JP2010286870A - Spot search device, spot search method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spot search device, a spot search method and a program, capable of selecting and entering a character string desired by a user from among displayed candidate character strings, even if the number of candidate character strings displayable once on a screen is small. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU extracts candidate character strings, each of whose prefix matches a character or a character string displayed at an entered character display section 63 from a candidate character string data file, and displays those candidate character strings, in the order of priority at each candidate character string display section 65 of a search word entered screen 61. Then, when the first character or second and subsequent characters of the candidate character string displayed on each candidate character string display section 65 are depressed, the CPU selects all the characters of the depressed candidate character string, or the character string up to the depressed position as a character string for retrieval, and displays the character string at the entered character display section 63. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a point search device, a point search method, and a program for searching for point information corresponding to an input character string for search.

Conventionally, various techniques for searching for point information corresponding to an input character string for search have been proposed.
For example, the navigation device stores words common to readings of a plurality of destinations as search keywords. On the other hand, search keywords are assigned to individual destination data to be searched. When searching for a destination, keywords that partially match the input characters are narrowed down and displayed as selectable keywords. Thus, the user can omit the input operation by selecting the corresponding keyword (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-14703 A (paragraphs (0017) to (0078), FIGS. 1 to 15)

  However, according to the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, the number of keywords that can be displayed at one time is limited due to screen limitations. For this reason, when the next keyword which is not displayed as a selectable keyword is a keyword which a user desires, there exists a problem that it is difficult to select easily.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and even if the number of candidate character strings that can be displayed on the screen at a time is small, the user-desired characters are displayed from the displayed candidate character strings. It is an object of the present invention to provide a point search device, a point search method, and a program that can select and input a column.

  In order to achieve the object, the point search device according to claim 1 includes a character string storage unit that stores a plurality of character strings representing a destination to be searched in advance, a character input unit that inputs a character for search, Character string acquisition means for acquiring from the character string storage means the character string that matches the character input via the character input means, and character strings acquired via the character string acquisition means as candidate character strings Display means for displaying, selection instruction input means for inputting a selection instruction for instructing to select a part or all of characters from the top of the candidate character string displayed via the display means, and the selection instruction input A character string setting unit that sets a part or all of the candidate character string from the beginning as a character string input through the character input unit based on the selection instruction input through the unit. And features.

  Moreover, the point search device according to claim 2 is the point search device according to claim 1, wherein the display means is one of the character strings acquired through the character string acquisition means. Includes an inclusive relation determining means for determining whether or not the inclusive relation included in a part from the beginning of the other character string is included, and the display means has one character string from the beginning of the other character string. When it is determined that the inclusion relation is included in a part, the other character string is displayed as the candidate character string instead of the one character string.

  The point search device according to claim 3 is the point search device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the selection instruction instructs to select only the first character of the candidate character string. When the first character selection instruction is input through the selection instruction input unit, the character string setting unit includes all of the candidate character strings corresponding to the first character selection instruction. It is set as a character string input through the character input means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point search method comprising: a character input step for inputting a character for search; and a destination to be searched for storing a character string that matches the character input in the character input step in advance. A character string acquisition step acquired from a plurality of character strings to be represented, a display step of displaying the character string acquired in the character string acquisition step as a candidate character string, and a part from the top of the candidate character string displayed in the display step Or a selection instruction input step for inputting a selection instruction for instructing selection of all characters, and a part or all of the candidate character string from the beginning based on the selection instruction input in the selection instruction input step. And a character string setting step for setting as a character string input in the input step.

  Furthermore, the program according to claim 5 is a search target destination in which a character input step for inputting a search character and a character string that matches the character input in the character input step in advance are stored in a computer. A character string acquisition step acquired from a plurality of character strings representing a character string, a display step of displaying the character string acquired in the character string acquisition step as a candidate character string, and a candidate character string displayed in the display step A selection instruction input step of inputting a selection instruction instructing to select a part or all of the characters, and a part or all of the candidate character string from the beginning based on the selection instruction input in the selection instruction input step And a character string setting step for setting as a character string input in the character input step.

