JP2009036521A - Navigation device and spot registration method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device for performing spot registration correlatively with a proper facility. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation device 1 includes a searching order table 28 wherein the searching order of marked facilities is specified according to attribute of each facility corresponding to the recognition degree of a driver on an area, a traveling history DB 12 for storing a vehicle traveling history, a facility DB 14 for storing information showing the position of each facility, a registration spot determination part 18 for determining a registration spot, a recognition degree determination part 20 for determining the recognition degree of the driver on an area including the registration spot based on the vehicle traveling history, a searching order determination part 22 for determining the searching order corresponding to the recognition degree of the driver based on the searching order table, a facility searching part 24 for searching for facilities existing in a prescribed range of the registration spot in the order from a facility having the attribute of a high searching order, and a spot registration part 26 for storing a facility found in the first place by searching by the facility searching part 24 as a mark correlatively with the registration spot. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device having a function of registering frequently visited places.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a navigation apparatus having a function of registering a place to go frequently or a facility to be remembered is known. In the conventional navigation device, the point registration is performed by pressing a button for instructing the point registration at the point where the driver wants to register.

Further, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a method for automatically performing point registration without a driver's intentional instruction. The automatic point storage device described in Patent Document 1 stores position data acquired by GPS when an ignition switch of an automobile is turned on. When the vehicle stops, the vehicle navigation device described in Patent Document 2 determines whether the point where the vehicle has stopped is a destination or a stop-off location based on the vehicle state, and stops along with the determination result. Register the location. In the vehicle navigation device of Patent Document 2, the destination can be estimated in consideration of the information on the destination or the stopover.
JP 2005-321407 A JP2007-10570

  In point registration, it is necessary to enable the driver to recognize the registered point. For example, when a registered point is presented to the driver, it is necessary to be able to grasp which point the user is pointing to. When registering a spot manually, the driver can input a spot name. However, when registering a spot automatically, the navigation device assigns the spot name.

  The point automatic storage device of Patent Document 1 reads map information such as road data and place name data from a map CD-ROM based on latitude and longitude information indicating a display area. However, it is not easy to grasp the point by the place name. In particular, in an area that is unfamiliar to the driver, it is often difficult to determine where the registered point is based on the place name alone. Patent Document 2 describes that a facility in the vicinity of a registration point is set, but detailed examination of which facility in the vicinity is used has not been made.

  In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that stores points in a manner in which registered points can be easily grasped.

  The navigation device of the present invention is a navigation device having a function of registering a point, and a search in which a facility search order as a landmark for the point is defined by an attribute of the facility according to the driver's awareness of the area Based on the ranking table, the travel history storage unit that stores the travel history of the vehicle, the facility information storage unit that stores information indicating the location of the facility, the registration point determination unit that determines the registration point, and the travel history of the vehicle A recognition degree determination unit that determines the recognition degree of a driver for an area including a registration point, a search order determination unit that determines a search order corresponding to the recognition degree of the driver based on the search order table, and the registration A facility search unit that searches for a facility within a predetermined range of points in order from the facility with the attribute having the highest search order, and the facility searched by the facility search unit And and a site registering unit to be stored in the storage unit together with the registered point by.

  In this way, based on the driver's awareness of the area including the registration point, that is, how well the driver knows the area including the registration point, the facility that serves as a landmark is searched. It can be determined as a landmark for the registration point. For example, if the driver does not know the area including the registration point well, use a prominent facility such as an amusement park as a landmark. If the driver knows the area including the registration point well, such as a department store or restaurant. By searching for a large number of facilities, a facility close to the registration point can be used as a landmark. The “region including the registration point” means a certain range including the registration point, and an appropriate value can be set in advance for this range.

  The navigation device of the present invention includes a search range table that defines a search range of the facility in association with the attribute of the facility, and the facility search unit reads a search range corresponding to the attribute of the facility from the search range table The facility may be searched in the read search range.

  In this way, by changing the search range according to the attribute of the facility, for example, in the case of a facility with a conspicuous attribute, the search range is widened so that it becomes a landmark even if it is a little far away, and there are many facilities with the same attribute The search range can be narrowed to search for an appropriate landmark.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the search order table has a higher search order for an attribute that defines a wider search range when the driver's recognition level for the area including the registration point is low than when the recognition level is high. It may be specified.

