JP2008292511A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system wherein a plurality of registered points can be grouped and displayed on a map. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation system 101 includes: a communication means 102 receiving registered point information; a recording means 103 recording map information and the registered point information; a display control means 104 generating display screen information; and a position information acquisition means 105 calculating the present position. The display control means groups the points in the same genre wherein distance between two points is within a prescribed value, and displays the grouped points on a map. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to display of point points such as facilities in a navigation device, and more particularly to a navigation device that adaptively groups and displays a plurality of points registered by a user.

  In a conventional navigation device, data is recorded with a facility or a famous place as a point point. In addition to such point points, it further has a function of registering points for arbitrary locations such as home positions. Hereinafter, points registered by the user are referred to as registered points. These point points are displayed as a list for setting the destination, and the user can easily set the destination by selecting a point from the list.

  In addition, there is a navigation device that has a function of providing information to a user who does not know or forget the information of the point while casually driving near the point. Among them, a vehicle-mounted navigation device has been proposed in which facilities are classified by category and a plurality of facilities in a category that matches the user's preference are displayed simultaneously (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this navigation device, when the user performs destination setting, which category is set as the destination is recorded as a history, and the category that matches the user's preference is identified. Then, the image information of a plurality of facilities and the like from a category that matches the user's preference is divided into two screens and displayed on one screen.
JP 2003-207346 A

  However, in the in-vehicle navigation device described in Patent Document 1, image information of a plurality of facilities and the like is presented at the same time, but their positions are not necessarily included in the current display screen, and the positional relationship is I can't know visually. Moreover, even if it is located within the display screen, the original screen is divided into two and displayed, so the display range of the map is physically narrowed and it is difficult to confirm the position of the point. Therefore, there is a problem that the positional relationship between a plurality of facilities cannot be instantly understood.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to display a plurality of registered points in an easy-to-understand manner on a map.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the navigation device of the present invention is a navigation device that displays a map on a connected display unit, and displays map information for displaying a map and a point point on the map. Recording means for recording point information for display, and display control means for generating image information and outputting the image information to the display means. The point information includes position information indicating the position of the point point and a plurality of point points. And at least one genre information for grouping, the display control means grouping two or more point points based on the distance from each other for the point points having the same genre information, and corresponding to the group A display area having an arbitrary shape is generated at a position on the map, and image information is generated.

  The display control means groups arbitrary two point points whose mutual distances are equal to or less than the reference value, and then groups a plurality of groups having common point points constituting the group as the same group.

  The reference value is uniquely determined by the scale when the map is displayed on the display means, and the display control means regenerates the group and the image information according to the change of the scale when the map is displayed.

  With this configuration, when the scale of the map changes, it is possible to automatically switch whether it is better to display the points or to display them in a grouped manner, and to display them more visually and easily.

  The display control means generates image information by combining the display area and mark or character information representing a group corresponding to the display area.

  Further, the display control means detects the first display area and the second display area in which the area overlapping the first display area exceeds a certain ratio with respect to the area of the first display area. A composite display area of any shape including all of the first point point group that constitutes and the second point point group that constitutes the second display area is generated and corresponds to the composite display area and the first display area The mark or character information representing the group to be displayed and the mark or character information representing the group corresponding to the second display area are combined to form image information.

  With this configuration, even when a plurality of groups are present on the same map, they can be displayed visually and clearly.

  The display control means displays mark or character information representing the group corresponding to the number of point points constituting the group.

  With this configuration, it is possible to display the characteristics of a group composed of a plurality of registration points and the number of registration points included in the group so as to be visually recognized.

  In addition, the display control means generates a display area so as to include all of the plurality of point points included in the group.

  The communication unit further includes a communication unit that communicates with the external device, and the communication unit receives the point information transmitted from the external device and records it in the recording unit.

  With this configuration, registration points can be recorded even from a remote location.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, a plurality of registered points are grouped and displayed on a map, so that they can be displayed visually and easily.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a navigation device, which includes a communication unit 102, a recording unit 103, a display control unit 104, and a position information acquisition unit 105, and includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 106, a display unit 107, and an operation unit 108. Connected.

