JP2010237112A - Information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing device for precisely providing information necessary for an occupant of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: For each genre of information provided to an occupant, necessity B (the degree in which the occupant requires information on each genre) in accordance with the traveling time of the vehicle, necessity C in accordance with the type of road, necessity D in accordance with road link information indicating a road section (current position), and necessity E in accordance with emergency state in the vehicle are specified (S21 to S24). Next, determination necessity X comprehensively reflecting various environments of the vehicle at the current time is calculated for each genre on the basis of the necessity B-E (S25). Priority of each genre is set (S26) so that the genre having high calculated determination necessity X is preferentially displayed on an LCD 18. Thus, the information of the genre matching with various environments of the vehicle at each time point is preferentially displayed on the LCD 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus, and more particularly to an information providing apparatus capable of accurately providing necessary information to a user.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information providing apparatuses that provide genre information with a high degree of necessity to users are known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an information providing apparatus in which a user sets a priority for each genre in advance and provides information in order from a genre with a higher priority according to the setting.

JP 2006-107136 A

  However, in the information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the priority is set in advance by the user, the order in which the information is provided is fixed according to the preset priority. There is a problem that information required by the user may not be provided accurately depending on the situation.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus capable of accurately providing necessary information to a user.

  In order to achieve this object, the information providing apparatus according to claim 1 provides information of a plurality of genres, and a degree of necessity indicating the necessity of information for each genre according to various circumstances of the environment. Storage means for storing the setting information for each environment, a determination means for determining the situation for each environment, and for each genre with respect to the environment according to the environmental situation determined by the determination means A specifying means for specifying the degree of necessity from the setting information, a deriving means for deriving a final necessity for each genre based on the necessity for each genre specified by the specifying means, and a moving means Priority setting means for setting priorities for providing information on a plurality of genres in accordance with the result of the comparison of the final necessity for each genre.

  The information providing apparatus according to claim 2 is the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit includes setting information in which a degree of necessity is set for each genre according to a road type as the environment, and the environment And at least setting information in which the degree of necessity is set for each genre according to time, and the derivation means is specified for the road type by the specification means via the determination means. Based on the degree of necessity for each genre and the degree of necessity for each genre specified for the time, the final degree for each genre is increased so that the final degree of necessity for each genre having a high degree of necessity is high. The necessary degree is derived.

  The information providing device according to claim 3 is the information providing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage unit includes at least setting information in which a degree of necessity is set for each genre according to a current position as the environment. The derivation means is a final necessity of a genre having a high degree of necessity based on the degree of necessity for each genre specified with respect to the current position by the specification means via the determination means. The final necessity for each genre is derived so as to increase the degree.

  The information providing device according to claim 4 is the information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a necessity setting unit that sets a necessity that reflects a user's preference for each genre, The derivation unit takes into account the necessity level reflecting the user preference set for each genre by the necessity level setting unit to the necessity level for each genre specified by the specifying unit via the determination unit. Thus, the final necessity for each genre is derived.

  An information providing device according to claim 5 provides information of a plurality of genres to a vehicle occupant in the information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage means includes the environment At least setting information in which the necessity level of a genre related to an event that needs to be dealt with is set is stored, and the derivation unit needs to deal with the vehicle by the specifying unit via the determination unit The final necessity degree for each genre is derived by taking into account the necessity degree of the genre specified for a particular event stronger than the necessity degree for each genre specified by another environment.

  According to the information providing apparatus of the first aspect, the setting information in which the necessity level indicating the necessity level of the information for each genre is stored in the storage unit for each environment according to various circumstances of the environment. In addition, the situation for each environment is judged by the judgment means, and the degree of necessity for each genre for the environment is specified by the specifying means from the setting information according to the determined environment situation. Here, based on the degree of necessity for each specified genre, the final degree of necessity for each genre is derived by the deriving means. That is, the final necessity for each genre derived by the deriving means is a necessity obtained by comprehensively judging various environments at that time by taking into account the situation for each environment. And the priority which provides the information of multiple genres according to the result of the comparison of the final necessity for every genre derived | led-out by the deriving means is set by the priority setting means. Therefore, since the priority for providing information of each genre is set according to the final necessity for each genre obtained by comprehensively judging various environments at that time, from the information providing device , It is possible to preferentially provide genre information suitable for various environments at that time. Therefore, there is an effect that necessary information can be accurately provided to the user.

  According to the information provision apparatus of Claim 2, in addition to the effect which the information provision apparatus of Claim 1 show | plays, there exists the following effect. In other words, the storage means stores at least setting information in which the degree of necessity is set for each genre according to the road type as the environment, and setting information in which the degree of necessity is set for each genre according to the time as the environment. Yes. Then, based on the necessity level for each genre specified for the road type by the specifying means via the determination means and the necessity level for each genre specified for the time, the derivation means determines the necessity level. The final necessity for each genre is derived for each genre so that the final necessity for higher genres is higher. Here, the genre of information required by the user generally varies greatly depending on the road type (highway, national highway, prefectural road, narrow street, etc.) as an environment, and greatly depends on time. Is different. On the other hand, the information providing device according to claim 2 is based on the necessity for each genre specified for the road type and the necessity for each genre specified for the time. Since the final necessity for each genre is derived so that the final necessity for a higher genre is higher, the priority for that genre can be set higher. It is possible to preferentially provide genre information suitable for both time and time. Therefore, there is an effect that necessary information can be provided more accurately to the user.

  According to the information provision apparatus of Claim 3, in addition to the effect which the information provision apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 has, there exists the following effect. That is, the storage unit stores at least setting information in which the necessary degree is set for each genre according to the current position as an environment. Then, on the basis of the necessity for each genre specified with respect to the current position by the specifying means via the determination means, the derivation means increases the final necessity of the genre having a high necessity by each genre. The final necessity of is derived.

  Here, the genre of information required by the user generally varies greatly depending on the current position. On the other hand, since the information providing apparatus according to claim 3 is derived so that the final necessity of the genre having a high degree of necessity for each genre specified with respect to the current position is high, priority is given to the genre. The information can be set high, and the information providing apparatus can preferentially provide genre information suitable for the current position. Therefore, there is an effect that necessary information can be provided more accurately to the user.

  According to the information provision apparatus of Claim 4, in addition to the effect which the information provision apparatus in any one of Claim 1 to 3 exhibits, there exists the following effect. That is, the necessity level reflecting the user's preference is set for each genre by the necessity level setting means, and the necessity level for each genre specified by the specifying means via the determination means is set for each genre by the necessity level setting means. The degree of necessity reflecting the user's preference is added, and the final degree of necessity for each genre is derived by the deriving means. Thus, since the necessity degree reflecting the user preference set for each genre by the necessity setting means is added to the final necessity degree derived for each genre derived by the deriving means, The preference can be reflected in the final necessity for each genre. Therefore, since the preference of each genre set by the priority setting means according to the final necessity for each genre can be reflected in the user's preference, the information providing apparatus can It is possible to preferentially provide genre information preferred by the user. Therefore, there is an effect that necessary information can be provided more accurately to the user.

  According to the information provision apparatus of Claim 5, in addition to the effect which the information provision apparatus in any one of Claim 1 to 4 has, there exists the following effect. That is, in the information providing apparatus that provides information on a plurality of genres to the vehicle occupant, the storage means stores at least setting information in which the degree of genre related to an event that needs to be handled in the vehicle is set as an environment. ing. And the necessity level of the genre specified for the event that needs to be handled by the vehicle by the specifying means via the determination means is taken into consideration more strongly than the necessity level for each genre specified by other environments, and the derivation means Thus, the final necessity for each genre is derived. As a result, when an event that needs to be dealt with in a vehicle has occurred, the priority of the genre related to the event that needs to be dealt with in the vehicle can be made significantly different from the priority of other genres. From the providing device, it is possible to provide genre information related to an event that needs to be dealt with more conspicuously than other genre information. Therefore, there is an effect that necessary information can be provided more accurately to the vehicle occupant who is a user.