  In this way, when the driver's awareness of a region is low, a facility with an attribute that defines a wide search range is used as a landmark, so even a driver who is unfamiliar with the region can roughly register registration points. Can grasp.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the recognition degree determination unit may determine the recognition degree of the driver for the area based on whether or not the driver's home is included in the area including the registration point.

  Usually, since the recognition degree about the area near the home is high, the recognition degree can be appropriately determined based on whether or not the home is included in the area including the registration point.

  The navigation device of the present invention includes an operation history storage unit that stores an operation history of the navigation device, and the recognition degree determination unit is based on an operation history in which a destination or a stopover is set in an area including the registration point. The driver's recognition degree for the area may be determined.

  For example, in areas where destinations and stopovers are frequently set, it is considered that the driver is interested and the degree of recognition is high. Therefore, the driver's recognition degree can be appropriately determined based on the operation history in which the destination or the stop-off place is set.

  The navigation device of the present invention reads the operation history storage unit that stores the operation history of the navigation device and the facility attribute searched or set by the driver from the operation history storage unit, and the search is performed according to the number of searches or settings. You may provide the search order table production | generation part which produces | generates an order table.

  By generating the search order table using the facility attributes searched or set by the driver in this way, the search order table can be generated based on the attributes of the facility that the driver is interested in. Thereby, the facility used as a mark can be determined based on the driver's interest.

  The navigation device of the present invention includes a regionality information storage unit that stores information indicating a region where facilities having attributes classified into the same category are gathered based on the location and attributes of the facility searched or set by the driver. The search rank table generation unit generates the search rank table for each category, and the recognition degree determination unit determines whether the registration point is included in the region stored in the regionality information storage unit. And determining the search rank corresponding to the category of the area by referring to the search rank table when the registration point is included in the area stored in the regionality information storage section. You may decide.

  According to this configuration, when a registered point is included in an area where a plurality of facilities of the same category are gathered, the facility is searched using the search order table defined in the same category. The facility that serves as a landmark can be determined appropriately.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, comprising a preference information storage unit that stores information indicating a preference attribute of the driver, the search order determination unit reads a search order corresponding to the recognition degree of the driver from the search order table, If there is an attribute that matches the favorite attribute of the driver among the attributes indicating the retrieved search order, the search order of the attribute may be moved higher.

  With this configuration, it is possible to preferentially register a facility having an attribute suitable for the driver's preference as a mark for the registration point.

  In the navigation device of the present invention, the registration point determination unit may determine a point where the vehicle has stopped as a registration point when the vehicle has stopped for a predetermined time or more.

  With this configuration, an appropriate registration point can be automatically determined.

  The point registration method of the present invention is a point registration method for registering a point, wherein a search order for a facility serving as a landmark for the point is defined by an attribute of the facility in accordance with the driver's awareness of the area. A step of preparing a table; a step of determining a registration point; a step of determining a driver's recognition level for an area including the registration point based on a travel history of the vehicle; and the driver based on the search order table A step of determining a search order corresponding to the degree of recognition, a step of searching for facilities in a predetermined range of the registered points in order from a facility having a higher attribute of the search order, and using the searched facilities as a landmark together with the registered points Storing in the storage unit.

  With this configuration, as in the navigation device of the present invention, it is possible to determine an appropriate facility as a mark for the registration point according to the driver's recognition degree, and perform the point registration. Various configurations of the navigation device of the present invention can be applied to the point registration method of the present invention.

  The program of the present invention is a program for registering a predetermined point in the navigation device, and the navigation device is provided with a search order for a facility serving as a landmark for the point according to the driver's awareness of the area. A step of preparing a search order table defined by an attribute of a facility; a step of determining a registration point; a step of determining a driver's recognition degree for an area including the registration point based on a travel history of the vehicle; A step of determining a search order corresponding to the recognition degree of the driver based on a rank table; a step of sequentially searching for facilities in a predetermined range of the registration point from a facility having an attribute with a high search order; And storing the facility as a landmark in the storage unit together with the registration point.