  In the point search apparatus according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, a character string that matches forward with a character input via the character input unit is displayed as a candidate character string. Then, the user inputs a search character string by inputting a selection instruction instructing the selection instruction input means to select some or all characters from the top of the displayed candidate character string. Can do.

  Thus, even if a character string representing the destination desired by the user is not displayed as a candidate character string, a character string representing the destination is included in the candidate character string displayed on the screen. The user can easily select a character string representing the destination from the candidate character strings displayed on the screen and set it as a character string for search. Therefore, even if the number of candidate character strings that can be displayed on the screen is small, it is possible to select and input a character string desired by the user from the displayed candidate character strings.

  Further, in the point search device according to claim 2, when one character string is in an inclusion relation included in a part from the beginning of the other character string, the other character string is replaced with one character string. Displayed as a candidate destination. Accordingly, the user can select a character string representing a plurality of destinations from one candidate character string displayed on the screen, and further select a character string representing a desired destination from the displayed candidate character strings. It becomes possible to select and input with certainty.

  In the point search apparatus according to claim 3, it is possible to input the candidate character string as a search character string by selecting only the first character of the candidate character string, and the user can further easily It becomes possible to input a character string for search.

  In the point search method according to the fourth aspect, a character string that matches the character input in the character input step is displayed as a candidate character string. Then, the user can input a search character string by inputting a selection instruction instructing to select some or all characters from the top of the displayed candidate character string.

  Thus, even if a character string representing the destination desired by the user is not displayed as a candidate character string, a character string representing the destination is included in the candidate character string displayed on the screen. The user can easily select a character string representing the destination from the candidate character strings displayed on the screen and set it as a character string for search. Therefore, even if the number of candidate character strings that can be displayed on the screen is small, it is possible to select and input a character string desired by the user from the displayed candidate character strings.

  Furthermore, in the program according to the fifth aspect, the computer reads the program to display a character string that matches the character input in the character input step as a candidate character string. Then, the user can input a search character string by inputting a selection instruction instructing to select some or all characters from the top of the displayed candidate character string.

  Thus, even if a character string representing the destination desired by the user is not displayed as a candidate character string, a character string representing the destination is included in the candidate character string displayed on the screen. The user can easily select a character string representing the destination from the candidate character strings displayed on the screen and set it as a character string for search. Therefore, even if the number of candidate character strings that can be displayed on the screen is small, it is possible to select and input a character string desired by the user from the displayed candidate character strings.

It is the block diagram which showed the navigation apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the candidate character string data file memorize | stored in character string DB. It is a flowchart which shows the "candidate character string display process" which displays the candidate character string which forward-matches the inputted character for a search. It is a figure which shows an example which put together the candidate character string which is in an inclusive relationship. It is a figure which shows an example of the search word input screen which put together the candidate character string which is in an inclusive relationship. It is a flowchart which shows the "character string setting process" which sets the character string selected from the candidate character string as a character string for search. It is a figure which shows an example of the character string setting in S114 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the character string setting in S116 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the character string setting in S117 of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a point search device, a point search method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment in which a navigation device is embodied.

[Schematic configuration of navigation device]
First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a current location detection processing unit 11 that detects the current position of the vehicle, a data recording unit 12 that records various data, and input information. Based on this, the navigation control unit 13 that performs various arithmetic processes, the operation unit 14 that receives operations from the operator, the liquid crystal display 15 that displays information such as a map to the operator, and voice guidance related to route guidance and the like A communication device 17 that communicates with a road traffic information center, a map information distribution center, and the like (not shown) via a mobile phone network, etc., and a touch panel 18 mounted on the surface of the liquid crystal display 15 It consists of and. The navigation control unit 13 is connected to a vehicle speed sensor 21 that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle.

