JP2011033361A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a vehicle to complete without interruption, download of an application program during traveling, while receiving route guide. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation device 1 includes: a map storage means 12 for storing map information including information of a spot having an excellent communication state; a present position detection means 11 for detecting a present position; a display means 14 for displaying a map, a route and the present position. When receiving version-up information from a server, a control means 10 determines whether the vehicle is receiving route guide or not, and when receiving a route guide, calculates a required time necessary for download completion from communication speed of the navigation device 1 and a data amount of the application program to be downloaded, and determines based on the present position whether the download can be completed, while the vehicle is driving to a destination. When determined that the download can be completed, the control means 10 executes download of the application program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus that downloads a navigation application from a server via a communication means and upgrades the version, and in particular, searches for a route from a desired departure place to a destination and provides guidance for the searched route. When receiving application upgrade information while driving, calculate the time required for downloading, and if it is determined that the download will not be completed by the destination, select the best communication point closest to the current location. The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus that searches and guides as a waypoint, and calculates and guides a stop time required to complete downloading at the waypoint.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle navigation device that provides an automobile driver with an optimal route from a departure place to a destination has been provided. A conventional navigation device is a map data storage device such as a CD-ROM or an IC card in which map data is recorded, a display device, a gyro, a GPS (Global Positioning System), a vehicle speed sensor, and other current positions and directions of vehicles. It has a vehicle movement detection device to detect, reads out map data including the current position of the vehicle from the map data storage device, and draws a map image around the vehicle position on the display device based on the map data. In addition, the vehicle position mark is displayed superimposed on the map image on the display screen so that the current location of the vehicle can be known at a glance.

  Usually, such an in-vehicle navigation device uses a map data to perform a route search by performing a simulation calculation using the Dijkstra method or the like to search the route with the lowest cost connecting from the starting point to the destination, and the searched route is It is memorized as a guide route, and when traveling, the guide route is displayed on a map image, and when the vehicle approaches within a certain distance to the intersection where the route on the guide route should be changed, It is configured to be able to travel on the optimal route to the destination.

  The above-mentioned in-vehicle navigation device is a stand-alone navigation device having a route search function and map data, but with the recent development of communication and information processing technology, a communication function via a network has been added to the in-vehicle navigation device. A so-called communication-type navigation system that obtains guide route data and map data through data communication with a route search server has also become widespread.

  Normally, various functions of such a navigation device are performed by controlling each unit by executing an application program stored in an HDD or a CD-ROM provided in the navigation device. In general, application programs are upgraded to add or change functions. Various methods are used to upgrade the application program. For example, there is a method in which a CD-ROM in which an updated application program is recorded is distributed, and the application program recorded in the distributed CD-ROM is stored in the HDD of the navigation device.

  The invention of such a navigation device is disclosed in, for example, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-150862). The navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a first execution unit that executes a computer program recorded on an HDD, a second execution unit that executes a second computer program recorded on a CD-ROM, And an installation unit that copies data from the CD-ROM to the HDD, and a state collection unit that collects the state from a sensor that measures the state of the automobile. The installation unit operates in parallel with the second execution unit, and is configured to guide the vehicle to the destination in parallel with the version upgrade.

  In addition, in a navigation device having a wireless communication function, upgrade information is sent to a navigation device from a server installed by a device manufacturer, a navigation service provider, etc., and the navigation device accesses the server to download a new version of an application program. A system that upgrades the version may be used. There is also a change in the basic function in the version upgrade of the application. In this case, it is necessary to upgrade each user at an early stage, which is urgent. In addition, it is necessary for all users to complete the upgrade within a certain period, and there is a case where a download period is set. Therefore, in addition to the data amount of the application program, information such as urgency and priority, download expiration date, and version information is added to the upgrade information.

JP 2004-150862 A

  By the way, when a vehicle equipped with a navigation device having a wireless communication function is traveling, radio waves cannot be transmitted / received satisfactorily due to the location where communication can be performed satisfactorily and the influence of topography and building parts, etc. There is a place that cannot be done. In general, points and areas with good communication conditions and points and areas with poor communication conditions may be known in advance based on the installation points of wireless communication base stations and broadcast stations for mobile communication terminals. is there.

