JP2008064605A - Apparatus and method for map display and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display apparatus for displaying information according to the presence or absence of knowledge on locality. <P>SOLUTION: Information on location names to be displayed on map information corresponding to a current location is acquired on the basis of results of determination as to whether a user has knowledge of locality or not. When the map information corresponding to the current location is acquired, the map information acquired on the basis of the results of determination is superposed and displayed on the acquired map information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map display device, a map display method, and a computer program that causes a computer to execute the display method, and more particularly to a technique for displaying place name information together with map information.

  Conventionally, a map display device that displays map information and place name information is known. For example, a navigation device that displays road information around a vehicle is the top of the map display device. When using this navigation device, a user (typically a driver) refers to map information and place name information, and confirms his / her position and the position of a target point on the map. By the way, in such a map display, there is an enormous amount of place name information. Therefore, when all of the place name information is displayed, it is difficult to find desired place name information particularly in a display scale for a wide area.

Therefore, in this type of map display device, when displaying map information on a wide display scale, the name information displayed on the map information is thinned out compared to displaying map information on a detailed display scale. Is displayed. Therefore, conventionally, the place name information is classified into a plurality of hierarchies, and the hierarchies to be displayed are changed according to the display scale of the map information. For example, the place name information is classified into three layers such as a wide area, a middle area, and a detail. For example, the place name information included in the wide area layer is displayed with a display scale having a basic scale of 64 km and a display scale having a basic scale of 4 km. It seems to be used on a scale. Therefore, when the driver is set to display the map information on a display scale having a basic scale of 4 km, the place name information included in the hierarchy for the wide area is displayed together with the map information (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-4285

  However, according to the conventional method, the hierarchy selected in accordance with the display scale of the map information is uniquely determined, so that it is not always easy to use depending on the presence or absence of the user's intuition.

  For example, when the place name information is displayed in a thinned-out state on a wide-area display scale, there is no problem with the amount of information used for confirming the current position for a person who does not have intuition about the area. However, for those who have intuition about the area, if you want to check the destination location, that is, the location name information on the map, scroll the map information to the vicinity of the destination and then switch to the detailed display scale. Without it, we could not find the place name information of the destination.

  On the other hand, if the place name information is displayed in detail on the wide display scale, the displayed place name information and the area information are linked to those who have a land intuition, and only the map information of the display scale is displayed. Thus, it is possible to go to the destination without displaying detailed map information. Therefore, unnecessary operations are suppressed, and a useful display form is obtained. However, for those who do not have the intuition, the displayed place name information and the area information are not linked, and conversely, when searching for known place name information, other place name information interferes with it. There is a fear.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, The objective is to display the place name information according to the presence or absence of a land intuition.

  In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a map display device as one of them. The map display device includes storage means, current position acquisition means, determination means, processing means, and control means. Here, a memory | storage means memorize | stores map information and the place name information which is the name displayed on map information. The current position acquisition unit acquires the current position of the user. The determination means determines whether the user has a land intuition regarding the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means. The processing means acquires the place name information to be displayed on the map information corresponding to the current position detected by the current position detecting means from the storage means based on the determination result by the determining means. The control means acquires map information corresponding to the current position detected by the current position detection means, and displays the place name information acquired by the processing means superimposed on the acquired map information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display place name information corresponding to the user's land intuition, and thus it is possible to perform display that is easy for the user to understand.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a navigation device as a map display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This navigation device is a device that displays map information and place name information around the host vehicle and displays a route to a destination desired by the user. The navigation device includes a hierarchical map name storage unit 1, a terrain road information storage unit 2, a current position acquisition unit 3, a land inception detection unit 4, a name hierarchy setting unit 5, a display name acquisition unit 6, and a control unit. 7 and a display unit 8.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the hierarchical map name storage unit 1. The hierarchical map name storage unit 1 stores place name information, which is a name displayed on the map information, in a hierarchical manner according to the display scale of the map information. As a result, the place name information includes the place name information displayed on the corresponding display scale in a hierarchy associated with each display scale. In the present embodiment, the place name information is classified hierarchically according to three levels of display scales for wide area, medium area, and detail as its basic form. Here, the wide area is a display scale of map information for a wide area with a basic scale of 64 km or 4 km, and the intermediate area is a display scale of map information for a medium area with a basic scale of 1 km or 500 m. . Further, for details is a display scale of detail map information with a basic scale of 200 m or 100 m.

