JP2007108143A - Device for retrieving surrounding facilities - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for retrieving surrounding facilities facilitating a user to easily grasp the easiness to reach the facilities. <P>SOLUTION: A facilities retrieval area P having a constant width is set spirally, in which the facilities at the nearest point from the current position detected by a current position detection part 4 is made as the start point, from among the facilities existing within a specific angular range including the traveling direction detected by a traveling direction detection part 5. A facilities arrangement processing part 11 arranging the facilities retrieved by a facilities retrieval processing part 10 in the facilities retrieval area P is provided. From among the facilities arranged in the facilities retrieval area P by the facilities arrangement processing part 11, the facilities existing at the inner side of the spiral is presented as the facilities having higher recommendation rank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a peripheral facility search device that is mounted on, for example, a navigation device and searches for facilities existing around the current position of a vehicle.

For example, if the name of a facility such as a convenience store or family restaurant is directly input, a conventional peripheral facility search device searches for a facility that matches the input content from the facilities existing around the current position of the vehicle. Can be presented.
However, when a plurality of facilities are searched, the conventional peripheral facility search device does not present information indicating which facilities are easy to go.

In addition to the peripheral facility search device described above, when a plurality of facilities are searched, the facility that is located closer to the facility search base point is assigned a lower number as the peripheral facility search device is the following patent: It is disclosed in Document 1.
As a result, the user can grasp a facility that is close to the facility search base point, but the number is attached without considering the traveling direction of the vehicle. An existing facility may be given a young number.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-292262 (paragraph number [0022], FIG. 5)

  Since the conventional peripheral facility search apparatus is configured as described above, the user can grasp a facility that is present at a position near the facility search base point. However, because the number is attached without considering the traveling direction of the vehicle, etc., if a facility with a young number is attached to a facility that exists in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the vehicle, that facility is easy to go to. Not limited to this, there were problems such as difficulty in determining which facility to go to.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral facility search apparatus that allows a user to easily grasp the ease of travel of facilities.

  The peripheral facility searching apparatus according to the present invention is a facility closest to the current position detected by the current position detecting unit among facilities existing within a certain angular range including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detecting unit. Starting from an existing facility, a facility search area of a certain width is set in a spiral shape, and a facility placement means is provided for placing the facility searched by the facility search means in the facility search area. Among the facilities arranged in the search area, the facilities existing inside the swirl are presented as facilities having a higher recommended order.

  According to the present invention, among the facilities existing within a certain angular range including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detecting means, the facility existing at the closest position from the current position detected by the current position detecting means is selected. A facility search area of a certain width is set as a starting point in a spiral shape, and a facility arrangement means for arranging the facility searched by the facility search means in the facility search area is provided. Among the arranged facilities, the facility existing inside the spiral is configured to be presented as a facility having a higher recommended ranking, so that there is an effect that the user can easily grasp the ease of travel of the facility.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation apparatus to which a peripheral facility search apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. In the figure, map data such as latitude / longitude information and name information of various facilities is stored in a map database 1. Memory device.
The GPS receiver 2 receives GPS signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites, and performs a process of outputting the GPS signals to the current position detection unit 4.
The gyro 3 detects the moving distance and moving direction of the vehicle, and performs processing for outputting information indicating the moving distance and moving direction to the current position detecting unit 4.
The current position detection unit 4 performs processing for detecting the current position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal output from the GPS receiver 2 and the information output from the gyro 3.
The GPS receiver 2, the gyro 3, and the current position detector 4 constitute current position detection means.

The traveling direction detection unit 5 performs processing for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle from the detection result of the current position detection unit 4 or the movement direction detected by the gyro 3. The gyro 3 and the traveling direction detection unit 5 constitute traveling direction detection means.
The display processing unit 6 is composed of, for example, a graphic accelerator. When the current position detection unit 4 detects the current position of the vehicle, the display processing unit 6 acquires map data including the current position of the vehicle from the map database 1 and according to the map data. Processing for displaying the map on the liquid crystal display 7 is performed. The display processing unit 6 also performs processing such as displaying the route guidance map created by the route guidance unit 16 on the liquid crystal display 7.
The liquid crystal display 7 is disposed, for example, on the instrument panel of the vehicle, and displays a map or the like under the instruction of the display processing unit 6.