  There is also a method of determining a communication state (a reception state of radio waves) while the mobile communication terminal is moving and storing it in correspondence with the position information. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-140522 discloses a current position confirmation unit, a broadcast reception unit that receives a television broadcast signal, a reception state confirmation unit that confirms a reception state of each received television broadcast wave, and the reception An apparatus is disclosed in which reception state information indicating a reception state confirmed by a state confirmation unit and the current position are stored in association with each other. In the navigation apparatus, the map information includes facility information such as major facilities (public facilities, shopping malls, various stores, parking lots, etc.), and it is possible to add quality data of the communication state to the facility information.

  On the other hand, when the upgrade information is received from the server, the time required for downloading can be calculated from the data amount of the application program added to the upgrade information and the communication speed stored in the navigation device. When the urgency of version upgrade is high, it is expected that the user immediately downloads the application program and executes the version upgrade while the vehicle is traveling. At that time, during route guidance, it is possible to determine whether the download can be completed before the destination arrives based on the time required for downloading and the time required for the route from the current position to the destination. .

  If the download cannot be completed before arrival at the destination and the vehicle must be left without completing the download, there is a disadvantage that the download must be performed again. Also, during route guidance, you may pass through points or areas with poor communication conditions, and downloads will be interrupted at such points or areas, and errors may occur due to missing application programs, etc., and downloads will be completed. There may be inconveniences that cannot be made.

  However, since the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not configured to download an application program from a server and upgrade the version, the problem in downloading the application program from the server by communication cannot be solved. There is an inconvenience.

  The inventor of the present application has conducted various studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, searches for a route from a desired departure place to a destination, and receives version upgrade information while guiding the searched route. In addition, the time required for downloading is calculated, and when it is determined that the download is not completed by the time it arrives at the destination, a point with a good communication state is searched and guided as a waypoint, and downloaded at the place The present invention has been completed by conceiving that the above problems can be solved if the stop time required to complete the process is calculated and guided.

  That is, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a navigation device that can complete the download of an application program without interruption even when the vehicle is in route guidance. It is.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a navigation device including a control unit that searches and guides a route from a departure point or a current position to a destination with reference to map information. The navigation device includes a connection means for receiving update information and downloading an application program, a current position detection means for detecting a current position, and a map storage storing map information including communication state information for each point. Means, input means, and display means, and when the control means downloads the application program via the connection means during route guidance to the destination, the control means until the destination arrives The download can be completed by the time it arrives at the destination. If it is determined, and executes the download.

  Also, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, in the navigation device according to claim 1, when the control means determines that the download cannot be completed before arriving at the destination, the current position detection means Based on the detected current position and the map information stored in the map storage means, a point with a good communication state is searched, a route to the destination via the searched point is re-searched, and the search It is determined whether or not the download is completed by the time the route arrives at the destination, and when it is determined that the download can be completed by the time the destination is reached, the download is executed. To do.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means arrives at the destination via a route that reaches the destination via the searched point that has been searched. When it is determined that the download cannot be completed before, the stop time required to complete the download at the searched point is calculated and the stop time is notified.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the control means downloads the application program via the connection means based on the update information. The time required to complete the operation is calculated, the calculated time is compared with the time required for the searched route calculated based on the map information stored in the map storage means, and the vehicle arrives at the destination Until the download is completed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the control means is based on the searched route and the map information stored in the map storage means. Determining whether or not the searched route passes through a point with poor communication state, and when passing through the point with poor communication state, determining that the download cannot be completed before arriving at the destination. Features.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the control means determines the urgency of the download based on the update information, and The download is performed when it is determined that the property is high.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the navigation device refers to the map information and searches for a route from the departure point or the current position to the destination for guidance (for example, the control unit 10 in the following embodiment). The navigation apparatus includes a connection means (for example, communication means 13 in the following embodiment) for receiving update information and downloading an application program, and a current position detecting means (for detecting the current position). For example, in the following embodiment, the current position detection means 11), a map storage means (for example, the map storage means 12 in the following embodiment) that stores map information including communication status information for each point, and an input means (for example, In the following embodiment, it comprises an input means 15) and a display means (for example, the display means 14 in the following embodiment), When the application program is downloaded via the connection means during route guidance to the destination, the means determines whether the download is completed before arriving at the destination. If it is determined that the download can be completed before reaching the ground, the download is executed.

  According to this configuration, even when the vehicle is traveling while receiving route guidance, the download of the application program can be completed without interruption before reaching the destination.

