JP2021162343A - Information processing device, route guidance device, program, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device that reduces the frequency of switching between pre-in map data and distribution map data when a map image is drawn.SOLUTION: In a navigation system 100, a navigation device 182 as an information processing device includes: a map information acquisition unit that acquires at least a part of multiple pieces of map data via a wireless communication network 10 from a map data distribution server 120; and an acquisition range identification unit that identifies a geographical range that is a target of acquisition processing by the map information acquisition unit. Each of the multiple pieces of map data belongs to one of multiple hierarchies defined by scales and corresponds to one of one or more sections defined for each hierarchy. The map information acquisition unit transmits a first distribution request to request distribution of map data belonging to the highest scale hierarchy among two or more hierarchies including the map data represented as vector data to a map data distribution server before a second distribution request to request distribution of map data belonging to another hierarchy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a route guidance device, a program, and an information processing method.

In Patent Document 1, map information around the own position of the moving body is stored as the first data, and is also stored as the second data in the received data storage unit via radio from the database server, and the first display data. The first display data of the area is generated from the first data read by the generation unit, and the second display data of the block is generated from the second data read by the second display data generation unit. And an information processing device that overlays and displays the second display data is disclosed.
[Prior art literature]
[Patent Document]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-304875

In the first aspect of the present invention, an information processing device is provided. The above-mentioned information processing device includes, for example, a map information acquisition unit that acquires at least a part of a plurality of map data from a map data distribution system via a wireless communication network. The information processing device described above includes, for example, an acquisition range specifying unit that specifies a geographical range to be acquired by the map information acquisition unit.

In the above information processing device, for example, a map data distribution system stores a map data set including a plurality of map data. For example, each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of a plurality of layers defined by the scale, and is map data corresponding to one of one or more sections defined for each layer. For example, map data belonging to two or more layers among a plurality of layers is vector data.

In the above information processing device, for example, when acquiring one or more map data corresponding to a section including at least a part of the geographical range specified by the acquisition range specifying unit among one or more sections, map information acquisition. The department sends the first distribution request requesting the distribution of the map data belonging to the highest scale layer among the two or more layers including the map data expressed as vector data, and the distribution of the map data belonging to the other layers. It is transmitted to the map data distribution system before the requested second distribution request.

In the above information processing device, the map data set is a plurality of roads in a service that distributes identification information used to identify each of a plurality of road links in the map data set and additional information superimposed and displayed on the map. Correspondence information indicating the correspondence with the identification information used to identify each of the links may be included. After transmitting the first distribution request and before transmitting the second distribution request, the map information acquisition unit includes at least a part of the geographical range specified by the acquisition range specifying unit among one or more sections. You may obtain the correspondence information about the road link included in.

In the above information processing apparatus, the identification information used in the service for distributing additional information may be a VICS link ID. In the above information processing apparatus, the map data belonging to at least one of the plurality of layers may be raster data.

The above-mentioned information processing device may include a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating a user's position. In the above information processing device, the acquisition range specifying unit is used for a section in which the map data corresponding to the section is not acquired among the sections in which the positional relationship with the position indicated by the position information satisfies a predetermined condition. The corresponding area may be specified as the geographical range to be acquired. The section that satisfies the predetermined conditions is (i) a section centered on the position indicated by the position information and including at least a part of a region having a predetermined shape and size, and (ii) the position information. It may include at least one of the compartments containing the indicated location and the compartments adjacent to the compartment.

The information processing device may include an input point specifying unit that specifies the position of the point input by the user. The above points may include at least one of the user's destination, the user's waypoint, and the point where the user wishes to search or register. In the above information processing apparatus, the acquisition range specifying unit is a section belonging to a specific hierarchy, and the area corresponding to the section including the position specified by the input point specifying section is set as the geographical range to be the target of the acquisition process. May be specified.

The above information processing device may include a display control unit for displaying a screen on the display device. The above information processing device may include an operation input unit that accepts a user's operation. In the above information processing device, when the operation input unit accepts an operation for moving the map on the screen of the display device, the map information acquisition unit is at least because the display control unit moves the map on the screen of the display device. The acquisition process may be interrupted or the acquisition process may not be executed while the process of is being executed.