  With this configuration, as in the navigation device of the present invention, it is possible to determine an appropriate facility as a mark for the registration point according to the driver's recognition degree, and perform the point registration. Various configurations of the navigation device of the present invention can be applied to the program of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, since a facility to be a landmark is searched based on the driver's recognition degree for an area including the registered spot, an appropriate facility is determined as a landmark for the registered spot, and the spot registration associated with the landmark is performed. Can be done.

Hereinafter, a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment. The navigation device 1 includes a vehicle position detection unit 10 that detects the current position of the vehicle, a travel history database (hereinafter referred to as “travel history DB”) 12 that stores a travel history of the vehicle, and a facility that stores information about the facility. A database (hereinafter referred to as “facility DB”) 14 and a control unit 16 that executes a navigation function and a spot registration function are included. The navigation device 1 also includes a search order table 28 that stores data used for location registration, a search range table 30, and a registration location database (hereinafter referred to as “registration location DB”) 32.

  The control unit 16 includes a registration point determination unit 18 that determines a point to be registered, a recognition degree determination unit 20 that obtains a driver's recognition degree for an area including the registration point, and a facility search order that is a landmark. A search order determination unit 22 that is determined based on the location, a facility search unit 24 that searches for a facility that serves as a landmark for the registered point, and a point registration unit 26 that associates the registered point and the searched facility and registers them in the registered point DB 32. Have. Note that the control unit 16 has functions inherent to the navigation device, such as acceptance of destination setting, route search, and route guidance, but the description of the original function of the navigation device is omitted in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the functions of the control unit 16 are shown as functional blocks. However, the functions of the control unit 16 can be realized, for example, by executing a program stored in a memory by the CPU.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a program for realizing the function of the control unit 16 of the navigation device 1. The program 50 includes a registration point determination subprogram 52, a recognition degree determination subprogram 54, a search rank determination subprogram 56, a facility search subprogram 58, and a point registration subprogram 60. For example, the function of the registration point determination unit 18 of the control unit 16 is realized by executing the registration point determination subprogram 52 by the CPU. Thereby, the navigation apparatus 1 determines the point which should be registered. Similarly, by executing the recognition degree determination subprogram 54, the search order determination subprogram 56, the facility search subprogram 58, and the spot registration subprogram 60, respectively, the recognition degree determination part 20 and the search order determination part 22 of the control unit 16 are executed. The functions of the facility search unit 24 and the point registration unit 26 are realized.

  Next, each structure which the navigation apparatus 1 has is demonstrated. The vehicle position detection unit 10 has a function of obtaining the longitude and latitude of the current position of the vehicle. Thereby, the current position of the vehicle and the map information can be collated. As the vehicle position detection unit 10, for example, a geomagnetic sensor, a gyroscope, a distance sensor, a GPS receiver, a steering rotation sensor, a vehicle sensor for each rolling wheel, or the like can be used. The vehicle position detection unit 10 may be configured using some of these sensors. Since these sensors have errors of different properties, the current position of the vehicle can be detected with high accuracy by complementing with a plurality of sensors.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the travel history DB 12. The travel history DB 12 stores the date of travel, departure place, stopover, and destination. The update of the travel history DB 12 can be performed by the following method. For example, it is possible to store the stop and destination data set when the driver sets a stop and a destination in the navigation device and travels according to the route guidance of the navigation device 1 in the travel history DB 12. Even if the destination is not set in the navigation device 1, it is determined, for example, whether the position where the vehicle stops is a stop or a destination by using the method described in Patent Document 2. In addition, it is possible to store the stop and destination data in the travel history DB 12 based on the determination result. The travel history DB 12 may store data other than that shown in FIG. 3 such as data on a route from the departure place to the destination.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the facility DB 14. The facility DB 14 stores facility names, facility position coordinates, and facility attributes. Facility DB14 may be comprised as a part of map which a normal navigation apparatus has. In this specification, “facility” is used in a navigation device and can be displayed on a map. For example, only a building provided for some purpose, such as a restaurant or a gas station. It also includes tourist spots such as mountains, waterfalls, and lakes.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the search order table 28. In the search order table 28, the search order of facilities as landmarks is defined by the attributes of the facilities such as department stores and sightseeing spots in accordance with the driver's awareness of the area. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when the degree of recognition is high, that is, when the driver knows the area including the registration point well, the search order is 1st: department store, 2nd: sightseeing spot, 3rd Rank: Amusement park. On the other hand, when the degree of recognition is low, that is, when the driver does not know the area including the registration point well, the search order is 1st: amusement park, 2nd: sightseeing, 3rd: department store is there. In this way, when recognition is low, it is possible to easily grasp the landmark facility even in unguided areas by preferentially searching for a prominent facility such as an amusement park. By searching for facilities such as department stores preferentially, it is possible to set a landmark closer to the registered point. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the search order is defined for two levels of recognition level “high” and “low”, but the search level may be defined in detail by dividing the recognition level into three or more levels.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the search range table 30. The search range table 30 defines search radius data for each facility attribute. In the area within the search radius stored in the search range table 30 around the facility, the facility is used as a mark. For example, in the case of an amusement park, since the search radius is 500 m, the amusement park can be used as a mark for registered points within a radius of 500 m centering on the amusement park.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the registration point DB 32. The registered point DB 32 is a database that stores information on registered points. The registered point DB 32 stores a point ID for identifying a registered point, the position coordinates of the point, and a landmark facility. The registered spot DB 32 may store data indicating the positional relationship between the registered spot and the landmark facility. Thereby, when providing a registration point to a driver, more detailed information can be provided, for example, "It is west of X amusement park."