  A name associated with a display scale for a wide area (hereinafter simply referred to as “a hierarchy for a wide area”) includes a well-known name on the map as place name information. For example, prefectures The name of the city, the name of the city where there are many facilities in the city, the city where there are many transportation facilities, etc. are included. In the hierarchy associated with the display scale for the mid-range (hereinafter simply referred to as “hierarchy for the mid-range”), in addition to the place name information included in the wide-area hierarchy, names well known to the local residents are included. It is included as place name information, and includes, for example, station names and popular district names that are well known to residents, names of cities with a certain amount of facilities in cities, towns and villages, and names of cities where transportation facilities meet. In the hierarchy associated with the display scale for details (hereinafter simply referred to as “detail hierarchy”), the names of all prefectures and municipalities are included in addition to the place name information contained in the hierarchy for the wide area and the middle area. It is included as place name information.

  Here, for example, place name information included in an area centered on Kanazawa Ward in Kanagawa Prefecture is classified into the following hierarchy, for example.

(1) Hierarchy for wide area "Yokohama City", "Yokosuka City", "Fujisawa City", "Kamakura City"
(2) Mid-level hierarchies Place name information (“Yokohama City”, “Yokosuka City”, “Fujisawa City”, “Kamakura City”), “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Zushi Ward” ”,“ Kanazawa Ward ”,“ Zushi City ”,“ Totsuka Ward ”
(3) Location information included in the hierarchy for details in the middle area (map information ("Yokohama City", "Yokosuka City", "Fujisawa City", "Kamakura City") included in the hierarchy for the wide area), " Honmoku, Kamiooka, Isogo Ward, Kanazawa Ward, Choshi City, Totsuka Ward), Sakae Ward, Konan Ward, Minami Ward, Naka Ward, Spring City, Ayase City, Samukawa Town, Chigasaki City
The topographic road information storage unit 2 stores map information necessary for displaying the topography and roads of the map. The map information is mainly composed of map data, node data, road data, and facility data. The map data is map data associated with absolute position information using latitude and longitude. Each road on the map is divided by nodes corresponding to points such as intersections, branches, and merges, and roads between individual nodes are defined as road links. Therefore, a series of road shapes can be grasped by connecting road links via individual nodes. The node data is associated with each node such as an identification number (node ID) for identifying the node, absolute position information using latitude and longitude, and a unique number (link ID) of a road link connected to this node. Data. The road data includes, for each road link, a unique number (link ID) for identifying the road link, the length of the road corresponding to the road link, the width of the road corresponding to the road link, and the road corresponding to the road link. This is data in which a gradient, a road surface condition corresponding to a road link, a radius of curvature of a road corresponding to a road link, a road type (for example, an expressway, an automobile-only road, and a general road) are associated with each other. The facility data is data indicating a facility (for example, a hotel, a gas station, a convenience store) on a map associated with absolute position information using latitude and longitude.

  The current position acquisition unit 3 detects the current position of the user based on information acquired from the GPS receiver, the direction sensor, and the vehicle speed sensor. Note that the method of detecting the current position is not limited to the method using GPS, and the current position is detected based on the distance to the base station that receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of base stations at the same time and is calculated from the arrival times of the radio waves. The position may be detected by triangulation, or the current position of the vehicle may be detected by performing road-to-vehicle communication with road-side infrastructure provided on the road side. The user's current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 3 is output to the land intuition detection unit 4.

  The land intuition detection unit 4 determines whether the user has a land intuition regarding the current position based on the user's behavior history (running history). Specifically, the land intuition detection unit 4 stores a travel history and map information in association with each other, and this travel history is a road section obtained by dividing a road included in a predetermined area of the map information into a predetermined section. It is memorized every time. Based on the travel history and the map information, the land intuition detection unit 4 calculates a section travel distance for each road section of the host vehicle, accumulates the section travel distance for each predetermined area including the section travel distance, The area travel distance for each area is calculated. Then, the land intuition detection unit 4 obtains the total length of the road that is the sum of the distances of the roads included in the predetermined area, calculates the ratio of the area travel distance to the total length of the road, and uses this to know the area for each predetermined area. Calculated as degrees. The land intuition detection unit 4 performs such processing for calculating the degree of familiarity with the area, and the degree of familiarity with the area corresponding to the current position of the user is greater than or equal to a predetermined determination value (for example, 70%). In this case, it is determined that there is a user's land intuition at the current position. The judgment result of the land intuition is output to the name hierarchy setting unit 5. The details of the method for calculating the degree of familiarity with the area are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-83759, and should be referred to if necessary.