In the second aspect of the present invention, a route guidance device is provided. The route guidance device includes, for example, an information processing device according to the first aspect. The above-mentioned route guidance device includes, for example, a route search unit that acquires at least information indicating a user's destination and searches for a route to the destination.

In the third aspect of the present invention, an information processing method is provided. The above information processing method includes, for example, a map information acquisition step of acquiring at least a part of a plurality of map data from a map data distribution system via a wireless communication network. The above information processing method has, for example, an acquisition range specifying stage for specifying a geographical range to be acquired in the map information acquisition stage.

In the above information processing method, for example, the map data distribution system stores a map data set including a plurality of map data. For example, each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of a plurality of layers defined by the scale, and is map data corresponding to one of one or more sections defined for each layer. For example, map data belonging to two or more layers among a plurality of layers is vector data.

In the above information processing method, when the map information acquisition stage acquires one or more map data corresponding to a section including at least a part of the geographical range specified in the acquisition range specifying stage among one or more sections. In the first distribution request requesting the distribution of the map data belonging to the highest scale layer among the two or more layers including the map data expressed as vector data, the distribution of the map data belonging to the other layer is requested. This includes a step of transmitting to the map data distribution system prior to the second distribution request to be performed.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, a program is provided. The above program may be a program for causing the computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect. The above program may be a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to the third aspect. A computer-readable medium for storing the above program may be provided. The computer-readable medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable recording medium.

The outline of the above invention does not list all the necessary features of the present invention. Sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be inventions.

An example of the system configuration of the navigation system 100 is shown schematically. An example of the system configuration of the map distribution server 120 is shown schematically. An example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 230 is shown schematically. An example of the data structure of the nth generation data set 322 is shown schematically. An example of the hierarchical structure of the parcel data set 420 is shown schematically. An example of the data structure of the vector map data 600 is shown schematically. An example of the data structure of the road data 652 is shown schematically. An example of the data structure of the VICS conversion table 658 is shown schematically. An example of the data structure of the raster map data 900 is shown schematically. An example of the system configuration of the route search server 140 is shown schematically. An example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 1030 is shown schematically. An example of the system configuration of the navigation device 182 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 1232 is shown schematically. An example of the internal configuration of the distribution data storage unit 1316 is shown schematically. An example of the screen 1500 is shown schematically. An example of how to update the map data is shown schematically. An example of a method of switching map data for screen drawing is shown schematically. An example of a method of switching map data for screen drawing is shown schematically. An example of the data acquisition process of the map data management unit 1234 is shown schematically. An example of the internal configuration of the map data management unit 1234 is shown schematically. An example of a basic parcel that is the target of data acquisition processing is shown schematically. An example of a basic parcel that is the target of data acquisition processing is shown schematically. An example of a basic parcel that is the target of data acquisition processing is shown schematically. An example of the procedure of data acquisition processing is shown schematically. Other examples of the basic parcel that is the target of the data acquisition process are shown schematically. An example of the system configuration of the computer 3000 is shown schematically.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the inventions that fall within the scope of the claims. Also, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means of solving the invention. In the drawings, the same or similar parts may be given the same reference number to omit duplicate explanations.

[Overview of Navigation System 100]
FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the navigation system 100. In the present embodiment, the navigation system 100 includes a map distribution server 120, a route search server 140, a VICS (registered trademark) center 160, a VICS information transmission device 162, and a vehicle 180. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 180 includes a navigation device 182, a communication device 184, a receiving device 186, and an in-vehicle sensor 188.

Each part of the navigation system 100 may send and receive information to and from each other via the communication network 10. In the present embodiment, the communication network 10 may be a wired communication transmission line, a wireless communication transmission line, or a combination of a wireless communication transmission line and a wired communication transmission line. .. The communication network 10 may include a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN, a power line communication line, an inter-vehicle communication line, an inter-vehicle communication line, and the like.

The communication network 10 may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone line network, (ii) wireless MAN (for example, WiMAX®), wireless LAN (for example, WiFi®). ), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, NFC (Near Field Communication) and other wireless communication networks may be included. Wireless LAN, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, and NFC may be examples of short-range wireless communication.

In the present embodiment, the map distribution server 120 provides a distribution service for distributing map data to the user of the navigation system 100. For example, the map distribution server 120 stores map data of various areas. The above map data is updated regularly, for example. As a result, map data with high accuracy and freshness can be provided.