  Next, each configuration of the control unit 16 of the navigation device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 again. The registration point determination unit 18 has a function of determining a point to be registered. The registration point determination unit 18 determines the stop point as a registration point when the time when the vehicle stops is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes).

  The degree-of-recognition determination unit 20 has a function of determining the degree of recognition of a driver for an area including a registered point based on data stored in the travel history DB 12.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing for determining the degree of recognition in the degree-of-recognition determination unit 20. The degree-of-recognition determination unit 20 determines a range 70 having a predetermined radius (for example, 1 km) centered on the registered spot as an area including the registered spot. Next, the degree-of-recognition determination unit 20 processes the data stored in the travel history DB 12, and a point within a predetermined radius range 70 centered on the registered point becomes a departure point, a stopover, or a destination. Find the number of times. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the point A is 10 times, the point H is 5 times, and the point J is 4 times, which is a departure point, a stopover, or a destination. The degree-of-recognition determination unit 20 compares the total number of times with a predetermined threshold (for example, 10 times), and determines that the degree of recognition about the area including the registration point is high when the total number of times is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold. When the total number of times is smaller than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the degree of recognition about the area is low.

  In addition, since the degree of recognition about the area around the home or the company is usually high, the degree-of-recognition determination unit 20 sets the area around the home and the company as an area with a high degree of recognition in advance. In this case, the range of the area surrounding the home or the company may be set larger than a predetermined radius (for example, 1 km) used to determine the area including the registration point. And the recognition degree determination part 20 abbreviate | omits an above-described process and determines with a high recognition degree, when a registration point is contained in the surrounding area of a house or a company. In addition, since the number of times around the home and the company will be the destination or departure point, it is calculated as a high recognition area without such processing, but in this way the area around the home or company By determining whether or not, it is not necessary to perform data processing based on the travel history DB 12, it is possible to reduce the calculation processing burden.

  The search rank determination unit 22 has a function of referring to the search rank table 28 and determining the search rank of the landmark facility according to the driver's recognition degree for the area including the registration point. The facility search unit 24 has a function of searching for a facility that serves as a landmark for the registered location according to the search order determined by the search order determination unit 22. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, when the degree of recognition about the area is high, the search order is first place: department store, second place: sightseeing spot, and third place: amusement park. Therefore, the facility search unit 24 first extracts a department store in an area including the registration point from the facility DB 14. Next, the facility search unit 24 refers to the search radius data stored in the search range table 30 and determines for each department store whether or not a registration point within the search radius centered on the department store is included. Since the department store search radius is 50 m, the facility search unit 24 searches for a registration point within a radius of 50 m centering on the department store. Here, it is determined whether or not there is a registered point within the search radius centering on the facility (department store), but even if a facility (department store) within the search radius centered on the registered point is searched. Good. Since it suffices to determine whether the distance between the search target and the registration point is within the search radius, the same result can be obtained regardless of whether the search is performed at the registration point or the search target facility.

