disk and an optical disk can be employed. Instead of copying the map data of the recording medium 6 to the hard disk or the like of the navigation device 1, the data can be used in a state where the recording medium 6 is set in the navigation device 1. In this case, when the individual IDs do not match, the use of the data can be prohibited. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

The figure which shows one Example of this invention and shows the structure of a map data update system roughly The flowchart which shows the process sequence at the time of the format of the recording medium which a navigation apparatus performs Flow chart showing the processing procedure for downloading map data for update executed by a personal computer The flowchart which shows the processing procedure of the copy of the map data for update which a navigation apparatus performs

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a navigation device, 2 is a personal computer, 3 is a server, 4 is a map database, 5 is an optical disk, and 6 is a recording medium.

Claims (4)

A map data update system in which map data for update distributed from a map data distribution center is written in a recording medium, and the map data in an in-vehicle navigation device is updated using the recording medium,
The update map data written on the recording medium is configured such that a unique individual ID assigned to the navigation device is added as attribute data,
The navigation device includes a determination unit that determines whether the individual ID assigned to the navigation device matches the individual ID added to the map data for update, and the determination unit matches the individual ID. A map data updating system, comprising: prohibiting means for making it impossible to use the updating map data written in the recording medium when it is determined that there is no such data.   When receiving update map data distribution, the individual ID is transmitted to the map data distribution center, and the map data distribution center adds the individual ID to the update map data. The map data update system according to claim 1.   The map data update system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the individual ID includes information specific to a navigation device or a vehicle on which the navigation device is mounted. 4. The map data according to claim 3, wherein the specific information is information related to a part of a registration point and a travel history stored in the navigation device, or information related to a current position and a cumulative travel distance of the vehicle. Update system.

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