For example, the map distribution server 120 transmits the map data of the area indicated by the request to the navigation device 182 in response to the request from the navigation device 182 mounted on the vehicle 180. In the conventional navigation device 182, the opportunity to update the map (sometimes referred to as a pre-installed map) installed at the time of product shipment is limited, and the update interval of the pre-installed map can be shortened. It was desired. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the necessary map data is delivered at the timing requested by the navigation device 182. As a result, the navigation device 182 presents the map to the passenger 18 and guides the route by using the fresh map (sometimes referred to as the distribution map) distributed from the map distribution server 120. Can be done.

In the present embodiment, the route search server 140 provides the user of the navigation system 100 with a guidance service that guides the route to the destination. For example, the route search server 140 transmits, in response to a request from the navigation device 182 mounted on the vehicle 180, route data indicating a route to the destination indicated by the request to the navigation device 182.

The above route data may be point sequence data in which the route to the destination is represented by a set of position information of a plurality of points on the route. The route data is applied to (a) point sequence data, (b) (i) road traffic information regarding at least some points or sections on the route, and (ii) at least some points or sections on the route. Traffic regulation information indicating traffic regulations, (iii) attribute information indicating attributes of roads arranged at at least some points or sections on the route, and (iv) detailed guidance on at least some points on the route. It may include at least one of the identification information of the guidance guidance data for presenting the information to the passenger 18.

Examples of the contents of road traffic information include traffic congestion, traffic restrictions, required time, and parking lot availability. Examples of traffic restrictions include regulations caused by accidents, construction, disasters, weather conditions, and the like. Examples of the guidance information include a guidance image in which the details of the intersection are illustrated, a guidance image in which the details of the approach route from the general road to the expressway are illustrated, and the like. Examples of road attributes include the type of road, the regulations applicable to the road, the width of the road, and the structure of the road.

In the present embodiment, the VICS center 160 provides the user of the navigation system 100 with road traffic information regarding roads in various places. The above-mentioned road traffic information may be VICS (Vehicle information and communication system) (registered trademark) information. According to the present embodiment, the VICS information is provided to the user of the navigation system 100 via the VICS information transmission device 162. Examples of the VICS information transmitting device 162 include a broadcasting device, an optical beacon transmitting device, and a radio wave beacon transmitting device.

In this embodiment, the vehicle 180 carries the passenger 18. The vehicle 180 may be moved by the driving of the passenger 18, or may be moved by the automatic driving system or the driving support system mounted on the vehicle 180. The passenger 18 may be a driver who drives the vehicle 180, or may be an operator who operates the navigation device 182. The operator may be a driver or a passenger other than the driver.

Examples of the vehicle 180 include bicycles, automobiles, motorcycles, and trains. Motorcycles include (i) motorcycles, (ii) tricycles, (iii) Segways (registered trademarks), kickboards with power units (registered trademarks), and skateboards with power units. Two-wheeled vehicles, three-wheeled vehicles, and the like are exemplified.

In this embodiment, the navigation device 182 provides map information to the vehicle 180 or the passenger 18. The navigation device 182 provides the vehicle 180 or the passenger 18 with various information regarding the route to the destination. Details of the navigation device 182 will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the communication device 184 transmits / receives information between the navigation device 182 and the map distribution server 120 via the communication network 10. The communication device 184 may send and receive information between the navigation device 182 and the route search server 140 via the communication network 10.

In the present embodiment, the receiving device 186 receives various signals. For example, the receiving device 186 receives the VICS signal 22 output by the VICS information transmitting device 162. The receiving device 186 may receive the GPS signal 24. The signal received by the receiving device 186 is output to, for example, the navigation device 182.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted sensor 188 is mounted on the vehicle 180 and acquires various data related to the vehicle 180. The vehicle-mounted sensor 188 may output the acquired data to the navigation device 182. For example, the vehicle-mounted sensor 188 includes one or more external sensors for recognizing the external environment of the vehicle 180. The vehicle-mounted sensor 188 may include one or more internal sensors that measure physical quantities with respect to the vehicle 180. Examples of the external world sensor include a camera and a distance measuring sensor. Examples of the internal sensor include a rotary encoder, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and an angular acceleration sensor.