  In the invention according to claim 2, in the navigation device according to claim 1, when the control means determines that the download cannot be completed before arriving at the destination, it is detected by the current position detection means. Based on the current position and the map information stored in the map storage means, a point with a good communication state is searched, and a route to the destination via the searched point is re-searched. It is determined whether or not the download is completed before the arrival at the destination. If it is determined that the download can be completed before the arrival at the destination, the download is executed.

  According to this configuration, if the download is not completed while the upgrade reaches the destination via the waypoint, a point with a good communication state is searched, and the route to the destination via that point is re-established. It is determined whether the download is completed before reaching the destination on the searched and re-searched route, and when the download is completed, the download is executed. The download can be completed without interruption.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the second aspect, the control means passes through the searched point searched for and reaches the destination before reaching the destination. When it is determined that the download cannot be completed, a stop time required to complete the download at the searched point is calculated and the stop time is notified.

  According to this configuration, when the download is not completed before reaching the destination on the re-searched route, the stop time necessary for the download to be completed is calculated at the searched point, and the stop time is calculated. Therefore, the download is performed after stopping at the searched point for a necessary time, and the download can be completed without interruption.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the control unit completes downloading of the application program via the connection unit based on the update information. The time required for the calculation is compared, the calculated time is compared with the time required for the searched route calculated based on the map information stored in the map storage means, and the time required to arrive at the destination Determine whether the download is complete.

  According to this configuration, even when the vehicle is traveling while receiving route guidance, it can be determined whether or not the download of the application program can be completed before reaching the destination, and the destination is reached. In the meantime, the application program download can be completed without interruption.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the control means is configured to perform the search based on the searched route and the map information stored in the map storage means. It is determined whether or not the route passes through a point with poor communication state, and if the route passes through the point with poor communication state, it is determined that the download cannot be completed before reaching the destination. Even if the vehicle is traveling while receiving route guidance, it can be determined whether or not the download of the application program can be completed before reaching the destination.

  In the invention according to claim 6, in the navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the control means determines the urgency of the download based on the update information, and the urgency is high. If it is determined, download is performed.

  According to such a configuration, when the urgency of version upgrade is high, the version upgrade of the application program can be executed and completed without interruption even when the vehicle is traveling with route guidance.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the download procedure of the application program in the navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a vehicle-mounted navigation device in order to embody the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to identify the present invention as this navigation device. The present invention is equally applicable to the navigation devices of other embodiments included in the claims.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 1 may be a device that is used in a vehicle by being mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, or may be of a type that can be removed from the vehicle and carried by a user. In the following description, these are collectively referred to as a navigation device.

  The navigation apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a current position detection unit 11, a map storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, an input unit 15, an audio output unit 16, and the like.

  The control means 10 is connected to the current position detection means 11, the map storage means 12, the communication means 13, the display means 14, the input means 15 and the voice output means 16 with a signal line group such as a bus. It is possible to exchange information between them.

  The control means 10 is composed of a processor including a CPU 101, a RAM 102, and a ROM 103, and controls the operation of each part of the navigation device 1 by executing application programs recorded in the RAM 102 and the ROM 103. The RAM 102 stores version information corresponding to the application program. Then, information on version upgrade (hereinafter referred to as update in the following description) is received from a server (not shown), and when there is an addition or change in the application program, the navigation device 1 takes the server at an appropriate opportunity. Then, a new version of the application program is downloaded, and updating is performed by rewriting the application program stored in the RAM 102 with the downloaded application program. Details of this procedure will be described later in detail.

  The current position detecting means 11 is composed of, for example, a GPS receiver and receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting the earth and calculates the current position based on the radio waves. Further, the current position detecting means 11 may be used in combination with autonomous navigation means (dead reckoning means) composed of a steering angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, a distance sensor, a direction sensor, and the like.

  Since the radio wave from the GPS satellite includes date and time information, the current position detecting means 11 can also detect the current date and time.

  The map storage means 12 stores map information. The map information includes road node data and road links in which nodes such as intersections and branch points of roads are nodes and links between the nodes are links. Road data including data and map image data including map images are included. The road node data includes road node numbers, position coordinates, number of connection links, intersection names, etc., as well as guidance points corresponding to guidance points such as intersections, and guidance data that guides turning right, left, straight, etc. Has been. The road link data includes the number of road nodes as starting and ending points, road type, link length (link cost), required time, number of lanes, road width, and the like. Further, data such as bridges, tunnels, railroad crossings, and toll gates are added to the road link data as link attributes. The road type is information including the type of an expressway or toll road and another such as a national road or a prefectural road.