  Hereinafter, each component constituting the navigation device 1 will be described. The current location detection processing unit 11 includes a GPS 31, a direction sensor 32, a distance sensor 33, and the like, and the current position of the own vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “own vehicle position”). )), It is possible to detect the direction of the vehicle, the travel distance, and the like indicating the direction of the vehicle.

  The data recording unit 12 includes an external storage device and a hard disk (not shown) as a recording medium, a map information database (map information DB) 25, a character string database (character string DB) 27 and a predetermined data stored in the hard disk. And a recording head (not shown) which is a driver for reading predetermined programs and writing predetermined data to the hard disk.

  The map information DB 25 stores navigation map information 26 used for travel guidance and route search of the navigation device 1. Here, the navigation map information 26 includes various information necessary for route guidance and map display. For example, new road information for identifying each new road, map display data for displaying a map, Intersection data related to each intersection, node data related to node points, link data related to roads (links) as a type of facility, search data for searching for routes, stores related to POI (Point of Interest) such as stores as a type of facility It is composed of data, search data for searching points, and the like. In addition, as store data, data such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers related to POIs such as hotels, hospitals, gas stations, parking lots, stations, airports, and ferry platforms in each region are stored together with IDs that identify POIs. .

The contents of the map information DB 25 are updated by downloading update information distributed from the map information distribution center (not shown) via the communication device 17.
The character string DB 27 stores a candidate character string data file 51 (see FIG. 2) that stores a plurality of character strings representing destinations, which will be described later, as candidate character strings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation control unit 13 constituting the navigation device 1 is a working device that controls the entire navigation device 1, the CPU 41 as the control device, and the CPU 41 performs various types of arithmetic processing. An internal storage device such as a RAM 42 that is used as a memory and stores route data when a route is searched, a ROM 43 that stores a control program, and a flash memory 44 that stores a program read from the ROM 43 In addition, a timer 45 for measuring time is provided.

  Also, the ROM 43 searches for a candidate character string display process (see FIG. 3) for displaying a candidate character string that matches the input search character, which will be described later, and a character string selected from the candidate character string, which will be described later. A program such as a character string setting process (see FIG. 6) to be set as a character string is stored.

  Furthermore, the navigation control unit 13 is electrically connected to peripheral devices (actuators) of the operation unit 14, the liquid crystal display 15, the speaker 16, the communication device 17, and the touch panel 18.

  The operation unit 14 is operated when correcting the current location at the start of traveling, inputting a departure point as a guidance start point and a destination as a guidance end point, or searching for information about facilities, etc. Consists of keys and multiple operation switches. The navigation control unit 13 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on switch signals output by pressing the switches.

  Further, the liquid crystal display 15 displays map information currently being traveled, a search word input screen 62 (see FIG. 5) described later, operation guidance, operation menu, key guidance, a recommended route from the current location to the destination, and a recommended route. Guide information, traffic information, news, weather forecast, time, mail, TV program, etc. are displayed.

  In addition, the speaker 16 outputs voice guidance or the like for guiding traveling along the recommended route based on an instruction from the navigation control unit 13. Here, the voice guidance to be guided includes, for example, “200m ahead, turn right at XX intersection”.

  The communication device 17 is a communication means such as a mobile phone network that communicates with the map information distribution center, and transmits / receives the latest version of updated map information and the like to / from the map information distribution center. Further, in addition to the map information distribution center, the communication device 17 receives traffic information composed of information such as traffic congestion information transmitted from the road traffic information center and the like and congestion status of the service area.

  The touch panel 18 is a transparent panel-like touch switch mounted on the surface portion of the liquid crystal display 15, and inputs various instruction commands by pressing buttons or a map displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 15. It is configured to be possible. Note that the touch panel 18 may be configured by an optical sensor liquid crystal method or the like that directly presses the screen of the liquid crystal display 15.

