JP2008250836A - Navigation device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device for enabling a user to specify his/her desired facility or the like with a few operations by associating item display with retrieving time and season in genre retrieval, and to provide a control method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: A time information storing part 34 stores time information for identifying time and a genre in association with each other in a storage device 11 when a time is related to a genre. A time specifying part 35 accesses the storage device 11 to confirm whether time information is recorded in a genre specified by processing of a genre retrieving part, and acquires the time from the storage device 11 when there is the time information. A time priority determining part 36 determines a genre priority in accordance with the specified time. A priority display part 37 displays a menu of the genre on a display in accordance with the priority. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device obtained by improving a search method for facilities on a map, in particular, a genre search method, and a control method thereof.

  In recent years, with the development of information processing technology, navigation devices are rapidly spreading. The navigation device displays the position of the vehicle estimated by GPS or the like on a surrounding map, and calculates and guides a route to a destination designated by facility search or the like.

  Various facility search methods are available for recent navigation device facility searches, but the most popular one is facility name search, which is typically desired by the user with a 50 sound panel displayed on the screen. When a facility name is input, the corresponding facility is displayed as a list.

  However, in recent years, there has been a problem that it is difficult to find a target facility as a result of the enhancement of facility search data and the increase in the number of facilities to 10 million. In other words, it is difficult to identify facilities due to abundant data, and the number of facilities in the search result list is more than necessary, for example, famous facilities with high demand in search are buried in many unknown facilities, and it is difficult to find, In many cases, it was necessary to perform considerable screen scrolling operations on the list. For example, even if “Tokyo” is entered, there are countless facilities with Tokyo attached.

As a solution to this problem, the functions of “narrow down” and “sort” have appeared in recent products. As a result, after the facility list is displayed, it is possible to narrow down to only the relevant facility by specifying the genre, the region, etc., or rearrange them in the order of closeness or the order of the Japanese syllabary (see Patent Document 1). In particular, in the genre search that searches for destinations from any genre, a hierarchy of large categories with general purposes such as transportation, eating / drinking, playing / viewing, buying, etc., and a detailed middle classification hierarchy for each major category Further, it is possible to narrow down the destinations by configuring the data in a more detailed sub-category hierarchical structure and selecting a genre from the list of each hierarchy.
JP 2006-162516 A

  However, in the conventional genre search, it is possible to narrow down by genre, but for example, the order of menu display or item display in each layer is constant. Therefore, for example, when selecting a large category “play / view” → middle category “sports” in the genre search, even if the searched season is “summer”, it is displayed in the order of the Japanese syllabary. In some cases, “ski resort” may be displayed as the top item of the small category. On the other hand, when the season is “winter”, “pool” may be displayed as the top item of the small classification.

  In other words, in the conventional genre search, the display order of the items in each layer is a mechanical classification such as the order of the Japanese syllabary or the order of the region, and does not match the time and season of the search. Therefore, the user needs the same number of operations every time regardless of the season and season, and in some cases, it may take time to specify the facility or the like desired by the user.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a facility desired by a user by making the display of items relevant to the time and season at the time of search in genre search. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device and a control method thereof that can specify such as with few operations.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a genre storage unit that stores a facility or event divided into hierarchies and stores the genre, and an input reception unit that receives a selection of a genre by a user for each of the hierarchies. The genre search means for specifying the genre or facility selected by the user by tracing the hierarchy based on the input genre, and the time information for identifying the time when there is a time related to the genre, as the genre Time information storage means for linking and storing, determining whether the time information is linked to the identified genre, and timing identification means for identifying the timing when linked, and the identified time Time priority order determining means for determining the priority order of the genres, and a priority order for displaying the genres on the display according to the priority order. Characterized by comprising a shows means.

  In addition, this invention can also be grasped | ascertained as the control method of a navigation apparatus as described in Claim 5.

