JP2016114388A - Navigation device and navigation program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a spot to be effectively recommended to a user by diversifying search objects without increasing operation load on the user.SOLUTION: A navigation device includes a storage part storing POI information, area information dividing a prescribed range on a map as one area, and linkage information defining an area to link to the one area, identifies a destination area, identifies a linkage area with reference to the linkage information, identifies a via-point spot belonging to the linkage area, searches for and identifies a route to the destination via the via-point spot, searches for a facility around the route in the linkage area on the basis of the identified route to extract a drop-in spot, receives a selection with respect to the extracted drop-in spot, searches for and identifies a route to the destination via the received drop-in spot, and sets the identified route as a recommended movement route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device that searches for a recommended movement route to a destination of a moving body, and a navigation program for controlling the operation of the navigation device that searches for a recommended movement route to the destination of the moving body.

  In recent years, when a destination is set, there is an information providing apparatus using a route search that provides a user with information about facilities around the route based on the route to the destination (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  In the search along the route in Patent Document 1, “extract peripheral facilities along the route satisfying a predetermined condition determined as a peripheral facility along the navigation route indicated by the navigation unit from the searched peripheral facilities”. Is disclosed.

JP 2010-066193 A

  However, in the conventional route search described in Patent Document 1 described above, there is a problem that facilities that are out of the navigation route cannot be extracted. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult for a route using an expressway to search for a facility along the expressway. That is, there is a problem that spots that can be extracted as recommended spots are limited more than necessary, and there is room for improvement with respect to conventional route search.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to effectively recommend spots to the user by diversifying search objects without increasing the operation burden on the user.

  A navigation device according to the present invention is a navigation device that searches for a recommended travel route to a destination of a mobile object, and is divided into POI information storage means for storing POI information and a predetermined range on the map as one area. An area-related information storage unit that stores area-related information including area information and chained information that defines an area linked to one area, a destination receiving unit that receives an input of a destination, and an area to which the destination belongs Destination area specifying means for specifying a certain destination area; chain area specifying means for specifying a chain area that is an area linked to the destination area with reference to the chain information; and a waypoint in the chain area; The route spot identifying means for identifying the waypoint spot including the expressway IC and the route to the destination via the waypoint spot A first route searching means for specifying, a stop spot extracting means for searching for facilities around the route in the chain area based on the route specified by the first route searching means and extracting a stop spot, A stop spot receiving means for receiving a selection for the stop spot, a second route search means for searching and specifying a route to the destination via the received stop spot, and a route specified by the second route search means. And a recommended movement route setting means for setting as a recommended movement route.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to effectively recommend spots to the user by diversifying the search targets without increasing the operation burden on the user.

  The chain information may be configured to define an area that is linked with one area and is set at a distance from each other.

  The chain information may be configured to include information in which a plurality of continuous areas are associated with each other as an area linked to one area.

  When the plurality of continuous areas are extracted as the chain area, the waypoint spot specifying unit specifies a waypoint spot in each chained area, and the first route search unit passes through each specified waypoint spot. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the route order to be determined is determined and the route to the destination is searched and specified.

  The navigation program of the present invention is a navigation program for controlling the operation of a navigation device that searches for a recommended movement route to a destination of a moving body, and includes POI information storage means for storing POI information, An area-related information storage unit that stores area-related information including area information obtained by dividing a predetermined range of the area as one area and chain information that defines an area chained to the one area. Refer to the chain information for a destination reception process for receiving a destination input, a destination area specifying process for specifying a destination area to which the destination belongs, and a chained area that is an area linked to the destination area. And a stopover spot including a highway IC serving as a stopover in the chained area. Based on the route specified by the first route search processing, the first route search processing for searching for and specifying the route to the destination via the route spot, , A stop spot extraction process that searches for facilities around the route in the chain area and extracts a stop spot, a stop spot reception process that receives a selection for the extracted stop spot, and a destination via the received stop spot The second route searching process for searching and specifying the route and the recommended moving route setting process for setting the route specified by the second route searching process as the recommended moving route are executed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively recommend spots to the user by diversifying the search targets without increasing the operation burden on the user.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of a structure of a navigation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a structure of a control part and a memory | storage part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of storage of POI information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a storage of area relevant information. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a recommended movement route setting process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example by which the chain area linked to the destination area was specified. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example by which the stopover spot was identified. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example from which the stop spot was extracted. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the display screen shown to a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the display screen which displays a recommended movement path | route. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example from which the several continuous area was extracted as a chain | linkage area.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a navigation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation apparatus 100 is configured by an information processing apparatus such as a mobile type personal computer, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), or a dedicated device. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 100 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, a memory 30, a display unit 40, a sensor unit 50, a communication unit 60, and an input unit 70. including. Hereinafter, a case where the navigation device 100 is mounted on a vehicle that is a moving body will be described.

