JP2006258466A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information concerning specific facilities (a gas station, a restaurant or the like) required by a user without troubling the user. <P>SOLUTION: When the specific facility (a gas station, a restaurant, an antique store or the like) determined beforehand does not exist on a recommended route, this navigation device searches for a route where the facility exists and displays also the route. As for a facility outside a display domain on a screen, a mark is displayed on the end of the route, to thereby display existence of the facility ahead on the route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a display technique for an in-vehicle navigation device.

  Conventionally, an in-vehicle navigation device that displays a recommended route to a destination on a detailed map including facilities such as restaurants and gas stations is known (see Non-Patent Document 1).

JPO, standard technology collection, car navigation device user interface, main classification: 1-A-1a Detailed map (detailed display of urban area, etc.)

  By the way, a user may want to drop in at a facility such as a restaurant or a gas station while traveling along a recommended route. In such a case, there is no problem as long as those facilities are displayed on the recommended route in the display screen. However, when those facilities are not displayed on the display screen, the user does not know whether or not those facilities are on the recommended route, and therefore hesitates whether to proceed according to the recommended route. Moreover, even if those facilities are displayed on the display screen, if the facilities are not on the recommended route, the user does not know the route to the facility. Accordingly, in such a case, the user must newly request the navigation device to search for a route that passes through a nearby restaurant or a gas station.

  For example, if the user has a hobby of collecting antiques, there are times when he / she wants to stop if there is an antique shop in the middle. Or you may want to keep track of where you are when you have time. In the prior art, even if such a facility is in the vicinity of the current position, it is not displayed if it is not within the display area of the screen. Therefore, the user must request the navigation apparatus to display such facilities each time.

  The objective of this invention is providing the technique which alert | reports the information regarding the specific plant | facility which a user desires without bothering a user's hand.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, when there is no specific facility predetermined on the recommended route, the navigation device of the present invention searches for the route with the facility and displays the route.

For example, the navigation device of the present invention
Facility setting means for setting the facility to be displayed;
A route search means for searching for a recommended route to the destination;
Display means for displaying the recommended route. And
The route search means, when there is no facility set by the facility setting means on the recommended route, search for another route with the facility,
The display means displays the other route together with the recommended route.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle navigation device of the present embodiment includes an arithmetic processing unit 1, a display 2, a map data storage device 3, a voice input / output device 4, an input device 5, a wheel speed sensor 6, It has a geomagnetic sensor 7, a gyro sensor 8, and a GPS (Ground Positioning System) receiver 9.

  The arithmetic processing unit 1 is a central unit that performs various processes. For example, the current location is detected based on information output from the various sensors 6 to 8 and the GPS receiver 9, and the map data 300 necessary for display is read from the map data storage device 3 based on the obtained current location information. . Further, the read map data 300 is developed in graphics, and a mark indicating the current location is superimposed on the displayed map 2 and displayed on the display 2, or the map data 300 stored in the map data storage device 3 is used to instruct the user. The optimum route (recommended route) connecting the destination and the departure point (for example, the current location) is searched, and the user is guided using the voice input / output device 4 or the display 2.

  The display 2 is a unit that displays graphics information generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1, and is configured by a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like. The signal S1 between the arithmetic processing unit 1 and the display 2 is generally connected by an RGB signal or an NTSC (National Television System Committee) signal.

  The map data storage device 3 is composed of a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, HDD, or IC card. In this storage medium, map data 300 is stored.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the map data 300 stored in the map data storage device 3. As shown in the figure, map data 300 is stored for each mesh region obtained by dividing the map into a plurality of parts. The map data 300 includes link data 310 and facility data 320 for each mesh area identification code (mesh ID).

  The link data 310 is information on each link constituting the road included in the mesh area. The link data 310 includes a link identification code (link ID), coordinate information of two nodes (start node and end node) constituting the link, road type information including the link, link length information indicating the link length, The link ID (connection link ID) of the link connected to each of the two nodes is included.