  In the above aspect, when there is a time related to the genre, the time information storage means stores the time information for identifying the time in advance in association with the genre, and the time specifying means stores the processing of the genre search means. It is confirmed whether or not time information is recorded in the genre identified by (1), and when there is time information, the time is acquired from there. The time priority order determining means determines the priority order of the genres according to the specified time, and the priority order display means displays the genres on the display according to the priority order. Thus, in the genre search, the item display is related to the search time and season, so that the menu display of the genre search is not mechanical such as in the order of the Japanese syllabary or the order of the region. The user can search for a facility or the like based on a menu display according to the search time. Therefore, the facility desired by the user can be specified with few operations.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the time information identifies an ID of a season or a number of a month.
In addition, this invention can also be grasped | ascertained as the control method of a navigation apparatus, as described in claim 6.

  In the above-described aspect, by specifying the time index in the time priority display of the genre search by the four seasons or the month, the genre including facilities that match the current time is preferentially displayed on the menu, and the user The facility can be searched based on the menu display according to the month and season of the search.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the time priority order determining means determines that the genre is an optimum genre when the specified time of the genre coincides with the current time. If it does not match, it is determined as an inappropriate genre, and the priority order display means displays the optimal genre at the top of the menu and displays the inappropriate genre on the menu. It is characterized by being displayed at a lower level or not displayed. In addition, this invention can also be grasped | ascertained as the control method of a navigation apparatus, as described in claim 7.

  In the above aspect, the genre that matches the time is displayed at the top of the menu, and the inappropriate genre that does not match is displayed or hidden at the bottom of the menu, so that the genre that matches the time is displayed first. Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with a comfortable user interface with reduced search effort.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the third aspect, when the time specifying means determines that the time information is not linked to the specified genre, the time priority order determining means The genre is determined as a genre unrelated to the current time, and the priority order display means displays the unrelated genre higher than the inappropriate genre when the inappropriate genre is displayed. It is characterized by being. In addition, this invention can also be grasped | ascertained as the control method of a navigation apparatus as described in Claim 8.

  In the above aspect, by displaying the priority of the genre inappropriate for the time period lower than the genre unrelated to the time period, the genre that matches the time period is displayed first, The facilities that can be visited all seasons regardless of the season are displayed in the middle, so that the range of facilities that the user may search for is not narrowed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the genre search, the display of items is related to the time and season at the time of search, thereby enabling the user to specify the facility desired by the operation with a few operations. And a control method thereof.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the premise common to the description in the background art and the subject is omitted.

[1. overall structure]
In this embodiment, a navigation device that guides a route to a destination (hereinafter referred to as “this device”) will be described. It can also be grasped as a control method and a control program. The configuration of this device is shown in FIG. Shown in

  That is, 1 is an FM multiplex reception and processing unit for acquiring VICS information, and 2 is a beacon reception and processing unit for acquiring VICS information. Reference numeral 3 denotes a main CPU (central processing unit) that controls the entire system and its peripheral circuits, and is a control unit that performs information processing including control of each part of the apparatus. 4 is a dynamic RAM (DRAM) for loading the main program, 5 is a static RAM (SRAM) with battery backup for holding memory contents such as settings while the main power is off, 6 Is a ROM that is accessed by the control unit 3 at the time of startup or the like.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a display unit for drawing and displaying information such as a map, and has a display screen such as a liquid crystal display panel. In the present invention, a display having a touch panel function is used. Reference numeral 8 denotes a video RAM (VRAM) provided for the display unit 7. 9 is a TV reception and processing unit for receiving TV (various television broadcasts), and 10 is a vehicle information acquisition unit that detects operations and states such as illumination (lighting of instrument panels, etc.), vehicle speed pulses, and parking. It is.

