JP2013164293A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device capable of obtaining spot information beneficial to a user from huge spot information distributed from the outside.SOLUTION: A navigation device 1 to be mounted in a vehicle includes: a spot information acquiring unit 13 for acquiring spot information of a spot located within a set azimuth angle from a location CP of the vehicle; and an azimuth angle setting unit 14 that, when a destination GP as a place where the vehicle is heading, is not set, sets a set azimuth angle as a larger angle θb (>θa) than that in a case where the destination GP is set. Thereby, the spot information beneficial to the user can be obtained according to the setting state of the target GP.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation devices that present point information of surrounding points of a vehicle are known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-082333 discloses an apparatus that searches for candidate facilities within a predetermined azimuth angle range from the position of the vehicle toward the target facility and displays the candidate facilities on a map.

JP 2008-082333 A

  By the way, in recent years, an apparatus that sequentially obtains and presents information about peripheral points distributed from the outside while a vehicle is moving is being put into practical use. In such an apparatus, a large amount of point information including unnecessary information is acquired unless the point information to be acquired is selected. In addition, if the user including the driver tries to select the point information while the vehicle is moving, the operation safety will be hindered.

  For this reason, in order to improve the convenience of such a device, it is necessary to acquire useful point information from a huge amount of point information distributed from the outside, and particularly to acquire useful point information. Is required. However, since the conventional apparatus searches for candidate facilities on the assumption that the target facility is set, it is not possible to acquire point information useful for the user unless the target facility is set.

  Therefore, the present invention intends to provide a navigation device that can acquire useful spot information for users from a vast amount of spot information distributed from the outside.

  The navigation device according to the present invention includes a point information acquisition unit that acquires point information of a point located within a set azimuth angle range from the position of the vehicle, and a destination that is a destination of the vehicle when the destination is not set. And an azimuth angle setting unit that sets the set azimuth angle as an angle larger than the case where is set.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, when acquiring the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle, the destination is set when the destination as the destination of the vehicle is not set. By setting a setting azimuth angle larger than that in the case where the destination is set, it is possible to acquire point information useful for the user according to the destination setting state. This is because, when the destination is not set, it is considered that the user desires to determine the destination based on the point information of the points located within a relatively wide range from the position of the vehicle. . Therefore, even when a destination is not set, it is possible to acquire point information useful for the user from a large amount of point information distributed from the outside.

  Here, when the destination is not set, it is preferable to acquire the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the position of the vehicle. Moreover, when the destination is set, it is preferable to acquire the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle with reference to a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination. Thereby, the point information useful for the user can be acquired according to the setting state of the destination. This is because if the destination is not set, the user wants to determine a point located in the traveling direction of the vehicle as the destination, and if the destination is set, This is because it is considered desirable to newly set a point around the destination as the destination.

  Moreover, it is preferable to acquire the point information of a point located within the set azimuth angle range from the vehicle position and within the point information display range. Thereby, only the point information actually displayed among the point information useful for the user can be efficiently acquired.

  Also, out of the points located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle, the point information of the point close to the position of the vehicle or the point information of the point set as the destination by the vehicle or other vehicle is high. It is preferable to obtain with priority. Thereby, the point information useful for the user can be preferentially acquired based on the distance from the position of the vehicle or the frequency set as the destination.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the navigation apparatus which can acquire point information useful for a user from the huge point information delivered from the outside can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a navigation apparatus. It is a figure showing an example of a point list. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting criteria of a reception priority. It is a figure which shows the example of selection of a receiving target point by contrasting the case where the destination is set and the case where the destination is not set. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of point information in contrast with the case where the destination is set and the case where the destination is not set.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the navigation apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The navigation device 1 provides navigation information such as map information around the vehicle and a planned travel route of the vehicle to users including the driver. The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device that can acquire point information useful for the user from a large amount of point information distributed from the outside. Below, the structure relevant to this embodiment is demonstrated in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1 includes a communication unit 2, an ECU 3 (Electronic Control Unit), a monitor 4, and a speaker 5.

  The communication unit 2 is a wireless communication device that transmits and receives various types of information to and from the information distribution center C that distributes point information of surrounding points (facility, place, etc.) of the vehicle. The communication unit 2 transmits vehicle position information, destination setting information, and the like, and receives a list of points around the vehicle, point information, and the like. Details of various information will be described later.