  Although not shown, the navigation device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a program storage unit, an OS (Operating System), and the like.

  The control unit 10 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and navigation is performed according to a computer program (a computer program for controlling the operation of the navigation device 100 and including a navigation program) stored in the storage unit 20. Centrally controls each component of the device 100, and provides a route search function, a route guidance function, service information (store information such as interchanges, convenience stores, ramen stores, hotels and inns, POIs such as famous facility information and resort information) It has various functions for executing various processes including an information retrieval function for retrieving (Point Of Interest) information). Note that these various functions are realized by known techniques included in general navigation devices. The configuration of the control unit 10 will be described in detail later (see FIG. 2).

  The storage unit 20 includes a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and is a storage medium that stores various computer programs used by the navigation device 100 and various information necessary for the navigation device such as map information. The configuration of the storage unit 20 will be described in detail later (see FIG. 2).

  The memory 30 is a storage medium that temporarily holds various types of information processed by the control unit 10 and is configured by a semiconductor storage device such as a RAM.

  The output unit 40 is a device that outputs information related to route guidance, and includes, for example, an image display device (display device, monitor) that displays image information and a sound output device (speaker device) that outputs sound information. The image display device displays road map information and current vehicle position information on the display screen, and also displays a recommended movement route to the destination on the display screen, thereby visually informing the route and the like. .

  The sensor unit 50 has a function of measuring the current position of the navigation device 100 (that is, the current position of the user). For example, the sensor unit 50 receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite, and positions based on the GPS signal. A GPS sensor that measures the distance, a speed sensor that measures the amount of movement (distance) from the initial position, a gyro sensor that measures the traveling (movement) direction, and the like.

  A GPS sensor is a so-called GPS receiver, receives a GPS signal radiated from a GPS satellite, measures a distance (pseudo distance) between the GPS satellite and the GPS receiver itself, and receives a plurality of satellites. Are simultaneously received to calculate the current position (GPS positioning solution) of the GPS receiver itself.

  In addition to the GPS receiver (antenna) that receives the GPS signal, the sensor unit 50 has a function of performing processing such as decoding of the received GPS signal and notifying the control unit 10.

  The communication unit 60 is connected to a communication network such as the Internet wirelessly or by wire, and has a function for transmitting / receiving information to / from an external device such as a management server connected to the communication network.

  The input unit 70 has a function of accepting various instructions to the control unit 10 from the user. In this example, the input unit 70 includes, for example, operation buttons displayed on the display screen of the display unit 40.

Next, the control unit 10 and the storage unit 20 will be described in detail. First, the control unit 10 will be described.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the control unit 10 and the storage unit 20 in this example. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 includes a route search unit 11, a vehicle position specifying unit 12, and a route guidance unit 13.

  The route search unit 11 derives a recommended travel route from the departure position (for example, the current position of the vehicle or the position input by the user) to the destination (for example, the position indicated by the address input by the user). I do. In the route search process, for example, input of information indicating the departure place (or current position) and the destination is received via the input unit 70, and the road information is referred to based on the received information and the departure point is determined. A process for deriving a recommended travel route to the destination and generating a map around the travel route including a road map including the derived recommended travel route is performed. In addition, since a well-known technique is used for the route search process, detailed description here is omitted. In addition, information necessary for route search processing, for example, map information used for specifying the current position and generating a map around the moving route may be stored in the storage unit 20 in advance, or the communication unit 60 may be used. It is good also as a structure acquired from an external management server.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the route search unit 11 in this example includes a first route search unit 11A and a second route search unit 11B.

  Here, 11 A of 1st route search parts perform the process which searches the route | route to the destination which is a spot which belongs to a chain | linkage area, and passes through the waypoint spot used as a waypoint. The chain area and waypoints will be described in detail later.

  Here, the second route search unit 11B has a route to the destination via the stop spot extracted in the route search (search along the route) performed based on the route searched by the first route search unit 11A. Execute processing to search for. The stopover spot will be described in detail later.

  The own vehicle position specifying unit 12 performs processing for specifying the current position information of the vehicle. Here, the current position is indicated by latitude and longitude, for example. For example, the vehicle position specifying unit 12 specifies current position information indicating the current position based on information notified from the sensor unit 50.

