JP2007218847A - Map information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To visually know map information more quickly, when updating the memory of updatable map information in a memory means of an on-vehicle terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A map information provision system 1 delivers the map information from a delivery center 2 to the in-vehicle terminal 3, and the terminal 3 stores the delivered map information. The delivery center 2 adds image information to the updatable map information, and a controller 8 of the terminal 3 carries out display control for displaying the image of the image information added to the map information on a display device 12, and thereafter, executes out memory control for storing the map information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides map information that can be updated from a map information providing means to an in-vehicle terminal mounted on a vehicle, and the in-vehicle terminal stores the provided map information in a storage means. About the system.

In recent years, a technique for providing updated map information from a distribution center to a vehicle-mounted terminal (user) via a network is being put into practical use (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which transmission of already existing map information is omitted and only map information that needs to be newly transmitted is transmitted. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which region designation information for designating a region is transmitted from an in-vehicle terminal to a distribution center, and the distribution center distributes updated map information corresponding to the region designation information to the in-vehicle terminal. Yes.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-295084 JP 2002-48574 A

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the latest map information cannot be known until the update is completed, and it takes a long time especially when the update data amount is large and the update takes time. There is inconvenience that we cannot know the latest map information without waiting.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide map information that can quickly obtain map information quickly when updateable map information is stored and updated in storage means of an in-vehicle terminal. To provide a providing system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 provides the updatable map information held by the map information providing means to the in-vehicle terminal mounted on the vehicle and stores it in the storage means provided in the in-vehicle terminal. In the map information providing system, the map information providing unit includes image image information attached to updatable map information, and the in-vehicle terminal includes a display unit and a control unit, The control means executes display control for displaying the image image of the image image information attached to the map information on the display means before storing the map information attached to the image image information, and then the providing It is characterized in that storage control for storing map information to be executed is executed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image information of the image image information attached to the map information is displayed on the display means before storing the updatable map information in the storage means of the in-vehicle terminal. Information can be acquired visually.
In this case, the control means displays the image image in a form superimposed on the existing map image stored in the storage means, and displays it in a different display pattern with respect to the existing map image. This is very convenient (invention of claim 2), and in this way, an update image for an existing map image can be known at a glance.

  Further, the map information providing means attaches the image image information to the updatable map information having a large amount of update data, and the control means displays the display means for the map information attached with the image image information. The display control and the subsequent storage control may be executed, and the storage control may be executed without executing the display control for the map information not accompanied by the image. (Invention of Claim 3). Of the map information that can be updated, one with a small amount of update data can be stored in the storage means within a short time, and the larger the amount of update data, the longer it takes to store. In other words, when there is a large amount of update data, there is a great need to attach an image. In this regard, according to the invention of claim 3, since the image image is attached to the updatable map information having a large amount of update data, a display control operation can be executed as necessary, and For the map information not accompanied by an image, the storage control is executed without executing the display control, so that it is possible to eliminate the display control operation with little necessity.

  In addition, the in-vehicle terminal is provided with own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle and own vehicle travel information indicating whether or not the own vehicle is traveling, and the control means is provided with the own vehicle travel information. When it is indicated that the vehicle is running, the storage control is executed after the display control is executed for the map information attached with the image image information near the own vehicle position, and the own vehicle is stopped. Is displayed, the storage control may be executed without executing the display control (invention of claim 4). When the host vehicle is traveling, the user wants the latest map information. If the user can obtain the latest map information, it is extremely useful for determining the traveling of the host vehicle. In this respect, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the latest image can be obtained quickly while traveling, which is extremely useful for determining traveling of the host vehicle. Further, when the vehicle is not traveling, that is, when the vehicle is stopped, it is considered that there is no problem even if it takes a long time to update, so that it is convenient to immediately update without displaying an image.

Further, after the control means stores the map information accompanied by the image image information, the stored data of the image image information may be deleted (invention of claim 5). The image information thus obtained can be deleted from the storage means of the in-vehicle terminal, which can contribute to an increase in storage capacity.
Further, the in-vehicle terminal includes route guidance means, and the route guidance means performs route guidance of the host vehicle using the map information after storing the map information accompanied by the image image information. In this way, the latest map information can be obtained immediately and used for route guidance, which is very convenient.