  When a department store that includes a registered point is found within the search radius, the facility search unit 24 uses the found department store as a landmark. If no department store is found, the facility having the attribute of the next search order (second place: sightseeing spot) is searched. The facility search unit 24 repeatedly performs the above processing by sequentially lowering the search order until a facility is found. When a plurality of facilities having the same attribute are found, the facility closest to the registration point is used as a mark.

  The point registration unit 26 associates the facility searched for by the facility search unit 24 with the registered point and stores it in the registration point DB 32. The point registration unit 26 checks whether the same facility is associated with a different point as a landmark, and when the same facility is associated, the driver's recognition degree is reviewed and the facility search unit 24 is informed with the landmark. You may be encouraged to re-examine the facility. When the same facility is associated as a landmark for different points, there are many registered points around the facility, and it is considered that the driver's recognition about the region is high. When the degree of recognition is high, since the registered points are associated with a facility that exists in large numbers, the possibility that the same facility is assigned to different registered points is low. However, for example, when the point registration is performed for the first time, the degree of recognition is low, and when the site is frequently visited and then a large number of point registrations are performed, the above situation is considered to occur. Therefore, in such a case, different facilities can be associated with each point by resetting a landmark with a small search radius (a facility that is not famous but there are many) according to the driver's current awareness. Can do. In addition, the review of the facility that serves as the mark has the effect that the facility that serves as the mark can be determined in accordance with the driver's current recognition. Here, an example of resetting a facility that is a landmark when the same facility is associated with a different point has been described, but even if the same facility is associated with a different point, You may reset the facility.

  As described above, when data indicating the positional relationship between the registered point and the landmark facility is stored in the registered point DB 32, even if the same facility is associated with a different point, the positional relationship may be If they are not the same, the registration points can be distinguished. For example, “west of X amusement park” and “south of X amusement park” can be distinguished.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 1. The operation of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the navigation apparatus 1 determines a registration point (S10). Specifically, the control unit 16 of the navigation device 1 determines that point as a registered point when the vehicle stop time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. In the navigation device 1, the vehicle position detection unit 10 detects the position coordinates of the registration point.

  Next, the control part 16 of the navigation apparatus 1 determines the recognition degree of the driver about the area containing a registration point (S12). The control unit 16 determines whether or not the registration point is an area around the home or the company, and determines that the degree of recognition is high when the registration point is around the home or the company. If it is not the area around the home or the company, the control unit 16 uses the data stored in the travel history DB 12 to obtain the driver's recognition degree for the area including the registered point.

After obtaining the driver's recognition degree, the control unit 16 refers to the search order table 28 and determines the search order of the landmark facility corresponding to the driver's recognition degree (S14). Subsequently, the control unit 16 searches for the facility from the facility data stored in the facility DB 14 in accordance with the determined search order (S16). The control unit 16 associates the found facility with the registered spot as a landmark, and stores it in the registered spot DB 32 together with the registered spot (S18).
The configuration and operation of the navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment have been described above.

  The navigation device 1 according to the first embodiment searches for a facility that serves as a landmark based on the driver's awareness of an area that includes a registered location, and therefore can determine an appropriate facility as a landmark for the registered location. .