  A storage device 11 includes a control unit such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or HDD for reading a database, and road map data (typically, route search data and map display data) and other data. It plays the role of an external storage device for map data that records search data and map related data.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes an input unit that receives input of information and operations, and is a control device that detects input from a touch key, a touch panel, or the like. In addition to the touch sensor, surrounding operation switches, a remote control unit, and the like may be used alone or in any combination. Reference numeral 13 denotes a positioning unit that obtains navigation information related to the behavior of the host vehicle such as the current position, direction, and speed by a positioning technique (for example, GPS, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, acceleration sensor, vehicle speed pulse).

  Moreover, the control part 3 implement | achieves and performs the process means (30, 31 ... shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the following functions and an effect | action by a predetermined control program. In addition, since the navigation processing common to the past (for example, calculation of the current position, route calculation, etc.) is not an element peculiar to the present invention, it is shown as the navigation unit 30 and description thereof is omitted.

[2. Overview of processing]
In this apparatus, a facility search facility or event is stored in the genre storage unit 31 in advance, divided into hierarchies for each genre and stored in the storage device 11. Moreover, the input reception part 32 receives selection of the genre by a user for every hierarchy. The genre search unit 33 accesses the storage device 11 based on the input genre and traces the hierarchy to specify the genre selected by the user or finally the facility.

  Here, when there is a time related to the genre, the time information storage unit 34 stores time information for identifying the time in advance in association with the genre in the storage device 11. Therefore, the time specifying unit 35 accesses the storage device 11 to check whether or not the time information is recorded in the genre specified by the process of the genre search unit. Get the time. The time priority order determination unit 36 determines the priority order of genres according to the specified time period. And the priority order display part 37 displays a genre on a display as a menu according to this priority order.

[3. Example 1]
Next, the processing of the present embodiment as described above will be specifically described with reference to the database structure shown in FIG. 2, the screen example shown in FIG. 3, and the flowchart of FIG.

(1) Configuration of Database In this embodiment, the following database is stored in the storage device 11 by the action of the genre storage unit 31 and the time information storage unit 34. In this embodiment, “time” means “four seasons”, and “time related to genre information” means a season suitable for visiting a facility or the like included in the genre. For example, it is “summer” for a beach or swimming pool, and “winter” for a ski resort or skate. In addition, there is no “time” for facilities such as golf courses that can be enjoyed relatively unchanged throughout the season.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, as a database for displaying a menu for genre search, a name for identifying a classification (hereinafter referred to as a genre name) and an ID for identifying a corresponding genre (hereinafter, referred to as a genre search menu). Called a genre ID).

  In the present embodiment, in addition to this, a database having a hierarchical structure of major classification, middle classification, and minor classification in which an identification ID (hereinafter referred to as season ID) for representing a season appropriate for the genre is a single record. A is configured.

  That is, the genre storage unit 31 stores a database item for displaying a genre search menu similar to the conventional one in the storage device 11. On the other hand, when there is a season suitable for visiting the genre in the facility included in the genre of the small classification, the time information storage unit 34 records the time information for identifying the season as a season ID.

  Here, it is possible to have a plurality of season IDs in the database A for one genre, and to have no season ID when it is unrelated to the season. More specifically, referring to FIG. 2, in the subcategory of FIG. 2A, “ski resort” has “S4” which is a winter season ID shown in FIG. 2B described later. On the other hand, a genre not related to the season, such as “golf course”, does not have any season ID. Further, the database A may not have a season ID at all depending on the hierarchy. In this case, the season ID field may not be included in all records in the same hierarchy.

  The time information storage unit 34 also stores, in the storage device 11, the database B that defines the correspondence between seasons, periods (monthly units), and season IDs as shown in FIG. Specifically, in the case of “spring”, the period “March to May” and the season ID “S1” are set.

  The time information storage unit 34 also assigns genre IDs of corresponding major categories, middle categories, and minor categories to each facility data and configures a hierarchical database C (FIG. 2C). Note that this hierarchical data may be a two-hierarchy structure in which the middle classification is skipped and the minor classification hierarchy is placed below the major classification hierarchy.