  The ECU 3 includes a destination setting unit 11, a position information acquisition unit 12, a point information acquisition unit 13, an azimuth angle setting unit 14, and a point information presentation unit 15. The ECU 3 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. By executing a program stored in the ROM or the like on the CPU, the destination setting unit 11, the position information acquisition unit 12, the point information acquisition unit 13, the azimuth angle The functions of the setting unit 14 and the point information presentation unit 15 are realized. The destination setting unit 11, the position information acquisition unit 12, the point information acquisition unit 13, the azimuth angle setting unit 14, and the point information presentation unit 15 may be configured as individual units or devices, either partially or entirely. Good.

  The destination setting unit 11 sets the destination of the vehicle, that is, the destination of the vehicle. The destination is set as the latitude and longitude of the point designated by the user through panel operation or microphone input. The destination setting information is temporarily stored in a RAM or the like and transmitted to the information distribution center C through the communication unit 2. In the information distribution center C, the setting information transmitted from the vehicle or another vehicle is managed for each point as information (setting frequency information) indicating the setting frequency as the destination.

  The position information acquisition unit 12 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle, that is, the current position of the vehicle. The position information is acquired as the latitude and longitude of the current position through a GPS sensor (not shown).

  The point information acquisition part 13 acquires the point information of the surrounding points of the vehicle. The point information is acquired as information such as character information, image information, and voice information related to the point through the communication unit 2. The point information is managed on a database (not shown) of the information distribution center C together with the position information of the points and the setting frequency information.

  The spot information acquisition unit 13 acquires spot information of a spot located within the set azimuth angle range from the vehicle position. The set azimuth angle is an azimuth angle that defines a point information acquisition range. The set azimuth angle when the destination is set is set based on a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination. Further, the set azimuth angle when the destination is not set is set with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the position of the vehicle.

  As point information, among points located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle, point information of a point close to the position of the vehicle or point information of a point set with high frequency as a destination is given priority. To be acquired. As the point information, the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle and located within the display range is acquired. Here, the display range corresponds to a range of map information displayed on the monitor 4 or the like, and is changed according to a change in the scale of the map information.

  The azimuth angle setting unit 14 sets a set azimuth angle that defines the acquisition range of point information. When the destination is not set, the azimuth angle setting unit 14 sets a larger set azimuth angle than when the destination is set. When the destination is set, the set azimuth angle is set to, for example, −45 ° to + 45 ° with a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination on the map as a reference or center. On the other hand, the setting azimuth angle when the destination is not set is larger than that when the destination is set with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the position of the vehicle, for example, set to −60 ° to + 60 °. Is done.

  The set azimuth angle may be set other than the specific angle described above. Further, the set azimuth angle may be set to be asymmetric between the left side and the right side of the vehicle, such as −30 ° to + 90 °, for example, according to the terrain situation around the vehicle and the land use situation. This is to cope with a case where an area where point information is not set spreads on one side of the vehicle, for example, traveling on a mountain, coast, or along a wide green area.

  The point information presentation unit 15 presents point information on the points around the vehicle to the user. The point information presentation unit 15 presents the point information acquired from the information distribution center C to the user through the monitor 4 and the speaker 5. The point information is presented together with other navigation information such as map information.

  Next, the operation of the navigation device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 1. The navigation device 1 repeatedly executes the process shown in FIG. 2 at a set cycle.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the position information acquisition unit 12 acquires vehicle position information through a GPS sensor or the like (step S11). The ECU 3 transmits vehicle position information to the information distribution center C through the communication unit 2 (step S12).

  The ECU 3 receives the point list from the information distribution center C through the communication unit 2 (step S13). The point list is a list including position information (latitude, longitude) and set frequency information of points around the vehicle. The point list includes points less than the set number of searches searched in the order from the vehicle position on the database of the information distribution center C.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the point list. FIG. 3 shows the identification numbers, positions (latitude, longitude), setting frequency (number of times), and distance (km) from the vehicle position of the points P1 to P10. The distance may be calculated on the information distribution center C side or on the navigation device 1 side based on the position information of the vehicle and the position information of the point.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, when the point list is received in step S13, the ECU 3 determines whether or not the destination of the vehicle is set (step S14).

