JP2011179870A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation apparatus and a navigation system which can acquire desired facility information without requiring the labor of a user. <P>SOLUTION: The navigation apparatus including a current position detecting means for detecting a current position, and a display means includes a retrieval list preparing means which prepares a retrieval list where the classification of a plurality of information is set in order of priority, an information retrieval means which retrieves information corresponding to one or more classification of information contained in the retrieval list and/or a communication means which transmits one or more classification of information contained at least in the retrieval list and receives the information corresponding to the classification of information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a navigation device having a function of searching for a desired facility and information.

  Conventionally, in a navigation apparatus, information around the current position and the guidance route has been acquired.

  For example, in the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-33272), facility information such as a gas station existing along the searched route is searched by the facility search means, and the searched facility information is displayed on the display means. A route search display device is disclosed. As a result, not only the route searched in the route search is displayed on the display device, but also facility information required by a driver such as a gas station can be displayed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-72751), the search means searches for registered spot information around the position of the vehicle based on a user instruction, and the position of the searched registered spot is displayed on the map data. A navigation device and a registration point search method for superimposing display are disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-107162) includes a receiving unit that receives facility data indicating the type and location of a facility, and the receiving unit is transmitted from a facility, a facility data transmitting station, a service center, or the like. A navigation device is disclosed that can receive incoming facility data and display the received facility data such as gas stations, restaurants, parking lots, etc. along with the current position.

  Furthermore, the following Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-357432) discloses a navigation device that includes facility search means, searches for facilities located around the current position, and displays them on the display means. Even in the middle, it is possible to obtain information about facilities in the vicinity of the current position that changes from moment to moment.

  Similarly, in the navigation device, information around the destination is searched and displayed.

  On the other hand, in recent years, it is known to use small-scale accessory software that displays a clock function, a calendar function, news, and the like on the desktop of a computer screen. Such accessory software is called a widget.

  Non-Patent Document 1 below discloses such a widget function that is applied to a navigation device so that the display of the navigation device can be viewed on a computer desktop so that the widget function can be used.

  The navigation device of Non-Patent Document 1 below searches for peripheral facilities belonging to the type selected by the user, and displays the search result as a widget image on the map image of the display. In this widget image, the number of searched peripheral facilities is displayed, and the number changes in real time as the vehicle moves. That is, by operating the widget constantly or periodically, the facility and facility information can be acquired in real time, and the real-time information can be displayed. When the user selects a widget image displayed on the screen, detailed information is provided by displaying a list of information associated with the map and the widget image. For example, gas stations around the current position are displayed in ascending order of price, or restaurants are displayed in order of popularity.

  In the following description, the widget function is information obtained by periodically acquiring / searching information about facilities that are in the vicinity of the search reference point and corresponding to the type of facility selected / set by the user. It will be described as accessory software that displays.

  The information acquired / searched using the widget function is displayed as an image. In the following description, this image is referred to as a widget image. The widget image is an image similar to an icon image used in various information processing devices.

JP-A-9-33272 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-72751 JP 2002-107162 A JP 2002-357432 A

http://pioneer.jp/press/2009/0507-2.html

  In general, an in-vehicle navigation device is configured to perform route search or search for a desired facility such as a gas station or a parking lot (called peripheral search) using map information and facility information stored in the device. ing. In order to perform route search and surrounding search using the latest information, it is necessary to update the map information and facility information stored in the navigation device as appropriate.

  On the other hand, recently, development of utilization technologies such as the Internet and a reduction in communication charges have progressed, and in-vehicle navigation devices are also provided with devices equipped with communication means that can use various information providing servers. In such a navigation device, it is possible to perform a peripheral search using the latest information of the information providing server, for example, facility information, and acquire and display the result.

  In such a navigation device, the search result of the facility information desired by the user around the current position is provided at a predetermined time interval, for example, every 5 minutes or every 10 minutes, according to the current position of the traveling vehicle. Must be obtained continuously from the server. For this purpose, the navigation device includes accessory software that transmits a request for peripheral search to the information providing server at a predetermined time interval, and stores and displays the result received from the information providing server. It is necessary to always start this accessory software. The navigation device disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 is an apparatus having such a configuration.