  Here, a candidate character string data file 51 that stores a plurality of character strings representing destinations stored in the character string DB 27 as candidate character strings will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the candidate character string data file 51 stored in the character string DB 27.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the candidate character string data file 51 is composed of “candidate character strings” and “priorities”. In this “candidate character string”, place names, genres, names of facilities, abbreviations of facilities, keywords representing facilities, and the like are stored in the order of the Japanese syllabary. The “priority” stores the priority corresponding to each character string of the “candidate character string”, and the higher the numerical value, the higher the priority.

[Candidate string display processing]
Next, a candidate character string display process that is executed by the CPU 41 of the navigation device 1 configured as described above and that displays a candidate character string that matches the input search character in front is shown in FIGS. 5 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a candidate character string display process that is executed by the CPU 41 and that displays a candidate character string that matches the input search character in the forward direction.

  Note that the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is executed by the CPU 41 every predetermined time (for example, every 10 milliseconds) when a destination setting button (not shown) of the operation unit 14 is pressed. . In addition, when a destination setting button (not shown) of the operation unit 14 is pressed, the CPU 41 inputs a search word for searching a name related to a facility as point information on the screen of the liquid crystal display 15. A word input screen 61 (see FIG. 5) is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as “S”) 11, the CPU 41 inputs a search character from a 50-sound key 62 (see FIG. 5) displayed on the search word input screen 61. Determination processing for determining whether or not the 50 sound key 62 has been pressed is executed. And when the character for a search is not input from the 50 sound key 62 (S11: NO), CPU41 complete | finishes the said process.

  On the other hand, when a character for search is input from the 50 sound key 62 (S11: YES), the CPU 41 proceeds to the process of S12. In S12, the CPU 41 displays the characters input from the 50 sound keys 62 on the input character display unit 63 (see FIG. 5). Then, the CPU 41 sets a predetermined number of candidate character strings in front of one or more characters displayed on the input character display unit 63 in order of priority from the candidate character string data file 51 (in this embodiment, three characters). These are extracted and stored in the RAM 42 as display candidates to be displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65 (see FIG. 5).

  Subsequently, in S <b> 13, the CPU 41 determines whether or not there is a candidate character string having an inclusion relationship included in a part from the beginning of another candidate character string among the extracted predetermined number of candidate character strings. The determination process to be executed is executed. If it is determined that there is a candidate character string in the inclusion relationship included in a part from the beginning of the other candidate character strings in the extracted predetermined number of candidate character strings (S13: YES), the CPU 41 Shifts to the process of S14.

  In S <b> 14, the CPU 41 proceeds to the processing of S <b> 12 after deleting candidate character strings included and included in a part from the beginning of other candidate character strings from the display candidates displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65. . In other words, the CPU 41 combines the candidate character strings included and included in a part from the beginning of the other candidate character strings and the other candidate character strings into one of the other candidate character strings, and then in S12 Transition to processing.

  Then, in S12, the CPU 41 equals the number of candidate character strings obtained by deleting the next priority candidate character string that matches the one or more characters displayed on the input character display unit 63 from the display candidates. After extracting again and storing in the RAM 42 as display candidates to be displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65, the processing from S13 onward is executed again.

Here, an example in which candidate character strings having an inclusion relationship among the three candidate character strings extracted from the candidate character string data file 51 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, first, when the characters “a” and “sa” are sequentially input from the 50-sound key 62 and the character string “a” is displayed on the input character display unit 63 (S11). :)), the CPU 41 extracts three candidate character strings “Asahi”, “Asahikawa”, and “Asakusa” that match forward from the candidate character string data file 51 in order of priority (see FIG. 2). It memorize | stores in RAM42 as a display candidate displayed on each candidate character string display part 65 (S12).