  The navigation device 101 is installed in a car, for example. The communication unit 102 receives registration point information input from an external device. Here, the registration point information is information for the user to register a point point at an arbitrary place. The communication unit 102 may receive registration point information from a user operation (connection with the operation unit 108 is not shown). In this case, the communication unit 102 functions as an input unit. The recording unit 103 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The registration point information received by the communication unit 102 is recorded in the recording unit 103. The recording means 103 stores map data and related data for navigation function execution and screen display.

  The display control unit 104 reads data from the recording unit 103 and generates image information to be output to the display unit 107. The position information acquisition unit 105 calculates a current position by using a signal received from a GPS satellite by the GPS antenna 106 connected to the navigation device 101. When the GPS antenna 106 cannot receive a signal from a GPS satellite, the current position is calculated using a gyroscope (not shown). The operation means 108 is, for example, a remote controller. Various command commands are input from the operation unit 108. In this embodiment, the scale of the map screen is switched from the operation unit 108. Note that the operation unit 108 may be integrated with the display unit 107 as a touch panel monitor.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of registration point information recorded in the recording means 103 and is displayed in the list 201. As in the list 201, each registration point holds the values of the items “name”, “position information”, and “genre”. The name is the name of the point, for example, the name of a facility or the name of a store. The name may be arbitrarily editable by the user. The position information represents the position of the point point, and is represented by, for example, latitude and longitude. The genre is information for grouping point points, and as shown in the list 201, for example, 'hot spring', 'meal', 'shopping', and the like. The list 201, that is, the registration point information may include other items.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of map display processing in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the map display process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the current position and the course direction are determined (step S301). Specifically, the current position and the course direction are calculated by the position information acquisition unit 105 based on the signal from the GPS antenna 106. Information on the calculated current position and course direction is output to the display control means 104.

  Next, the scale and display format of the map to be displayed are determined (step S302). The scale is, for example, the length per memory displayed on the screen. This process is performed by the display control means 104. In the map display processing in the navigation device 101, map data to be read is determined by the scale. The display format includes, for example, “North Up” and “Heading Up”. North-up is a format in which the north direction is displayed upward, and heading-up is a format in which the course direction is displayed upward. Note that the scale and display format of the map can be set by the user from the operation means 108, but if there is no setting input, the previous scale and display format are held in an internal memory (not shown) or the like. Will be read out.

  Since the map data to be read is determined by completing step S301 and step S302, the display control means 104 reads the corresponding map data from the recording means 103 (step S303). In order to speed up the display when the current position changes, the display unit 104 reads out map data in a range larger than the display range and temporarily records it in an internal memory (not shown) or the like. At this time, information relating to the map such as landmarks is also read from the recording means 103.

  Next, the display control means 104 confirms whether a plurality of registered points are included in the read map range (step S304). If a plurality of registration points are included in step S304, the process proceeds to step S305. If not included, the process proceeds to step S307.

  If it is determined that a plurality of registered points are included in the range of the map read in step S304, it is determined whether or not grouping is possible with the plurality of registered points (step S305). Specifically, by looking at the genre included in the registration point information, it is confirmed whether there are two or more registration points of the same genre. This processing is also performed by the display control means 104. At this time, the genre name is stored for those having two or more registration points of the same genre. Note that one or more genres are stored here. If it is determined that grouping is possible, the process proceeds to step S306. If it is determined that grouping is not possible, the process proceeds to step S307.

  If it is determined in step S305 that grouping is possible, grouping processing is performed (step S306). Details of the grouping process will be described later. After the grouping process ends, the process proceeds to step S307. In step S307, a map is displayed. Since the map and registration point data have been read in the processing so far (steps S301 to S306), the display control means 104 outputs the data to be displayed from there to the display means 107.

  In step S308, it is determined whether or not to end the display of the image displayed in step S307. If it is determined that the display is to be terminated, the map display process is terminated. If not, the process proceeds to step S309. In addition, although the display completion confirmation process of step S308 is included in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, when the display control unit 104 receives a display stop instruction, the current display may be stopped immediately.

  In step S309, it is determined whether or not there is a request for reading map data. Specifically, it is a case where it is necessary to newly read data by changing the current position, the course direction (when the display format is heading up), and the scale. If there is no request for reading map data, the process returns to step S308, and if there is, the process returns to step S301 to perform the same processing.

  The map display processing is performed by the operation described above.