The communication network 10 may be an example of a wireless communication network. The map distribution server 120 may be an example of a map data distribution system. The vehicle 180 may be an example of a moving body. The vehicle 180 may be an example of an information processing device or a route guidance device. The navigation device 182 may be an example of an information processing device or a route guidance device. The receiving device 186 may be an example of the position information acquisition unit. The in-vehicle sensor 188 may be an example of the position information acquisition unit. The road traffic information may be an example of additional information superimposed and displayed on the map.

[Specific configuration of each part of vehicle 180]
Each part of the vehicle 180 may be realized by hardware, software, or hardware and software. At least a part of each part of the vehicle 180 may be realized by a control unit such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). At least a part of each part of the vehicle 180 may be realized by a personal computer or a mobile terminal. For example, a personal computer or mobile terminal can be used as the user interface of the navigation device 182. Examples of the mobile terminal include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a notebook computer or a laptop computer, a wearable computer, and the like.

When at least a part of the components constituting the vehicle 180 is realized by software, the components realized by the software activate a program that defines the operation related to the components in an information processing device having a general configuration. It may be realized by doing. The above information processing devices include, for example, (i) a data processing device having various processors (CPU, GPU, etc. are exemplified as processors), ROM, RAM, communication interface, etc., and (ii) memory, HDD, and the like. (Including an external storage device). The above information processing device may include an input device such as (iii) keyboard, touch panel, camera, microphone, various sensors, GPS receiver, and (iv) an output device such as a display device, a speaker, and a vibration device. You may.

In the above information processing device, the above data processing device or storage device may store a program. The information processing described in the above program functions as a concrete means in which the software related to the program and various hardware resources of the vehicle 180 cooperate with each other, for example, when the program is read into a computer. do. Then, by realizing the calculation or processing of information according to the purpose of use of the computer in the present embodiment by the above-mentioned specific means, each part of the vehicle 180 or the vehicle 180 according to the purpose of use is constructed.

The above program may be stored on a computer-readable medium. The above program may be stored on a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium. The above program may be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a memory, or a hard disk, or may be stored in a storage device connected to a network. The above program may be installed on a computer constituting at least a part of the vehicle 180 from a computer-readable medium or a storage device connected to a network.

By executing the above program, the computer mounted on the vehicle 180 may function as at least a part of each part of the vehicle 180. By executing the above program, the computer mounted on the vehicle 180 may execute the information processing method in at least a part of each part of the vehicle 180.

A program for making a computer mounted on a vehicle 180 function as at least a part of each part of the vehicle 180 includes, for example, a module that defines the operation of at least a part of each part of the vehicle 180. When the above program or module is executed, the above program or module acts on a data processing device, an input device, an output device, a storage device, etc. to make the computer function as each part of the vehicle 180, or causes the computer to function as the vehicle 180. The information processing method in each part of is executed.

The above information processing method includes, for example, a map information acquisition step of acquiring at least a part of a plurality of map data from a map data distribution system via a wireless communication network. The above information processing method has, for example, an acquisition range specifying stage for specifying a geographical range to be acquired by the map information acquisition unit.

In the above information processing method, for example, the map data distribution system stores a map data set including a plurality of map data. For example, each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of a plurality of layers defined by the scale, and is map data corresponding to one of one or more sections defined for each layer. For example, map data belonging to two or more layers among a plurality of layers is vector data.

In the above information processing method, the map information acquisition stage is a case where one or more map data corresponding to a section including at least a part of the geographical range specified by the acquisition range specifying unit is acquired among one or more sections. , Requests the delivery of the map data belonging to the highest scale of the two or more hierarchies including the map data expressed as vector data, and the delivery of the map data belonging to the other hierarchies. It includes a step of transmitting to the map data distribution system prior to the second distribution request.

In the present embodiment, an example of the navigation device 182 has been described by taking the case where the navigation device 182 is mounted on the vehicle 180 as an example. However, the navigation device 182 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the navigation device 182 may be mounted on the moving body.