  The name hierarchy setting unit 5 sets a display hierarchy level that defines the correspondence between the display scale and each hierarchy based on the determination result in the land intuition detection unit 4. The name hierarchy setting unit 5 displays so that detailed place name information is displayed even if the display scale of the map information is wide, when the place intuition detection unit 4 determines that the user has a place intuition. Set the hierarchy level. On the other hand, the name hierarchy setting unit 5, when the land intuition detection unit 4 determines that the user has no land intuition, is a general place name information that anyone knows when the display scale of the map information is wide. Set the display hierarchy level so that only is displayed.

  The display name acquisition unit 6 refers to the display layer level set by the name layer setting unit 5 and acquires the place name information corresponding to the current position from the layer associated with the display scale of the currently set map information. . The acquired place name information is output to the control unit 7.

  The control unit 7 acquires map information corresponding to the current position from the topographic road information storage unit 2. And while displaying the map information acquired according to the display scale currently set, the display part 8 is controlled so that the place name information acquired from the display name acquisition part 6 may be superimposed and displayed on map information.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a map display processing procedure according to the first embodiment. First, in step 1 (S1), a land intuition is acquired based on the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 3. Specifically, the land intuition detection unit 4 calculates the degree of local familiarity at the current position.

  In step 2 (S2), it is determined whether there is no land intuition. In this step 2, for example, the local familiarity is compared with a predetermined determination value. If the local familiarity is equal to or higher than the determination value, it is determined that there is a land intuition, and if the local familiarity is smaller than the determination value Judge that there is no land intuition. If a negative determination is made in step 2, that is, if the user has a land intuition regarding the current position, the process proceeds to step 3 (S3). On the other hand, if the determination in step 2 is affirmative, that is, if the user has no intuition regarding the current position, the process proceeds to step 5 (S5) described later.

  In step 3, the display hierarchy level is set to the land-intuitive mode. In this land-intuitive mode, the display hierarchy level is set so that detailed place name information is displayed even if the display scale of the map information is wide. When the user has a land intuition, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the detailed and mid-level hierarchies have higher display scales than those shown in the basic form (the form shown in FIG. 2). The display hierarchy level is set so as to be associated with the display scale on the wide area side. Specifically, the display scale corresponding to the basic scale of 64 km is associated with a hierarchy for a wide area. Next, a display scale having a basic scale of 4 km or 1 km is associated with a hierarchy for the mid range. The display scale having a basic scale of 500 m, 200 m, or 100 m is associated with a detailed hierarchy.

  In step 4 (S4), the currently set map information display scale is referred to, and the place name information corresponding to the current position is acquired from the hierarchy associated with the display scale.

  On the other hand, in step 5, the display hierarchy level is set to the land-insensitive mode (normal mode). In this landless mode, the display hierarchy level is set so that only general place name information that anyone knows is displayed when the display scale of the map information is wide. When the user has no land intuition, as shown in FIG. 4A, individual hierarchies are set similarly to the basic form. Specifically, first, a display scale having a basic scale of 64 km or 4 km is associated with a hierarchy for a wide area. Next, a mid-level hierarchy is associated with a display scale having a basic scale of 1 km or 500 m. The display scale having the basic scale of 200 m or 100 m is associated with a detailed hierarchy.

  In step 6 (S6), with reference to the set display hierarchy level, the place name information corresponding to the current position is acquired from the hierarchy associated with the display scale of the currently set map information.

  In step 7 (S7), map information corresponding to the current position is acquired from the topographic road information storage unit 2 and displayed, and the acquired place name information is displayed superimposed on the map information.