  Next, the grouping process described in step S306 in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the detailed operation of the grouping process described in step S306 in FIG. Hereinafter, the grouping process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when an instruction for grouping processing is received, a genre to be grouped is set (step S401). Since step S401 is executed when it is determined as YES in step S305, there is always at least one genre to be grouped. For example, if the genre “hot spring” is stored as a target in step S305, the genre “hot spring” is set as the genre to be grouped. If there are a plurality of target genres, the setting in this step S401 is, for example, the one that appears first in the list of registered points.

  Next, the distance between each registration point is confirmed about the registration point which is the genre set in step S401 and is included in the display screen range (step S402). This confirmation process confirms the distance between the two registered points, but confirms whether all the combinations are within the threshold value. This threshold is uniquely determined by the scale of the map. If the distance between two registered points is within the threshold, grouping is permitted, and if the distance exceeds the threshold, grouping is not permitted. Permission. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the threshold value matches the scale of the map display, for example. That is, the threshold is 100 m when the scale is 100 m, and the threshold is 50 m when the scale is 50 m.

  And a group is determined from the confirmation result between the registration points of step S402 (step S403).

  The group determination will be described with reference to FIG. A map 501 in FIG. 5A is a two-dimensional map and has a scale of 100 m. Points A to D are displayed in the map 501. A table 502 representing the relationship between the distances between the two registered points in FIG. 5B shows the relationship between the distances between the points A to D. , Those exceeding 100 m are marked with x. The table shows only the upper right part, but the lower left part also has the same contents and is omitted. In this example, it is determined that the distance between A and B and the distance between B and C are within the threshold values. That is, grouping is permitted. At this time, the space between A and C becomes x, but the same group is permitted by sandwiching the point B therebetween. On the other hand, the point D is x for any of the points A to C, and grouping is not permitted. Therefore, points A, B, and C are grouped in the example of the map 501.

  Next, another example of group determination will be described with reference to FIG. A map 601 in FIG. 6A is a two-dimensional map, and the scale is 100 m, like the map 501. A table 602 showing the relationship between the distances between the two registration points in FIG. 6B is a table showing the relationship between the two points at the points E to H. The way of reading the table is the same as the table 502. is there. In this example, it is determined that the distance between EF and GH is within the threshold value. However, the points E and F and the points G and H have no relation within the threshold value. Therefore, in this case, a group of points E and F, a group of points G and H, and two groups are generated.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the group determination process in step S403 is completed, it is confirmed whether there is another genre to be grouped (step S404). If there are other genres to be grouped, the process returns to step S401 and the process is repeated. If there is no other genre to be grouped, the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S405, it is confirmed whether there is any problem in the display area for the grouped items. It is assumed that the display area is displayed in a circle including all the registration points that are targets of grouping, for example. FIGS. 7A and 7B show examples of display areas in the case of the map 501 and the map 601, respectively. 7A is an example of a display area when the map 701 in FIG. 7A is a map 501, and FIG. 7B is an example of a display area when the map 702 in FIG. 7B is a map 601. When there is one group displayed like the map 701, or when the display areas of a plurality of groups do not overlap like the map 702, they are displayed in this way. If there is no problem in the display area in step S405, the process ends. If there is a problem in the display area, the process proceeds to step S406.

  Next, determination of whether or not there is a problem in the display area will be described. For example, when the group of the genre “hot spring” and the group of the genre “meal” are displayed on the same map, the display areas may overlap. FIG. 8 shows an example in that case. In FIG. 8, a map 801 is a two-dimensional map. Point I and point J are grouped and the display area is 802. Point K and point L are grouped, and the display area is 803. An overlap area 804 is an area where the display area 802 and the display area 803 overlap. These two groups are different genres, and the display area 802 and the display area 803 are overlapped and displayed as a map 801 as it is. When the areas overlap between different groups in this way, the display areas are synthesized because it becomes difficult to visually understand (step S406). It is determined whether or not the display areas are to be combined, that is, the display area has a problem (step S405), for example, when the overlap area 804 is 50% or more of the total area of one of the display areas. .

  FIG. 9 shows an example of display area composition. The map 901 is the same as the map 801, only the display area display is different. A display area 902 is a combined display area in which the display area 802 and the display area 803 are combined. In this way, the display area composition is displayed in a circle, for example, including all the registration points in each display area.