  The information on the registered points stored in association with the landmark facility in this way can be suitably applied to an application that estimates and presents the destination according to the points the driver has made in the past or the driving situation. it can. When the navigation device estimates the destination from the registered points and presents it to the driver, even if there is no specific facility at the registered point itself, for example, “Do you want to set the destination around the XX amusement park as the destination? "?" Etc., the landmark facility that matches the driver's recognition level is presented, so that it is possible to easily grasp which area is presented as the destination. For example, when a destination is set in an unguided area, a conspicuous facility is presented as a landmark, so that the direction can be roughly known. Conversely, when a destination is set in an area familiar to the driver, a plurality of facilities are presented as landmarks, so that the destination can be grasped at a detailed level.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment. The navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment analyzes the driver's preference based on the operation history, and determines the facility search order that serves as a landmark based on the preference. The basic configuration of the navigation device 2 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the navigation device 1 of the first embodiment, but the control unit 16 of the navigation device 2 generates a search order table 34. The function of the rank table generation unit 36 is provided. The navigation device 2 is classified into the same category as the operation history database 38 (hereinafter referred to as “operation history DB”) that stores operation history such as search or setting as data used for generating the search order table 34. A regionality database (hereinafter referred to as “regional DB”) 40 that stores information indicating a region where a plurality of facilities having a certain attribute are gathered. In the present specification, a region where facilities having the same category of attributes are gathered is said to have regional characteristics. The locality here is not a characteristic of a general region, but is a regionality in the sense that facilities with attributes that are of interest to the driver are gathered. Hereinafter, the configuration of the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the operation history DB 38. The operation history DB 38 stores data indicating the date on which the navigation device 2 was operated, the facility searched or set, the category, attribute, and position of the facility. In the present embodiment, facility attribute and position data are stored in the operation history DB 38, but the facility attribute and position data are stored in the facility DB 14, and the facility DB 14 data and the operation history DB 38 Data may be related by facility ID or the like.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the regional DB 40. The regionality DB 40 stores data indicating a region where facilities classified into the same category are gathered. FIG. 12 shows a region 72 where facilities classified into the fashion category gather, that is, a region 72 having the category of fashion. The data stored in the regionality DB 40 is obtained by processing the data stored in the operation history DB 38.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the search order table 34 according to the second embodiment. The search order table 34 has “category” data in addition to the data of the search order table 28 of the first embodiment. The search order table 34 defines the search order in accordance with the category data related to the driver's recognition level. In the example shown in FIG. 13, when the recognition is high and the recognition is high in relation to the category of “fashion”, the first place: shopping mall, the second place: department store, the third place: boutique It is stipulated that the search is performed in order, and when the recognition is high in relation to the category of “date”, the search is performed in the order of first place: movie theater, second place: restaurant, third place: park. Thereby, it is possible to determine the search order in detail according to the category as well as whether the recognition level is high or low. The data stored in the search order table 34 is obtained by processing the data stored in the operation history DB 38. For example, among the facilities classified in the category of fashion, the attribute of the most searched facility is the first, the attribute of the next most searched facility is the second, and the facility of the third most searched The attribute is third.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment. The navigation device 2 first determines a registration point as in the first embodiment (S20). Next, the control part 16 of the navigation apparatus 2 performs the process which determines the recognition degree of the driver about the area containing a registration point. In FIG. 14, the process which determines a recognition degree is described in detail (S22-S30).

  The control unit 16 of the navigation device 2 determines whether or not the registration point is a home or an area around the company (S22). If the registration point is around the home or the company (YES in S22), it is determined that the degree of recognition is high (S26). If it is not the area around the home or the company, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the area including the registration point has regional characteristics (S24). Specifically, based on the data stored in the regional DB 40, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the region including the registration point is a region where a plurality of facilities classified into the same category are gathered. . When the area including the registration point has regional characteristics (YES in S24), the control unit 16 determines that the degree of recognition is high and specifies the category of the area (S28). When it does not have regionality (NO in S24), the control unit 16 uses the data stored in the travel history DB 12 to determine the driver's recognition degree for the region including the registered point (S30).

After obtaining the driver's recognition degree, the control unit 16 refers to the search order table 34 and determines the search order of the landmark facility corresponding to the driver's recognition degree (S32). When the category of the area is specified (S28), the search order corresponding to the category is determined based on the search order table 34. Subsequently, the control unit 16 searches for a facility from the facility DB 14 according to the determined search order (S34). The control unit 16 associates the found facility with the registered spot as a landmark, and stores it in the registered spot DB 32 together with the registered spot (S36).
The configuration and operation of the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment have been described above.

  As in the first embodiment, the navigation device 2 according to the second embodiment searches for a facility serving as a landmark based on the driver's awareness of the area including the registration point. It can be determined as a landmark for the registration point.

  Further, the navigation device 2 of the second embodiment obtains the attributes and categories of the facility that the driver is interested in based on the operation history, generates a search order table based on these information, Find the area where facilities that fall into the category you are interested in gathered. And since the navigation apparatus 2 searches a facility according to the search order according to the category which the area has when a registration point is contained in the area with regionality, the facility according to the recognition degree of a driver more appropriately Can be determined as a landmark.