(2) Screen Example and Flowchart Example Next, processing of the present embodiment will be described using the screen example of FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the user selects “genre search” (not shown) in the navigation search menu through the input unit 12 (step S401), the input reception unit 32 receives this.

  Based on this, the genre search unit 33 reads the record of the major classification hierarchy from the database A stored in the storage device 11 by the processing of the genre storage unit 31, and displays the screen example shown in FIG. As shown, a list of major categories is displayed (step S402).

  When the user selects any major classification from the list through the input unit 12 on the major classification screen illustrated in FIG. 3A, the input reception unit 32 receives this, and the genre search unit 33 accesses the storage device 11. The middle class record is read from the stored database A, and a list of middle classes is displayed on the display unit 7 as shown in the screen example of FIG. 3B (step S403).

  When the user selects any middle category from the list through the input unit 12 on the screen of the middle category hierarchy, the input reception unit 32 receives this, and the genre search unit 33 accesses the storage device 11 and stores the database. The minor classification record is read from A, and the priority order display control unit 37 displays the minor classification list as shown in FIG. 3C (steps S404 to S412).

  The processing of the time specifying unit 35 and the time priority order determining unit 36 (processing of steps S404 to S412) when the priority order display control unit 37 displays the screen of the small classification hierarchy will be described in detail.

  First, the time specifying unit 35 acquires in advance a season ID corresponding to the current month from the database B (step S404). The time specifying unit 35 also checks whether or not the season ID field is present in the minor category belonging to the selected middle category in the database A (step S405). It is determined whether or not a season ID exists in the season ID field of the record (step S406). If no season ID exists, it is determined that the genre is not related to the season (NO in step S406). On the other hand, when the season ID field does not exist in the minor category belonging to the middle category (NO), the minor category menu is displayed as it is (step S412).

  When the season ID exists (YES in step S406), the time specifying unit 35 compares the season ID with the current season ID acquired in advance (step S407). The record is set as the highest genre (step S408), and if not matched (NO), the small classification record is determined as the lowest genre (step S409).

  As described above, when the season ID of the small classification record is specified in the time specifying unit 35, the time priority order determining unit 36 rearranges the menus according to the season ID (step S410). As the order of rearrangement, the genre that is optimal for the season from the top, the genre that is not related to the season, and the genre that is inappropriate for the season are selected. The display order of the same priority order is a system-defined order such as the data storage order. When the season ID field does not exist in the small category belonging to the selected middle category of the database A, the display order specified by the system, such as the data storage order, is used.

  Next, the time specifying unit 35 confirms again whether or not there exists a small classification record belonging to the selected middle classification in the database A (step S411). If there exists (YES), steps S406 to S410 are performed. Repeat the process. On the other hand, if there is no small classification record (NO in step S411), the small classification menu is displayed in the sorted order (step S412).

  Specifically, based on the processing result of the timing priority order determination unit 36, the priority order display control unit 37 determines that the current season of FIG. 3 (c) (1) is summer and FIG. 3 (c) (2). As in the case where the current season is winter, the list display order is rearranged in order of genre that is optimal, unrelated, or inappropriate for the current season.

  When the user selects one of the minor classifications from the list through the input unit 12 on the screen of the minor classification hierarchy in FIG. 3C (step S413), the navigation unit 30 is configured in the storage device 11 with respect to the display unit 7. From the database C, the facilities and the like corresponding to the combination of the three genre IDs of major classification, middle classification, and minor classification selected so far are read, and a list screen is displayed as shown in FIG.

  When the user selects any facility from the facility list displayed on the screen of FIG. 3D through the input unit 12, the display unit displays as shown in FIG. The map of the facility selected in 7 is displayed, and then the destination is registered (step S414), and the process is terminated (END).

[4. Example 2]
Next, the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the database structure shown in FIG. 5, the screen example shown in FIG. 6, and the flowchart shown in FIG.