The operation switch 8 is, for example, a rotary dial that is disposed on the instrument panel of the vehicle and is used when the user sets facility search conditions, destinations, and the like. The operation switch 8 is a rotary dial used when the user selects an arbitrary facility from the facilities presented by the facility presentation processing unit 12.
When the user designates a facility search condition using the operation switch 8, the search condition setting unit 9 receives the setting of the search condition and outputs the search condition to the display processing unit 6 and the facility search processing unit 10. To implement.
The operation switch 8 and the search condition setting unit 9 constitute search condition setting means, and the operation switch 8 constitutes facility selection means.

The facility search processing unit 10 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit on which an MPU or the like is mounted. The facility search processing unit 10 refers to the map database 1 and includes the facilities existing around the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4. Then, a process for searching for a facility that matches the search condition set by the search condition setting unit 9 is performed. The facility search processing unit 10 constitutes facility search means.
The facility arrangement processing unit 11 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit in which an MPU or the like is mounted, and among the facilities searched by the facility search processing unit 10, the facility arrangement processing unit 11 includes a certain direction including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detection unit 5. The facility search area having a certain width is set in a spiral shape starting from the facility present at the position closest to the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4 among the facilities existing within the angle range of A process of placing the facility searched by the search processing unit 10 in the facility search area is performed. The facility arrangement processing unit 11 constitutes a facility arrangement unit.

The facility presentation processing unit 12 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit on which an MPU or the like is mounted. Among the facilities arranged in the facility search area by the facility arrangement processing unit 11, the facilities existing inside the spiral are as follows: Implement the process of presenting as a facility with a high recommendation order. That is, the facility presentation processing unit 12 performs a process of selecting in order from facilities existing inside the spiral, connecting the facilities with lines, and instructing the display processing unit 6 to display the facilities and the lines. .
In addition, the facility presentation processing unit 12 instructs the display processing unit 6 to display information related to the facility selected by the operation switch 8 and also performs processing to instruct the voice output unit 13 to read out information related to the facility.
The facility presentation processing unit 12 constitutes facility presentation means and information presentation means.

The audio output unit 13 is composed of, for example, a sound chip, and performs a process of outputting information related to the facility output from the facility presentation processing unit 12 to the speaker 14. The voice output unit 13 also performs a process of outputting the guidance information output from the route guide unit 16 to the speaker 14.
When the user designates a destination to be guided using the operation switch 8, the destination setting unit 15 performs a process of outputting the destination to the route guidance unit 16.
The route guide unit 16 searches for an optimal route from the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 4 to the destination, and performs a process of guiding the route until the vehicle reaches the destination.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the peripheral facility searching apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the current position detection unit 4, the traveling direction detection unit 5, the display processing unit 6, the search condition setting unit 9, the facility search processing unit 10, the facility arrangement processing unit 11, and the facility presentation that are components of the navigation device. Although the processing unit 12, the audio output unit 13, the destination setting unit 15, and the route guidance unit 16 are each configured by dedicated hardware, the current position is shown when the navigation device is configured by a computer. A detection unit 4, a traveling direction detection unit 5, a display processing unit 6, a search condition setting unit 9, a facility search processing unit 10, a facility arrangement processing unit 11, a facility presentation processing unit 12, a voice output unit 13, a destination setting unit 15, and A program describing the processing contents of the route guidance unit 16 is stored in a memory of a computer, and the CPU of the computer executes the program stored in the memory. It may be.

Next, the operation will be described.
The GPS receiver 2 performs a process of receiving GPS signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites and outputting the GPS signals to the current position detection unit 4.
Further, the gyro 3 performs a process of detecting the moving distance and moving direction of the vehicle and outputting information indicating the moving distance and moving direction to the current position detecting unit 4 and the traveling direction detecting unit 5.
When the GPS receiver 2 can receive GPS signals transmitted from three or more GPS satellites, the current position detection unit 4 uses, for example, a triangulation technique to detect a vehicle from a plurality of GPS signals. Is detected (step ST1).
The current position detector 4 uses the moving distance and moving direction of the vehicle detected by the gyro 3 when the GPS receiver 2 cannot receive GPS signals transmitted from three or more GPS satellites. The current position of the vehicle is detected.
Since the technique itself for detecting the current position of the vehicle from a plurality of GPS signals and information on the gyro 3 is a known technique, detailed description thereof is omitted.