  The navigation device of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the recognition degree determination unit 20 obtains the recognition degree using the data of the departure place, the stop-off place, or the destination stored in the travel history DB 12, but the data of the point set as the destination, etc. In addition, the driver's recognition degree may be calculated using the route data.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of obtaining the degree of recognition using route data. For example, the area around the route 74 passing from the point A (home) to the point E (company) may be an area with high recognition. The route 74 from the point A to the point E may be obtained using the travel history or may be obtained by route search. The area 76 with high recognition can be defined as an area within a predetermined distance (for example, 1 km) from the route from the point A to the point E, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the search order determined by the search order determination unit 22 with reference to the search order tables 28 and 34 is used as it is has been described. However, the search order determination unit 22 searches according to the preference of the driver. The search order read from the order tables 28 and 34 may be changed.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the navigation device 3 that changes the search order according to the preference of the driver. The basic configuration of the navigation device 3 is the same as that of the navigation device 1 of the first embodiment, but includes an operation history DB 38 and a driver preference database (hereinafter referred to as “driver preference DB”) 42. Different. The operation history DB 38 has the same configuration as the operation history DB 38 provided in the navigation device 2 described in the second embodiment. The driver preference DB 42 stores data on facility attributes preferred by the driver. The data stored in the driver preference DB 42 may be obtained by conducting a questionnaire with the driver in advance, or the operation history is acquired from the operation history DB 38 and the operation history is analyzed as in the second embodiment. You may ask. In the navigation device 3 according to the modification, the search order determination unit 22 reads the search order corresponding to the driver's recognition degree from the search order table 28, and the read search order is based on the driver's preference stored in the driver preference DB 42. And change the search order.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the change of the search order. In FIG. 17, the upper table 78 shows an example of the search order read from the search order table 28, and the lower table 80 shows an example of the search order changed using the driver preference data. As shown in Table 78 in the upper part of FIG. 17, it is assumed that the search order of first place: amusement park, second place: sightseeing spot, third place: department store is read from the search order table 28. For example, when the driver preference DB 42 stores data indicating that the preference for the tourist destination is strong, the search order determination unit 22 searches for the second highest tourist spot as shown in the table 80 in the lower part of FIG. To the first place. By determining the search order according to the driver's preference in this way, the facility suitable for the driver's preference is preferentially searched, and the facility familiar to the driver is given as a mark for the registered point. It becomes easy to grasp.

  In the second embodiment described above, the example in which the search order is determined for each category has been described. However, the search order may be determined according to the number of times the facility has been searched or set without setting the search order for each category. . Also with this configuration, the search order table can be generated according to the driver's interest, so that an appropriate facility can be obtained as a landmark using the search order table. In addition, when this configuration is adopted, it is not necessary to change the search order according to the category of the region, so that the regional database is not required, and a simple configuration can be achieved.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the driver's recognition degree for the area is obtained based on the travel history has been described. However, the driver's recognition degree may be obtained based on the operation history of the navigation device. Even if the car is not actually traveling, the driver is interested in the place set as a destination or stopover, and the surrounding area is considered to be highly recognized. By using the operation history, it is possible to determine how much knowledge the driver has about a place that has never been done.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it has the effect that a suitable facility can be determined as a mark with respect to a registration point, and the point registration matched with the said facility can be performed, and it is useful as a navigation apparatus etc. which have the function to carry out point registration of the place etc. It is.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the program which performs point registration. It is a figure which shows the example of the data memorize | stored in driving | running history DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the data memorize | stored in facility DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a search order table. It is a figure which shows the example of a search range table. It is a figure which shows the example of the data memorize | stored in registration point DB. It is a figure for demonstrating the process which calculates a recognition degree in a recognition degree determination part. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the navigation apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the data memorize | stored in operation history DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the data memorize | stored in regionality DB. It is a figure which shows the example of a search order table. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the navigation apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example which calculates | requires recognition using the data of a path | route. It is a figure which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a figure explaining change of search order.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Navigation device 10 Vehicle position detector 12 Travel history DB
14 facility DB
16 control part 18 registration point determination part 20 recognition degree determination part 22 search order determination part 24 facility search part 26 point registration part 28 search order table 30 search range table 32 registration point DB
34 Search Order Table 36 Search Order Table Generation Unit 38 Operation History DB
40 Regional DB
42 Driver preference DB
50 Program 52 Registration Point Determination Subprogram 54 Awareness Determination Subprogram 56 Search Order Determination Subprogram 58 Facility Search Subprogram 60 Point Registration Subprogram