Examples of the moving body include a ship, a flying body, and the like in addition to the vehicle. Examples of ships include ships, hovercraft, personal watercraft, submarines, submersibles, and underwater scooters. Examples of the flying object include an airplane, an airship or a balloon, a balloon, a helicopter, and a drone.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the map distribution server 120. In the present embodiment, the map distribution server 120 includes a communication unit 220, a storage unit 230, and a map data management unit 240. In the present embodiment, the map data management unit 240 has a request receiving unit 242 and a request response unit 244.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 220 transmits / receives information between the map distribution server 120 and the vehicle 180 via the communication network 10. The communication unit 220 may send and receive information between the map distribution server 120 and the route search server 140 via the communication network 10.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 230 stores various map information. The details of the storage unit 230 and the details of the map information will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the map data management unit 240 manages the map information stored in the storage unit 230. For example, the map data management unit 240 performs new creation, update, distribution enablement, distribution suspension, deletion, and the like of map information. The map data management unit 240 may manage the generation of map information. The map data management unit 240 may manage the distribution of map information.

As will be described later, the storage unit 230 may store a plurality of types of map information having different creation times or update times. The creation time or update time may be referred to as a generation or version. In this case, the map data management unit 240 manages map information for each generation. For example, when the map distribution server 120 distributes the map information for two generations, when the map information of a new generation is added with the update of the map, the map data management unit 240 sets the map information of the latest generation. While making the map information of the previous generation available for distribution, the distribution of the map information of the previous generation is stopped.

The minimum unit for managing the creation time and the update time is not particularly limited. Examples of the above minimum unit include seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months.

Further, as will be described later, when the map information is updated, the map distribution server 120 does not transmit the data of all the areas included in the recording range of the map at once, but depending on the situation of the navigation device 182. Send the data of the specified area each time. For example, the map distribution server 120 transmits the data of the area determined according to the position of the navigation device 182 to the navigation device 182, and does not transmit the data of the area other than the area. When the vehicle 180 moves and the position of the navigation device 182 changes, the map distribution server 120 transmits the data of the area determined according to the new position to the navigation device 182. In this way, the map data management unit 240 manages the transmission (sometimes referred to as distribution) of data to the navigation device 182.

In the present embodiment, the details of the map distribution server 120 will be described by taking as an example a case where the map distribution server 120 transmits data according to the situation of the navigation device 182. However, the map distribution server 120 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the map distribution server 120 transmits, for example, data according to the contents of a contract between the service provider of the map distribution service provided by the map distribution server 120 and the user of the service. For example, at least one of the map type, range, accuracy or accuracy, and freshness provided to the user may be adjusted according to the content of the contract. Examples of the above-mentioned map types include a map represented by vector data and a map represented by raster data.

In the present embodiment, the request receiving unit 242 receives the request from the navigation device 182. In the present embodiment, the request response unit 244 responds to the request from the navigation device 182.

In one embodiment, the request receiving unit 242 receives a generation transmission request from the navigation device 182 for requesting the transmission of information regarding the generation of the map that can be distributed by the map distribution server 120. When the request receiving unit 242 receives the generation transmission request, the request response unit 244 transmits information about the map generation that can be distributed by the map distribution server 120 to the navigation device 182 that has transmitted the generation transmission request.

In another embodiment, the request receiving unit 242 receives a map transmission request requesting the transmission of a map of a specific area from the navigation device 182. When the request receiving unit 242 receives the map transmission request, the request response unit 244 transmits the map information of the area indicated by the map distribution request to the navigation device 182 that has transmitted the map transmission request. As will be described later, the map information includes various types of information. The map transmission request may request the transmission of a specific type of information among a plurality of types of information included in the map information.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 230. An example of the map information stored in the storage unit 230 will be described with reference to FIG. 3, taking as an example a case where the nth generation map information and the n-1 generation map information can be distributed. Will be done. Note that n is an integer of 2 or more.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 230 stores map data and various data related to the map data (the term data may be used as a general term for both). In the present embodiment, the recording range of the map is divided into a plurality of sections, and a plurality of map data for expressing the features (including virtual ones such as district boundaries) arranged in each section are prepared. Will be done. The storage unit 230 stores a map data set, which is a set of a plurality of map data corresponding to each of the plurality of sections constituting the map recording range.

Various data related to the map data include information about at least one of the one or more features recorded in the map data. Examples of various data related to the map data include guidance guidance data, expressway data, parameter data, guidance search data, and the like. Guidance guidance data is used to present to passenger 18 detailed guidance information about a particular point on the map, as described above. The guidance guidance data may be image data or voice data.