  The facility data 320 includes information regarding facilities on the road. Facilities include, for example, gas stations, restaurants, electrical stores, book stores, department stores, stadiums, parks, convenience stores, recycle shops, antique stores, model stores, and the like. Moreover, natural objects, such as a mountain and a forest, may be sufficient. The facility data 320 includes, for each facility identification code (facility ID) 321, a facility name 322, a type (classification) 323, a coordinate position 324, a mark pattern 325 such as an icon for display, and other information 326. It is out. The other information 324 is various information unique to the facility such as an address, a telephone number, and business hours.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The voice input / output device 4 converts the message to the user generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1 into a voice signal and outputs it, and recognizes the voice uttered by the user and transfers the content to the arithmetic processing unit 1.

  The input device 5 is a unit that receives an instruction from a user, and includes a hardware switch such as a scroll key and a scale change key, a joystick, a touch panel pasted on a display, and the like.

  The sensors 6 to 8 and the GPS receiver 9 are used for detecting the current location (own vehicle position) by the vehicle-mounted navigation device. The wheel speed sensor 6 measures the distance from the product of the wheel circumference and the measured number of rotations of the wheel, and further measures the angle at which the moving body is bent from the difference in the number of rotations of the paired wheels. The geomagnetic sensor 7 detects the magnetic field held by the earth and detects the direction in which the moving body is facing. The gyro 8 is configured by an optical fiber gyro, a vibration gyro, or the like, and detects an angle at which the moving body rotates. The GPS receiver 9 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and measures the distance between the mobile body and the GPS satellite and the rate of change of the distance with respect to three or more satellites, so that the current location, travel direction, and travel direction of the mobile body Measure.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1.

  As illustrated, the arithmetic processing unit 1 has a configuration in which devices are connected by a bus 32. The arithmetic processing unit 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 that executes various processes such as numerical calculation and control of each device, and a RAM (Random Access) that stores map data and arithmetic data read from the map data storage device 3. Memory) 22, ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 for storing programs and data, DMA (Direct Memory Access) 24 for executing data transfer between the memories and between the memory and each device, and graphics drawing In addition, a drawing controller 25 that performs display control, a video random access memory (VRAM) 26 that stores graphics image data, a color palette 27 that converts image data into RGB signals, and an A / A that converts analog signals into digital signals. D converter 28 and SCI (Serial Communicati) which converts serial signals into parallel signals synchronized with the bus on Interface) 29, a PIO (Parallel Input / Output) 30 that puts a parallel signal on the bus in synchronization with the bus, and a counter 31 that integrates the pulse signal.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1.

  As illustrated, the arithmetic processing unit 1 includes a user operation analysis unit 41, a route search unit 42, a route guidance unit 43, a current position calculation unit 44, an information storage unit 45, and a display processing unit 46. .

  The user operation analysis unit 41 receives a request from the user input by the input device 5, analyzes the request content, and controls each unit of the arithmetic processing unit 1 so that processing corresponding to the request content is executed. To do.

  The current position calculation unit 44 uses distance data and angle data obtained as a result of integrating the distance pulse data S5 measured by the wheel speed sensor 6 and the angular acceleration data S7 measured by the gyro 8, respectively. The current position (X ′, Y ′), which is the position after the vehicle travels, is periodically calculated from the initial position (X, Y), and the current position is obtained by map match processing.

  The route search unit 42 uses the Dijkstra method or the like to reach the destination at a low cost (for example, travel time, travel distance, etc.) among the routes connecting the two specified points (departure location (current location), destination). The reachable route is searched from the map data.

  The route guidance unit 43 compares the information on the recommended route searched by the route search unit 42 with the information on the current location, and determines whether the vehicle should go straight or turn right or left before passing the intersection or the like. It is used to notify the user by voice, or the direction to be advanced is displayed on the map displayed on the display 2 to notify the user of the recommended route.

  The information storage unit 45 stores the recommended route searched by the route search unit 42. Moreover, the information regarding the facility (type of facility) to be displayed on the set map is stored.

  The display processing unit 46 generates a drawing command so that the requested video is displayed on the display 2 and outputs the drawing command to the display 2.

  [Description of Operation] Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted navigation device having the above-described configuration will be described.

  First, processing for setting a facility to be displayed (referred to as “display target facility”) will be described.

  When receiving a setting request for a facility to be displayed on a map from the user via the input device 5, the user operation analysis unit 41 displays a setting screen 500 via the display processing unit 46 as shown in FIG. 5. To display.