It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the navigation apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows typically an example of the content of the filtering 1 table (standard value A of necessity), (b) is the content of the filtering 2 table (necessity B according to time). It is a schematic diagram which shows an example typically. (A) is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of the contents of a filtering 3 table (necessity C according to road type), and (b) is a filtering 4 table (necessity D according to road link information). ) Is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the content of (), and (c) is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the content of the filtering 5 table (necessity E according to the emergency state). It is a flowchart which shows the information provision process performed with CPU in a navigation apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a navigation apparatus 10 which is an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 10 will be described. The navigation device 10 is provided in the vehicle, sets a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, outputs the set route, and guides the route to the destination.

  Further, the navigation device 10 is configured to be connectable to a wireless communication network 70 provided by a mobile phone operator via a base station 60, and provides information to the information providing server 50 connected to the wireless communication network 70. By transmitting the provision request together with the current position information of the vehicle, from the information providing server 50, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facilities” related to a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle. Information of various genres such as “information” can be received.

  The navigation device 10 is provided in the navigation device 10 with information on various genres received from the information providing server 50 (such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”). Information of various genres extracted from the obtained road map database 14a ("gas station (GS) information", "service area / parking area (SA / PA) information", etc.)), and the navigation device 10 notifies the passengers Information on the genre to be (such as “ETC information”) is displayed on a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)”) 18, thereby occupants of the vehicle provided with the navigation device 10. On the other hand, as an information providing device that provides information on various genres It has a function.

  The “restaurant information” is information indicating names and positions of various restaurants, business hours, contact information, and the like. The “event information” is information indicating the contents, holding time, holding place, etc. of various events. “News information” is information indicating various news. “Accommodation facility information” is information indicating names and positions of various accommodation facilities, vacancy information, and the like. “GS information” is information indicating the position and business hours of each gas station. “SA / PA information” is information indicating the names and positions of service areas and parking areas on highways. “ETC information” is information prompting insertion of an ETC card.

  Here, the navigation device 10 is used in a plurality of environmental conditions surrounding the vehicle, for example, the time the vehicle is traveling, the road type and the current position, the remaining amount of gasoline, the ETC used in the so-called automatic fee payment system. An ETC importance level indicating the degree of card necessity is determined. And according to the situation of those environments, for each genre of information provided, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”, “GS information”, “GS information”, “ By setting the priority for each of “SA / PA information” and “ETC information” and displaying them on the LCD 18 in order from the information of the genre having the highest priority, the necessary information can be provided to the vehicle occupant accurately. It has become.

  Next, the detailed configuration of the navigation device 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as “HDD (Hard Disk Drive)”. 14), and mainly includes a current position detection device 15, a communication control device 16, an LCD 18, a touch panel 19, and operation keys 20.

  The navigation device 10 is connected to a gasoline remaining amount sensor 80 and an ETC vehicle-mounted device 90 provided outside the navigation device 10 and provided in a vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted.

  The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to each other via a bus line 21. Also, the HDD 14, the current position detection device 15, the communication control device 16, the LCD 18, the touch panel 19, the operation keys 20, the gasoline remaining amount sensor 80, and the ETC vehicle-mounted device 90 are all connected to the input / output port 22. Are connected to the bus line 21. As a result, various signals and data are transmitted and received between the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13 and each unit connected to the input / output port 22.

  The gasoline remaining amount sensor 80 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of gasoline provided in the gasoline tank of the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted, and information indicating the remaining amount of gasoline as the detection result is the navigation device 10. Is output for.

  The ETC on-vehicle device 90 is used in a so-called automatic fee payment system. When an ETC card is inserted into an insertion port provided on the ETC on-vehicle device 90, an antenna provided on the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is provided. And data related to fee payment are transmitted / received to / from an antenna provided at a toll gate or the like.

  The ETC in-vehicle device 90 is configured to transmit information indicating the insertion state of the ETC card to the navigation device 10. Further, the navigation device 10 can determine whether or not the connection with the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is made at a connection terminal (not shown) with the ETC on-vehicle device 90 provided in the navigation device 10. The determination result can be read from the CPU 11 at any time.

  The CPU 11 is an arithmetic device that executes control of each function of the navigation device 10 and control of each unit connected to the input / output port 22 in accordance with data and programs stored in the ROM 12 and RAM 13.

  The CPU 11 includes a time measuring circuit 11a. The clock circuit 11a is a known circuit having a clock function that ticks the current date and time and a timer function that clocks the passage of a set time. The CPU 11 uses the clock function and timer function of the clock circuit 11a, Perform various controls. For example, the CPU 11 determines the time during which the vehicle is traveling from the timing circuit 11a by executing an information providing process described later with reference to FIG. For each genre of information to be provided, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, “ETC information”. Set priority for each genre.

  The ROM 12 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory that stores a control program executed by the CPU 11. A control program 12 a for executing the information providing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is stored in the ROM 12.

  The details will be described later with reference to FIG. 4. The information providing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is performed for each genre of information provided, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”. ”,“ Accommodation information ”,“ GS information ”,“ SA / PA information ”, and“ ETC information ”, priorities are set and displayed on the LCD 18 in descending order of genre information. is there.

  Here, in the information providing process, in order to set the priority for each genre, first, the situation of a plurality of environments surrounding the vehicle is determined, and for each environment, according to the situation of the environment, Set the genre necessity for each genre. “Necessity of genre” indicates the degree to which information of the genre is required under the circumstances of the environment determined for one environment. Each environment determined by the information providing process On the other hand, according to the situation, for each genre, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ It is set for each “ETC information”.

  In the present embodiment, the standard value A of the necessity that a constant value is set regardless of the environment, the necessity B that is set according to the traveling time of the vehicle, and the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling The necessity C set according to the vehicle, the necessity D set according to road link information (described later) indicating the road section (current position) on which the vehicle is traveling, and the occurrence of an emergency state in the vehicle The necessary degree E is set for each genre. In other words, in the present embodiment, as the environment, the time during which the vehicle is traveling, the road type, the road section (current position), and the occurrence of an emergency state in the vehicle are determined. ~ E are set.

  Next, in the information providing process, based on the standard value A of the necessity set for each genre and the needs B to E according to each environment, various environments at the present time of the vehicle are comprehensively reflected. A determination necessity degree X indicating the necessity degree of information of the genre is calculated for each genre. Then, by comparing the determination necessity level X of each genre, a priority is set for each genre so that information of a genre having a high determination necessity level X is preferentially displayed on the LCD 18.

  As described above, the priority of each genre is set according to the determination necessity level X of each genre obtained by comprehensively determining various environments of the vehicle at that time. The information of the genre suitable for various environments at that time is preferentially displayed.

  The RAM 13 is a rewritable volatile memory for temporarily storing various data when each operation of the navigation device 10 is executed. The RAM 13 is provided with an information storage area 13a.

  The information storage area 13a is an area for storing information provided to the occupant, that is, information displayed on the LCD 18. The CPU 11 receives genre information such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, and “accommodation facility information” from the information providing server 50 at a predetermined timing (for example, every 10 minutes). The information received from the information providing server 50 is overwritten and stored in the information storage area 13a.

  In addition, the CPU 11 receives information from the information providing server 50 at the timing when the information is received from the current position of the vehicle, the information about the gas station and the service area / parking area within the predetermined range, that is, “GS information” and “SA / PA information”. Is extracted from the road map database 14a in the navigation device 10 and stored in the information storage area 13a in the form of overwriting the information previously extracted from the road map database 14a.

  Further, the CPU 11 stores information of the “ETC information” genre prompting insertion of the ETC card in advance at a predetermined timing (for example, timing of initialization processing executed immediately after the navigation apparatus 10 is turned on). Store in the information storage area 13a.

  Then, the CPU 11 displays the information of various genres stored in the information storage area 13a on the LCD 18 in the order of priority of each genre set by comprehensively judging various environments of the vehicle at that time. To do. As a result, information on a genre suitable for various environments of the vehicle is preferentially displayed on the LCD 18.

  The HDD 14 is a rewritable magnetic disk, and stores, for example, a road map database 14a, a filtering 1 table 14b, a filtering 2 table 14c, a filtering 3 table 14d, a filtering 4 table 14e, and a filtering 5 table 14f.