  Then, the CPU 41 determines that the candidate character string “Asahi” is in an inclusion relationship included in the three characters from the top of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” (S13: YES), and each candidate character string display unit 65 The candidate character string “Asahi” is deleted from the display candidates to be displayed on the screen, and the candidate character string “Asahikawa” is collected. Then, the CPU 41 extracts from the candidate character string data file 51 the candidate character string “Asanoya” having the next priority that matches the character string “Asa” displayed on the input character display unit 63 (see FIG. 2), and stored in the RAM 42 as display candidates to be displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65 (S12). Therefore, the CPU 41 stores three candidate character strings “Asahikawa”, “Asakusa”, and “Asanoya” as display candidates to be displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65 in the RAM 42.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in S13, it is determined that there is no candidate character string in the inclusion relationship included in a part from the beginning of the other candidate character strings among the extracted predetermined number of candidate character strings. If it has been (S13: NO), the CPU 41 proceeds to the process of S15. In S <b> 15, the CPU 41 reads out the three candidate character strings stored in the RAM 42 as display candidates to be displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65, and displays the candidate character string display units 65 on the search word input screen 61. End the process.

  Here, an example of the search word input screen 62 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the search word input screen 61 includes a 50 sound key 62, an input character display unit 63, three candidate character string display units 65, a correction button 66, a number display unit 67, a return button 68, and completion. A button 69 is displayed.

  In the input character display section 63, the input character input by the 50 sound key 61 is displayed. When the character string “Asa” is displayed on the input character display unit 63 as described above, the three candidate character string display units 65 display “Asahikawa”, “Asa Kusaka”, “Asa Each candidate character string of “ya” is displayed. Further, every time the correction button 66 is pressed, the last input character of the character string displayed on the input character display unit 63 can be deleted one by one.

  Further, by pressing the return button 68, it is possible to return to the state before the last operation. The number display part 67 displays the number of candidate points searched by the character string displayed on the input character display part 63. Further, by pressing the completion button 69, it is possible to instruct to search and display a name related to the facility as the spot information using the character string displayed on the input character display unit 63 as a search word. .

[String setting processing]
Next, a character string setting process for setting a character string selected from the candidate character strings as a search character string will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a character string setting process that is executed by the CPU 41 and sets a character string selected from candidate character strings as a search character string. Note that the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed by the CPU 41 every predetermined time (for example, every 10 milliseconds) when a destination setting button (not shown) of the operation unit 14 is pressed. .

As shown in FIG. 6, first, in S <b> 111, the CPU 41 executes a determination process for determining whether the screen of the liquid crystal display 15 is pressed, that is, whether the touch panel 18 is pressed.
If the touch panel 18 is not pressed, that is, if no input is detected (S111: NO), the CPU 41 ends the process.

  On the other hand, when the touch panel 18 is pressed, that is, when an input is detected (S111: YES), the CPU 41 detects the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed, stores it in the RAM 42, and then proceeds to the processing of S112. To do. In S <b> 112, the CPU 41 reads the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed from the RAM 42, and determines whether the coordinate position is within the display area of any candidate character string display unit 65 displayed on the search word input screen 61. The determination process to be executed is executed.

If the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is not within the display area of each candidate character string display unit 65 displayed on the search word input screen 61 (S112: NO), the CPU 41 ends the process. .
On the other hand, when the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is within the display area of any candidate character string display unit 65 displayed on the search word input screen 61 (S112: YES), the CPU 41 performs the process of S113. Migrate to

  In S <b> 113, the CPU 41 reads out the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed from the RAM 42, and this coordinate position is data including the coordinate positions after the second character of the candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. Judgment processing is performed to determine whether or not. That is, the CPU 41 executes determination processing for determining whether or not the user has pressed the second and subsequent characters of the candidate character string.

  When the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed does not include the coordinate position after the second character of the candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65 (S113: NO), the CPU 41 It determines with the candidate character string currently displayed on the character string display part 65 having been selected, and transfers to the process of S114. That is, the pressed coordinate position of the touch panel 18 indicates the coordinate position of the first character of the candidate character string or the display range from the left end of the candidate character string display unit 65 to the front of the second character of the candidate character string. In the case of coordinate data moved with the mark attached (S113: NO), the CPU 41 determines that the candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65 has been selected, and proceeds to the process of S114.