When the traveling direction detection unit 5 receives information indicating the moving direction of the vehicle from the gyro 3, the traveling direction detection unit 5 grasps the traveling direction of the vehicle from the information (step ST2).
The traveling direction detection unit 5 may grasp the traveling direction of the vehicle by comparing the current position of the vehicle detected last time by the current position detection unit 4 with the current position of the vehicle detected this time. .
When the current position detection unit 4 detects the current position of the vehicle, the display processing unit 6 acquires map data including the current position of the vehicle from the map database 1 and, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the map is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 (step ST3).

As described above, after the display processing unit 6 displays the map on the liquid crystal display 7, when the user presses the operation switch 8, the search condition setting unit 9 controls the display processing unit 6, and FIG. For example, a menu for selecting a peripheral facility search mode, a destination setting mode, a map scroll mode, and the like is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7.
Thereafter, when the user turns the operation switch 8 and “search for nearby facilities” is selected (see FIG. 3C), when the user presses the operation switch 8, the search condition setting unit 9 performs display processing. The unit 6 is controlled to display on the liquid crystal display 7 a menu for selecting the genre of the facility to be searched as shown in FIG.
FIG. 3D shows an example in which “convenience store”, “gas station”, “family restaurant”, and “fast food store” are presented as the search target facilities.
Thereafter, when the user turns the operation switch 8 and “Convenience store” is selected (see FIG. 3E), when the user presses the operation switch 8, the search condition setting unit 9 displays “Convenience store”. "Is set as a facility search condition, and" convenience store "as a search condition is output to the facility search processing unit 10 (step ST4).

When the facility search processing unit 10 receives the facility search condition “convenience store” from the search condition setting unit 9, the facility search processing unit 10 refers to the map database 1 and exists in the vicinity of the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4. The facility that matches the search condition “convenience store” is searched for (step ST5).
For example, when a setting for searching for a facility within a radius of 5 km from the current position of the vehicle is made, a “convenience store” existing within a radius of 5 km from the current position of the vehicle is searched.

When the facility search processing unit 10 searches for a facility that matches the search condition, the facility arrangement processing unit 11 detects the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detection unit 5 among the facilities that match the search condition, as shown in FIG. Narrow down facilities that exist within a certain angular range including the direction of travel.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which facilities within a range of an angle of 30 degrees centering on the traveling direction of the vehicle are narrowed down.
When the facility arrangement processing unit 11 narrows down the facilities existing within a certain angle range, the facility location processing unit 11 detects the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 4 in those facilities as shown in FIG. A facility search area P having a certain width is set in a spiral shape with the facility located at the closest position as the starting point (in the example of FIG. 5, the facility with the number “1”). The process which arrange | positions all the facilities searched by (2) in the facility search area P is implemented (step ST6).

When the facility arrangement processing unit 11 arranges all the facilities searched by the facility search processing unit 10 in the facility search area P, the facility presentation processing unit 11 swirls among the facilities arranged in the facility search area P. The process of presenting as a facility having a higher recommended ranking is performed as a facility existing inside the.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the facility presentation processing unit 12 selects in order from the facilities existing inside the spiral (in the example of FIG. 5, selects in order from the facility with the young number). These facilities are connected with lines (see FIG. 6), and the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display the facilities and lines (step ST7).
Thereby, as shown in FIG.3 (f), the display process part 6 implements the process which displays those facilities and a line on a map (step ST8).
As is clear from FIG. 3 (f), the facility presentation processing unit 12 changes the color or pattern of the lines connecting the facilities according to the distance from the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4. It is changed and displayed.

When the display processing unit 6 displays the facility and the line on the map, the facility presentation processing unit 12 first attaches the facility having the highest recommended ranking from the map database 1 (in the example of FIG. 5, the number “1” is attached). Processing (for example, the store name of a convenience store) is acquired, the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display information on the facility, and the voice output unit 13 is instructed to read the information about the facility. carry out.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3G, the display processing unit 6 displays information about the facility in a balloon (step ST9), and the audio output unit 13 reads the information about the facility.

When the user turns the operation switch 8 to the right, the user can select in order from the facility with the younger number, and the user turns the operation switch 8 to add, for example, a number “□”. If a facility is selected, information relating to the facility to which the number “□” is attached (for example, the store name of a convenience store) is acquired from the map database 1 and the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display the information relating to the facility. At the same time, the voice output unit 13 is instructed to read out information related to the facility.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3 (h), the display processing unit 6 displays information about the facilities to which the number “□” is attached, and the voice output unit 13 displays the number “□”. Read information about attached facilities.