  Here, the required time included in the road link data is calculated based on the link length, the travel speed, etc., but the travel speed may be arbitrarily set by the user according to the road type, The history may be stored, and the average speed of the travel history may be used as the travel speed.

  The map storage unit 12 stores in advance the communication state and communication speed when the server transmits the application program to the communication unit 13 at each point. Note that the communication state and communication speed stored in the map storage means 12 are determined by the navigation device 1 detecting the communication state and communication speed at the current position, for example, at predetermined intervals, and the detected communication state and communication speed and current You may make it newly memorize | store it by matching a position.

  In addition to road data and map image data, the map information may include background image data stored in a vector format for easy display of the map image. These background image data and map image data are extracted from the map storage unit 12 by a map of a predetermined range including the current position of the navigation device 1 when the navigation device 1 is used by the image drawing control of the control unit 10. The current position mark indicating the current position and the image of the optimum route are superimposed and drawn on an image memory (not shown) such as a VRAM and displayed on the display means 14.

  Further, the map storage means 12 also stores facility data for each facility such as a parking lot and a convenience store. The facility data includes information such as the name of the facility, position coordinates, business hours, the presence or absence of a parking lot, and an image of the facility such as a landmark.Furthermore, the facility data includes the communication status and the location of each facility. Communication speed is also included.

  The communication means 13 is a communication device having a wireless communication function for communicating with a server via a network, and transmits / receives various information such as update information and application programs to / from the server.

  The display means 14 is a display unit having a display screen composed of a display panel such as an LCD. The detected current position is displayed. In addition, this display means 14 can also be comprised so that it may comprise a touch sensor and may bear a part of input means 15. In this case, selection input is performed when the user touches an icon displayed on the screen.

  The input unit 15 includes various keys and switches for inputting a destination in the navigation apparatus 1 and other various inputs.

  The voice output means 16 is composed of a speaker or the like, and performs notification of various voice guidance in the navigation device 1 such as guidance notification at the time of optimum route guidance, key operation sound, and other various voice notifications related to the navigation device 1.

  The control means 10 searches for an optimum route from the current position detected by the current position detection means 11 or the starting point designated via the input means 15 to the destination designated via the input means 15. To do. More specifically, referring to the road data stored in the map storage means 12, the links from the departure node to the destination node are sequentially searched, and the node and link with the lowest link cost are found. Search to determine the optimal route. Note that, as such a route search method, a method called label determination method or Dijkstra method is used.

  The optimum route searched by the control means 10 is stored in the RAM 102. At the time of route guidance, the map image data in a predetermined range centered on the current position detected by the current position detection unit 11 is read from the map storage unit 12 and displayed on the display unit 14, and the optimum route stored in the RAM 102 is displayed. Based on the above, when the current position reaches the guidance point stored in the map storage means 12, guidance notification is performed by voice via the voice output means 16. In this way, route guidance to the destination is performed while switching the map image according to the current position that changes every moment.

  The navigation device 1 receives the update information of the application program from the server via the communication unit 13. Update information includes information such as the amount of application program data, version information, download request destination (access destination URL), download expiration date (if a time limit is set), urgency, priority, etc. Information is added.

  When the navigation device 1 receives the update information from the server via the communication unit 13, the navigation device 1 compares the version information included in the update information with the version information stored in the RAM 102, and determines whether an update is necessary. If an update is necessary, the user is prompted through the display means 14 and the audio output means 16 to access the download request destination and download the application program, or the application program is automatically downloaded and updated. Basically, you can download the application program within the downloadable time limit. However, if the urgency or priority is high (such as changing the basic part of the application program), or if the download expiration date is If it is close, it is preferable to download immediately.

  Whether the navigation device 1 is a highly urgent update such as a high urgency or priority or a near download expiration date based on the urgency or priority included in the update information and the download expiration date In the case of an update with a high urgency, the download request destination is immediately accessed and the download is executed. Naturally, when the navigation apparatus 1 is turned off and not activated, the update information is received and downloaded when the power is turned on and the navigation apparatus 1 is activated.

  When downloading is started immediately after receiving the update information, if the vehicle is in the route guidance, the download cannot be completed before arrival at the destination, and the vehicle must be left without completing the download. In such a case, there arises a disadvantage that the download must be performed again. Also, during route guidance, you may pass through a point or area with poor communication status, and the download will be interrupted at such a point or area, an error may occur due to the application program being dropped, etc. Sometimes you have to start over.