  The road map database 14a is a database storing map information for displaying various maps and roads around the current location of the vehicle and around the destination on the LCD 18, and road information used for route search to the destination. . The road map database 14a stores POI (Point Of Interest) information, which is facility information of various facilities such as gas stations, service areas, and parking areas. This POI information is information describing position information (longitude and latitude information) of the facility, the name of the facility, and related information in the facility for each of various facilities.

  The CPU 11 refers to the POI information stored in the road map database 14a at the time when the information is received from the information providing server 50, and information on the gas station, service area / parking area included in a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle, That is, genre information such as “gas station (GS) information” and “service area / parking area (SA / PA) information” is extracted from this POI information.

  The filtering 1 table 14b to the filtering 5 table 14f indicate the determination necessity level X used for setting the priority for each genre, that is, the necessity level of information of each genre that comprehensively reflects various environments of the vehicle. In order to calculate the determination necessity degree X shown, it is a table for specifying, for each genre, the above-described standard value A of necessity degree and necessity degrees B to E according to each environment.

  Here, with reference to FIG.2 and FIG.3, the detail of the filtering 1 table 14b-the filtering 5 table 14f is demonstrated. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of the contents of the filtering 1 table 14b (standard value A of necessity), and FIG. 2B shows the filtering 2 table 14c (necessary according to time). It is a schematic diagram which shows typically an example of the content of degree B). FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram schematically showing an example of the contents of the filtering 3 table 14d (necessity C according to the road type), and FIG. 3B is a filtering 4 table 14e (road FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of the necessity D) according to the link information, and FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram schematically showing the contents of the filtering 5 table (necessity E according to the emergency state). It is.

  First, the filtering 1 table 14b is a table for specifying, for each genre, the standard value A of the degree of necessity for setting a constant value regardless of the environment surrounding the vehicle. In the filtering 1 table 14b, as shown in FIG. 2A, the standard value A of the “restaurant information” genre is associated with the “restaurant” of the “genre”, and the “event information” genre is associated with the “event”. The standard value A of the “news information” genre is associated with “news”, the standard value A of the “accommodation facility information” genre is associated with “accommodation facilities”, and “GS”. Is associated with the standard value A of the “GS information” genre, the standard value A of the “SA / PA information” genre is associated with “SA • PA”, and the standard value A of the “ETC information” genre is associated with “ETC”. Are associated.

  The standard value A of the necessity level of each genre means that the higher the value, the higher the degree of need for information on that genre. In the example of FIG. 2A, “1” is associated with the standard value A of the “restaurant information” genre, “2” is associated with the standard value A of the “event information” genre, and “news information”. “3” is associated with the standard value A of the genre, “4” is associated with the standard value A of the “accommodation facility information” genre, and “5” is associated with the standard value A of the “GS information” genre. “6” is associated with the standard value A of the “SA / PA information” genre, and “0” is associated with the standard value A of the “ETC” genre.

  Therefore, in the example of FIG. 2A, the required degree of the genre information indicated by the standard value A of the necessity level for each genre is “ETC information” <“restaurant information” <“event information”. <“News information” <“Accommodation facility information” <“GS information” <“SA / PA information”.

  In the example of FIG. 2A, the case where the standard value A is associated with a different value for each genre has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and some or all of the genres are used. The standard value A having the same value may be associated. In this case, in the genre associated with the same standard value A, it means that the degree of information required for the genre is the same. Also, in the necessity levels B to E described below, similarly, the necessity level of each genre may be set to a different value, or the same value may be set for some or all genres. It may be set.

  The filtering 1 table 14b is configured such that the content can be appropriately changed by the occupant operating the touch panel 19 and the operation keys 20 of the navigation device 10. That is, the standard value A of the necessity level associated with each genre can be changed by the occupant. Thereby, the passenger | crew can preset the standard value A of the necessity degree in each genre according to the passenger | crew's preference. Therefore, the standard value A of necessity level can indicate that the necessity level of information of each genre is indicated for each genre according to the regular preference of the occupant.

  In order to change the filtering 1 table 14b by the occupant, several combinations of standard values A of each genre are prepared in advance, and the occupant selects a combination of favorite standard values A from the combinations. This may be done by setting a standard value A for each genre according to the selected combination. Further, by accepting input of standard value A from the occupant for each genre and setting the standard value A input by the occupant for each genre for the corresponding genre, the filtering 1 table 14b is changed by the occupant May be performed.

  Further, the standard value A of the necessity level in the “ETC information” genre is desirably set to a low value such as 0 even when the filtering 1 table 14b is changed by the occupant. This is because the ETC information, which is information prompting the insertion of the ETC card, is only in a situation where the ETC card is required, that is, the ETC on-board unit 90 is attached, and the ETC card is inserted into the ETC on-board unit 90. This is because the determination necessity degree X in the ETC information is set to a high value only when the road to which the automatic fee payment system is adopted is set as a result of the route search to the destination in the absence of the traffic.

  The filtering 1 table 14b is referred to when the CPU 11 executes the information providing process shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 11 specifies, for each genre, the standard value A of the degree of necessity associated with each genre in the filtering 1 table 14b regardless of the plurality of environments surrounding the vehicle determined in the information providing process (see FIG. 4 S20). Then, based on the standard value A of the necessity level of each genre, the determination necessity level X of each genre is calculated (see S25 in FIG. 4), and the genre having the high determination level X is given priority. The priority of each genre is set so as to be displayed above (S26 in FIG. 4).

  Here, as described above, the standard value A of necessity indicates the degree of necessity for which information of each genre is required for each genre according to the passenger's steady preference. Then, since the determination necessity level X is calculated based on the standard value A of the necessity level, information on the genre that suits the occupant's preference can be displayed on the LCD 18 with constant priority. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  The filtering 2 table 14c is a table for specifying, for each genre, the value of the necessity level B set according to the traveling time of the vehicle as one environment surrounding the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2B, the filtering 2 table 14c is divided into “time” and “genre”. The time shown in the 24-hour system is divided into 15-minute increments. Is shown. The “genre” includes “restaurant” to which the necessity B of the “restaurant information” genre is associated, “event” to which the necessity B of the “event information” genre is associated, and “accommodation facility information”. It is divided into “accommodation facilities” associated with the genre necessity level B.

  In the filtering 2 table 14c, the necessity level B of each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation facility information” at that time is associated with the time indicated by “time”. They are set in the columns of “restaurant”, “event” and “accommodation facility”, respectively. For example, in the example of FIG. 2B, for “time” of “6:00”, the necessity level of each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information” is different. “0”, “1”, and “0” are set, respectively. In addition, when the “time” is “17:00”, the necessity levels of the “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information” genres are “2” and “0”, respectively. , “1”.

  The degree of necessity B of each genre means that the higher the value, the higher the degree of need for information on that genre. In general, information on the “restaurant information” genre is more strongly demanded than other information at lunch and dinner. Therefore, in the filtering 2 table 14c, by setting the necessity level B of the “restaurant information” genre at the time of lunch or dinner to “2” higher than the other genres, The degree to which information of the “store information” genre is required can be indicated higher than other genres.

  Further, since the information of the “event information” genre is generally obtained from the sunrise to the sunset time zone, the necessity level of the “event information” genre in the sunrise to sunset time zone in the filtering 2 table 14c. By setting B as “1” and setting the necessity level of “event information” genre in other time zones as “0”, the degree to which information of “event information” genre is required in that time zone Can be shown higher than other time zones.

  Further, since the “accommodation facility information” genre information is generally obtained from the evening to the night time zone, the “accommodation facility information” genre in the evening to night time zone in the filtering 2 table 14c. The necessity B is set to “1” and the necessity B of the “accommodation information” genre in other time zones is set to “0”, so that the “accommodation information” genre in the evening to night time zone is set. The degree to which information is needed can be indicated higher than in other time zones.

  The filtering 2 table 14c is referred to when the CPU 11 executes the information providing process shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 11 determines the time during which the vehicle is traveling from the time measuring circuit 11a by the information providing process (see S16 in FIG. 4), and is associated with the closest “time” below the determined time. Necessity B in each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation facility information” is specified (see S21 in FIG. 4).

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2B, when the time acquired from the clock circuit 11a is “11:08”, it corresponds to “11:00” which is the nearest “time” below “11:08”. The values “2”, “1”, and “0” in each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation facility information” attached are specified as the necessity level B of each genre.