  In the peripheral search request, the peripheral search widget function is activated (accessory software is activated), and the search conditions for the peripheral search are transmitted to the information providing server at predetermined time intervals. At that time, the type of facility that the user wants to search (facility category such as a parking lot or a gas station) can be set as a search condition, and the current position information of the vehicle can be set as a search condition for a reference point for the peripheral search. is necessary. The facility type set by the user may be transmitted to the information providing server each time a peripheral search request is made, or may be transmitted to the information providing server only at the time of the first peripheral search request. When the user changes the type of facility to be searched, the facility type information changed by the user is added to the search request as a change in the search condition. The facility type set as the search condition is not limited to one, and several facility types desired by the user can be set simultaneously.

  However, in the prior art disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, for example, a user sets a gas station as a search condition, transmits the search condition to the information providing server, performs a peripheral search, and includes the searched facility information. To the gas station and refueling is complete, the unnecessary gas station search criteria remain in effect unless the user deletes the gas station search criteria or selects another search criteria. End up. In this case, unnecessary information continues to be displayed on the display means of the navigation device, which is very troublesome. In addition, the user is forced to perform troublesome work such as ending the search in order to avoid this troublesomeness.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the intended purpose based on the searched facility information has been achieved, the priority of the search conditions related to the facility information is automatically lowered, or the search conditions are automatically set. It is an object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can acquire desired facility information without bothering the user.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of the navigation device according to claim 1 of the present application prioritizes a plurality of types of information in a navigation device including a current position detecting means for detecting a current position and a display means. Search list creation means for creating a search list set in order, information search means for searching for information corresponding to one or more types of information included in the search list, and / or at least one or more included in the search list Communication means for transmitting the information type and receiving information corresponding to the information type.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1, wherein condition storage means for storing a condition for setting a priority order among a plurality of types of the information, and a type of the information included in the search list Determining means for determining whether or not rearrangement is necessary, wherein the search list creating means creates the search list according to the condition and the determination result of the determining means.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising operation input means for selecting a desired type of the information, wherein the search list creation means is selected by the operation input means. A search list in which the type of information is set higher than the search list is created.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising operation input means for selecting a desired type of the information, wherein the search list creation means is selected by the operation input means. A search list including the type of information is created.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present application is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information search means and / or the communication means are based on the search list created by the search list creation means, One or more types of the information included in the search list to be searched and / or received are determined.

  The invention according to claim 6 of the present application is the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the determination means uses any one or more of a stop state, a travel distance, and a time of the vehicle. Then, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to rearrange a plurality of types of the information included in the search list.

  In the invention according to claim 1, in a navigation device comprising a current position detecting means for detecting the current position and a display means, a search list creating means for creating a search list in which a plurality of types of information are set in priority order Information search means for searching for information corresponding to one or more types of the information included in the search list and / or at least one type of the information included in the search list, and the type of the information Communication means for receiving information corresponding to the above.

  By configuring in this way, a search list in which a plurality of types of information such as types of facilities to be searched are set in order of priority is used. By setting a desired facility type, the corresponding information, for example, the set facility search result can be acquired.

  In the invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1, condition storage means for storing a condition for setting a priority order among a plurality of types of the information, and the type of the information included in the search list Determination means for determining whether or not rearrangement is necessary, and the search list creation means creates the search list according to the condition and the determination result of the determination means.

  With this configuration, when it is determined that the processing based on the corresponding information, for example, the intended purpose based on the searched facility information is achieved, it is determined that the search list needs to be rearranged, and the facility Since the priority order of search conditions concerning information can be automatically lowered, there is no need for the user to delete the search conditions. In addition, since information related to facility information for which an intended purpose has been achieved is not retrieved and displayed, there is no need for troublesome display due to unnecessary display.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an operation input means for selecting a desired type of the information, wherein the search list creation means is selected by the operation input means. A search list in which the type of information is set higher than the search list is created.

  With this configuration, the user can set the type of desired information to be searched for, for example, the type of desired facility, in the higher order in the priority order of the search list.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes an operation input unit that selects a desired type of the information, and the search list generation unit is selected by the operation input unit. Create a search list consisting of information types.