  The grouping process is performed as described above, the registration points are grouped, and the display area is determined.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 107. In FIG. 10, a screen 1001 is a screen to be displayed, and a road passes in a cross shape in the screen. Reference numeral 1002 denotes a current position, and it is assumed that the map is moving upward on the map. It is assumed that the screen 1001 is displayed with heading up.

  A display area 1003 is a display area grouped by the genre “meal”. Note that “3” in the icon means that three registration points are grouped. Reference numeral 1004 denotes a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”. Similar to the display area 1003, three registration points are grouped. Note that the display area 1003 and the display area 1004 overlap, but the overlap is less than 50% of the total area of the display areas 1003 and 1004, so they are not combined.

  The display area 1005 is a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”. The difference from the display area 1004 is that the number of grouped registration points is two. Since the display area 1005 is of the same genre as the display area 1004, the display color is the same color.

  A display area 1006 is a display area obtained by combining a display area grouped by the genre “meal”, a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”, and a display area grouped by the genre “shopping”. . In the case of the combined display area, like the display area 1006, all the icons displayed in the display area before combining are displayed as they are. In the display area 1006, the genre is 'hot spring' and three registered points are grouped, the genre is 'meal' and three registered points are grouped, and the genre is 'shopping' and two registered. The point is grouped and displayed as an icon.

  The registration point 1007 is a registration point of the genre “meal” but is not grouped. When not grouped, a name may be displayed like a registration point 1007.

  A display range 1008 is a range displayed when the scale reaches 50 m. The display in this case will be described below with reference to FIG.

  An example of the screen when the scale reaches 50 m is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, a screen 1101 is a screen displayed on the display unit 107. As with the screen 1001, the display format of the screen 1101 is heading up. The current position 1002 is the same as in FIG.

  A display area 1102 is a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”. Compared to the display area 1006 of FIG. 10, the distance threshold for grouping is changed to 50 m. In the display area 1006, the genre “hot spring” groups three registered points. In the display area 1102, two registered points are grouped and displayed.

  The registration point 1103 is a discount store. This registered point 1103 is a genre “shopping”, and although it is grouped in the display area 1006, it is displayed here without being grouped.

  Registration point 1104 is ABC Ramen. This registration point 1104 is a genre “meal” and is displayed in a group in the display area 1006 but is not grouped here.

  Registration point 1105 is a hot spring inn ABC. This registered point is the genre 'hot spring', and it is grouped in the display area 1005 but is displayed here without being grouped.

  In addition, the display range 1008 in FIG. 10 partially includes the display area 1003, but the three registration points included in the display area 1003 did not fall within the display range 1008. In 1101, it is not displayed.

  As described above, registration points of the same genre whose distance between registration points is within a threshold value (100 m in FIG. 10 and 50 m in FIG. 11) are grouped and displayed as areas and icons. By grouping registration points that are close to each other in this manner, a plurality of registration points can also be displayed visually and clearly in the display of a navigation map.

  Although the navigation device is installed in a car, it is not limited to this. A similar function can be realized by a portable terminal such as a portable telephone having a navigation function or a map display function.

  Further, although the display means and the operation means are connected to the navigation device, the present invention is not limited to this. A similar function can be realized by including either one or both in the navigation device.

  Further, the grouping has been described as the registration point, but it is not limited to this. It may be facility information recorded in the navigation device from the beginning. The genres for grouping are, for example, 'hot spring', 'meal', and 'shopping', but are not limited thereto. The genre may be arbitrarily set by the user.

  Further, the genre does not have to represent the characteristics of the registration point itself. For example, suppose a system in which a store that is a TV program is being introduced, and when the user likes the store, the store information is registered in the navigation device as a registration point by remote control operation.

  FIG. 12 shows a configuration diagram of the store information registration system. The navigation device 101, the home transmission device 1201, the TV monitor 1202, and the operation unit 1203 described in this embodiment. A user is watching a program on the TV monitor 1202 and transmits a registration point registration instruction from the operation means 1203 (for example, a remote controller) when introducing a favorite shop in the program. The home transmitter 1201 that has received the registration point registration instruction transmits the store information as registration point information to the navigation device 101. In the navigation apparatus 101, the registration point information is received by the communication unit 102 and recorded in the recording unit 103. At this time, it is assumed that the store information is broadcast as a data broadcast by a TV program broadcast. Alternatively, when store information is displayed on the TV monitor 1202, a registration point registration instruction may be transmitted from the operation unit 1203, and store information may be read from the TV screen by image recognition to generate registration point information. .