  In the filtering 2 table 14c, the necessity level B of each genre of “news information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information” is not set. This is because, for each genre of “news information”, “GS information” and “SA / PA information”, information of the genre is necessary regardless of time, and for the “ETC information” genre, it is related to time. This is because the information is not normally required.

  Therefore, when the CPU 11 identifies the necessity level B of each genre from the filtering 2 table 14c, the vehicle travels the necessity level B of each genre of “news information”, “GS information”, and “SA / PA information”. The necessity B of the “ETC information” genre is specified to be “0” regardless of the traveling time of the vehicle.

  Then, when the CPU 11 specifies the necessity level B of each genre from the filtering 2 table 14c and the like, the CPU 11 calculates the determination necessity level X of each genre based on the necessity level B corresponding to the time of each genre (FIG. 4). The priority of each genre is set so that the genre having the high determination necessity X is displayed on the LCD 18 with priority (see S26 in FIG. 4).

  Therefore, if the necessity level B of the genre required at the time during which the vehicle is traveling is set high, the information on the genre can be displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  The filtering 3 table 14d is a table for specifying, for each genre, a value of necessity degree C set according to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling as one environment surrounding the vehicle. Here, the road type refers to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, such as an expressway or a national road, and the filtering 3 table 14d sets the value of the necessity degree C according to the characteristics of the road type. Specify by genre.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the filtering 3 table 14d is divided into “road type” and “genre”. The “road type” is “highway”, “city road”, “national road”. ”,“ Main regional roads ”,“ Prefectural roads ”,“ General roads (main lines) ”,“ Other guide roads ”,“ Introduction roads ”,“ Narrow streets ”,“ Narrow streets (not shown while driving) ”,“ Ferry ” It is divided according to each road type such as “route” and “in-facility road (parking lot)”. “Narrow street (not displayed during travel)” indicates a narrow street that is not displayed in the map displayed on the LCD 18 while the vehicle is traveling.

  On the other hand, the “genre” includes “restaurant” associated with the necessity C of the “restaurant information” genre, “event” associated with the necessity C of the “event information” genre, and “accommodation facility information”. The “accommodation facility” associated with the genre necessity C and the “SA / PA information” genre necessity C are associated with “SA / PA”.

  In the filtering 3 table 14d, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “accommodation facility information”, and “SA / PA information” in the road type are associated with the road type indicated in the “road type”. "N" is set in the columns of "restaurant", "event", "accommodation facility", and "SA / PA".

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3A, “Restaurant information”, “Event information”, “Accommodation information”, and “SA / PA information” are categorized as “Road type” is “Highway”. Are set to “0”, “0”, “0”, and “1”, respectively. For “road types” other than “highway”, the necessity level of each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, “accommodation information”, and “SA / PA information” is set. , “1”, “1”, “1”, and “0”, respectively.

  The degree of necessity C of each genre means that the higher the value, the higher the degree of need for information on that genre. Here, when the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, information on the “SA / PA information” genre is more strongly demanded than information on genres such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information”. It is done. Therefore, in the filtering 3 table 14d, the necessity C of each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information” on the “highway” is set to “0”, and “SA / PA information” is set. By setting the genre necessity C to “1”, it is possible to indicate the degree to which information of the “SA / PA information” genre is required higher than other genres while driving on a highway. .

  When the vehicle is traveling on a road other than an expressway, information on genres such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information” is required, while information on the “SA / PA information” genre is obtained. Is not necessary. Therefore, in the filtering 3 table 14d, the necessity C of each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation facility information” for road types other than “highway” is set to “1”, and “ By setting the necessary degree C of the “SA / PA information” genre to “0”, the degree to which the information of the “SA / PA information” genre is required when traveling on roads other than highways is set to other genres. Can be shown lower.

  The filtering 3 table 14d is referred to when the CPU 11 executes the information providing process shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 11 obtains the road information on the road map database 14a from the current position information (longitude and latitude information) of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 15 by the information providing process. Necessary for each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, “accommodation information” and “SA / PA information” associated with the determined road type (see S17 in FIG. 4). The degree C is specified (see S22 in FIG. 4).

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3A, when it is determined that the road type on which the vehicle is traveling is an expressway, “restaurant information” and “event” in which “road type” is associated with “highway” The values “0”, “0”, “0”, and “1” in each genre of “information”, “accommodation facility information”, and “SA / PA information” are specified as the necessary degree C of each genre.

  In the filtering 3 table 14d, the necessity level C of each genre of “news information”, “GS information”, and “ETC information” is not set. This is because, for each genre of “news information” and “GS information”, information on the genre is necessary regardless of the road type, and for the “ETC information” genre, usually it is not related to the road type. This is because no information is needed.

  Therefore, when the CPU 11 specifies the necessity C for each genre from the filtering 3 table 14d, the CPU 11 determines the necessity C for each genre of “news information” and “GS information” regardless of the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling. “1” is specified, and the necessity C of the “ETC information” genre is specified as “0” regardless of the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  Then, when the CPU 11 specifies the necessity C of each genre from the filtering 3 table 14d or the like, the CPU 11 calculates the determination necessity X of each genre based on the necessity C according to the road type of each genre (see FIG. 4), the priority of each genre is set so that the genre having the calculated determination necessity X is preferentially displayed on the LCD 18 (see S26 in FIG. 4). Therefore, in the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, if the necessity level C of the genre required while traveling on the road type is set high, the information on the genre is displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible. be able to. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  The filtering 4 table 14e specifies, for each genre, the value of the necessity level D set according to the road link information indicating the road section (current position) where the vehicle is traveling as one environment surrounding the vehicle. It is a table. Here, the road link information is information indicating a road section (road link) specified by connecting nodes uniquely set on the road in the road information stored in the road map database 14a. . The reason why the nodes and road links are used in the filtering 4 table 14e in this way is to identify easy-to-go places and difficult-to-go places depending on the road that is being used for guidance. For example, if the guidance location is at a point that crosses a bridge, if an alternative location that does not need to go across the bridge is found, it can be filtered to guide this alternative location.

  Therefore, the CPU 11 specifies the value of the necessity level D for each genre according to the road link information by the filtering 4 table 14e, and thus according to the road section where the vehicle is traveling (that is, the current position of the vehicle). The value of the necessary degree D can be specified. Therefore, according to the characteristics of the road section (current position) where the vehicle is traveling, the degree to which information on the genre is required can be set for each genre.

  This filtering 4 table 14e is divided into “road link information” and “genre” as shown in FIG. “Road link information” is divided by all road link information included in the road information stored in the road map data map 14a, and the road link information is used as identification information for identifying each road link information. Node identification information at both ends of the road section indicated by is described.

  On the other hand, “genre” includes “restaurant” that is associated with the necessity D of the “restaurant information” genre, “event” that is associated with the necessity D of the “event information” genre, and “news information” genre. “News” associated with the necessary degree D of “accommodation”, “accommodation facility” associated with the necessary degree D of the “accommodation facility information” genre, and “GS” associated with the necessary degree D of the “GS information” genre. The “SA / PA information” genre necessity D is associated with “SA / PA” and the “ETC information” genre necessity D is associated with “ETC”.

  In the filtering 4 table 14e, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information” in the road link information in association with the identification information of the road link information indicated in “road link information”, The necessity D of each genre of “accommodation facility information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information” is “restaurant”, “event”, “news”, “accommodation facility”, It is set in the columns “GS”, “SA / PA”, and “ETC”.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3B, the identification information of the road link information shown in “Road link information” is “Node A: Node B”, “Restaurant information”, “Event information”, “News” The necessary degree D of each genre of “information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information” and “ETC information” is “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”, “6”, “5”, and “100” are set. In addition, the identification information of the road link information shown in the “road link information” is “node X: node Y”, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”, The degree of necessity of each genre of “GS information”, “SA / PA information” and “ETC information” is “10”, “9”, “3”, “4”, “5”, “0”, respectively. "," 0 ".

  The degree of necessity D of each genre means that the higher the value, the higher the degree of need for information on that genre. Here, when the vehicle is traveling on a road section indicated by “node X: node Y” in the identification information of the road link information illustrated in FIG. 3B, for example, this road section is in a commercial area. If there is a road section where an event facility is present in the vicinity, information about restaurants and events existing in the vicinity of the road section is strongly required.