(1) Configuration of Database In this embodiment, the following database is stored in the storage device 11 by the action of the genre storage unit 31 and the time information storage unit 34. In this embodiment, “time” means “month”, and “time related to genre information” means “optimal month” for visiting facilities included in the genre. . For example, it is “July, August” for a beach or swimming pool, and “December, January, February, March” for a ski resort or skate. In addition, there is no “optimal month” for facilities of a genre that can be enjoyed relatively unchanged throughout the season, such as golf courses.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, as a database for displaying a menu for genre search, a name for identifying a classification (hereinafter referred to as a genre name) and an ID for identifying a corresponding genre (hereinafter, referred to as a genre search menu). Called a genre ID).

  In the present embodiment, in addition to this, a database D having a hierarchical structure of major classification, middle classification, and minor classification, with the month most suitable for the genre as one record, is configured.

  That is, the genre storage unit 31 stores a database item for displaying a genre search menu similar to the conventional one in the storage device 11. On the other hand, when there is an optimal month for visiting the facility, etc., in the facility included in the subcategory genre, the time information storage unit 34 determines the optimal time information for identifying the number (1-12) of the month. It is recorded as a month.

  Here, it is possible to have a plurality of optimum months in the database D for one genre, and when there is no relation to the month, it is assumed that there is no optimum month. More specifically, referring to FIG. 5, in the small classification of FIG. 5A, “ski resort” and the like have optimum months “12, 1, 2, 3”. On the other hand, a genre not related to the moon, such as “golf course”, does not have any month numbers. Further, the database D may not have an optimal month at all depending on the hierarchy. In that case, the optimum month field may not be present in all records in the same hierarchy.

  The time information storage unit 34 also assigns genre IDs of major categories, middle categories, and minor categories of the corresponding genre to each facility data, etc., and creates a hierarchical database E (FIG. 5B). Note that this hierarchical data may be a two-hierarchy structure in which the middle classification is skipped and the minor classification hierarchy is placed below the major classification hierarchy.

(2) Screen Example and Flowchart Example Next, processing of the present embodiment will be described using the screen example of FIG. 6 and the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the user selects “genre search” (not shown) in the navigation search menu through the input unit 12 (step S701), the input reception unit 32 receives this.

  Based on this, the genre search unit 33 reads the record of the major classification hierarchy from the database D stored in the storage device 11 by the processing of the genre storage unit 31, and displays the screen example shown in FIG. A list of major categories is displayed as follows (step S702).

  6A, when the user selects any major classification from the list through the input unit 12, the input accepting unit 32 accepts this, and the genre search unit 33 accesses the storage device 11. The middle class record is read from the stored database D, and a list of middle classes is displayed on the display unit 7 as shown in the screen example of FIG. 6B (step S703).

  When the user selects any middle category from the list through the input unit 12 on the screen of the middle category hierarchy, the input reception unit 32 receives this, and the genre search unit 33 accesses the storage device 11 and stores the database. The minor classification record is read from D, and the priority order display control unit 37 displays the minor classification list as shown in FIG. 6C (steps S704 to S711).

  The processing of the time specifying unit 35 and the time priority order determining unit 36 (the processing of steps S704 to S711) when the priority order display control unit 37 displays the screen of the small classification hierarchy will be described in detail.

  First, the time specifying unit 35 checks whether or not there is an optimum month field for the small category belonging to the selected middle category in the database D (step S704). It is determined whether or not the optimal month number exists in the optimal month field of the small classification record (step S705). If the optimal month number does not exist, it is determined that the genre is irrelevant to the month (NO in step S705). On the other hand, if there is no optimal month field for the minor category belonging to the middle category (NO), the minor category menu is displayed as it is (step S711).

  When the optimum month number exists (YES in step S705), the time specifying unit 35 compares the current month with the current month (step S706). Is the optimal genre (step S707). If they do not match (NO), the small classification record is determined as an inappropriate genre (step S708).