  In step 8 (S8), it is determined whether or not the engine has been stopped, or whether or not the navigation device has been turned off, that is, whether or not the operation has ended. If an affirmative determination is made in step 8, this routine is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 8, the process returns to step 1 described above.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing map information and place name information displayed on the display unit 8. The figure shows map information and place name information corresponding to a display scale with a basic scale of 4 km.

  If the user has no land intuition, the 4km display scale is associated with a wide hierarchy, so as shown in FIG. 5A, the place name information selected from the wide hierarchy, that is, general Known names are displayed. For this reason, there are few names to be displayed, and only names that anyone knows are displayed. Therefore, the position of the place name information in the destination direction can be easily confirmed.

  On the other hand, if the user has a land intuition, the 4km display scale is associated with a mid-level hierarchy, so as shown in FIG. 5B, map information corresponding to the wide-area display scale is used. Even if it exists, the place name information selected from the hierarchy for middle regions is displayed. For this reason, the number of names to be displayed is increased as compared with the case of selection from a wide area hierarchy. Thereby, even if the map information is displayed on the display scale for a wide area, the probability that the place name information corresponding to the user's destination is displayed is increased. Therefore, the user can know the position of the destination from the map information without performing an operation for changing the display scale.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the map display device is mainly configured by the storage unit, the current position acquisition unit, the determination unit, the processing unit, and the control unit. Here, the storage means stores map information and place name information which is a name displayed on the map information, and the hierarchical map name storage unit 1 and the topographic road information storage unit 2 correspond to this. The current position acquisition unit has a function of acquiring the current position of the user, and the current position acquisition unit 3 corresponds to this function. The determination means has a function of determining whether the user has a land intuition regarding the acquired current position, and the land intuition detection unit 4 corresponds to this. The processing means has a function of acquiring the place name information to be displayed on the map information corresponding to the detected current position from the storage means based on the judgment result of the land intuition, and the name hierarchy setting unit 5 and the display name acquisition Part 6 corresponds to this. The control means acquires map information corresponding to the detected current position, and has a function of superimposing and displaying the acquired place name information on the acquired map information. Applicable.

  According to such a configuration, the place name information to be displayed on the map information is acquired from the storage unit based on the presence or absence of the user's intuition. Thereby, since the place name information according to the user's intuition can be displayed, it is possible to perform display that is easy for the user to understand.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the storage means stores the place name information in a hierarchy according to the display scale of the map information, whereby the place name information displayed on the corresponding display scale is individually stored. Is included in the hierarchy associated with the display scale. In this case, the processing means sets the association between the display scale and the hierarchy based on the determination result by the determination means, and the place name information from the hierarchy associated with the currently set display scale of the map information. To get.

  According to such a configuration, since the association between the display scale and the hierarchy is set based on the judgment result of the land intuition, the place name information displayed there is determined depending on the presence or absence of the land intuition even in the same display scale. Can be adjusted. Thereby, it is possible to perform display that is easy for the user to understand.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the storage means has a more detailed place name in the second hierarchy associated with the display scale for details than in the first hierarchy associated with the display scale for wide area. Information is included, and the processing means associates the second hierarchy with a display scale on a wider area side than the display scale currently associated when the judgment means determines that the user has a land intuition. .

  According to this configuration, for example, it is possible to acquire detailed place name information when there is a land intuition, or to obtain rough place name information when there is no land intuition. Therefore, when there is a land intuition, knowing the location of detailed place name information on the map information, you can know the approximate route, distance, direction from the current location to the destination, without special operation Even you can get to your destination. On the other hand, if there is no land intuition, by displaying only the place name information that anyone seems to know, there is no need to extract a known name from a number of unknown names, and it is easy The position of the desired name can be grasped. As a result, a user-friendly map display can be performed.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, a judgment means judges this user's land intuition based on a user's action history. According to this configuration, the user's land intuition can be accurately determined by using the action history.