  As is apparent from the above, according to the first embodiment, the current position detection unit 4 detects the facility existing within a certain angular range including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detection unit 5. A facility in which a facility search area P having a certain width is set in a spiral shape starting from the facility existing closest to the current position, and the facility searched by the facility search processing unit 10 is arranged in the facility search area P Since the arrangement processing unit 11 is provided and the facility arranged in the facility search area P by the facility arrangement processing unit 11 is configured to be presented as a facility having a higher recommended order as a facility existing inside the spiral. There is an effect that the user can easily grasp the facility accessibility.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment 1, since it comprised so that the color or pattern of the line which ties facilities might be changed and displayed according to the distance from the present position detected by the present position detection part 4, There is an effect that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the facility can be grasped at a glance.

  Furthermore, according to this Embodiment 1, since it comprised so that the arbitrary facilities might be selected from the facilities shown by the facility presentation process part 12, and the information regarding the facility might be shown, a user details the facility. There is an effect that can be grasped.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In Embodiment 1 described above, when the user turns the operation switch 8 to the right, the facility can be selected in order from the facility with the younger number, but the facility with the larger number is attached. May not be displayed on the map on the screen because it exists far from the current position of the vehicle.
When the user turns the operation switch 8 to select such a facility, the facility presentation processing unit 12 controls the display processing unit 6 so that the current position of the facility and the vehicle is as shown in FIG. Change the scale of the map on the screen so that it is displayed on the same screen.
Thereby, even if the facility selected by the user is located at a position far from the current position of the vehicle, the positional relationship between the current position of the vehicle and the facility can be easily grasped.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, the lines connecting the plurality of facilities are shown in a spiral shape, but depending on the positional relationship between the facilities, the spiral connection is not necessarily provided, and the lines connecting the plurality of facilities are For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the spiral shape may be broken.
In the first and second embodiments, the operation switch 8 is a rotary dial. However, as shown in FIG. 10, the left / right key and the determination key or the up / down key and the determination key are combined. A switch may be used and is not limited to a rotary dial.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a navigation device to which a peripheral facility search device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention is applied. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
The facility search processing unit 21 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit on which an MPU or the like is mounted. With reference to the map database 1, the facility search processing unit 21 falls within a certain angular range including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detection unit 5. A process of searching for a facility that exists and matches the search condition set by the search condition setting unit 9 is performed. The facility search processing unit 21 constitutes facility search means.

The facility presentation processing unit 22 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit on which an MPU or the like is mounted. Among the facilities searched by the facility search processing unit 21, a position close to the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4 The process of presenting as a facility having a higher recommended ranking is performed for the facility existing in That is, the facility presentation processing unit 22 selects in order from the facilities that are close to the current position of the vehicle, connects the facilities with lines, and instructs the display processing unit 6 to display these facilities and lines. Perform the process.
In addition, the facility presentation processing unit 22 instructs the display processing unit 6 to display information related to the facility selected by the operation switch 8 and also performs processing to instruct the voice output unit 13 to read out information related to the facility.
The facility presentation processing unit 22 constitutes facility presentation means and information presentation means.

Next, the operation will be described.
When the search condition setting unit 9 sets “convenience store” as the facility search condition in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the search condition setting unit 9 outputs “convenience store” as the search condition to the facility search processing unit 21.

Upon receiving the facility search condition “convenience store” from the search condition setting unit 9, the facility search processing unit 21 refers to the map database 1 as shown in FIG. A facility that exists within a certain angle range including the direction and that matches the facility search condition “convenience store” is searched.
FIG. 12 shows an example of searching for facilities that exist within a range of an angle of 30 degrees centered on the traveling direction of the vehicle.
If the facility is searched for within a radius of 5 km from the current position of the vehicle, a “convenience store” existing within a radius of 5 km from the current position of the vehicle is searched.

When the facility search processing unit 21 searches for a facility, the facility presentation processing unit 22 has a higher recommendation order for a facility that is located closer to the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 4 among those facilities. Implement the process presented as a facility.
That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the facility presentation processing unit 22 selects in order from the facilities that are close to the current position of the vehicle (in the example of FIG. 13, the facility with a young number is attached). Are selected in order), and the facilities are connected by lines, and the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display the facilities and the lines.
Thereby, the display process part 6 implements the process which displays those facilities and a line on a map.

When the display processing unit 6 displays a facility and a line on the map, the facility presentation processing unit 22 first attaches the facility having the highest recommended ranking from the map database 1 (in the example of FIG. 13, the number “1” is attached). Processing (for example, the store name of a convenience store) is acquired, the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display information on the facility, and the voice output unit 13 is instructed to read the information about the facility. carry out.
Thereby, the display processing unit 6 displays information about the facility in a balloon, and the audio output unit 13 reads out the information about the facility.