  First, the case where it is determined in step S14 that the destination has been set will be described. In this case, the azimuth angle setting unit 14 sets a smaller set azimuth angle than when the destination is not set (step S15). The point information acquisition unit 13 selects, as a reception target point, a point located within the set azimuth angle range with reference to a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination among points included in the point list (step S16). .

  Next, a case where it is determined in step S14 that the destination is not set will be described. In this case, the ECU 3 confirms the display range on the monitor 4 (step S17). The azimuth angle setting unit 14 sets a larger azimuth angle than when the destination is set (step S18). The point information acquisition unit 13 selects a point that is located within the set azimuth angle range and is within the display range from the points included in the point list, with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the vehicle position. (Step S19).

  Then, when a reception target point is selected in step S16 or step S19, the point information acquisition unit 13 obtains point information from the information distribution center C through the communication unit 2 in order from the reception priority point described later among the reception target points. Receive (step S20). The point information presentation unit 15 presents the point information to the user through the monitor 4 and the speaker 5 in the order received (step S21).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of reception priority setting criteria. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the distance from the vehicle position is divided into “near”, “middle”, and “far”, and the destination setting frequency is “low”, “middle”, and “high”. There are three categories. Then, the priority of the point corresponding to the category “distance” and the setting frequency “high” is set to “9” (highest), and the priority of the point corresponding to the category “distance” and the setting frequency “low” is set. The degree is set to “1” (minimum). As for the priorities of points corresponding to other sections, higher reception priorities are set as the distance is closer and the setting frequency is higher. The setting criteria shown in FIG. 4 are merely examples, and the number of distance categories, the number of setting frequencies, and the priority for each category may be arbitrarily changed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a selection example of a reception target point by comparing the case where the destination is set (a) and the case where the destination is not set (b). FIG. 5 shows the reception order determined according to the setting criteria of FIG. 4 together with the identification number, position, setting frequency, and distance of the reception target point. In addition, the point which attached | subjected "-" to the column of the reception order has shown the point which was not selected as a receiving object point in relation to a setting azimuth angle in step S16 or step S19.

  When the destination is set, as shown in FIG. 5A, among the points P1 to P10 included in the point list, the points P1, P3, P5, P7, and P9 are selected as reception target points. . And about each of these points P1, P3, P5, P7, and P9, the receiving order 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is set based on distance and setting frequency.

  On the other hand, when the destination is not set, as shown in FIG. 5B, the points P1 to P5, P7, and P9 are selected as the reception target points among the points P1 to P10 included in the point list. . Then, for each of these points P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P7, and P9, the receiving order 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is set based on the distance and the setting frequency. .

  When the point information is presented in step S21, the ECU 3 determines whether or not the point information corresponding to the set reception number has been received (step S22). The number of received points is the number of points that receive point information (a number less than the set number of searches) and may be changed according to the number of points actually searched. It may be set accordingly. ECU3 repeats the process of step S20 and step S21 until it determines with having received the point information for the setting reception number.

  If it is determined in step S22 that the number of pieces of point information received has been received, the ECU 3 prompts the user to set a destination from the received point information. The user sets a new destination by designating a desired point through the panel operation or microphone input from the received information presented. When the destination has already been set, the new setting of the destination may be processed as a change of the destination or may be processed as an addition of the destination.

  The ECU 3 determines whether or not the destination is set within the set time (step S23). When it is determined that the destination has been set, the ECU 3 transmits the destination setting information to the information distribution center C through the communication unit 2 (step S24). On the other hand, when it is not determined that the destination is set, the ECU 3 ends the process.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the point information by comparing the case where the destination is set (a) and the case where the destination is not set (b).

  When the destination is set, as shown in FIG. 6A, the set azimuth angle θa is θa = −45 ° to +45 with reference to a line segment (arrow BL) connecting the vehicle position CP and the destination point GP. Set to °. And the point information of the 10 points including the points P1, P3, P5, P7, and P9 shown in FIG. 5A, which are located within the set azimuth angle θa, is displayed. The displayed point changes as the vehicle moves. The set azimuth angle θa is set in the same manner even when the destination GP is not located within the display range DA. Thereby, the user can easily set a new point as a destination on the way to the destination GP or around the destination.