Furthermore, the map information providing means may be a distribution server that can communicate with the in-vehicle terminal (invention of claim 7), and in this way, the latest map information can be updated sequentially.
The map information providing means may be an information recording medium that is connected to an in-vehicle terminal and capable of transferring data (invention of claim 8), and in this way, the user can acquire the information recording medium. Thus, the map information can be updated easily at a desired time.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a map information providing system 1. The map information providing system 1 includes a distribution center 2 as map information providing means and a large number of in-vehicle terminals (one for convenience) 3. The distribution center 2 is constituted by, for example, a distribution server, which may be provided alone or in a plurality of distributed manners. The distribution center 2 includes a network communication device 5 that communicates with the vehicle-mounted terminal 3 via a network (wide area communication network) 4, a control device 6 that controls communication and data exchange, control programs, and updatable map information ( (Hereinafter referred to as update information) and the like. The control device 6 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. This updated information includes information on newly established roads and abolished (deleted) roads.

  The distribution center 2 attaches the image image information to the update information having a large update data amount among the update information, and indicates no image image information for the update information having a small update data amount. “No image information” is attached. The image information has a small data amount and can be distributed in a few seconds. In addition, imageless information is extremely small in data amount. The image image of the image image information is, for example, an image Da shown in FIG. In this image Da, La and Lb indicate newly established roads. In FIG. 3, Db indicates an existing map image stored in the storage device 10 to be described later of the in-vehicle terminal 3, and Dc is an output display in which the existing map image Db is superimposed on the image image Da. It is a screen.

  The in-vehicle terminal 3 is mounted on a vehicle, and is used for a network that communicates via the network 4 with the control device 8 serving as a control means for controlling communication and data exchange and executing display control and storage control. A communication device 9, a storage device 10 as a storage means for storing a control program, map information, etc., a position detection device 11 as a vehicle position detection means, a display device 12 as a display means such as an LCD, an audio output device 13, and a group of operation switches 14. The network 4 includes a cellular phone network.

  The storage device 10 is composed of a rewritable mass storage device such as a hard disk drive. The control device 8 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The position detection device 11 includes a GPS receiver, a gyro, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like, detects the position of the host vehicle, and further uses the vehicle speed sensor to determine whether the host vehicle is traveling. It also functions as a vehicle traveling determination means for determining The own vehicle position information and own vehicle traveling information from the position detection device 11 are provided to the control device 8.

The operation switch group 14 is an operation unit, and includes a remote controller (not shown), a touch panel switch on the screen of the display device 12, and the like.
The control device 8, the storage device 10, the position detection device 11, the display device 12, the audio output device 13, and the operation switch group 14 constitute a navigation device 15. This navigation device 15 serves as route guidance means. When there is a destination setting operation from the operation switch group 15, the route from the current position to the destination is calculated and set, and when traveling, A map is displayed while detecting the position of the vehicle, and route guidance is provided by the display device 13 and the audio output device 14. Further, not only the route guidance but also a simple travel position display of the host vehicle (also accompanied by a map display) can be performed. Further, the map information used for route guidance and displaying the traveling position of the host vehicle uses the appropriate number of blocks of area division map information centered on the host vehicle position.

Now, the control contents of the control device 8 in the in-vehicle terminal 3 and the control device 6 in the distribution center 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 8 of the in-vehicle terminal 3 executes the control of FIG. Further, the control device 6 in the distribution center 2 executes the control shown in FIG.
The control device 8 of the in-vehicle terminal 3 starts the control of FIG. 2A when, for example, an ignition switch which is a start switch in the vehicle is turned on (ACC on). First, the distribution center 2 is inquired and transmitted whether there is update information (unupdated map information) (step S1).
The control device 6 of the distribution center 2 determines whether or not there is an arrangement in step T1, and “YES” is determined in this step T1. In step T2, the check information is transmitted to the in-vehicle terminal 3 in the update information. To do. This check information includes not only all data of map information but also block numbers and version numbers of regional divisions.