  With this configuration, the user uses a search list in which the type of desired information to be searched, for example, the type of desired facility, is set. By setting a type, for example, a desired facility type, it becomes possible to acquire corresponding information, for example, a result of the set facility search.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the information search means and / or the communication means can search and / or search based on the search list created by the search list creation means. One or more types of the information included in the search list to be received are determined.

  By configuring in this way, since a search list in which a plurality of information types are set in priority order is used, a desired information type, for example, a desired facility type is set without bothering the user. Applicable information, for example, the set facility search result can be acquired.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the determination means uses the search using any one or more of a vehicle stop state, a travel distance, and a time. It is determined whether or not it is necessary to rearrange the types of the information included in the list.

  With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the search list needs to be rearranged according to the type of information in the search list, for example, the type of facility. For example, by detecting the stop of a vehicle, it is determined that the vehicle has entered a gas station or parking lot, and it is determined that it is necessary to delete the search condition automatically or change the priority order to a lower order. can do. In addition, for example, when the travel distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance, it is conceivable that the remaining gasoline is low, and therefore it is possible to determine that the rearrangement for changing the gas station to a higher rank in the search list is necessary. Furthermore, by using the time, for example, when the meal time is approaching, it is possible to determine that the rearrangement for changing the priority order of the search conditions for searching for a restaurant to the higher order is necessary.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation system containing the navigation apparatus concerning a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the rearrangement conditions memorize | stored in the rearrangement condition memory | storage means shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the navigation apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the map image display screen around the present position displayed on a display input means. It is a figure which shows the menu setting screen displayed on a display input means. It is a figure which shows the widget setting screen displayed on a display input means. It is explanatory drawing of the search list update by the search list preparation means shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the search list update by the search list preparation means shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the widget display screen displayed on a display input means.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiments shown below illustrate and explain a navigation device and a navigation system for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is specified to this navigation device and navigation system. The present invention is not intended and can be equally applied to other navigation apparatuses and navigation systems without departing from the technical idea shown in the claims.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the navigation system 10 concerning the Example of this invention and its structure are demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a navigation system 10 according to the present embodiment. The navigation system 10 includes an information providing server 200 connected to the navigation device 100 via a network.

  The navigation device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, a current position detection unit 121, a widget setting unit 122, a stop determination unit 123, a time acquisition unit 124, a time measurement unit 125, a travel distance calculation unit 126, a fuel supply detection unit 127, A change determination means 128, a search list creation means 129, a facility search request means 130, a display input means 131, a display control means 132, a route search means 133, a storage means 134, a rearrangement condition storage means 135, and a map storage means 136. It is prepared for.

  The navigation device 100 provides information on the result of a facility search desired by a user around the current position at a predetermined time interval, for example, every 5 minutes or 10 minutes, according to the current position of the vehicle that progresses according to the traveling of the vehicle. A widget function for peripheral search that is continuously acquired from the server 200 is provided.

  The peripheral search widget function is activated when the user selects widget setting on the menu screen of the navigation device 100 and sets a desired facility type to be subjected to the peripheral search. When the widget function is activated, the facility search request unit 130 transmits a facility search request using the facility type selected by the user as a search condition to the information providing server 200 at a predetermined time interval, and receives the search result. . The reference point for the peripheral search is the current position of the vehicle. Therefore, the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 121 is included in the surrounding search request. The widget function is terminated by the user's termination operation. Note that the start and end of the widget function may be linked to the power on / off of the navigation device.

  The control unit 110 includes a CPU 111, a ROM 112, and a RAM 113. The CPU 111 executes a control program stored in the ROM 112 or the RAM 113, thereby controlling operations of each unit of the navigation device 100 described below. Supervise.

  The communication unit 120 is connected to the information providing server 200 via a wireless network, and transmits a facility search request described below to the information providing server 200 or receives a search result in the information providing server 200. It is.

  The current position detecting means 121 includes a GPS signal receiving means (not shown) and an autonomous navigation means (not shown), receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, or outputs an output from a vehicle speed sensor or the like. The current position is calculated by measurement.