  The route guidance unit 13 performs general route guidance using the recommended travel route searched by the route search unit 11 (display of a map including a recommended travel route according to the current position of the user, voice guidance, etc.). It has a function to perform the process.

Next, the configuration of the storage unit 20 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 20 includes a POI information storage unit 21, an area association storage unit 22, and a road map information storage unit 23.

  The POI information storage unit 21 is a storage medium that stores POI information indicating a guidance object. In particular, the POI information storage unit 21 of this example stores POI information used as a stop-off spot.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of storing POI information. As shown in FIG. 3, the POI information includes a POI-ID for uniquely specifying the POI, the POI name, address, latitude and longitude, the area to which the POI belongs, and the waypoint attribute. The waypoint attribute is information indicating whether or not the placepoint can be a placepoint. In this example, the POI information defined with “1” as the “route point attribute” is configured to indicate that it can be a route point.

  The area related information storage unit 22 is a storage medium that stores area related information. The area related information includes area information and chain information.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of storing area-related information. As shown in FIG. 4, the area-related information includes area information obtained by dividing a predetermined range on the map as one area, and chain information defining an area (chain area) chained to one area.

  Here, “area information” is information obtained by dividing a predetermined range on the map as one area. The area information is an area including a transit spot. The transit spots include interchanges and railway stations. The area information may be stored separately for area information for movement by car and area information for movement by foot.

  Here, “chain information” is information defining an area (chain area) linked to one area. In particular, the chain information is information that defines an area other than the area adjacent to the associated area. That is, the chain area includes areas that are not adjacent to one area and are spaced apart from each other. Furthermore, as the chain area, an area that is frequently used as a stop by a user who sets the corresponding area as the destination is set.

  The chain area may be configured to be specified by the user profile. That is, a navigation system including a plurality of navigation devices and a data management server that collects various types of information including user profiles from the navigation devices, accumulates and analyzes the data, and the management server heads for the area to which the destination belongs. A configuration in which a location where a user stops is received from a navigation device via a communication network, and chain information in which an area identified by analysis is a chain area corresponding to a user profile group is fed back to each navigation device; May be.

  The road map information storage unit 23 is a storage medium that stores map information divided into rectangular ranges (hereinafter referred to as “mesh”) divided by a certain latitude width and latitude width. In addition to being stored in the road map information storage unit 21, this map information can be stored in an auxiliary storage device as a removable medium called an SD memory card, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. Further, the map information may be downloaded via a communication network such as the Internet. In addition, the road map information storage unit 21 manages roads by representing nodes and links as road information indicating traffic regulation, road configuration, and the like. It is a storage medium for storing. That is, the route search unit 11 acquires information necessary for the route search process from the road map information storage unit 21. Hereinafter, information in which map information and road information are appropriately associated is referred to as “road map information”.

  Next, the operation of the navigation device 100 in this example will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that detailed descriptions of processes not particularly related to the present invention may be omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a recommended travel route setting process executed by the navigation device 100. In the recommended travel route setting process, a destination is set based on an operation of the user X, a route search is performed by specifying a chained area and a transit point based on an area to which a POI corresponding to the destination belongs, and a stop spot is determined. A route periphery search for extraction is performed. Further, in this example, the user X traveling by car is guided, the destination is the spot D, the stop-off spot is the spot M, and the process is executed using various information shown in FIGS. The case will be described as an example.

  Note that the navigation device 100 may be configured in advance to receive an input from the user X regarding whether the movement mode of the user X is a car or a train.

  In the recommended travel route setting process, first, the navigation apparatus 100 receives a destination input from the user X and sets the destination (step S101). In this example, a spot D is set as the destination.

  When the destination is set, the navigation device 100 specifies an area (destination area) to which the destination belongs (step S102). That is, the navigation device 100 identifies the destination area with reference to the set destination and POI information. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2, the area E1 to which the spot D belongs is specified as the destination area. When the POI is not set as the destination, the destination area is specified with reference to the coordinates of the destination.

  When the destination area is specified, the navigation device 100 specifies an area (chain area) linked to the destination (step S103). That is, the navigation device 100 refers to the area related information and identifies the chain area based on the identified destination area. In this example, with reference to the area-related information shown in FIG. 4, area E2 and area E3 are specified as areas linked to area E1.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which chained areas (area E2 and area E3) linked to the destination area (area E1) are specified. As shown in FIG. 4, an area E2 and an area E3 corresponding to the area E1 are specified based on the chain information. As shown in FIG. 6, the area E2 and the area E3 in this example are areas that are set apart from the area E1, and are frequently used by users who set the area E1 as the destination. It is an area.