The expressway data is used to present to the passenger 18 information about the expressway or motorway included within the coverage of the map. The expressway data includes at least one node ID for identifying each of the nodes assigned to each of a plurality of points on the expressway and a link ID for identifying each of the links connecting two adjacent nodes. Includes information indicating the name of the node of the department. For example, the highway data includes information indicating the names of nodes assigned to service areas, parking areas, interchanges, junctions, etc. arranged on the highway.

The parameter data stores various parameters used for drawing the features on the map. For example, parameters for drawing a feature on a map as a bird's-eye view map or a three-dimensional map are stored.

Guidance search data is used to search for a specific point by address, facility name, or the like. The guidance search data may include index information for selecting a destination. The guidance search data may include a search frame for narrowing down the data and point information for storing the information of the search result. In the point information, for example, information on a point (sometimes referred to as POI) registered by the passenger 18 is stored. Examples of the point information include information indicating the position of the POI, information indicating the name of the POI, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 230 includes a map data storage unit 320, a guidance guidance data storage unit 330, an expressway data storage unit 340, a parameter data storage unit 350, a guidance search data storage unit 360, and management information. It is provided with a storage unit 370. In the present embodiment, the map data storage unit 320 stores the nth generation data set 322 and the n-1th generation data set 324. In the present embodiment, the management information storage unit 370 stores the generation management information 372.

In the present embodiment, the map data storage unit 320 stores a plurality of map data sets (sometimes referred to as distribution data sets) having different creation times or update times. In the present embodiment, the nth generation data set 322 may be a map data set created or updated at a time after the creation time or update time of the n-1th generation data set 324. The n-1st generation data set 324 is created or created at a time after the creation time or update time of the map data set (sometimes referred to as a pre-installed data set) installed at the time of product shipment of the navigation device 182. It may be an updated map dataset.

In the present embodiment, the guidance guidance data storage unit 330 stores guidance guidance data. The guidance guidance data storage unit 330 may store one or more guidance guidance data and a data ID for identifying each of the one or more guidance guidance data in association with each other. Thereby, for example, the request response unit 244 can acquire the guidance guidance data by using the data ID of the guidance guidance data as a key.

In one embodiment, a file for storing a plurality of guidance guide data and data IDs of each guidance guidance data may be prepared for each generation of the map data set. In this case, a single file storing the plurality of guidance guide data and the data ID of each guidance guidance data corresponds to a single generation map data set.

In another embodiment, a single file for storing a plurality of guidance guide data and data IDs of each guidance guidance data may be prepared as a guidance guidance data file corresponding to a plurality of generations of map data sets. Even in this case, a plurality of files for storing the plurality of guidance guide data and the data ID of each guidance guidance data may be prepared.

In the present embodiment, the expressway data storage unit 340 stores the expressway data. The expressway data storage unit 340 may store a plurality of expressway data corresponding to each of the plurality of map data sets stored in the map data storage unit 320.

In the present embodiment, the parameter data storage unit 350 stores the parameter data. The parameter data storage unit 350 may store a plurality of parameter data corresponding to each of the plurality of map data sets stored in the map data storage unit 320.

In the present embodiment, the guidance search data storage unit 360 stores the guidance search data. The guidance search data storage unit 360 may store a plurality of guidance search data corresponding to each of the plurality of map data sets stored in the map data storage unit 320.

In the present embodiment, the management information storage unit 370 stores various information used for managing various data stored in the storage unit 230. As described above, the management information storage unit 370 stores the generation management information 372 used for managing the distribution availability of the plurality of map data sets stored in the map data storage unit 320.

The generation management information 372 corresponds to a data ID for identifying each of one or more map data sets that can be distributed, and information indicating the generation of each map data set (sometimes referred to as generation information). It may be attached information. Examples of the generation information include information indicating the generation or version of the map data set itself, information indicating the creation time or update time of the map data set, and the like.

According to this embodiment, the map data storage unit 320 stores a plurality of generations of map data sets. As a result, the map distribution server 120 can distribute data that constitutes a part of the map data set of a plurality of generations.

The storage unit 230 may be an example of the second storage unit. The distribution data set may be an example of a second map data set or a distribution map data set. The pre-installed dataset may be an example of a first map dataset or a local map dataset. The nth generation data set 322 may be an example of a second map data set or a distribution map data set. The n-1th generation data set 324 may be an example of a second map data set or a distribution map data set.