  On the other hand, in the filter 4 table 14e, the necessity D of each genre of “restaurant information” and “event information” in “node X: node Y” is “10” and “9” in the “road link information”. And larger values than other genres. As a result, when the vehicle is traveling on the road section indicated by “Node X: Node Y” in the identification information of the road link information, the road section is in the commercial area and there is an event facility nearby. The degree to which each genre of “Restaurant information” and “Event information” is required can be shown higher than other genres in accordance with the characteristic of performing.

  In addition, when the vehicle is traveling on a road section indicated by “node A: node B” in the identification information of the road link information illustrated in FIG. 3B, this road section is provided in the filtering 4 table 14e. As shown in the attached “tag”, since it is an interchange (IC) attachment path, confirmation of ETC card insertion is strongly required.

  On the other hand, in the filter 4 table 14e, the “road link information” is set to “100” as the necessity degree D of the “ETC information” genre in “node A: node B”, which is much larger than the other genres. Has been. As a result, when the vehicle is traveling on a road section indicated by “Node A: Node B” in the identification information of the road link information, in accordance with the characteristic that the road section is an interchange attachment road. The degree to which the “ETC information” genre that prompts the user to insert an ETC card is required can be indicated higher than other genres.

  The filtering 4 table 14e is referred to when the CPU 11 executes the information providing process shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 11 obtains the road link information of the road section on which the vehicle is traveling by the information providing process from the current position information (longitude and latitude information) of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 15. (Refer to S17 in FIG. 4), and “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”, “ The necessary degree D in each genre of “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information” is specified (see S23 of FIG. 4).

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3B, when the road link information of the road section where the vehicle is traveling is “Node A: Node B”, “Road Link Information” is changed to “Node A: Node B”. Value “1” in each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information” associated with each other. , “2”, “3”, “4”, “6”, “5”, “100” are specified as the necessary degree D of each genre.

  Then, when the CPU 11 specifies the necessity D of each genre from the filtering 4 table 14e, the CPU 11 calculates the determination necessity X of each genre based on the necessity D corresponding to the road link information of each genre (FIG. 4), the priority of each genre is set so that the genre having the high determination necessity X is displayed on the LCD 18 with priority. Therefore, in the road link information indicating the road section (current position) on which the vehicle is traveling, if the necessity level D of the genre suitable for the road section (current position) is set high, information on the genre is possible. It can be displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  The filtering 5 table 14f is a table for specifying, for each genre, a value of necessity E set according to the contents of an emergency state in which an event to be handled in the vehicle has occurred as one environment surrounding the vehicle. . This necessity level E is specified as “1” in any genre in normal times. On the other hand, when the vehicle is in an emergency state, the necessity level E of the “genre” indicated by the filtering 5 table 14f is specified as the value of the “necessity level” indicated by the table 14f according to the contents of the emergency state. Is done. Even in this emergency state, the necessity E of a genre other than “genre” indicated by the filtering 5 table 14f is specified as “1”.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, this filtering 5 table 14e is divided into “emergency state determination conditions”, “genre”, and “necessity”. Are divided according to various emergency state determination conditions for determining whether or not the vehicle is in an emergency state. Further, in the “genre” and “necessity”, the vehicle is in an emergency state when the emergency state determination condition is satisfied in association with each emergency state determination condition indicated in the “emergency state determination condition”. The genre in which the value of necessity E different from the normal time is to be set and the value of necessity E to be set are shown.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3C, three emergency state determination conditions are shown in “Emergency state determination conditions”. The first emergency state determination condition is “whether the remaining amount of gasoline is 5 liters or more and less than 10 liters”. The first condition is associated with “GS” as “genre” and “20” as “necessity”. Thereby, when the gasoline remaining amount is 5 liters or more and less than 10 liters, the necessity level E of the “GS information” genre is specified as “20”. Therefore, when the remaining amount of gasoline in the vehicle decreases to 5 liters or more and less than 10 liters, the degree to which the information of the “gasoline information” genre is required can be indicated higher than usual.

  The second emergency condition determination condition is “whether the remaining amount of gasoline is less than 5 liters”. The second condition is associated with “GS” as “Genre” and “30” as “Necessity”. Thereby, when the gasoline remaining amount is less than 5 liters, the necessity level E of the “GS information” genre is specified as “30”. Therefore, when the remaining amount of gasoline in the vehicle is further reduced to less than 5 liters, the degree to which the information of the “gasoline information” genre is required is more than in the case where the remaining amount of gasoline is between 5 liters and less than 10 liters. It can be shown even higher.

  The third emergency condition determination condition is “whether the ETC importance is equal to or higher than a predetermined value”. Here, the ETC importance level indicates the degree of necessity of the ETC card calculated according to the route search result to the destination, the mounting status of the ETC on-vehicle device 90 in the vehicle, and the insertion status of the ETC card.

  As a result of route search to the destination, a large value is calculated for the ETC importance, such as a highway or a toll road, where an automatic fee payment system by ETC is adopted, and other roads are set. Then, a small value is calculated. Further, when the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is attached (that is, when the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is connected to the navigation device 10), a large value is calculated, and when the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is not attached (ie, When the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is not connected to the navigation device 10), a small value is calculated. Further, based on the information indicating the insertion state of the ETC card transmitted from the ETC on-board unit 90, a large value is calculated if the ETC card is not inserted into the ETC on-board unit 90, and the ETC card is inserted into the ETC on-board unit 90. If so, a small value is calculated.

  Therefore, when the ETC importance is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the ETC on-vehicle device 90 is attached and the ETC card is not inserted into the ETC on-vehicle device 90. As a result of the route search to the destination, Since the road where the fee payment system is adopted is set, it can be determined that the ETC card is in an emergency state in which the ETC on-board device 90 should be inserted.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the filtering 5 table 14f has “ETC” as “genre” for the third emergency condition determination condition “whether the ETC importance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value”. ”And“ 25 ”as“ necessity ”. Thereby, when the ETC importance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the necessity E of the “ETC information” genre is specified as “25”. Therefore, in a situation where the ETC on-board device 90 is attached to the vehicle and no ETC card is inserted into the ETC on-vehicle device 90, the road to which the automatic fee payment system is adopted is set as a result of the route search to the destination. If it is, the degree to which the information of the “ETC information” genre is required can be indicated higher than usual.

  The filtering 5 table 14f is referred to when the CPU 11 executes the information providing process shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 11 acquires the gasoline remaining amount of the gasoline tank provided in the vehicle from the gasoline remaining amount sensor 80 by the information providing process (see S18 in FIG. 4). Further, the mounting state of the ETC on-board unit 90 is determined from a connection terminal (not shown) with the ETC on-board unit 90 provided in the navigation device 10, and the insertion state of the ETC card in the ETC on-board unit 90 is determined. Judgment is made based on the information transmitted from the destination, and further, as a result of the route search to the destination, it is determined whether or not a road adopting the automatic fee payment system is set, and the ETC importance is calculated ( (See S19 in FIG. 4).

  Then, the CPU 11 refers to the filtering 5 table 14f, determines whether or not any of the “emergency condition determination conditions” is satisfied from the gasoline remaining amount and the ETC importance, and if any of the conditions is satisfied, It is determined that the vehicle is in an emergency state, and the necessity E in each genre is specified according to the contents of the emergency state (see S24 in FIG. 4).

  That is, when the first and second conditions among the “emergency condition determination conditions” shown in the filtering 5 table 14f are satisfied, the necessity E of the “GS information” genre is specified as “20” or “30”. The necessity E of other genres is specified as “1”. When the third condition among the “emergency condition determination conditions” shown in the filtering 5 table 14f is satisfied, the necessity E of the “ETC information” genre is specified as “25”, and the necessity of other genres is also required. The degree E is specified as “1”. On the other hand, when none of the conditions of the “emergency state determination condition” shown in the filtering 5 table 14f is satisfied, it is determined that the vehicle is not in an emergency state, and the necessity level E of all genres is specified as “1”.