  In other words, a genre unrelated to the current month is picked up in the determination of NO in step S705, and an inappropriate genre is picked up in the current month in the determination of NO in step S706. Needless to say, in step S706, the most appropriate genre for the current month is picked up.

  As described above, when the time classification unit 35 identifies the optimum small classification record, the time priority order determination unit 36 rearranges the menus (step S709). As the display order, the most appropriate genre for the month and the genre unrelated to the month are arranged from the top, and the genre inappropriate for the month is not displayed in principle. The genre sequence with the same priority order is a system-defined sequence such as data storage order. When the optimum month field does not exist in the small classification record displayed in the database D, the display order specified by the system such as the data storage order is set.

  Next, the time specifying unit 35 confirms again whether or not there is a small classification record belonging to the selected middle classification in the database D (step S710), and if it exists (YES), the steps S705 to S709 are performed. Repeat the process. On the other hand, if there is no small classification record (NO in step S710), the small classification menu is displayed in the sorted order (step S711).

  6C, when the user selects any minor classification from the list through the input unit 12, three major classifications, middle classification, minor classification selected so far from the database E are selected. A facility screen corresponding to the combination of genre IDs is read and a list screen is displayed (step S712).

  When the user selects any facility from the facility list displayed on the screen of FIG. 6D through the input unit 12, the navigation unit 30 processes the display as shown in FIG. The map of the facility or the like selected by the unit 7 is displayed, and then the destination is registered (step S713), and the process is terminated.

[5. Effects of the embodiment]
According to the present embodiment as described above, when there is a time related to the genre, the time information storage unit stores the time information for identifying the time in advance in association with the genre, and the time specifying unit stores the genre. It is confirmed whether or not time information is recorded in the genre identified by the processing of the search unit, and when there is time information, the time is acquired therefrom. The time priority order determination unit determines the priority order of the genres according to the specified time, and the priority order display unit displays the genres on the display according to the priority order.

  Thus, in the genre search, the item display is related to the search time and season, so that the menu display of the genre search is not mechanical such as in the order of the Japanese syllabary or the order of the region. The user can search for a facility or the like based on a menu display according to the search time. Therefore, the facility desired by the user can be specified with few operations.

  Moreover, by specifying the time index in the time priority display of genre search by the four seasons or months, the genre including facilities that match the current time will be preferentially displayed in the menu, and the month or It is possible to search for facilities and the like under a menu display according to the season.

  The genre that matches the time is displayed at the top of the menu, and the inappropriate genre that does not match is displayed or hidden at the bottom of the menu. A comfortable user interface can be provided with reduced labor.

  Of the genres, the priority of the genre that is inappropriate for the time is displayed lower than the genre that is not related to the time, so that the genre that matches the time is displayed first, and all irrelevant to the time. The facilities that may be visited in the season are also displayed in the middle so that the range of facilities that the user may search for is not narrowed.