  The setting screen 500 displays, for example, facility type (classification) options 502 such as a gas station, a restaurant, a recycle shop, a bookstore, an electric shop, a model shop, and an antique shop.

  The user operation analysis unit 41 sets the type of facility selected by the user via the input device 5 in the display processing unit 46 as a display target facility. It should be noted that selection of a plurality of facility types can be accepted and set as a display target facility.

  Next, display processing during route guidance will be described.

  When the route search unit 42 searches for a recommended route to the destination, the route guidance unit 43 starts route guidance according to the searched recommended route.

  At this time, the display processing unit 46 displays a map around the current position on the display 2 according to an instruction from the route guiding unit 43, and further displays a recommended route on the map. Each time the current position moves, the map is updated, and the display of the recommended route is also updated according to the map.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the display process during route guidance.

  When the current position moves (Yes in S102), the display processing unit 46 updates the map, and updates the display of the recommended route according to the map (S104). In addition, when the display target facility exists on the map in the display area, the display processing unit 46 displays the display target facility at an appropriate position on the map.

  Here, the route guiding unit 43 determines whether or not all the set display target facilities exist on the recommended route and within a predetermined distance from the current position (S106). Specifically, the route guiding unit 43 specifies a mesh ID of a mesh within a predetermined distance from the current position, and extracts the facility data 320 of the mesh ID 301 from the map data 300. Further, the facility whose type 323 is the type of the display target facility is extracted from the extracted facility data 320. Furthermore, it tries to extract a facility whose coordinate position 324 is within a predetermined distance from the current position and on the recommended route from the extracted facilities. If it can be extracted, it is determined that the display target facility exists on the recommended route and within a predetermined distance from the current position.

  When all the set display target facilities exist on the recommended route and within a predetermined distance from the current position, the route guiding unit 43 proceeds to S112.

  On the other hand, if there is any non-existing facility among the display target facilities on the recommended route and within a predetermined distance from the current position (No in S106), the route guidance unit 43 searches the route search unit for a sub route. 42. Here, the sub route is a route different from the recommended route in which there is a display target facility that does not exist on the recommended route.

  In response to this, the route search unit 42 searches for a sub route. Specifically, referring to the coordinate position 324, the facility that is the display target facility that is set and within a predetermined distance from the current position is extracted from the facility data 320. Then, among the extracted facilities, the facility closest to the current position is specified. Further, a route to the destination using the facility is searched, and the searched route is set as a sub route.

  Thus, the sub route is searched for each display target facility that is not in the recommended route.

  If the set display target facility does not exist within a predetermined distance from the current position and the sub route cannot be searched, the route search unit 42 indicates that the sub route cannot be searched for the display target facility. Information is stored in the information storage unit 45.

  Next, the route guidance unit 43 displays the sub route on the map via the display processing unit 36 (S110).

  Next, in S112, the route guidance unit 43 displays information indicating the presence of the display target facility outside the display area. Specifically, a display target facility that is on the recommended route and outside the display area displays information indicating that the facility exists at the end of the recommended route on the screen (that is, the direction in which the facility exists). . This indicates that the facility is in front of the recommended route.

  In addition, a display target facility that is on the sub route and outside the display area displays information indicating that the facility exists at the end of the sub route on the screen (that is, the direction in which the facility exists). This indicates that the facility is in front of the sub route.

  After the process of S112, the route guiding unit 43 returns to S102 and continues the process.

  FIG. 7 shows a display example of the display 2.

  It is assumed that a bookstore, an electric shop, a gas station, and a restaurant are set as display target facilities.

  The route guidance unit 43 displays a map 601 around the current position 602 via the display processing unit 46. Further, a recommended route 603x is displayed.

  At this time, it is assumed that there is a gas station 604x which is one of the display target facilities within a predetermined distance (for example, within 2 km) from the current position on the recommended route 603x. On the other hand, it is assumed that there are no other display target facilities, such as a bookstore, an electric shop, or a restaurant, within a predetermined distance (for example, within 2 km) from the current position on the recommended route 603x.