  When the chain area is identified, the navigation apparatus 100 executes a waypoint spot identifying unit that identifies a spot (a waypoint spot) serving as a waypoint in the chain area (step S104). That is, the navigation device 100 refers to the identified chain area and POI information (particularly, the route point attribute) in order to identify the route spot for performing a route search through the chain area from within the chain area. Thus, a spot serving as a transit point belonging to the chain area is specified.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which a waypoint that is a waypoint is specified. As shown in FIG. 7, as a waypoint spot, a waypoint spot K2 corresponding to the area E2 and a spot K3 corresponding to the area E3 are specified. The spot K2 and the spot K3 in this example are interchanges whose “route point attribute” is “1” as can be seen from the POI information shown in FIG.

  When the waypoint is identified, the navigation device 100 performs a route search (first route search) (step S105). That is, the navigation device 100 searches for a route that departs from the current position, reaches the destination via the waypoint spot. In this example, the routes searched by the first route search are the route R1 and the route R2.

  When the route is searched by the first route search, the navigation device 100 performs a search along the route (step S106). That is, the navigation device 100 extracts spots (stop spots) that exist around the route specified by the first route search. Specifically, referring to the POI information shown in FIG. 3, stop spots M1 to M3 along the route R1 and M4 to M6 along the route R2 are extracted. By making the transit spot as an interchange, it is possible to extract the stop spots M1 to M3 and M4 to M6 around the interchange.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which a stop-off spot is extracted. As shown in FIG. 8, the route R1, the drop-in spots M1 to M3, the route R2, and the drop-off spots M4 to M6 are specified. Here, the route R1 is a route searched by the first route search based on the spot K2 included in the area E2. Here, the route R2 is a route searched by the first route search based on the spot K3 included in the area E3. In this way, facilities along the route where facilities more suitable for the user's interest exist among routes that can be set between the destination and the current position are provided with a small processing load.

  Note that when performing a search along a route, the navigation device 100 may be configured so that only the chain area is within the search range. According to such a configuration, it is possible to search for a deeply related stop-by spot with a small processing load.

  When the stop spot is extracted, the navigation apparatus 100 presents the extracted stop spot to the user X (step S107). That is, the navigation device 100 displays the extracted stop spot on the display device in a selectable manner.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen presented to the user X. As shown in FIG. 9, display screen 1000 includes icons for selecting current position N, destination D, route R1, drop-in spots M1-M3 route R2, drop-off spots M4-M6, and drop-off spots. In this example, although not shown, the display screen 1000 may be configured so that a detailed description of each stop-off spot is displayed.

  And the navigation apparatus 100 receives selection of a stop spot from the user X (step S108). Here, when the canceling operation is accepted without the selection of the stop spot from the user X, the navigation device 100 displays the route searched by the normal route search based on the current position and the destination as the recommended route. It is set as the structure.

  When the selection of the stop spot is accepted, the navigation device 100 performs a route search (second route search) (step S109). That is, the navigation device 100 searches for a route that departs from the current position, arrives at the destination via the stop-off spot.

  When the route is searched by the second route search, the navigation device 100 sets the route searched by the second route search as the recommended travel route (step S110).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen that displays a recommended travel route. As shown in FIG. 10, on the display screen 1000, a recommended travel route R3 when the user selects the stop spots M4 and M5 is displayed. That is, the display screen 1000 displays a route R3 that departs from the current position N and arrives at the destination D via the stop spots M4 and M5.

  As described above, the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment is a navigation device that searches for a recommended travel route to a destination of a moving body, and includes a POI information storage unit that stores POI information, An area-related information storage unit for storing area-related information including area information obtained by dividing a predetermined range of 1 as an area and chain information defining an area linked to the one area, and receiving an input of a destination , Identify the destination area to which the destination belongs, identify the area linked to the destination area (chain area) with reference to the chain information, and belong to the chain area, and the spot that is the transit point ( A stopover spot (for example, IC) is specified, a route to the destination via the stopover spot is searched and specified, and the specified route (first route search is performed) Based on the searched route), the facility around the route in the chain area is searched to extract the stop spot, the selection for the extracted stop spot is accepted, and the route to the destination via the received stop spot is searched. The specified route (route searched by the second route search) is set as a recommended travel route. According to such a configuration, it is possible to effectively recommend spots to the user by diversifying the search targets without increasing the operation burden on the user.