Claims (11)

A navigation device having a function of registering a point,
According to the driver's awareness of the area, a search order table that defines the search order of the facility that serves as a landmark for the point by the attribute of the facility;
A travel history storage unit that stores a travel history of the vehicle;
A facility information storage unit that stores information indicating the location of the facility;
A registration point determination unit for determining a registration point;
A recognition degree determination unit that determines a driver's recognition degree for an area including a registration point, based on a travel history of the vehicle;
Based on the search order table, a search order determining unit that determines a search order corresponding to the recognition degree of the driver;
A facility search unit for searching for a facility in a predetermined range of the registration point in order from a facility with an attribute having a high search order;
A spot registration unit that stores the facility searched by the facility search unit as a landmark in the storage unit together with the registration point;
A navigation device comprising: A search range table that defines the search range of the facility in association with the facility attribute,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the facility search unit reads a search range corresponding to the attribute of the facility from the search range table, and searches for the facility in the read search range.   3. The search order table is defined such that when a driver's recognition degree for an area including the registered point is low, a search order of an attribute in which a wider search range is specified than when the recognition degree is high is defined. The navigation device described in 1.   The navigation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recognition degree determination unit determines the recognition degree of the driver for the area based on whether or not the driver's home is included in the area including the registration point. apparatus. An operation history storage unit that stores an operation history of the navigation device is provided,
The said recognition degree determination part determines the recognition degree of the driver about the said area based on the operation history which set the destination or the stop in the area including the said registration point. Navigation device. An operation history storage unit storing an operation history of the navigation device;
A search rank table generation unit that reads out the attribute of the facility searched or set by the driver from the operation history storage unit and generates the search rank table according to the number of searches or settings
A navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Based on the location and attribute of the facility searched or set by the driver, a regionality information storage unit that stores information indicating a region where facilities having attributes classified into the same category are gathered,
The search order table generation unit generates the search order table for each category,
The degree-of-recognition determination unit determines whether the registration point is included in an area stored in the regionality information storage unit;
The search order determination unit determines a search order corresponding to a category of the area with reference to the search order table when the registration point is included in an area stored in the regionality information storage unit. Item 7. The navigation device according to Item 6. A preference information storage unit that stores information indicating a preference attribute of the driver,
The search order determination unit reads the search order corresponding to the driver's recognition degree from the search order table, and when there is an attribute that matches the favorite attribute of the driver among the attributes indicating the read search order, The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the search order of the attribute is moved higher.   The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the registration point determination unit determines a point where the vehicle has stopped as a registration point when the vehicle has stopped for a predetermined time or more. A point registration method for registering points,
Preparing a search order table in which the search order of facilities serving as landmarks for the location is defined by the attributes of the facilities according to the driver's awareness of the area;
Determining a registration point;
Determining the driver's awareness of the area including the registration point based on the vehicle's travel history;
Determining a search order corresponding to the driver's recognition based on the search order table;
Searching for facilities in a predetermined range of the registered points in order from the facility with the higher attribute of the search order;
Storing the searched facility as a landmark in the storage unit together with the registration point;
A point registration method comprising: A program for registering a predetermined point in the navigation device, the navigation device
Preparing a search order table in which the search order of facilities serving as landmarks for the location is defined by the attributes of the facilities according to the driver's awareness of the area;
Determining a registration point;
Determining the driver's awareness of the area including the registration point based on the vehicle's travel history;
Determining a search order corresponding to the driver's recognition based on the search order table;
Searching for facilities in a predetermined range of the registered points in order from the facility with the higher attribute of the search order;
Storing the searched facility as a landmark in the storage unit together with the registration point;
A program that executes

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