  When the control device 8 of the in-vehicle terminal 3 receives the check information transmitted from the distribution center 2 (“YES” in step S2), the version number of the received map information and the map information stored in the in-vehicle terminal 3 are stored. By comparing with the version number, it is checked whether or not the update information is not updated (step S3). If the version number in the update information is new, it is determined that the update information to be received is not updated (step S4). If it is determined that it has not been updated (“YES” in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5, and a distribution request for the update information is transmitted (step S5). This distribution request includes information on whether or not the host vehicle is traveling and host vehicle position information.

  When receiving the distribution request (“YES” in step T3), the control device 6 of the distribution center 2 determines whether or not the vehicle having the distribution request is traveling (step T4). If there is, it is determined whether or not the image information is attached to the update information (step T5). If the image information is attached (“YES”), the image information is transmitted (step T6). . If it is determined in step T4 that the vehicle is not traveling ("NO"), or if it is determined in step T5 that no image information is attached ("NO"), information indicating no image is transmitted in step T7. .

  In step S6, the control device 8 of the in-vehicle terminal 3 determines whether or not information related to the image (either image image information or no-image information) has been received. Is transmitted to the distribution center 2 (step S7). In step S8, if there is image image information, the existing image image Da stored in the storage device 10 of the in-vehicle device 3 as shown in FIG. Overlaid on the map image (indicated by reference symbol Db), the image is displayed on the display device 12 (see reference symbol Dc in FIG. 3). In this case, the display pattern of the image image is different from that of the existing map image. For example, the display color of the image is made different.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10. If there is no image in step S8 (if there is no image information), the process proceeds to step S10 without executing step S9. In this step S10, it waits to receive the update information from the distribution center 2.
Here, the control device 6 of the distribution center 2 waits to receive the information reception completion notification related to the image in step T8, that is, determines whether or not the information reception completion notification related to the image has been received. When the completion notification is received (“YES” in step T8), update information is transmitted (step T9).

  When the control device 8 of the in-vehicle terminal 3 determines in step S10 that the update information from the distribution center 2 has been received, the control device 8 stores the update information in the storage device 10 (step S11). That is, update processing is performed. This update process may be performed by preferentially updating update information near the vehicle position, or may be performed according to a predetermined priority order.

According to such a present Example, since the image image of the image image information attached to this update information is displayed on the display device 12 before storing the update information in the storage device 10 of the in-vehicle terminal 3, the map is quickly displayed. Information can be acquired visually.
In this case, according to the present embodiment, the image image is displayed in a form superimposed on the existing map image stored in the storage device 10 and with a different display pattern with respect to the existing map image. Therefore, an updated image for an existing map image can be seen at a glance, which is very convenient.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the distribution center 2 attaches the image image information to the update information having a large amount of update data, and the control device 8 adds the image information to the map information. The display control for the display device 12 and the subsequent storage control are executed, and the storage control is executed without executing the display control for the map information not accompanied by the image. The display control operation can be executed as necessary, and the execution of the display control operation with less necessity can be eliminated.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the in-vehicle terminal 3 is configured to be provided with own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle and own vehicle traveling information indicating whether or not the own vehicle is traveling. When the host vehicle travel information indicates that the host vehicle is traveling, display control is performed on map information attached with image image information near the host vehicle position, and then storage control is performed. The storage control is executed without executing the display control when it is indicated that is stopped. According to this, since the latest image can be obtained quickly while traveling, it is extremely useful for determining traveling of the host vehicle. Further, when the vehicle is not traveling, that is, when the vehicle is stopped, it is considered that there is no problem even if it takes a long time to update, so that it is convenient to immediately update without displaying an image.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the map information providing means is a distribution center that is a distribution server that can communicate with the in-vehicle terminal 3, so that the latest map information can be updated sequentially.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an information recording medium 17 is provided as a map information providing means. The information recording medium 17 is composed of a memory card such as an SD card, for example. In this case, the information recording medium 17 may be another rewritable memory such as DVD-RAM or CD-RW, or may be a read-only recording medium such as DVD-ROM or CD-ROM.
The in-vehicle terminal 3 is provided with a storage / information reading device 16 for DVD, for example, and this storage / information reading device 16 reads map information and image image information from the information recording medium 17. Recording (memory) is also possible.