  When the user selects the widget setting on the menu screen, the widget setting unit 122 sends an instruction to the display control unit 132 to display a list of a plurality of widget setting items on the display input unit 131. The widget setting unit 122 stores the facility type selected and set by the user from the widget setting items in the storage unit 134, and sets the stored facility type as a processing target in the widget function.

  The stop determination unit 123 detects whether the vehicle has stopped or started based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor or the like, and determines whether the vehicle has stopped for a predetermined time from the stop duration measured by the time measuring unit 125. I do.

  The time acquisition unit 124 acquires information on the current time. Note that the current time information may be acquired from a clock provided in the vehicle, or may be acquired from time information included in a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

  The time measuring means 125 measures the stop duration for which the vehicle continues to stop based on the output from the vehicle speed sensor or the like.

  The travel distance calculating means 126 calculates the travel distance from the start of the vehicle traveled to the present time based on the output of the tachometer or the like.

  The oil supply detection means 127 is detected by a sensor for detecting the opening / closing of the oil supply lid when the vehicle stops at the gas station and supplies oil, a sensor for detecting the oil supplied to the oil tank, or the current position detection means 121. It can be used as determination means for determining that the current position of the vehicle is within the premises of the gas station.

  The rearrangement determination unit 128 is a facility that is a plurality of widget setting items that can be selected by the user based on information from the stop determination unit 123, the time acquisition unit 124, the time measurement unit 125, the travel distance calculation unit 126, and the fuel supply detection unit 127. It is determined whether or not the priorities of the search conditions of the types (types such as gas stations, parking lots, and accommodation facilities) are rearranged. Note that the conditions for rearranging the priority order are stored in the rearrangement condition storage unit 135. That is, the rearrangement determination unit 128 includes the facilities included in the search list based on the conditions for rearranging the priorities stored in the rearrangement condition storage unit 135 and information from various units such as the stop determination unit 123. It functions as a determination means for determining whether to rearrange the priorities of the types (widget setting items).

  The search list creating means 129 creates a search list by arranging a plurality of widget setting items according to priority. Further, when there is a determination result by the rearrangement determination unit 128, the search list creation unit 129 creates a search list in which the top three widget setting items are rearranged according to the new priority order based on the determination result. As will be described later, the search list is a list in which widget setting items, which are search conditions for the peripheral search by the information providing server 200, are arranged according to priority.

  The facility search request means 130 uses the search list created by the search list creation means 129 and the search reference point such as the current position or destination as search conditions to send the facility search request via the communication means 120 to the information providing server 200. To do.

  The display input unit 131 includes a liquid crystal display panel and a touch panel type input device provided on the surface thereof, and displays a map display screen, a route guidance screen, a widget setting screen, and the like created by the display control unit 132. , Accepts user's selection input. The display input means 131 corresponds to the operation input means and display means in the present invention.

  The display control unit 132 creates a map display screen in which the map image stored in the map storage unit 136 is converted so that it can be displayed on the display input unit 131, or the guide route searched by the map image and the route search unit 133. And a route guidance screen for displaying on the display input means 131 is created. In addition, a widget setting screen that displays a plurality of widget setting items in a menu format is created. Furthermore, a widget display screen is created by superimposing a widget image (an image designed like an icon indicating a search result) and a route guidance screen or a map display screen.

  The route search unit 133 stores an optimum guide route from the current position detected by the departure point or the current position detection unit 121 to the destination point set by the user using the display input unit 131 in the map storage unit 136. Search with reference to existing map information. The route search unit 133 searches for a link and data from a road node corresponding to a current position or a departure point to a road node corresponding to a destination point, which are stored in a map storage unit 136 described later, by a technique such as the Dijkstra method. The link length (link cost) and required time are accumulated, the route having the shortest total link length (travel distance) or total required time is used as a guide route, and road nodes and links belonging to the route are provided as guide route data. .

  The storage unit 134 includes a current position detected by the current position detection unit 121, a destination set by the user, a search list for facility search including a plurality of widget setting items created by the search list creation unit 129, and a facility The search result from the information providing server 200 in response to the facility search request by the search request unit 130, the guide route searched by the route search unit 133, and the like are stored. Since the result of the facility search received from the information providing server 200 is received at a predetermined time interval, the old search result is updated to the latest search result and stored in the storage unit 134.