[6. Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the aspect described in the above embodiment, and includes, for example, the following embodiments. That is, in Example 1 of the above embodiment, as shown in (c) and (1) of FIG. 3, the genre is displayed in steps S408 and S409 of FIG. 4 so that genres inappropriate for the time (season) are also displayed. In the second embodiment, steps S708 and S709 in FIG. 7 are determined so that inappropriate genres are not displayed at the time (month) as shown in FIGS. 6 (c) and (1). The genre was determined as optimal and inappropriate. This point shows an example of the processing in both the first and second embodiments. In the first embodiment, a genre that is not related to the season is inappropriate, and a processing for hiding the inappropriate genre is also possible. In the second embodiment, it is also possible to display a genre not related to the month as the lowest level.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the season or the month was shown as a period relevant to a genre, the division of this season and the division in a monthly unit are only examples, for example, the division of a season is not four but 2 Divide the month into 6 periods, and further divide the moon into finer details. For example, “Pool” and “Sea” will be set in detail according to the genre, such as around July 20th to the end of August. It is also possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, sports or art museums / museums are taken up as examples of genres in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, and facilities such as ski resorts, skate parks, or pools are illustrated as examples. Is not limited to the above, but includes any facility or event related to the season or the month in the genre shown as the middle category of FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, such as “Fireworks Display” or “Fruit Hunting” To do.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The data structural example for the genre search in embodiment of this invention. The example of the screen hierarchy structure of the genre search in the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which illustrates the process sequence in embodiment of this invention. The data structural example for the genre search in embodiment of this invention. The example of the screen hierarchy structure of the genre search in the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which illustrates the process sequence in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... FM multiplex reception and processing part 2 ... Beacon reception and processing part 3 ... Control part (Main CPU and its peripheral circuit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Navigation part 31 ... Genre storage part 32 ... Input reception part 33 ... Genre search part 34 ... Time information storage part 35 ... Time specification part 36 ... Time priority order determination part 37 ... Priority order display control part 4 ... Dynamic RAM (DRAM )
5. Static RAM (SRAM)
6 ... ROM
7 ... Display 8 ... Video RAM (VRAM)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... TV reception and processing part 10 ... Vehicle information acquisition part 11 ... Storage device 12 of road map data / search data and map related data ... Input part (touch key control device)
13. Positioning unit M ... Main memory

Claims (8)

Genre storage means for storing facilities or events by dividing them into genres and storing them,
Input accepting means for accepting selection of a genre by a user for each of the layers;
A genre search means for identifying a genre or facility selected by a user by tracing the hierarchy based on an input genre;
Time information storage means for storing time information for identifying the time in association with the genre when there is a time related to the genre;
It is determined whether the time information is associated with the identified genre, and when associated, a time identifying means for identifying the time when associated,
Time priority order determining means for determining the priority order of the genres according to the specified time period;
Priority order display means for displaying the genre on a display as a menu according to the priority order;
A navigation device characterized by comprising:   2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time information identifies a season ID or a month number. The time priority order determining means determines that the genre is an optimal genre when the specified time of the genre coincides with the current time, and determines that the genre is an inappropriate genre when not matching,
The priority order display means displays the optimal genre at the top of the menu and displays or hides the inappropriate genre at the bottom of the menu when the menu is displayed. The navigation device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that When the time specifying means determines that the time information is not linked to the specified genre,
The time priority determining means determines the genre as a genre unrelated to the current time,
4. The navigation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the inappropriate genre is displayed, the priority order display means displays the irrelevant genre in a higher rank than the inappropriate genre. . Genre storage process for storing facilities and events divided into hierarchies and storing them,
An input acceptance process for accepting selection of a genre by a user for each hierarchy;
A genre search process for identifying a genre or facility selected by the user by tracing the hierarchy based on an input genre;
When there is a time related to the genre, time information storage processing for storing time information for identifying the time in association with the genre;
It is determined whether or not the time information is associated with the identified genre, and when associated, a time specifying process for specifying the time,
Time priority order determination processing for determining the priority order of the genres according to the specified time period;
Priority order display processing for displaying the genre on the display unit as a menu according to the priority order;
A method for controlling a navigation apparatus, characterized in that a computer executes the above.   The navigation device control method according to claim 5, wherein the time information identifies a season ID or a month number. The time priority order determining process determines that the genre is an optimal genre when the specified time of the genre matches the current time, and determines that the genre is an inappropriate genre when not matching,
In the priority display process, the optimal genre is displayed at the top of the menu and the inappropriate genre is displayed at the bottom of the menu or is not displayed when the menu is displayed. A method for controlling a navigation device according to claim 5 or 6. When the time specifying process determines that the time information is not linked to the specified genre,
The time priority determination process determines the genre as a genre unrelated to the current time,
8. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the priority order display process displays the irrelevant genre in a higher rank than the inappropriate genre when the inappropriate genre is displayed. Control method.

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