When the user turns the operation switch 8 to the right, the user can select in order from the facility with the younger number, and the user turns the operation switch 8 to add, for example, a number “□”. If a facility is selected, information relating to the facility to which the number “□” is attached (for example, the store name of a convenience store) is acquired from the map database 1 and the display processing unit 6 is instructed to display the information relating to the facility. At the same time, the voice output unit 13 is instructed to read out information related to the facility.
As a result, the display processing unit 6 displays the information about the facility with the number “□” in a balloon, and the voice output unit 13 reads out the information about the facility with the number “□”. Do.

  As is apparent from the above, according to the fourth embodiment, a search that exists within a certain angular range including the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detection unit 5 and is set by the search condition setting unit 9. A facility search processing unit 21 that searches for a facility that matches the conditions is provided, and among facilities searched by the facility search processing unit 21, a facility that is located closer to the current position detected by the current position detection unit 4 is recommended. Since it is configured so as to be presented as a facility having a higher rank, there is an effect that the user can easily grasp the accessibility of the facility.

It is a block diagram which shows the navigation apparatus to which the surrounding facility search apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the surrounding facility search device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the facility etc. of search object. It is explanatory drawing which shows narrowing down of facilities. It is explanatory drawing which shows the facility arrange | positioned in the facility search area P. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the facility connected with the line. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map in which the reduced scale was expanded. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the line which connects a some facility. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the line which connects a some facility. It is explanatory drawing which shows an operation switch. It is a block diagram which shows the navigation apparatus to which the surrounding facility search device by Embodiment 4 of this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the facility searched by the facility search process part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the facility connected with the line.

Explanation of symbols

1 Map database, 2 GPS receiver (current position detection means), 3 Gyro (current position detection means, travel direction detection means), 4 Current position detection section (current position detection means), 5 Travel direction detection section (travel direction detection) Means), 6 display processing section, 7 liquid crystal display, 8 operation switch (search condition setting means, facility selection means), 9 search condition setting section (search condition setting means), 10 facility search processing section (facility search means), 11 Facility placement processing section (facility placement means), 12 Facility presentation processing section (facility presentation means, information presentation means), 13 Voice output section, 14 Speaker, 15 Destination setting section, 16 Route guidance section, 21 Facility search processing section ( Facility search means), 22 facility presentation processing unit (facility presentation means, information presentation means).

Claims (7)

  Current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, traveling direction detecting means for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, search condition setting means for setting facility search conditions, and current position detected by the current position detecting means A facility search means for searching for a facility that matches the search condition set by the search condition setting means, and the traveling direction detection means among the facilities searched by the facility search means. Among facilities existing within a certain angular range including the direction of travel detected by the above, a facility search with a certain width starting from the facility existing closest to the current position detected by the current position detecting means. The area is set in a spiral shape, and the facility search means that places the facility searched by the facility search means within the facility search area and the facility search means by the facility placement means. Of the arranged Facilities on A, as facilities that exist on the inside of the spiral, peripheral facilities search device and a facility presenting means for presenting the recommendation ranking high facility.   2. The peripheral facility searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facility presenting means sequentially selects facilities existing inside the spiral and connects the facilities with lines.   3. The peripheral facility search according to claim 2, wherein the facility presentation means presents the color or pattern of the line connecting the facilities in accordance with the distance from the current position detected by the current position detection means. apparatus.   Current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, traveling direction detecting means for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, search condition setting means for setting facility search conditions, and the traveling direction detected by the traveling direction detecting means And a facility search means for searching for facilities that meet a search condition set by the search condition setting means, and among the facilities searched by the facility search means, the current A peripheral facility searching device comprising facility presenting means for presenting a facility that is closer to the current position detected by the position detecting means as a facility having a higher recommended order.   5. The peripheral facility searching apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the facility presenting means sequentially selects facilities present at positions close to the current position, and presents the facilities by connecting them with a line.   The facility selecting means for selecting an arbitrary facility from the facilities presented by the facility presenting means, and the information presenting means for presenting information on the facility selected by the facility selecting means are provided. The peripheral facility search device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The peripheral facility according to claim 6, wherein the facility presenting means changes the scale of the map on the screen so that the current position of the vehicle and the facility selected by the facility selecting means are displayed on the same screen. Search device.

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