  In FIG. 5, the flowchart of the control content of the control apparatus 8 in the said 2nd Example is shown. This flowchart starts automatically when, for example, the information recording medium 17 is plugged into the storage / information reading device 16. In step P1, the version number of the update information in the information recording medium 17 is read, and in step P2, the version number of the map information is compared with the version number of the map information stored in the in-vehicle terminal 3, It is checked whether or not this update information has not been updated.

  If it is determined that the vehicle has not been updated, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in step P4. If the vehicle is traveling, it is determined whether or not image information is attached to the updated information in step P5. to decide. If the image image information is attached (“YES”), the image image information of the update information is read out in step P6, and the image image of the image image information is superimposed on the existing map image in the display device 12 in step P7. Display. Thereafter, in step P8, update information is read from the information recording medium 17, and in step P9, the update information is stored in the storage device 10, that is, an update process is performed.

According to the second embodiment, when the user acquires the information recording medium 17, the update information can be easily updated at a desired time.
In addition, this invention is not limited to each above-mentioned Example, You may implement as changed as follows. In each of the above embodiments, the image image has a different display color as a different display pattern with respect to the existing map image. However, the display pattern blinks instead of the display color or the thickness of the display line is different. It may be different. In particular, when the update information is not a new road but a road deletion, the blinking display pattern is easy to visually recognize.

  The control means of the in-vehicle terminal may delete the stored data of the image image information after storing the map information accompanied by the image image information. If it does in this way, the image information which became unnecessary can be deleted from the memory | storage means of a vehicle-mounted terminal, and it can contribute to the increase in storage capacity by that much. Further, in the above embodiment, since the in-vehicle terminal 3 includes the navigation device 15 as route guidance means, after storing the map information accompanied by the image image information, the navigation device 15 uses the map information. You may make it perform the route guidance of a vehicle. In this way, the latest map information can be obtained and used immediately for route guidance, which is extremely convenient. Further, the image image information may provide only a large scale image and the scale may be changed on the in-vehicle terminal side.

The block diagram of the electrical constitution of the map information provision system which shows 1st Example of this invention Flow chart of control contents Illustration for explaining the display example FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 2 equivalent diagram

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a map information providing system, 2 is a distribution center (information providing means), 3 is an in-vehicle terminal, 6 is a control device, 8 is a control device (control means), 10 is a storage device (storage means), and 12 is A display device (display means), 15 is a navigation device (route guidance means), and 17 is an information recording medium (map information providing means).

Claims (8)

A map information providing system for providing updatable map information held by the map information providing means to an in-vehicle terminal mounted on a vehicle and storing it in a storage means provided in the in-vehicle terminal,
The map information providing means accompanies image image information to updatable map information,
The in-vehicle terminal includes display means and control means,
The control means executes display control to display the image image of the image image information attached to the map information on the display means before storing the map information attached to the image image information, and then A map information providing system that executes storage control for storing provided map information. The map information providing system according to claim 1,
The control means displays the image image in a form superimposed on an existing map image stored in the storage means and with a different display pattern with respect to the existing map image system. In the map information provision system according to claim 1 or 2,
The map information providing means attaches the image image information to map information that can be updated with a large amount of update data,
The control means executes the display control for the display means and the subsequent storage control for the map information accompanied by the image image information, and for the map information not accompanied by the image image, A map information providing system that executes the storage control without executing the display control. In the map information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The in-vehicle terminal is provided with own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle and own vehicle traveling information indicating whether the own vehicle is traveling,
The control means executes the display control for the map information attached with the image image information near the own vehicle position when the own vehicle running information indicates that the own vehicle is running, and then performs the storage control. Is executed and the storage control is executed without executing the display control when it is shown that the host vehicle is stopped. The map information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said control means is the map information provision system characterized by deleting the memory | storage data of image image information, after memorize | stored the map information to which the said image image information was attached. The map information providing system according to claim 4,
The in-vehicle terminal includes route guidance means,
This route guidance means performs route guidance of the host vehicle using the map information after storing the map information attached with the image image information. The map information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The map information providing system, wherein the map information providing means is a distribution server capable of communicating with an in-vehicle terminal. The map information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The map information providing system, characterized in that the map information providing means is an information recording medium connected to an in-vehicle terminal and capable of transferring data.

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