In S <b> 114, the CPU 41 selects the candidate character string displayed on the pressed candidate character string display unit 65 as a search character string and displays it on the input character display unit 63, and then ends the process.
Here, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is within the display range from the left end of the candidate character string display unit 65 to the second character of the candidate character string. An example in the case of coordinate data moved with a finger attached will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 7, when the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the coordinate position of the first character “A” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. The CPU 41 determines that the candidate character string “Asahikawa” has been selected. Then, the CPU 41 sets the character string “Asa” displayed on the input character display unit 63 to “Asahikawa” and displays it.

  Further, as shown on the right side of FIG. 7, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is a short range from the left end of the candidate character string display unit 65 to the front of the second character “SA” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”. CPU 41 determines that the candidate character string “Asahikawa” has been selected. Then, the CPU 41 sets the character string “Asa” displayed on the input character display unit 63 to “Asahikawa” and displays it.

  Thus, when the user presses the first character of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”, even if the fingertip slips slightly, the user selects and inputs the candidate character string “Asahikawa” as a search character string. be able to.

  On the other hand, when the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed includes the coordinate position after the second character of the candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65 (S113: YES), the CPU 41 proceeds to S115. Transition to processing. In S115, the CPU 41 reads the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed from the RAM 42, and determines whether or not there is a break position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at this coordinate position. Execute the judgment process. That is, the CPU 41 executes determination processing for determining whether or not there is a break position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the pressed character of the candidate character string.

  This "meaningful word" is a place name, a genre, a name of a facility, an abbreviation of a facility, a word that can be a point name such as a keyword representing a facility, or a commonly used character string . For example, the “meaningful word” is a character string or the like stored in “candidate character string” of the candidate character string data file 51.

  If there is no delimiter position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at the pressed coordinate position on the touch panel 18 (S115: NO), the CPU 41 proceeds to the process of S116. . In S116, the CPU 41 selects a character string from the first character of the candidate character string displayed in the pressed candidate character string display unit 65 to the pressed character as a search character string, and the input character display unit After displaying in 63, the process is terminated.

Here, an example in the case where there is no break position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at the pressed coordinate position of the touch panel 18 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, as shown in the upper left of FIG. 8, the pressed coordinate position of the touch panel 18 is the coordinate position of the third character “hi” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In this case, the CPU 41 determines that the third character “HI” has been pressed (S113: YES).

  Further, as shown in the upper right side of FIG. 8, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the third character from the first character “A” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of the coordinate data moved with the finger on the range up to “hi”, the CPU 41 determines that the third character “hi” is pressed (S113: YES).

  Further, as shown in the lower left side of FIG. 8, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the third character from the second character “sa” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of the coordinate data moved with the finger on the range up to “hi”, the CPU 41 determines that the third character “hi” is pressed (S113: YES). That is, in the case of coordinate data that is moved with the finger in the range from the middle of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” to the third character “hi”, the CPU 41 determines that the third character “hi” is pressed. To do.

  Further, as shown in the lower right side of FIG. 8, the pressed coordinate position of the touch panel 18 is four characters from the third character “hi” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of coordinate data that has been moved with a finger on the range up to the front of the eye “ka”, the CPU 41 determines that the third character “hi” has been pressed (S113: YES). Thus, when the user presses the third character of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”, the user can select and input the third character “HI” even if the fingertip slips a little.

  Subsequently, when it is determined that the third character “hi” is pressed (S113: YES), the CPU 41 determines the character string up to the front side of the third character “hi” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”, that is, Since the character string “ASA” from the first character to the second character matches the character string displayed on the input display unit 63, it is a delimiter that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the third character “HI”. It is determined that there is no position (S115: NO).