  In particular, as described in the above-described embodiment, the navigation device 100 is configured such that a waypoint for searching for facilities around the route searched in the first route search is specified from the chain area. The According to such a configuration, the spot extraction range can be expanded without increasing the processing load, and the spot can be effectively recommended to the user by diversifying the search target without increasing the operation burden on the user. Will be able to.

  In addition, as described in the above-described embodiment, the area that is set with a distance interval from the area where the chain information is 1 is defined as the area to be chained, and thus cannot be conventionally searched. The search range can be expanded to the range.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the “link information” may be configured to define a plurality of continuous areas. That is, the “chain information” may be configured to include information in which a plurality of continuous areas are associated as linked areas. Then, when a plurality of continuous areas are extracted as the chain area, the navigation device 100 identifies the waypoints in each of the chain areas, and determines the order of passage when passing through each identified placepoint. It may be configured. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which a plurality of continuous areas are extracted as a chain area. As shown in FIG. 11, when a continuous area is defined, area E5, area E6, and area E7 are defined as “a plurality of continuous areas” with respect to area E4. In this case, the navigation device 100 identifies the waypoints (route points K7, K8, and K9) in the respective areas (area E5, area E6, and area E7), and determines the route. The route order is determined according to a predetermined condition. Here, the “predetermined condition” may be configured to accept a user input, for example, or may be configured to be determined using a weight set in advance for each waypoint. .

  Moreover, the navigation apparatus 100 in embodiment mentioned above performs the various processes mentioned above according to the various control programs memorize | stored in the memory | storage device with which self is provided.

  In addition, as a form corresponding to the above-described embodiment, a navigation system in which a management server connected to the navigation apparatus 100 via a communication network executes a part of the above-described process can be used. That is, the navigation device 100 is mainly configured to execute processing for displaying information, processing for receiving user input, and the like, and an external server mainly performs processing for route search and spot extraction. It may be.

  The present invention is useful for performing a search along a route.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Navigation apparatus 10 Control part 11 Path | route search part 12 Own vehicle position specification part 13 Route guidance part 20 Storage part 21 POI information storage part 22 Area related information storage part 30 Memory 40 Display part 50 Sensor part 60 Communication part 70 Input part

Claims (5)

A navigation device for searching for a recommended travel route to a destination of a moving object,
POI information storage means for storing POI information;
Area related information storage means for storing area related information including area information obtained by dividing a predetermined range on the map as one area, and chain information defining an area chained to the one area;
A destination receiving means for receiving an input of the destination;
A destination area specifying means for specifying a destination area, to which the destination belongs,
A chain area specifying means for specifying a chain area which is an area chained to the destination area with reference to the chain information;
A waypoint specifying means for specifying a waypoint including a highway IC serving as a waypoint in the chain area;
First route searching means for searching and specifying a route to a destination via a via spot;
Based on the route specified by the first route search means, a stop spot extraction means for searching for facilities around the route in the chain area and extracting a stop spot;
A stop spot receiving means for receiving selections for the extracted stop spot;
A second route search means for searching and specifying a route to the destination via the accepted stop spot;
A navigation apparatus comprising: recommended movement route setting means for setting the route specified by the second route search means as a recommended movement route. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the chain information defines an area that is linked to one area and is set at a distance from the area. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the chain information includes information in which a plurality of continuous areas are associated with each other as an area chained to one area. The waypoint identification means specifies a waypoint spot in each chain area when a plurality of continuous areas are extracted as a chain area,
The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the first route search means determines the order of passage when passing through each specified waypoint spot and searches for and specifies a route to the destination. A navigation program for controlling the operation of a navigation device that searches for a recommended travel route to a destination of a moving object,
Area-related information for storing area-related information including POI information storage means for storing POI information, area information obtained by dividing a predetermined range on the map as one area, and chain information for defining an area linked to one area The navigation device comprising information storage means,
Destination reception processing for receiving destination input;
A destination area specifying process for specifying a destination area, to which the destination belongs,
A linked area specifying process that specifies a linked area that is an area linked to the destination area with reference to the linked information;
A stopover spot specifying process for specifying a stopover spot including a highway IC serving as a stopover in the chain area;
A first route search process for searching for and specifying a route to a destination via a via spot;
Based on the route specified in the first route search process, a stop spot extraction process that searches for facilities around the route in the chain area and extracts a stop spot;
A stop spot acceptance process for accepting a selection for the extracted stop spot;
A second route search process for searching and specifying a route to the destination via the accepted stop spot;
A navigation program for executing a recommended movement route setting process for setting a route specified by the second route search process as a recommended movement route.

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