  In the above-described embodiment, the land intuition detection unit 4 that is a determination unit determines whether or not there is a land intuition based on the user's behavior history, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, based on a registered spot registered on the map information by the user, if the current position falls within a predetermined area including the registered spot, it may be determined that there is a land intuition on that condition. . For example, as a registration point, register a point that currently resides and a point corresponding to the living sphere, a point that has lived in the past and a point corresponding to the living sphere, a point of the company of the employer, etc. Also good.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the place name information displayed according to land intuition is selected by switching a hierarchy, However, This invention is not limited to this. That is, as the concept, when it is determined that the user has a land intuition, in addition to the first place name information that is the place name information acquired when it is determined that the user has no land intuition, Detailed place name information may be further acquired from the storage means as second place name information. According to such a configuration, only rough place name information is displayed for a user who does not have a land intuition, and it is possible to suppress a situation in which there is an excessive amount of information. It is displayed and the information on the desired destination can be grasped without performing a special operation.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, more detailed place name information is displayed for a user with a land intuition than for a user without a land intuition. As for the place name information to be displayed, the display form may be made different, such as changing the font, color, and size.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a navigation device which is a map display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The navigation apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that detailed place name information is displayed only in areas where the user has performed a predetermined number of times in the past. That is, in the first embodiment, when it is determined that there is a land intuition, the place name information included in the corresponding hierarchy is uniformly displayed. Even in some cases, if the number of times the user has performed is small, the place name information is thinned out and displayed for those areas. The navigation device in the second embodiment further includes a display name adjustment unit 9 and an action history storage unit 10 in addition to the configuration shown in the first embodiment.

  The display name adjustment unit 9 displays only the place name information included in an area that the user has performed a predetermined number of times or more (for example, twice) in the past, with the place name information acquired by the display name acquisition unit 6 as a processing target. Thus, the place name information is selected. However, since the place name information is originally limited for the wide area hierarchy, this processing is performed in the case where the wide area hierarchy is not selected. Further, when the display scale of the map information is the most detailed, such a process is not performed, and all names are selected (that is, display is performed according to the detailed hierarchy).

  Further, the display name adjustment unit 9 excludes the place name information included in the wide area hierarchy from the target of processing. Thereby, even if it is set not to display the place name information by this process, the name of the area is not displayed at all for the area, and a certain amount of place name information can be displayed.

  Here, for example, place name information included in an area centered on Kanazawa Ward in Kanagawa Prefecture is classified into the following hierarchy, for example.

(1) Hierarchy for wide area "Yokohama City", "Yokosuka City", "Fujisawa City", "Kamakura City"
(2) Mid-level hierarchies Place name information (“Yokohama City”, “Yokosuka City”, “Fujisawa City”, “Kamakura City”), “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Zushi Ward” ”,“ Kanazawa Ward ”,“ Zushi City ”,“ Totsuka Ward ”
(3) Location information included in the hierarchy for details in the middle area (map information ("Yokohama City", "Yokosuka City", "Fujisawa City", "Kamakura City") included in the hierarchy for the wide area), " Honmoku, Kamiooka, Isogo Ward, Kanazawa Ward, Choshi City, Totsuka Ward), Sakae Ward, Konan Ward, Minami Ward, Naka Ward, Spring City, Ayase City, Samukawa Town, Chigasaki City
In this case, it is assumed that a mid-level hierarchy is selected in accordance with the currently set map information display scale. At this time, “Yokohama City”, “Yokosuka City”, “Fujisawa City”, and “Kamakura City” included in the wide hierarchy are selected regardless of whether or not the driver has gone in the past.

  As an area determination method that the user has performed, for example, in an area where place name information is displayed, the engine is stopped and the vehicle is stopped for a predetermined time or longer (for example, 1 hour or longer). This makes it possible to determine that the driver has not stopped temporarily for a break or the like, but has stopped as a destination. Thereby, the area where a user goes regularly can be determined. Information relating to the area where the user has visited is stored in the action history storage unit 10 as the action history of the user.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a map display processing procedure according to the second embodiment. In the flowchart shown in the figure, the processing of Step 10 (S10) to Step 13 (S13) and Step 16 (S16) to Step 19 (S19) is the same as Step 1 to Step 4 and Step 5 to Step 5 shown in the first embodiment. Since it corresponds to each step 8, detailed description is omitted.

  In step 14 (S14) following step 13, it is determined whether or not a processing condition is satisfied. In a hierarchy for a wide area that originally includes limited place name information, there is little need to select place name information, and in the most detailed display scale, the driver wants to know all the names on the map information. The need to select place name information is low. Therefore, in this step 13, the processing condition is that the hierarchy corresponding to the currently set map information display scale is not for the wide area, and that the currently set map information display scale is not the most detailed display scale. It is determined whether this processing condition is satisfied.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step 13, that is, if the processing condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step 15 (S15). On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 13, that is, if the processing condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step 18 (S18).