  The rearrangement condition storage unit 135 stores the rearrangement conditions of the widget setting items by the rearrangement determination unit 128. FIG. 2 shows an example of the rearrangement condition stored in the rearrangement condition storage unit 135. The rearrangement condition is based on the facility type to be searched, the condition for increasing the search order based on the determination result of the rearrangement, the condition for lowering the search order based on the determination result, and the priority order between the facility types. Become.

  For example, when the type of facility to be searched is “gas station”, the vehicle has traveled for a long time or a long distance from the start of travel, and the travel time measured by the time measuring unit 125 is longer than a predetermined time, or by the travel distance calculating unit 126 When the calculated travel distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance, the gasoline is running low, so the priority of the search condition for “gas station” is increased. Further, when it is determined by the stop determination unit 123 or the current position detection unit 121 that the vehicle is stopped near the gas station, or when it is detected that the refueling detection unit 127 is refueling, the gas station is searched. Since the goal has been achieved, lower the priority of the search criteria for “gas station”.

  When the type of the facility to be searched is “parking lot”, when the current position detected by the current position detecting means 121 is near the destination, or when driving near an inexperienced place from past driving history, Since there is a high possibility that a search for a parking lot is required, the priority of the search conditions for “parking lot” is increased. In addition, since the necessity of searching for a parking lot is low near the home or immediately after departure, the priority of the search conditions for “parking lot” is lowered.

  When the type of facility to be searched is “accommodation facility”, when the current position detected by the current position detection unit 121 is near the destination, or the current time acquired by the time acquisition unit 124 is a time zone after the evening Since there is a high possibility that a search for an accommodation facility is necessary, the priority of the search conditions for “accommodation facilities” is increased. In addition, since the necessity of searching for accommodation facilities is low near the departure point, in the morning time zone, or when traveling on an expressway, the priority of the search conditions for “accommodation facilities” is lowered.

  When the type of the facility to be searched is “gourmet”, the search condition for “gourmet” is high because it is highly likely that a restaurant search is desired when the current time acquired from the time acquisition means 124 is a time zone during meals. Move up the priority. In addition, when the vehicle is already stopped at a time zone other than during meals or at a meal place, the priority of search conditions for “gourmet” is lowered because the need for searching for restaurants is low.

  When the type of the facility to be searched is “hot spring”, in the facility search using the navigation device 100, when the number of past hot spring selections is a predetermined number or more, there is a high possibility that the hot spring search is desired. Raise search criteria for. Also, when the number of times is less than the predetermined number, or when traveling on an expressway, since the necessity for searching for hot springs is low, the priority of the search conditions for “hot springs” is lowered.

  When the type of facility to be searched is “sightseeing”, the priority of the search conditions for “sightseeing” is lowered because it is less necessary to search for sightseeing when near the home.

  The map storage unit 136 stores map information including road node data whose nodes are nodes such as branch points of roads and road link data whose links are links between the nodes. The road node data includes road node numbers, position coordinates, number of connection links, branch point names, etc., and route guidance that provides route guidance such as turning left and right and straight ahead at a guide point that is a predetermined distance away from the branch point. Data and position coordinates of the guide point are stored.

  The road link data includes a road node number as a start point and an end point, a road type, a link length (link cost) as distance information between nodes, a required time, the number of lanes, a road width, and the like. Further, data such as bridges, tunnels, railroad crossings, tollgates, etc. are given as link attributes to the road link data. The road type is information including distinction between elevated roads and underpass roads, distinction between expressways and toll roads, distinction between national roads and prefectural roads.

  Further, the map storage means 136 has background data comprising facility data including water system data such as coastline, lakes, and river shapes, administrative boundary data, facility locations including parking lots, facility shapes, facility types, and facility names. It is remembered.

  Further, the map storage unit 136 stores map information for indicating a travel route of the vehicle, a guide route to the destination, a travel distance to the destination, and a travel time.

  The information providing server 200 includes a control unit 210, a communication unit 220, a facility search unit 221, and a facility information DB 222.

  The control unit 210 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, and a RAM 213. The CPU 211 executes a control program stored in the ROM 212 or the RAM 213, thereby controlling and supervising the operation of each unit of the information providing server 200.