  Then, when the CPU 11 specifies the necessity E of each genre from the filtering 5 table 14f or the like, the CPU 11 calculates the determination necessity X of each genre based on the necessity E of each genre corresponding to the emergency state of the vehicle ( The priority of each genre is set so that the genre having the high determination necessity X is preferentially displayed on the LCD 18 (see S25 in FIG. 4). Therefore, in the emergency state of the vehicle, if the necessity level E of the genre required in the emergency state is set high, the information on the genre can be displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  Based on the filtering 1 table 14b to the filtering 5 table 14f, the standard value A of necessity, the necessity B according to time, the necessity C according to road type, the necessity D according to road link information, and an emergency state The necessary degree E is for each genre, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, “ETC information”. When specified for each genre, the determination necessity degree X is calculated for each genre from the standard value A of the specified necessity degree and the necessity degrees B to E according to each environment (see S25 in FIG. 4).

  This determination necessity degree X is a genre that comprehensively reflects various environments at the present time of the vehicle based on the standard value A of necessity degree and the necessity degrees B to E according to each environment for each genre. For example, it is calculated for each genre by the following equation (1).

X = (2 × D + (3 × A + B) × C) × E (1)
In this equation (1), the determination necessity degree X is calculated by multiplying the necessity degree B according to time and the necessity degree C according to the road type. As a result, the determination necessity degree X is calculated to be high in the genre in which the high necessity degree is specified in both the necessity degree B according to the time and the necessity degree C according to the road type.

  Here, the genre of information required by a vehicle occupant generally varies greatly depending on the time the vehicle is traveling, and also varies greatly depending on the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling. . Therefore, the determination necessity degree X is calculated so that the determination necessity degree X of the genre in which the high necessity degree is specified in both the necessity degree B according to the time and the necessity degree C according to the road type becomes high. Thus, the priority of the genre can be set as high as possible. Accordingly, information of a genre suitable for both the time when the vehicle is traveling and the type of road can be displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible, so that necessary information is accurately provided to the occupant. be able to.

  Further, in the above-described equation (1), the standard value A of the necessary degree is added to the necessary degree B according to time, and the determination necessity degree X is calculated. As a result, the standard value A for the degree of necessity indicating the degree of necessity for each genre according to the occupant's steady preference is taken into account in calculating the determination degree X. The passenger's preference can be reflected in the determination necessity level X for each genre. Therefore, by setting the priority of information of each genre to be displayed on the LCD 18 in accordance with the determination necessity level X for each genre reflecting the passenger's preference, the genre that the passenger likes on the LCD 18 is set. Can be displayed with priority. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the vehicle occupant.

  Further, in the above equation (1), the necessity D corresponding to the road link information indicating the road section (current position) where the vehicle is traveling is the standard value A of necessity, the necessity B corresponding to time, and It is added to the value calculated based on the necessary degree C according to the road type. As a result, the necessity level D specified with a high degree of necessity of the genre suitable for the characteristics of the road section on which the vehicle is traveling is taken into consideration in the calculation of the determination necessity degree X. The determination necessity degree X is calculated so that the determination necessity degree X in the genre becomes high.

  Here, the genre of information required by a vehicle occupant generally varies greatly depending on the road section (current position) of the vehicle. For example, if the road section where the vehicle is traveling is an interchange attachment road, the information of the “ETC information” genre including information prompting the insertion of the ETC card is included as compared with the case where the vehicle is traveling at other positions. Needed.

  On the other hand, the necessity level D specified with a high necessity level of a genre suitable for the characteristics of the road section in which the vehicle is traveling is taken into consideration in the calculation of the determination necessity level X, and the genre having a high value of the necessity level D Since the determination necessity degree X is calculated so that the determination necessity degree X in the genre becomes higher, the priority for the genre can be set higher, so the road section where the vehicle is traveling (currently The information of the genre suitable for the position) can be displayed on the LCD 18 with priority as much as possible. Therefore, necessary information can be provided more accurately to the vehicle occupant.

  Furthermore, in the above equation (1), the necessity E set according to the contents of the emergency state in which the event to be dealt with in the vehicle occurs is the standard value A of necessity, the necessity B according to time, the road The value calculated based on the necessity C corresponding to the type and the necessity D corresponding to the road link information is multiplied. As a result, when the vehicle is in an emergency state, the necessity level E that specifies the necessity level of the genre information necessary for the emergency state is taken into consideration in the calculation of the determination necessity level X. The determination necessity level X is calculated so that the higher the genre value, the higher the determination necessity level X in the genre.

  In particular, the necessity E is multiplied by the value calculated by the standard time A and the necessity B to D of the necessity, so the value calculated by the standard time A and the necessity BD of the necessity If is not 0, the determination necessity degree X is calculated to be larger as the value of the necessity degree E is larger. That is, the value of the necessity level E corresponding to the emergency state is more strongly considered than the standard time A of the degree of necessity and the necessity levels B to D in the calculation of the determination necessity level X.

  As a result, when the vehicle is in an emergency state, the determination necessity degree X of the genre is calculated to be higher due to the influence of the necessity degree E specified with a high degree of necessity of information of the genre necessary for the emergency state. Can do. Therefore, by setting the priority of the genre information to be displayed on the LCD 18 based on the determination necessity degree X calculated in this way, the genre information necessary for the emergency state is displayed on the LCD 18 in other genres. Information can be displayed with priority. Therefore, necessary information can be provided more accurately to the vehicle occupant.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description of the navigation device 10 will be continued. The current position detection device 15 is for detecting position information (absolute coordinate values composed of latitude and longitude) of the current location of the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted, and measures the position of the vehicle using an artificial satellite. One or more of a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device 15a, a geomagnetic sensor 15b, a gyro sensor 15c, and a vehicle speed sensor 15d that detect geomagnetism and determine the direction of the vehicle are used.

  The CPU 11 performs route guidance to the destination based on the current position information of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 15. Further, the CPU 11 acquires the current position information of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 15 in the information providing process shown in FIG. 4 (see S11 in FIG. 4), and matches the position information with the information provision request. To the information providing server 50 (see S12 of FIG. 4).

  As a result, the navigation device 10 receives information from the information providing server 50 in various genres such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, and “accommodation facility information” related to a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle. Information can be provided. The CPU 11 receives the provided information and stores it in the information storage area 13a (see S13 in FIG. 4).

  Further, based on the current position information of the vehicle acquired in S11 of FIG. 4, the CPU 11 provides information on the gas station and the service area / parking area within the predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle, that is, “GS information” and “ Information of each genre such as “SA / PA information” is extracted from the POI information stored in the road map database 14a, and the information is also stored in the information storage area 13a (see S15 in FIG. 4).

  The communication control device 16 has a mobile communication antenna 17 and is provided in the base station 60 with a base station 60 provided at the end of a wireless communication network 70 provided by a mobile phone operator. This is a circuit for transmitting and receiving various data while performing wireless communication via the base station antenna 60a. The navigation device 10 uses this communication control device 16 to access the information providing server 50 connected to the wireless communication network 70, transmits an information providing request to the information providing server 50, and also provides the information providing server 50. The information of various genres provided in response to the information provision request is received.

  The LCD 18 is a display device that displays menus, operation states, and the like in accordance with the operation of the touch panel 19 and the operation keys 20, and displays a map around the vehicle, a route searched for the route searched, a search route, a surrounding facility guidance screen, and the like. Is also done.

  Further, the LCD 18 is provided in various genre information (“restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information”) received from the information providing server 50 and in the navigation device 10. Information on various genres extracted from the road map database 14a ("GS information", "SA / PA information") and other genre information ("ETC information") that the navigation device 10 should notify the passengers are displayed. Is done.

  At this time, the CPU 11 performs the information providing process shown in FIG. 4 according to the status of a plurality of environments surrounding the vehicle for each genre of information provided, that is, “restaurant information”, “event information”, “ By setting priorities for each of “news information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, “ETC information”, and displaying them on the LCD 18 in order from the information of the genre with the highest priority. Therefore, it is possible to accurately provide necessary information to vehicle occupants.