  In step 15, adjustment processing for selecting place name information is performed. Specifically, in this step 15, place name information to be displayed is selected so that detailed place name information is displayed only in an area where the user has performed a predetermined number of times or more (for example, twice) in the past. Here, for example, the currently set map information display scale is set to 4 km as the basic scale, and as shown in the first embodiment, the mid-range hierarchy is selected. .

  For example, in an area centered on Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama City, referring to the action history storage unit 10, the driver's action history is 6 times for “Honmoku”, 8 times for “Kami-Ooka”, 20 times for “Kanazawa Ward” Suppose that there were 10 times in Choshi City, 16 times in Yokosuka City, 20 times in Yokohama City, and 1 time in Choshi Ward.

  First, of the mid-level hierarchies, the place name information included in the wide-area hierarchy is “Yokohama City”, “Yokosuka City”, “Fujisawa City”, and “Kamakura City”. Is unconditionally selected as the place name information to be displayed. Thereby, the situation that no place name information is displayed can be suppressed.

  Next, the remaining place name information includes “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Zushi Ward”, “Kanazawa Ward”, “Zushi City”, and “Totsuka Ward”. “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Kanazawa Ward”, and “Shushi-shi” correspond to areas that have been visited. Therefore, “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Kanazawa Ward”, and “Shushi City” are set as the place name information to be displayed, while the remaining “Shushi Ward” and “Totsuka Ward” are not selected as the place name information to be displayed. The selected place name information, in this case “Yokohama City”, “Yokosuka City”, “Fujisawa City”, “Kamakura City”, “Honmoku”, “Kami-Ooka”, “Kanazawa Ward” and “Shushi City” Is output to the unit 7.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing map information and place name information displayed on the display unit 8. In the figure, it is assumed that the driver displays map information and place name information on a display scale with a basic scale of 4 km. According to the adjustment process described above, in the first embodiment, the place name information included in the corresponding hierarchy is uniquely displayed, and therefore place name information that has never been performed by the user is also included. Therefore, it may take time to search for desired place name information. However, according to the method of the second embodiment, the place name information that the user has never performed is not selected, and the name displayed on the map is narrowed down to the place name information known to the driver. Therefore, the place name information desired by the user can be easily searched.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the map display device further includes the adjusting means. This adjustment means has the function of selecting place name information to be displayed based on the user's behavior history, with the place name information acquired by the processing means as a processing target, and the display name adjustment unit 9 corresponds to this function. To do. And a control means superimposes and displays the place name information selected by the adjustment means on the acquired map information.

  According to such a configuration, the place name information to be displayed is selected based on the user's action history, so that the place name information matched with the user's action can be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to perform display that is easy for the user to understand.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, an adjustment means selects place name information based on the frequency that the user visited the area corresponding to place name information. According to such a configuration, for example, it is possible not to display place name information corresponding to an area that has never been performed by the user, and display that is easy for the user to understand.

  In the above-described embodiment, the place name information is selected based on the frequency of the user visiting the area corresponding to the place name information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the navigation device, when the user has set route guidance to the destination, the location name information corresponding to the destination and the area along the route is selected based on the destination and the route. It may be. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a situation in which it is difficult to find desired place name information by displaying place name information that is not related to the direction in which the user goes.

  In addition, referring to the facility data of the map information, the location name information corresponding to the region having a large number of facilities may be selected based on the number of facilities existing in the region corresponding to the location name information. Good. Thereby, since the place name information of the area where the user is unlikely to go is not displayed, it is possible to suppress a situation in which it is difficult for the driver to find the desired place name information.

  Furthermore, place name information of an area including a facility included in the same category as the facility that the user has visited as a destination in the past may be selected. According to such a configuration, the location name information of the area including the facility considered to be the driver's preference is displayed by selecting the facility of the type included in the same category as the facility that has been visited as the destination in the past, and the user It is possible to improve the ease of use.