  The communication unit 220 is connected to at least one navigation device 100 via a wireless network, receives a facility search request transmitted from the navigation device 100, and transmits a search result corresponding to the facility search request to the navigation device 100. belongs to.

  When the facility search unit 221 receives a facility search request from the navigation device 100 via the communication unit 220, the facility search unit 221 searches for the facility by referring to the facility information DB 222 based on the search condition. The facility search means 221 corresponds to the information search means of the present invention. The search result is transmitted to the navigation apparatus 100 that made the search request via the communication unit 220.

  The facility information DB 222 stores and holds information on various facilities. Facility information includes, for example, restaurants, gas stations, accommodation facilities, theme parks, event information, tourism information, parking lots, etc., and stores, events, parking lot location information, names, business hours, and holding periods. In the case of a gas station, the price is included, and in the case of a parking lot, empty information is included. This facility information can be updated or added as appropriate. Note that information such as the weather at each location may be included in the facility information DB 222.

  Next, the processing procedure of the navigation device 100 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the navigation apparatus 100 detects the current position by the current position detection unit 121 (step S101). Based on the detected current position information, the control means 110 acquires a map image of a predetermined range centered on the current position from the map storage means 136, and the display control means 132 converts these map images into a predetermined format. It converts and displays on the display input means 131 (step S102). FIG. 4 shows a map image around the current position displayed on the display input means 131.

  The map display screen includes a map display area 310, a current time display area 330 provided at the lower end portion thereof, and a current position display area 331. In the map display area 310, a current position mark 311 and a menu icon 320 are displayed on a map, and a map image of a predetermined scale and a predetermined range centered on the current position mark 311 is displayed.

  Here, when the user selects the menu icon 320 by touching the menu icon 320 or bringing his / her finger close, the menu setting item stored in the storage unit 134 is referred to, and the display control unit 132 displays the menu shown in FIG. A setting screen 340 is displayed on the display input unit 131. The menu setting screen 340 includes a menu display area that occupies most of the area of the screen, a current time display area (not shown) provided at the lower end thereof, and a current position display area 331.

  In the menu display area, a “return” icon 399 for displaying the previous display screen is provided at the top. A plurality of menu setting icons 341 to 345 are displayed in the menu display area. In FIG. 5, three menu setting icons 341 to 343 are specifically displayed. The first icon 341 is a “destination” icon, the second icon 342 is a “widget setting icon”, and the third icon 343 is a “route search icon”.

  When the user selects the first icon 341, a destination setting screen (not shown) is displayed. The user sets a destination using this setting screen (step S103). The destination can be set using the map image shown in FIG. It is also possible to enter and set the address and the telephone number of the destination facility.

  Next, when the user selects the third icon 343, the route search unit 133 refers to the map information stored in the map storage unit 136, and the current position detected by the current position detection unit 121 or a desired one. A search process for the shortest route from the departure point to the destination set in step S103 is performed (step S104). The searched guidance route is displayed superimposed on the map image shown in FIG. 4 (step S105). In the process of step S103, when a destination is set, a route search process may be automatically performed.

  On the other hand, when the user selects the “widget setting icon” 342 that is the second icon (step S106, YES), the widget setting unit 122 displays the widget setting screen on the basis of the widget setting items stored in the storage unit 134. The display control unit 132 displays the widget setting screen 350 shown in FIG. 6 on the display input unit 131 (step S107).

  The widget setting screen 350 shown in FIG. 6 includes a widget setting display area that occupies most of the area of the screen, a current time display area 330 provided at the lower end thereof, and a current position display area 331.

  The widget setting display area includes a plurality of widget setting item icons 351 to 360. In FIG. 6, seven widget setting item icons 351 to 356 are specifically displayed. The first icon 351 is “parking lot”, the second icon 352 is “gas station”, the third icon 353 is “accommodation”, the fourth icon 354 is “tourist information”, and the fifth icon 355 is “ “Weather”, the sixth icon 356 are assigned “gourmet”, the seventh icon 357 is assigned “hot spring”, and the eighth icon 358 is assigned “automatic”. In addition, a “return” icon 399 for displaying the previous display screen is provided at the top.