  On the other hand, when the destination GP is not set, as shown in FIG. 6B, the set azimuth angle θb is the traveling direction of the vehicle at the vehicle position CP (in this example, the true north direction indicated by the arrow BL). Is set to θb = −60 ° to + 60 °. And the point information of 10 points | pieces including the points P1-P5, P7, and P9 shown in FIG.5 (b) which are located in the range of setting azimuth angle (theta) b is displayed. The displayed point changes as the vehicle moves. Thereby, the user can easily set a point located in the traveling direction of the vehicle as the destination based on the point information of the point located within a relatively wide range from the position of the vehicle.

  In FIG. 6, only the mark of the reception target point is displayed superimposed on the display range DA, but the details of the point information may be displayed near the mark or in another display window together with the mark. In the display example shown in FIG. 6, the number of points displayed is the same when the destination GP is set and when the destination GP is not set. They may be different from each other.

  As described above, according to the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment, when acquiring point information of a point located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle, a destination that is the destination of the vehicle is set. If it is not, the point information useful for the user can be acquired according to the set state of the destination by setting a larger set azimuth angle than when the destination is set.

  Here, when the destination is not set, it is preferable to acquire the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the position of the vehicle. Moreover, when the destination is set, it is preferable to acquire the point information of the point located within the range of the set azimuth angle with reference to a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination. Thereby, the point information useful for the user can be acquired according to the setting state of the destination.

  Moreover, it is preferable to acquire the point information of a point located within the set azimuth angle range from the vehicle position and within the point information display range. Thereby, only the point information actually displayed among the point information useful for the user can be efficiently acquired.

  Also, out of the points located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle, the point information of the point close to the position of the vehicle or the point information of the point set as the destination by the vehicle or other vehicle is high. It is preferable to obtain with priority. Thereby, the point information useful for the user can be preferentially acquired based on the distance from the position of the vehicle or the frequency set as the destination.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above demonstrated the best embodiment of the navigation apparatus concerning this invention, and the navigation apparatus concerning this invention is not limited to what was described in this embodiment. The navigation device according to the present invention may be modified from the navigation device according to the present embodiment or applied to other devices without departing from the gist of the invention described in each claim.

  Further, the present invention provides a program for acquiring point information useful for a user from a large amount of point information distributed from the outside according to the method described above, or a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. Can be applied similarly.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when a destination is not set, only a point located within the display range is selected as a reception target point. However, when the destination is set, the same condition is added and received. You may select a target point.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation information, 2 ... Communication unit, 3 ... ECU, 11 ... Destination setting part, 12 ... Position information acquisition part, 13 ... Point information acquisition part, 14 ... Direction angle setting part, 15 ... Point information presentation part, CP ... vehicle position, GP ... destination, θa, θb ... set azimuth angle.

Claims (6)

A navigation device mounted on a vehicle,
A point information acquisition unit for acquiring point information of a point located within a set azimuth angle range from the position of the vehicle;
When a destination that is the destination of the vehicle is not set, an azimuth angle setting unit that sets the set azimuth angle as a larger angle than when the destination is set;
A navigation device comprising:   The point information acquisition unit acquires point information of a point located within a range of the set azimuth angle with reference to a traveling direction of the vehicle at the position of the vehicle when the destination is not set. The navigation device according to 1.   The point information acquisition unit, when the destination is set, acquires point information of a point located within the set azimuth angle with reference to a line segment connecting the position of the vehicle and the destination. Item 3. The navigation device according to Item 1 or 2. A point information presentation unit for displaying point information of points located within a display range around the vehicle;
A point information acquisition part is located in the range of the said setting azimuth angle from the position of the said vehicle, and acquires the point information of the point located in the said display range. Navigation device.   The point information acquisition unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the point information acquisition unit preferentially acquires point information of a point close to the position of the vehicle among points positioned within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle. The navigation device according to one item. The point information acquisition unit gives priority to the point information of the points that are set as the destination by the vehicle or another vehicle among the points located within the range of the set azimuth angle from the position of the vehicle. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is acquired.

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