  Therefore, as shown in the upper left side, upper right side, lower left side, and lower right side of FIG. 8, the CPU 41 selects the character string “Asahi” from the first character to the third character of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”. Then, the character string “ASA” displayed on the input character display unit 63 is set to “ASAHI” and displayed (S116).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when there is a delimiter position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at the pressed coordinate position of the touch panel 18 (S115: YES), the CPU 41 , The process proceeds to S117. In S117, the CPU 41 determines a character string from the first character of the candidate character string displayed in the pressed candidate character string display unit 65 to a delimiter position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the pressed character. After selecting as a search character string and displaying it on the input character display section 63, the processing is terminated.

Here, an example in the case where there is a break position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed will be described with reference to FIG. 9.
First, as shown in the upper left of FIG. 9, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the coordinate position of the fourth character “ka” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In this case, the CPU 41 determines that the fourth character “ka” has been pressed (S113: YES).

  Further, as shown in the upper right side of FIG. 9, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the fourth character from the first character “A” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of the coordinate data moved with the finger on the range up to “ka”, the CPU 41 determines that the fourth character “ka” is pressed (S113: YES).

  Further, as shown in the lower left side of FIG. 9, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is the fourth character from the second character “sa” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of the coordinate data moved with the finger on the range up to “ka”, the CPU 41 determines that the fourth character “ka” is pressed (S113: YES). That is, in the case of coordinate data that has been moved with the finger on the range from the middle of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” to the fourth character “ka”, the CPU 41 determines that the fourth character “ka” has been pressed. To do.

  As shown in the lower right side of FIG. 9, the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed is five characters from the fourth character “ka” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65. In the case of coordinate data that has been moved with a finger on the range up to the front of the eye “Wa”, the CPU 41 determines that the fourth character “ka” has been pressed (S113: YES). Thus, when the user presses the fourth character of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”, the user can select and input the fourth character “ka” even if the fingertip slips a little.

  Subsequently, when it is determined that the fourth character “ka” is pressed (S113: YES), the CPU 41 determines the character string up to the front side of the fourth character “ka” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”, that is, Since the character string “Asahi” from the first character to the third character matches the candidate character string “Asahi” in the candidate character string data file 51, the character string “Asahi” in front of the fourth character “Ka” (S115: YES).

  Therefore, as shown in the upper left side, upper right side, lower left side, and lower right side of FIG. 9, the CPU 41 becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the fourth character “ka” of the candidate character string “Asahikawa”. The character string up to the delimiter position, that is, the character string “Asahi” from the first character to the third character of the candidate character string “Asahikawa” is selected as a search character string and displayed on the input character display unit 63. The character string “Asa” is set to “Asahi” and displayed (S117).

  As described above in detail, in the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment, the CPU 41 matches the characters or character strings displayed on the input character display unit 63 on each candidate character string display unit 65 of the search word input screen 61. The candidate character strings to be extracted are extracted from the candidate character string data file 51 and displayed in order of priority. When the first character or the second and subsequent characters of the candidate character string displayed on each candidate character string display unit 65 is pressed, the CPU 41 presses all the characters of the pressed candidate character string or The character string up to the selected position is selected as a search character string and displayed on the input character display unit 63.

  Thus, when a character string representing a desired destination is displayed as a candidate character string, the user can easily set the character string for search by pressing the first character of the candidate character string. It becomes possible.

  In addition, even if the character string representing the destination desired by the user is not displayed as a candidate character string, if the character string representing the destination is included in the candidate character string displayed on the screen, The user can easily select a character string representing the destination from the candidate character strings displayed on the screen and set it as a character string for search. Therefore, even if the number of candidate character strings that can be displayed on the screen at a time is small, it is possible to select and input a character string desired by the user from the displayed candidate character strings.