  The widget setting item icons 351 to 357 correspond to the type of facility. When the widget setting item icon is selected, the type of facility corresponding to the selected widget setting item icon is selected. In the present embodiment, weather, sightseeing information, and the like will be described as one type of facility. The eighth icon “automatic” is an icon for automatically selecting a widget according to the order of priority of the sorting conditions stored in the sorting condition storage unit 135 (FIG. 2).

  When one of the widget setting item icons 351 to 360 is selected from the display input unit 131 using the displayed widget setting screen 350 (step S108), the search list creation unit 129 selects the selected widget setting item icon 351. A search list is created according to ˜360 (step S109).

  For example, when the user selects the eighth icon “automatic”, the search list creation means 129 gives priority to the sorting conditions stored in the sorting condition storage means 135 as shown in FIG. According to the ranking: 1. Gas station, Parking lot, 3. Create a search list in the order of accommodations.

  When the user selects the sixth icon “gourmet”, the search list creation unit 129 sets “gourmet” as the widget setting item selected by the user to the first as shown in FIG. The remaining widget setting items are selected according to the order of priority of the rearrangement conditions stored in the rearrangement condition storage unit 135; Gourmet (fixed), 2. 2. Gas station; Create a search list in the order of parking lots.

  The search list creation unit 129 stores the created search list in the storage unit 134 and sets it as a processing target in the widget function, and the widget function for the peripheral search is activated. The facility search requesting means 130 transmits the current position and the top three widget setting items of the created search list to the information providing server 200 as search conditions at predetermined time intervals (step S110). The reason why the widget setting items transmitted to the information providing server 200 are limited to the top three is that a position display icon (balloon image) 325 (FIG. 9) representing the positions of a large number of facilities is displayed on the display input unit 131 at the same time. This is to avoid a situation where the display becomes difficult to understand.

  When receiving the facility search request from the navigation device 100, the information providing server 200 refers to the facility information DB 222 based on the search condition received by the facility search means 221 and within a predetermined range centered on the current position of the vehicle. Search for the facility. When the type of facility selected by the user is, for example, “parking lot”, parking lots within a predetermined range are searched around the current position of the vehicle, and the number and location information of the searched parking lots are included. The search result is transmitted to the navigation device 100 (step S111). The predetermined range is, for example, a range within a radius of 5 km with the current position as the center. This range may be a value set in advance by the system, or may be specified by the user as one element of the search condition. The transmitted search result is temporarily stored in the storage unit 134.

  When the navigation apparatus 100 receives the facility search result from the information providing server 200, the display control means 132 reads the search result from the storage means 134 and displays the search result on the map image around the current position shown in FIG. In addition, it is displayed as shown in the display screen of FIG. 9 (step S112). Similar to the display screen of FIG. 4, this display screen includes a map display area 310, a current time display area 330 provided at the lower end thereof, and a current position display area 331. In the map display area 310, a map image centered on the current position of the vehicle (current position mark 311) is displayed, and a position display icon (balloon image) 325 indicating the position of each searched facility is displayed on the map. It is displayed superimposed on the image.

  Further, the widget image 321 is displayed on the display screen at a predetermined display position (for example, the display position at the lower right of the map display area 310 in FIG. 9). The widget image is an image indicating the type of facility selected by the user and the number of searched corresponding facilities like a general icon image. The user can know the facility position around the current position by observing the position display icon displayed on the map image, and can know the number of facilities around the current position by observing the widget image 321. it can.

  Further, when the user selects the position display icon 325 displayed, detailed information regarding the selected facility can be displayed. Detailed information is, for example, if the type of facility is a parking lot, information such as indoor parking lot, outdoor parking lot, parking fee, etc., for gourmet, business hours, parking availability, Japanese food, Information such as Western dishes and recommended menus. At this time, not only the facility corresponding to the selected position display icon but also the detailed information of a predetermined number of facilities higher than the facility having a close position may be displayed in a list format. It is updated when the next search result is received after a predetermined time from the information providing server 200, and a new facility search result around the current position that changes as the vehicle progresses is displayed. When the user operates the menu icon 320, selects the widget setting and selects the termination process, the widget function is terminated (YES in step S113).