  The touch panel 19 is an input device provided on the display panel surface of the LCD 18, and outputs position information indicated by the pointing object when an pointing object (such as a user's finger or a touch pen) is touched or approached. It is. Based on the position information output from the touch panel 19, the CPU 11 determines whether or not a button or icon displayed on the LCD 18 is pressed. The operation key 20 is an input device that accepts switching of various functions of the navigation device 10 by the user and instructions for various operations together with the touch panel 19.

  Next, an information providing process executed by the CPU 11 in the navigation device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the information providing process. This information providing process is a process in which priority is set for each genre of information to be provided to the occupant according to a plurality of environments surrounding the vehicle, and information is displayed on the LCD 18 in descending order of genre information. is there. The execution of this information providing process is started, for example, every 10 minutes.

  In this information providing process, first, the current position information of the vehicle is acquired from the current position detection device 15 (S11). Then, in order to receive information of various genres such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, and “accommodation facility information” from the information providing server 50, the current vehicle status acquired by the processing of S11 Along with the position information, an information provision request is transmitted to the information provision server 50 (S12).

  Thereby, in the information provision server 50, according to the information provision request | requirement from the navigation apparatus 10, based on the present position information of the vehicle transmitted with the information provision request | requirement, it is related to the predetermined range from the present position of the vehicle. Information of various genres such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information” is extracted, and the extracted information is transmitted to the navigation device 10.

  On the other hand, in the process of S13 following the process of S12, it is determined whether or not there is a response from the information providing server 50 (S13). And while there is no response from the information provision server 50 (S13: No), the process of S13 is repeatedly performed. If it is determined that there is a response from the information providing server 50 (S13: Yes), the process proceeds to S14.

  As described above, after the information provision request is transmitted to the information providing server 50 by the process of S12, the process is waited until the response from the information providing server 50 is received by the process of S13.

  In addition, after the process of S12 and before the process of S13, the timer function of the timer circuit 11a is operated, and in the branch of S13: No, the state of the timer function of the timer circuit 11a is detected, thereby the process of S12. Thus, it is possible to determine the elapsed time since the information provision supply is transmitted to the information providing server 50, and terminate the information provision processing when the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined time.

  Thereby, when it is in the state which cannot receive provision of the information of various genres from the information provision server 50 by the failure in communication between the navigation apparatus 10 and the provision apparatus server 50, or the trouble in the information provision server 50, The process of S13 can prevent the process of the CPU 11 from falling into an infinite loop.

  Further, when the information providing process is terminated at this stage, the information providing process may be terminated after displaying “time-out error” on the LCD 18. Thereby, it is possible to make the occupant recognize that there is a problem in data transmission / reception between the navigation device 10 and the information providing server 50.

  In the process of S14, information on various genres provided from the information providing server 50, that is, information on each genre such as “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, and “accommodation information” is received. The information previously received from the information providing server 50 is stored in the information storage area 13a in the form of being overwritten (S14).

  Further, following the processing of S14, information on the gas stations and service areas / parking areas within the predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle, that is, information on each genre such as “GS information” and “SA / PA information” The information is extracted from the POI information stored in the map database 14a and stored in the information storage area 13a in such a manner that the information previously extracted from the road map database 14a is overwritten (S15).

  Here, in the information storage area 13a, as described above, the information of the “ETC information” genre that prompts the user to insert the ETC card is executed in advance at a predetermined timing (for example, immediately after the navigation device 10 is turned on). At the timing of initialization processing). Therefore, the latest “restaurant information”, “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation facility information” received from the information providing server 50 is stored in the information storage area 13a at the stage where the processes of S14 and S15 are completed. Information on each genre, and information on each genre such as “GS information” and “SA / PA information” regarding a gas station, service area, and parking area within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle extracted from the road map database 14a. The information of the “ETC information” genre stored in advance is stored.

  Next, in the processes of S16 to S19, various parameters for determining the state of the environment surrounding the vehicle are acquired or calculated. First, in the process of S16, the time during which the vehicle is traveling is acquired from the timer circuit 11a (S16).

  Next, the current position information (longitude and latitude information) of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 15 is acquired, and the vehicle information is referred to the road information in the road map database 14a from the acquired current position information of the vehicle. Is acquired, and road link information indicating a road section (current position) in which the vehicle is traveling is acquired (S17).

  Then, the gasoline remaining amount is acquired from the gasoline remaining amount sensor 80 (S18), and then the ETC importance level is determined as a result of the route search to the destination, the installation status of the ETC on-board unit 90, and the ETC in the ETC on-board unit 90. Based on the card insertion status, the calculation is performed by the method described above (S19).

  When various parameters are acquired or calculated by the processing of S16 to S19, in the subsequent processing of S20 to S24, each genre of information stored in the information storage area 13a, that is, “restaurant information”, “ For each genre of “event information”, “news information”, “accommodation information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information”, the standard value A and the necessary degree B described above. -E is specified.

  That is, in the process of S20, the standard value A of the necessity level for each genre is specified with reference to the filtering 1 table 14b (S20). As described above, the standard value A for necessity is set to a constant value regardless of the environment surrounding the vehicle. Further, since the filtering 1 table 14b is configured to be appropriately changeable by the occupant, the standard value A of the necessity level needs information on each genre according to the regular preference of the occupant. The degree is set.

  Next, the necessity B corresponding to the traveling time of the vehicle, which is one environment surrounding the vehicle, is specified for each genre (S21). Here, referring to the filtering 2 table 14c, for each genre ("restaurant information", "event information", and "accommodation information") with respect to the closest time less than or equal to the current time acquired by the process of S16. The degree of necessity B associated with is specified for each genre.

  Further, as described above, among the genres of “news information”, “GS information”, “SA / PA information”, and “ETC information” that are not set in the filtering 2 table 14c, “news information”, “GS information”. ”And“ SA / PA information ”, the necessity B is specified as“ 1 ”regardless of the travel time of the vehicle, and the“ ETC information ”genre is traveled by the vehicle. The necessity level B is specified as “0” regardless of the current time.

  Next, the necessity C corresponding to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, which is one environment surrounding the vehicle, is specified for each genre (S22). Here, referring to the filtering 3 table 14d, each genre ("restaurant information", "event information", "accommodation information" and "SA / PA information") is obtained for the road type acquired by the processing of S17. The necessity C associated with each is specified for each genre.

  As described above, among the genres of “news information”, “GS information”, and “ETC information” that are not set in the filtering 3 table 14d, Regardless of the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, each necessity C is specified as “1”, and for the “ETC information” genre, the necessity C is set regardless of the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling. Specify “0”.

  Subsequently, the necessity D corresponding to the road link information indicating the road section (current position) on which the vehicle is running, which is one environment surrounding the vehicle, is specified for each genre (S23). Here, referring to the filtering 4 table 14e, each genre ("restaurant information", "event information", "news information", "accommodation facility information") is identified for the identification information of the road link information acquired by the processing of S17. ”,“ GS information ”,“ SA / PA information ”,“ ETC information ”) for each genre.

  Furthermore, the necessity E according to the content of the emergency state where the event which should correspond in the vehicle which is one environment surrounding the vehicle occurred is specified for each genre (S24). Here, referring to the filtering 5 table 14f, any one of the “emergency condition determination conditions” shown in the filtering 5 table 14f is obtained from the remaining gasoline amount acquired by the process of S18 and the ETC importance calculated by the process of S19. Judge whether to meet or not.

  If any of the conditions is met, the vehicle is in an emergency state. Therefore, the necessity E of the genre indicated by the “genre” associated with the satisfied condition is set to “necessary” associated with the condition. The value of “degree” is specified, and the necessity E of other genres is specified as “1”. Further, when none of the “emergency condition determination conditions” shown in the filtering 5 table 14f is satisfied, the vehicle is not in an emergency condition, and thus the necessity E for all genres is specified as “1”.

  In the subsequent process of S25, based on the standard value A and the necessary degrees B to E specified for each genre by the processes of S20 to S24, the determination necessity degree X is determined by the above-described equation (1). The genre is calculated (S25). In other words, as described above, the determination necessity degree X is a total of various environments at the present time of the vehicle based on the standard value A of the necessity degree and the necessity degrees B to E according to each environment for each genre. The degree of necessity of the information of the genre reflected in is shown.

  Next, the priority is set for each genre in descending order of the determination necessity X so that the information of the genre having the high determination necessity X calculated by the processing of S25 is displayed on the LCD 18 with priority. (S26).