  A computer program itself that causes a computer to execute the map display method of the above-described embodiment also functions as part of the present invention. Of course, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded may be supplied to a system having the configuration as shown in FIG. In this case, the computer of this system can achieve the object of the present invention by reading and executing the computer program stored in the recording medium. Since the computer program itself realizes the novel functions of the present invention, a recording medium that records the program also constitutes the present invention. Examples of the recording medium on which the computer program is recorded include a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a memory card, an optical disk, a DVD-ROM, and a DVD-RAM.

The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the navigation apparatus as a map display apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing of hierarchical map name storage unit 1 The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the map display which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory diagram of display hierarchy level according to land intuition Explanatory drawing which shows the map information and place name information which are displayed on the display part 8 in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the navigation apparatus which is the map display apparatus which is 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the map display which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the map information and place name information which are displayed on the display part 8 in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hierarchical map name memory | storage part 2 Topographic road information memory | storage part 3 Current position acquisition part 3 Display part 4 Land intuition detection part 5 Name hierarchy setting part 6 Display name acquisition part 7 Control part 8 Display part 9 Display name adjustment part 10 Action history memory | storage Part

Claims (14)

In the map display device,
Storage means for storing map information and place name information which is a name displayed on the map information;
Current position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the user;
With respect to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means, determination means for determining whether the user has a land intuition;
Processing means for acquiring place name information to be displayed on the map information corresponding to the current position detected by the current position detection means from the storage means based on a determination result by the determination means;
A controller that acquires map information corresponding to the current position detected by the current position detector, and that superimposes and displays the place name information acquired by the processor on the acquired map information. A map display device characterized by the above. The storage means stores the place name information in a hierarchy according to the display scale of the map information,
The place name information includes place name information displayed on a corresponding display scale in a hierarchy associated with each display scale,
The processing means sets the association between the display scale and the hierarchy based on the determination result by the determination means, and the hierarchy associated with the currently set display scale of the map information The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the place name information is acquired from a map. The storage means includes more detailed place name information in the second hierarchy associated with the display scale for details compared to the first hierarchy associated with the display scale for wide area,
The processing means associates the second hierarchy with a display scale on a wider area side than the display scale currently associated when the judgment means determines that the user has a land intuition. The map display device according to claim 2.   The processing means is the first place name information acquired when the determination means determines that the user has no land intuition, and the determination means determines that the user has no land intuition. 2. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein in addition to the place name information, more detailed place name information is further acquired from the storage means as second place name information.   The map display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit determines a land intuition of the user based on the user's action history.   The map display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination unit determines a land intuition of the user based on a registered spot registered in the map information.   The map display device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit displays the second place name information in a form different from the first place name information. The place name information acquired by the processing means is a processing target, and further includes adjustment means for selecting place name information to be displayed,
8. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the place name information selected by the adjustment unit to be superimposed and displayed on the acquired map information. 9. .   9. The map display device according to claim 8, wherein the adjustment unit selects the place name information based on a frequency at which a user visits an area corresponding to the place name information.   The map according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the adjustment unit selects the place name information based on a user destination set on the map information and a route to the destination. Display device.   The map display device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the adjusting unit selects the place name information based on the number of facilities existing in an area corresponding to the place name information. .   The said adjustment means selects the place name information applicable to the area | region where the facility contained in the same category as the facility which the user has gone out as a destination in the past is included. The map display device described in one item. In the map display method,
A first step of obtaining the current position of the user;
A second step of determining whether the user has a land intuition regarding the current position acquired in the first step;
A third step of acquiring place name information to be displayed on the map information corresponding to the current position acquired in the first step based on the determination result in the second step;
A fourth step of acquiring map information corresponding to the current position detected in the first step;
A map display method comprising: a fifth step of superimposing and displaying the place name information acquired in the third step on the map information acquired in the fourth step. In a computer program,
A first step of obtaining the current position of the user;
A second step of determining whether the user has a land intuition regarding the current position acquired in the first step;
A third step of acquiring place name information to be displayed on the map information corresponding to the current position acquired in the first step based on the determination result in the second step;
A fourth step of acquiring map information corresponding to the current position detected in the first step;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute a fifth step of superimposing and displaying the place name information acquired in the third step on the map information acquired in the fourth step.

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