  On the other hand, in the state where the execution of the widget function is continued (step S113, NO), the rearrangement determination unit 128 includes the stop determination unit 123, the time acquisition unit 124, the time measurement unit 125, the travel distance calculation unit 126, and the fuel supply detection unit 127. It is determined whether or not the search list needs to be rearranged according to each information (step S114).

  For example, when the eighth icon “automatic” is selected and the widget setting item “gas station” is selected as the highest priority search condition as shown in FIG. When the means 123 determines that the vehicle has stopped, or the refueling detection means 127 detects the refueling state for the vehicle, the rearrangement determination means 128 no longer needs to search for a gas station facility. Is rearranged (step S114, required). Accordingly, the search list creation means 129 moves down the widget setting item of “gas station” to the lowest position of the search list according to the rearrangement condition stored in the rearrangement condition storage means 135, and sets the search list to (b) of FIG. ) (Step S115). The search conditions including the updated search list and the current position are transmitted to the information providing server 200 by the facility search request unit 130 (step S110), and the facility information is searched based on the search list shown in FIG. Will continue. In this case, the facility search is performed using the “parking lot” widget setting item as the search condition with the highest priority.

  When the sixth icon “gourmet” is selected and fixed by the user, the widget setting item “gourmet” is fixed at the top of the search list unless the user deletes the widget setting item. deep. On the other hand, for the second and subsequent widget setting items, as in the case where the eighth icon “automatic” is selected, when the sorting determination means 128 determines that sorting of the search conditions is necessary, (b) of FIG. Update the search list as shown in.

  As described above, in the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment, the facility search is performed according to the set search list, and when it is determined that the intended purpose for the searched facility is achieved, the search condition is searched. Since it is automatically deleted from the list or its priority is lowered, unnecessary searches are not performed and unnecessary widget images are not displayed.

  In the embodiment described above, a search list is created by the navigation device 100, transmitted to the information providing server 200 as a search condition together with the current position, and facility information is searched by the information providing server and supplied to the navigation device 100. However, the navigation device 100 itself may include an information search unit to search facility information.

  Even if the navigation device 100 includes the communication unit 120 for causing the information providing server 200 to perform the facility search, the navigation device 100 includes the information search unit and is based on the facility data stored in the map storage unit 136. The information search means may search. For example, with reference to the map storage unit 136, when the current position is a position where communication is not possible, such as in a tunnel, the navigation device 100 searches for the facility search if it is a position where communication is possible. It is preferable to do so.

  Further, the type of facility included in the search list created by the search list creation unit 129 may be selected by the user.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Navigation apparatus 110 Control means 120 Communication means 121 Current position detection means 122 Widget setting means 123 Stop determination means 124 Time acquisition means 125 Timekeeping means 126 Travel distance calculation means 127 Refueling detection means 128 Rearrangement determination means 129 Search list creation means 130 Facility Search request means 131 Display input means 132 Display control means 133 Route search means 134 Storage means 135 Rearrangement condition storage means 136 Map storage means 200 Information providing server 210 Control means 221 Facility search means 222 Facility information DB

Claims (6)

In a navigation device comprising a current position detecting means for detecting a current position and a display means,
A search list creation means for creating a search list in which a plurality of types of information are set in priority order;
Information search means for searching for information corresponding to one or more types of the information included in the search list and / or transmitting at least one type of the information included in the search list and corresponding to the type of information Communication means for receiving information to be received;
A navigation device comprising: Condition storage means for storing a condition for setting a priority order among a plurality of types of the information;
Determination means for determining whether or not it is necessary to rearrange the types of information included in the search list,
2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search list creation unit creates the search list according to the condition and a determination result of the determination unit. An operation input means for selecting a desired type of the information;
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the search list creation means creates a search list in which the type of the information selected by the operation input means is set higher than the search list. An operation input means for selecting a desired type of the information;
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the search list creating unit creates a search list including the type of information selected by the operation input unit.   The information search means and / or the communication means determine one or more types of the information included in the search list to be searched and / or received based on the search list created by the search list creation means. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The determination means determines whether it is necessary to rearrange a plurality of types of the information included in the search list by using any one or more of a vehicle stop state, a travel distance, and a time. The navigation device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein:

Images