  Information of various genres stored in the information providing area 13a, that is, each of the latest "restaurant information", "event information", "news information", and "accommodation facility information" received from the information providing server 50. Information on genres, information on each genre such as “GS information” and “SA / PA information” related to gas stations and service areas / parking areas within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle extracted from the road map database 14a, and navigation The information of the “ETC information” genre, which is information of the genre that the navigation device 10 should notify the occupant, stored in advance during the initialization process of the device 10, has the priority set by the processing of S 26. The information is displayed in order from the highest genre (S27), and the information providing process is terminated.

  As described above, when the information providing process is executed by the CPU 11, the degree of necessity of each genre corresponding to a plurality of environments surrounding the vehicle (the degree that information of each genre is required by the occupant) is specified for each environment. To do. In the present embodiment, the degree of necessity B corresponding to the traveling time of the vehicle, the degree of necessity C corresponding to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the road link indicating the road section (current position) where the vehicle is traveling. The necessity level D corresponding to the information and the necessity level E corresponding to the contents of the emergency state in which an event to be handled in the vehicle has occurred are specified.

  Then, based on these necessity levels B to E, a determination necessity level X that comprehensively reflects various environments at the present time of the vehicle is calculated for each genre by Expression (1). That is, the determination necessity degree X of each genre calculated here is a necessity degree obtained by comprehensively determining various environments of the vehicle at that time.

  Thereafter, the priority of each genre is set so that the genre having the high determination necessity degree X is displayed on the LCD 18 with priority. Thereby, according to the determination necessity level X of each genre obtained by comprehensively determining various environments of the vehicle at that time, the priority for displaying the information of each genre on the LCD 18 is set. On the LCD 18, it is possible to preferentially display genre information suitable for various circumstances of the vehicle. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the vehicle occupant.

  In addition, in this information providing process, a constant value is set regardless of the environment surrounding the vehicle, and a standard value A of the degree of necessity according to the regular preference of the occupant is specified, and is combined with the degree of necessity B to E. Accordingly, the determination necessity degree X is calculated in consideration of the standard value A of the necessity degree. As a result, information on the genre that matches the passenger's preference as much as possible can be displayed on the LCD 18 with constant priority. Therefore, necessary information can be accurately provided to the passenger.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be inferred. For example, the numerical values given in the above embodiment are merely examples, and other numerical values can naturally be adopted.

  In the above embodiment, as the environment surrounding the vehicle, the necessary degrees B to E in each genre are specified according to the time the vehicle is traveling, the road type, the road link information indicating the road section, and the emergency state of the vehicle. In addition, although the case where the determination necessity degree X of each genre is calculated based on them has been described, it is not always necessary to calculate the determination necessity degree X based on all of the necessity degrees B to E, and two of these are required. The determination necessity degree X may be calculated based on the necessity degree according to the above environment. Moreover, the environment surrounding these vehicles shown in the said embodiment is an illustration, The necessity degree in each genre may be specified according to environments other than these, and the determination necessity degree X may be calculated. For example, the weather at the time of traveling may be determined, the degree of necessity according to the weather may be specified for each genre, and the degree of necessity for determination X for each genre may be calculated in consideration of the degree of necessity according to the weather.

  The filtering 2 table 14c to the filtering 5 table 14f shown in the above embodiment may be configured so that the values of the necessity levels B to E specified in each table can be changed. For example, the filtering 2 table 14c may be configured such that the value of the necessity B in each genre of “restaurant information”, “event information”, and “accommodation information” associated with each time can be changed as appropriate. Good. This change may be performed, for example, by directly changing the value of the necessity B defined in the table by operating the touch panel 19 or the operation key 20 by the occupant, or recorded by the navigation device 10. The value of the necessity level B associated with each time may be changed for each genre based on the travel history of the vehicle and the life log that records the behavior of the occupant. Further, with respect to the other filtering 3 table 14d to filtering 5 table 14f, the necessary degrees C to E defined in the respective tables may be changed by the same method. In this way, the occupant's preference can be reflected in these tables by the occupant changing the necessity directly or by changing the necessity based on the travel history of the vehicle or the life log of the occupant. Therefore, necessary information can be provided more accurately to the vehicle occupant. In the present embodiment, the passenger's preference is handled as a concept including the passenger's schedule. In this case, by inputting a schedule that is one of the explicit requests of the occupant, the filtering table can be changed to provide more information desired by the occupant.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the determination necessity level X is calculated by the expression (1) has been described. However, the expression (1) is an example, and the determination necessity degree X may be calculated by another expression.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the information providing process shown in FIG. 4 is executed by the CPU 11 every 10 minutes has been described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this and may be executed at arbitrary time intervals. Further, the information providing process shown in FIG. 4 may be executed by the CPU 11 every time the vehicle moves by a predetermined distance.

  In the information providing process shown in FIG. 4 in the above embodiment, the case where information of various genres is received from the information providing server 50 and information of a predetermined genre is extracted from the road map database 14a has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the process of receiving information of various genres from the information providing server 50 (the process corresponding to S11 to S14 in FIG. 4) is executed at a timing different from the information providing process. May be executed by Similarly, a process of extracting information of a predetermined genre from the road map database 14a (a process corresponding to S11 and S15 in FIG. 4) may be executed by a process executed at a timing different from the information providing process. . In addition, when the process which receives the information of various genres from the information provision server 50 is performed by a process different from the information provision process, the processes of S12 to S14 may be omitted in the information provision process. When the process of extracting information of a predetermined genre from the road map database 14a is executed by a process different from the information providing process, the process of S15 may be omitted in the information providing process.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the navigation device 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and does not have a function of guiding the route to the destination. The present invention can be applied to an in-vehicle device having a function of providing the information. In addition, the present invention is applicable not only to an in-vehicle device but also to an information providing device having a function of providing various types of information to a user.

10. Navigation device (information provision device)
14 HDD (storage means)
14c Filtering 2 table (setting information)
14d Filtering 3 table (setting information)
14e Filtering 4 table (setting information)
14f Filtering 5 table (setting information)
S16 to S19 (part of the determination means)
S20 (necessity setting means)
S21 to S24 (part of determination means, identification means)
S25 (derivation means)
S26 (priority setting means)

Claims (5)

An information providing apparatus that provides information of a plurality of genres,
Storage means for storing, for each environment, setting information in which a degree of necessity indicating the degree of necessity of information is set for each genre according to various circumstances of the environment;
A determination means for determining a situation for each environment;
A specifying unit that specifies, based on the setting information, a degree of necessity for each genre with respect to the environment according to the environment state determined by the determining unit;
Deriving means for deriving the final necessity for each genre based on the necessity for each genre specified by the specifying means;
And a priority setting means for setting a priority for providing information of a plurality of genres in accordance with a result of comparison of final necessity levels for each genre derived by the moving means. Providing device. The storage means stores at least setting information in which a degree of necessity is set for each genre according to a road type as the environment and setting information in which a degree of necessity is set for each genre according to time as the environment. Is what
The deriving means is based on the necessity for each genre specified for the road type by the specifying means via the determination means and the necessity for each genre specified for the time. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a final necessity for each genre is derived so that a final necessity of a genre having a high necessity is high. The storage means stores at least setting information in which a degree of necessity is set for each genre according to a current position as the environment.
The deriving unit is configured to increase the final necessity of a genre having a high necessity based on the necessity for each genre specified with respect to the current position by the specifying unit via the determination unit. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a final necessity for each genre is derived. A necessity degree setting means for setting the necessity degree reflecting the user's preference for each genre;
The deriving means reflects a necessity degree reflecting the preference of the user set for each genre by the necessity degree setting means to the necessity degree for each genre specified by the specifying means via the determination means. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a final degree of necessity for each genre is derived in consideration. The information providing device provides information on a plurality of genres to a vehicle occupant,
The storage means stores at least setting information in which a necessity level of a genre related to an event that needs to be handled in a vehicle is set as the environment,
The deriving means sets the necessity level of the genre specified for the event that needs to be handled by the vehicle by the specifying means via the determination means, rather than the necessity level for each genre specified by another environment. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a final necessity for each genre is derived with strong consideration.

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