  In the case of the system shown in FIG. 12, the genre for grouping may be a TV program name. By setting the genre in this way, it is possible to display on the map which program was introduced in the area when various facilities and shops in the area that are featured programs are introduced. it can.

  There may be a plurality of genres recorded as registration point information. In this way, various groupings are possible. At this time, the user may arbitrarily set which genre is used for grouping.

  Further, although the shape of the display area is circular, it is not limited to this. Any area may be displayed as long as the area is selected to include grouped registration points. The icons displayed in the display area are not limited to those shown in the present embodiment. For example, the icon size may be changed according to the number of registration points included in the group. Moreover, you may display a list instead of an icon.

  Further, the screen displayed on the display means includes the current position, but is not limited to this. The same function can be realized even when scrolling the map to see the area away from the current position.

  The navigation device according to the present invention has an effect that it can be displayed visually on a map in an easily understandable manner by grouping a plurality of registered points, and a plurality of points registered by a user are adaptively grouped. It is useful as a navigation device that displays the information.

Configuration diagram of a navigation device in an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the list of the registration point information in embodiment of this invention Flowchart for explaining operation of map display processing in the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the grouping process in embodiment of this invention (A) The figure of an example of the map for description of the distance confirmation process between points in embodiment of this invention (b) The figure showing the relationship of the distance between two registration points (A) The figure of an example of the map for description of the distance confirmation process between points in embodiment of this invention (b) The figure showing the relationship of the distance between two registration points (A) FIG. 5 shows an example of display area display in the case of FIG. 5 (b) FIG. 6 shows an example of display area display in the embodiment of the present invention. The figure of an example in case there exists a problem in the display of the display area in embodiment of this invention The figure of an example of the display of the synthetic | combination display area in embodiment of this invention The figure of an example of the screen displayed on the display means in embodiment of this invention The figure of an example of the screen displayed on the display means in embodiment of this invention The block diagram of the store information registration system using the navigation apparatus in embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Navigation apparatus 102 Communication means 103 Recording means 104 Display control means 105 Position information acquisition means 106 GPS antenna 107 Display means 108 Operation means 201 List 501, 601, 701, 702, 801, 901 Map 502, 602 Between two registration points Table 802, 803, 901, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1102 Display area 804 Overlapping area 1001, 1101 Screen 1002 Current position 1007, 1103, 1104, 1105 Registration point 1201 Home transmitter 1202 TV Monitor 1203 operating means

Claims (8)

A navigation device for displaying a map on a connected display means,
Recording means for recording map information for displaying a map and point information for displaying a point on the map;
Display control means for generating image information and outputting the image information to the display means,
The point information includes position information indicating the position of the point point and at least one genre information for grouping a plurality of the point points,
The display control unit groups two or more point points with respect to the point points having the same genre information, and generates a display area having an arbitrary shape at a position on the map corresponding to the group. A navigation apparatus for generating the image information. The display control unit groups any two point points whose distances are equal to or less than a reference value, and then groups a plurality of groups having the same point points constituting the group as the same group. The navigation device according to claim 1. The reference value is uniquely determined by the scale when the map is displayed on the display means,
The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit regenerates the group and the image information according to a change in scale when a map is displayed. 2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means generates image information by combining the display area and mark or character information representing a group corresponding to the display area. The display control means detects a first display area and a second display area in which an area overlapping the first display area exceeds a certain ratio with respect to the area of the first display area. Generating a composite display area of any shape including the first point point group constituting the display area and the second point point group constituting the second display area, and generating the composite display area and the first 3. The mark or character information representing a group corresponding to the display area of the image and the mark or character information representing the group corresponding to the second display area are combined to form image information. The navigation device described. The navigation device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the display control means displays mark or character information representing the group corresponding to the number of point points constituting the group. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit generates a display area so as to include all of a plurality of point points included in the group. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that communicates with an external device, wherein the communication unit receives point information transmitted from the external device and records the point information in the recording unit.

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