  Therefore, in the present invention, when the application program is downloaded during the route guidance, the time required for the download is calculated, and when it is determined that the download is not completed before reaching the destination, the communication state Is searched and guided as a transit point, and the stop time required to complete the download at the transit point is calculated and guided, and control is performed so that the download can be completed without interruption. In addition, as a condition of the waypoint to search, it is preferable that it is a facility which can park a vehicle other than a communication state being favorable.

  Whether or not the download is completed before reaching the destination is basically determined within the time required for the optimum route calculated by referring to the road data stored in the map storage unit 12. It may be determined depending on whether or not the required time required for the time is sufficient. However, if there is an area or point with poor communication status on the optimal route, the download may be interrupted in that area, and the download may not be completed. It may be determined whether or not the download can be completed before reaching the destination.

  The time required for the download can be calculated from the communication speed for each point stored in the map storage unit 12 on the optimum route and the data amount of the application program to be downloaded. The stop time of the vehicle can be set as the stop time is the time required for the download calculated from the communication speed of the waypoint and the above data amount when the download is performed from the start to the end at the waypoint. In the case of a configuration that starts downloading at the time of searching for a location, the amount of data that can be received up to the transit point is calculated based on the communication speed on the route from the current position to the transit point and the required time of the route, The amount of data calculated from the amount of data in the application program is defined as the stoppage time required for download based on the amount of data obtained by subtracting the calculated amount of data from the amount of data in the application program and the communication speed at the waypoint. The download of the data amount minus the amount may be completed by stopping the vehicle at the waypoint

  Hereinafter, the download procedure will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the download procedure of the application program in the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the update of the application program downloaded via the communication unit 13 may be automatically performed when the download is completed, or the downloaded application program is temporarily stored. Means may be provided, and the downloaded application program may be updated by the user operating the input means 15.

  First, the control means 10 determines whether or not the navigation device 1 is performing route guidance (step S101). If route guidance is not in progress (NO in step S101), the procedure of this flowchart is terminated. The route guidance means that the optimum route to the destination designated by the user via the input means 15 is searched for, and the map means, the current position, etc. are displayed on the display means 14 to guide the route to the destination. It is a state of being.

  If it is determined that route guidance is being performed (YES in step S101), the control unit 10 determines whether update information has been received from the server via the communication unit 13 (step S102). If update information has not been received (NO in step S102), the procedure of this flowchart is terminated. If update information has been received (YES in step S102), the version information included in the update information is compared with the version information stored in the RAM 102 to determine whether or not an update is necessary (step S103). .

  If it is determined that no update is necessary (NO in step S103), the procedure of this flowchart is terminated. If it is determined that an update is necessary (YES in step S103), the control means 10 determines whether the urgency of the update is high according to the urgency or priority information included in the update information and the download expiration date. Is determined (step S104).

  Here, the determination as to whether or not the urgency is high is made when the urgency or priority included in the update information is high, or the download expiration date included in the update information and the current position detected by the current position detection unit 11 The date and time are compared, and if the interval between the current date and the expiration date is less than or equal to the predetermined date and time, it is determined that the download expiration date is close and it is determined that the urgency is high.

  If it is determined that the urgency of the update is not high (NO in step S104), the procedure of this flowchart is terminated. If it is determined that the urgency of the update is high (YES in step S104), the control means 10 determines the communication speed for each point stored in the map storage means 12 on the optimum route and the application program included in the update information. The time required for downloading is calculated from the data amount (step S105).

  Next, the control means 10 calculates the time required for the vehicle to arrive at the destination based on the information on the optimum route and the road data stored in the map storage means 12, and arrives at the calculated destination. The time required until the time required for the download is compared, and it is determined whether or not the download is completed before reaching the destination (step S106). Note that this determination may be made by taking into account whether there is an area with a poor communication state on the optimum route in addition to the time required for downloading as described above.

  If the download is completed before the arrival at the destination (YES in step S106), the download is executed and the processing procedure of this flowchart is terminated. In this case, if the download is interrupted due to some reason, for example, the vehicle has deviated from the optimum route and passed through an area with poor communication status, the procedure of this flowchart can be retried. Good.

  If it is determined that the download is not completed before the arrival at the destination (NO in step S106), the control means 10 uses the map storage means 12 based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection means 11. The facility data stored in is searched for the facility that is closest to the current position, has a good communication state, and can be parked (step S107).