  Further, the CPU 41 extracts a candidate character string that matches the character or character string displayed on the input character display unit 63 in order of priority, and selects other candidate characters from the extracted number of candidate character strings. If there is a candidate character string in an inclusion relationship included in a part from the beginning of the column, the candidate character strings are collected and displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65 as one of the other candidate character strings.

  Accordingly, the user can select a character string representing a plurality of destinations from one candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65, and the desired destination can be selected from the displayed candidate character strings. It becomes possible to select and input a character string to be represented more reliably.

Further, when there is a delimiter position that becomes a “meaningful word” in front of the character of the candidate character string at the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed, the CPU 41 is pressed from the first character of the candidate character string. The character string up to the delimiter position that becomes the “meaningful word” in front of the selected character is selected as a search character string and displayed on the input character display unit 63.
As a result, the user can accurately select and input a character string representing a desired destination from the displayed candidate character strings.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, Of course, various improvement and deformation | transformation are possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  For example, in S113, when the coordinate position where the touch panel 18 is pressed includes the second and subsequent coordinate positions of the candidate character string displayed on the candidate character string display unit 65 (S113: YES), the CPU 41 May end the process after executing the process of S116. In this case, the CPU 41 may not execute the processes of S115 and S117. Thereby, the user can select a character string from the first character of the candidate character string to the pressed character as a character string for search and display it on the input character display unit 63.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 14 Operation part 15 Liquid crystal display 18 Touch panel 25 Map information DB
27 Character string DB
41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM
51 Candidate Character String Data File 61 Search Word Input Screen 62 50 Sound Key 63 Input Character Display Portion 65 Candidate Character String Display Portion

Claims (5)

Character string storage means for storing a plurality of character strings representing destinations to be searched in advance;
A character input means for inputting a search character;
A character string acquisition means for acquiring from the character string storage means the character string that is forwardly matched with a character input via the character input means;
Display means for displaying the character string acquired through the character string acquisition means as a candidate character string;
A selection instruction input means for inputting a selection instruction for instructing to select some or all characters from the top of the candidate character string displayed via the display means;
A character string setting means for setting a part or all of the candidate character strings from the beginning based on the selection instruction input via the selection instruction input means as a character string input via the character input means;
The point search device characterized by comprising. The display means determines whether one of the plurality of character strings acquired via the character string acquisition means is in an inclusion relation included in a part from the beginning of the other character string. Including an inclusive relationship determining means,
When it is determined that one character string is in an inclusion relation included in a part from the beginning of the other character string, the display means replaces the one character string with the other character string. The point search device according to claim 1, wherein the point search device is displayed as a candidate character string. The selection instruction includes a first character selection instruction that instructs to select only the first character of the candidate character string,
When the first character selection instruction is input via the selection instruction input means, the character string setting means transmits all of the candidate character strings corresponding to the first character selection instruction via the character input means. The point search device according to claim 1, wherein the point search device is set as an input character string. A character input process for inputting search characters;
A character string acquisition step of acquiring from a plurality of character strings representing destinations to be searched, in which a character string that matches the character input in the character input step is stored in advance;
A display step of displaying the character string acquired in the character string acquisition step as a candidate character string;
A selection instruction input step for inputting a selection instruction for instructing to select some or all characters from the top of the candidate character string displayed in the display step;
A character string setting step for setting a part or all of the candidate character strings from the top of the candidate character strings as the character strings input in the character input step based on the selection instructions input in the selection instruction input step;
A point search method characterized by comprising: On the computer,
A character input process for inputting search characters;
A character string acquisition step of acquiring from a plurality of character strings representing destinations to be searched, in which a character string that matches the character input in the character input step is stored in advance;
A display step of displaying the character string acquired in the character string acquisition step as a candidate character string;
A selection instruction input step for inputting a selection instruction for instructing to select some or all characters from the top of the candidate character string displayed in the display step;
A character string setting step of setting a part or all of the candidate character strings from the top of the candidate character strings as the character strings input in the character input step based on the selection instructions input in the selection instruction input step;
A program for running

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