  In this case, the route search unit 42 searches for a sub route 603a with the bookstore 604a, a sub route 603b with the electric store 604b, and a sub route 603c with the restaurant 604c. Then, the route guiding unit 43 displays these sub routes 603a, 603b, and 603c.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the display target facilities 604x, 604a, 604b, and 604c exist in the display area 600. However, when the display target facilities exist outside the display area, the display is performed as shown in FIG. May be.

  That is, marks (icons) 624x, 624a, 624b, and 624c indicating the existence of each facility are displayed at the ends of the recommended route 603x and the sub routes 603a and 603c. As a result, it can be seen that there are an electric shop and a gas station in the direction of the recommended route 603x, but there is no bookstore or restaurant. It can also be seen that there is a bookstore in the direction of the sub route 603a. It can be seen that there is a restaurant in the direction of the sub route 603c.

  In addition, when the sub route passing through the display target facility is not searched, the route guiding unit 43 may display information indicating that. For example, a mark indicating the facility to be displayed is displayed in the corner of the screen in a blinking manner or in a specific color so that the facility is not found within a predetermined distance from the current position.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
According to the embodiment, when there is a facility that does not exist on the recommended route, another route that passes through the facility is displayed. Therefore, the user knows how to go when he / she wants to drop in at the facility.

  If the specific facility is not within the display area but is outside the display area, information indicating the presence of the facility is displayed. Therefore, the user can confirm the presence / absence of a facility that is not in the display area.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, the display target facility may be set differently depending on the date and time. Specifically, at noon (eg, 11:00 to 13:00), the restaurant is set as a display target facility.

  Further, the display target facility may be set according to the remaining amount of fuel in the vehicle. For example, the vehicle-mounted navigation device includes means for receiving information that the remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value from a sensor that outputs a signal to that effect when the remaining amount of gasoline is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When the display processing unit 46 receives information indicating that the remaining amount of gasoline is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the display processing unit 46 sets the gasoline station (fuel supply facility) as a display target facility.

  In this way, if the facility to be displayed is set according to the date and time, the situation of the vehicle, and the environment, the user's needs can be dealt with in detail.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle-mounted navigation device has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a navigation device other than a vehicle-mounted navigation device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of map data stored in the map data storage device 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 1. FIG. 5 is a display example of a setting screen for “facility to be displayed on a map”. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of display processing during route guidance of the in-vehicle navigation device to which the present embodiment is applied. FIG. 7 is a display example during route guidance. FIG. 8 is a display example during route guidance.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Arithmetic processing part, 2 ... Display, 3 ... Map data storage device, 4 ... Voice input / output device, 5 ... Input device, 6 ... Wheel speed sensor, 7 ... Geomagnetic sensor, 8 ... gyro, 9 ... GPS receiver, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... RAM, 23 ... ROM, 24 ... DMA, 25 ... drawing controller, 26 ... VRAM, 27 ... color palette, 28 ... A / D converter, 29 ... SCI, 30 ... PIO, 31 ... counter, 41 ... user operation analysis unit, 42 ... Route search unit, 43 ... Route guidance unit, 44 ... Current position calculation unit, 45 ... Information storage unit, 46 ... Display processing unit

Claims (6)

A navigation device,
Facility setting means for setting the facility to be displayed;
A route search means for searching for a recommended route to the destination;
Display means for displaying the recommended route,
The route search means, when there is no facility set by the facility setting means on the recommended route, search for another route with the facility,
The navigation device characterized in that the display means displays the other route together with the recommended route. In claim 1,
The route search means includes
A navigation device characterized in that, when there is no facility set by the facility setting means on the recommended route and within a predetermined distance from the current location, another route with the facility within a predetermined distance from the current position is searched. In claim 1,
The display means includes
When there is a facility set by the facility setting means on the recommended route or the other route, information indicating the fact is displayed. In claim 1,
The navigation device
Having a reception means for receiving the facility to be displayed;
The facility setting means sets the facility received by the receiving means as a facility to be displayed. In claim 1,
The facility setting means includes
A navigation device characterized in that a facility to be set varies depending on the time of day. In claim 1,
The facility setting means includes
A navigation device characterized in that when a remaining amount of fuel in a mobile body on which the navigation device is mounted is equal to or less than a predetermined value, a fuel supply facility is set as a facility to be displayed.

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