  When a facility with a good communication state is searched, the control means 10 re-searches a route from the current position to the destination using the facility as a transit point (step S108). The required time to the destination on the re-searched route is calculated, and the calculated required time until arrival at the destination is compared with the required time required for downloading (step S109). As a result, it is determined whether the download is completed while arriving at the destination using the re-searched route (step S110).

  If the download is completed before arrival at the destination (YES in step S110), the download is executed and the processing procedure of this flowchart is terminated. In this case, if the download is interrupted due to some reason, for example, the vehicle has deviated from the optimum route and passed through an area with poor communication status, the procedure of this flowchart can be retried. Good.

  When it is determined that the download is not completed before the arrival at the destination (NO in step S110), the control means 10 calculates a stop time for stopping the vehicle at the waypoint, and during the calculated stop time, A notification is given via the display means 14 and / or the audio output means 16 so as to stop the vehicle in a downloadable state (step S111). As described above, the stop time includes a case where the download is performed from the start to the end at the waypoint and a case where the download is started at the time of searching for the waypoint.

  When notifying the time required to reach the destination via the display means 14 and / or the voice output means 16, the time obtained by adding the calculated stop time to the required time of the searched route is the target time. It is preferable to set the time required to reach the ground.

  As described above in detail, according to the navigation device of the present invention, the download of the application program can be completed without interruption during the route guidance of the vehicle.

  In the above embodiment, when the download is not completed before the arrival at the destination, the facility closest to the current position, in good communication state, and capable of parking is searched. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In consideration of the direction of travel, it is possible to search for a facility that is closest to the optimal route, has a good communication state, and can be parked. It is also possible to store points that can be stored and search for points where the communication state is good and parking is possible.

  In the above embodiment, the navigation device is provided with a communication means for receiving update information from the server and downloading an application program as a connection means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The receiving device is provided with receiving means for receiving update information from the server and downloading the application program, and the receiving device and the navigation device are connected by a wired or wireless connecting means, and the update information and application received by the receiving device. It is good also as a structure which transmits a program to a navigation apparatus.

When connecting means for connecting to the receiving device such as the mobile phone is provided, the time required for downloading is the time required for downloading from the server to the receiver and the connecting device from the receiving device via the connecting means. Thus, it is preferable that the time required for downloading to the navigation device is the time required for downloading. The time required for downloading from the server to the receiver is calculated using the communication state and communication speed for each point stored in the map storage means and the data amount of the application program included in the update information. The time required for downloading from the receiving device to the navigation device via the connection means is measured by measuring the communication speed between the receiving device and the navigation device by connecting the receiving device and the navigation device in advance. It can be stored and calculated from the data amount of the application program included in the update information and the stored communication speed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation apparatus 10 ... Control means 101 ... CPU
102 ... RAM
103 ... ROM
11 .... Current position detection means 12 .... Map storage means 13 .... Communication means 14 .... Display means 15 .... Input means 16 .... Voice output means

Claims (6)

A navigation device comprising control means for searching and guiding a route from a starting point or a current position to a destination with reference to map information,
The navigation device includes connection means for receiving update information and downloading an application program, current position detection means for detecting a current position, and map storage means for storing map information including communication state information for each point; , Input means and display means,
The control means determines whether or not the download is completed before reaching the destination when the application program is downloaded via the connection means during route guidance to the destination, A navigation device, wherein the download is executed when it is determined that the download can be completed before reaching the destination.   When it is determined that the download cannot be completed before the control means arrives at the destination, based on the current position detected by the current position detecting means and the map information stored in the map storage means, the communication state Search for a good point, re-search for a route to the destination via the searched point, and determine whether the download is completed before the destination is reached on the searched route The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the download is executed when it is determined that the download can be completed before the arrival at the destination.   If the control means determines that the download cannot be completed before reaching the destination on the route to the destination via the searched point searched for, the download is completed at the searched point. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a stop time required to perform the calculation is calculated and the stop time is notified.   The control means calculates a time required to complete the download of the application program via the connection means based on the update information, and adds the calculated time and the map information stored in the map storage means. The time required for the searched route calculated based on the comparison is compared, and it is determined whether or not the download is completed before reaching the destination. The navigation device described in 1.   The control means determines, based on the searched route and the map information stored in the map storage means, whether or not the searched route passes through a poor communication state, and determines the bad communication state point. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when passing, it is determined that the download cannot be completed before the destination arrives.   6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the urgency of the download based on the update information, and performs the download when it is determined that the urgency is high. The navigation device described in 1.

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