The nth generation data set 322 may be an example of the first distribution map data set created or updated at a time after the creation time or the update time of the pre-in data set. The nth generation data set 322 may be an example of the second distribution map data set created or updated at a time after the creation time or the update time of the n-1th generation data set 324. The n-1th generation data set 324 may be an example of the first distribution map data set created or updated at a time after the creation time or the update time of the pre-in data set. Each map data constituting the nth generation data set 322 may be an example of the second map data. Each map data constituting the n-1th generation data set 324 may be an example of the first map data.

The creation time or update time of the pre-installed data set may be an example of the first time. The creation time or update time of the n-1th generation data set 324 may be an example of the second time, which is a time after the first time. The creation time or update time of the nth generation data set 322 may be an example of a third time, which is a time after the second time. The generation information may be an example of information indicating the creation time or the update time.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 230 stores the map data set. The details of the distribution map have been illustrated by taking as an example the case where the map data, the guidance guidance data, the expressway data, the parameter data, and the guidance search data are stored in different storage units. However, the distribution map is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, (i) map data and (ii) at least one of guidance guidance data, highway data, parameter data, and guidance search data may be a dataset stored in a single data file. It may be configured.

The details of the data structure of the nth generation data set 322 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Other map data sets such as the n-1th generation data set 324 may have the same data structure as the nth generation data set 322.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of the data structure of the nth generation data set 322. In the present embodiment, the nth generation data set 322 includes a parcel data set 420 and a region data set 440.

The parcel data set 420 is used for drawing a map, guiding a route, and the like in the navigation device 182. The parcel-based data set 420 includes a plurality of data sets having different representation modes. Each dataset contains a plurality of map data. Examples of the expression mode include large and small scales.

In this embodiment, the parcel data set 420 has a hierarchical structure. According to the present embodiment, the map data constituting the parcel data set 420 has seven levels (referred to as parcel level) of level 5, level 4, level 3, level 2, level 1, level 0, and level -1. It may be classified into).

In the present embodiment, the level 5 data set has a small scale of each map data, and the number of map data constituting the data set is small. As the level decreases, the scale of each map data increases, and the number of map data constituting the data set also increases. Details of the hierarchical structure of the parcel data set 420 will be described later.

The region data set 440 is used to calculate the route in the navigation device 182. In this embodiment, the region data set 440 has a hierarchical structure. According to the present embodiment, the route calculation data constituting the region data set 440 has seven levels (referred to as region level) of level 5, level 4, level 3, level 2, level 1, level 0, and level -1. It may be classified into).

FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of the hierarchical structure of the parcel data set 420. According to the present embodiment, the recording range of the map is divided into a plurality of sections (sometimes referred to as basic parcels) having substantially the same shape and size based on, for example, latitude and longitude. The shape and size of the basic parcel depends on the level.

For example, in a level 5 dataset, the shape and size of the basic parcel 512 is determined so that the block 510 with the plurality of basic parcels 512 covers the entire recording range of the map. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 5 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 512. Each map data may be data for expressing a map of a geographical range corresponding to the basic parcel 512.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the level 4 dataset, each of the level 5 basic parcels 512 is covered by a block 520 having a plurality of basic parcels 522. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 4 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 522.

Similarly, in the level 3 dataset, each of the level 4 basic parcels 522 is covered by a block 530 with a plurality of basic parcels 532. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 3 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 532.

Similarly, in the level 2 dataset, each of the level 3 basic parcels 532 is covered by block 540 with a plurality of basic parcels 542. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 2 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 542.

Similarly, in the level 1 dataset, each of the level 2 basic parcels 542 is covered by a block 550 with a plurality of basic parcels 552. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 1 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 552.

Similarly, in the level 0 dataset, each of the level 1 basic parcels 552 is covered by a block 560 with a plurality of basic parcels 562. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 0 data set corresponds to each of the plurality of basic parcels 562.

In this embodiment, the level 0 basic parcel 562 and the level -1 basic parcel 572 cover substantially the same geographical range. Each of the plurality of map data constituting the level -1 dataset may be an enlarged map or a detailed map of each of the plurality of map data constituting the level 0 dataset.

As shown in FIG. 5, according to the present embodiment, each of the plurality of map data constituting the parcel system data set 420 belongs to one of the plurality of levels defined by the scale, and is defined for each level. Corresponds to one of one or more basic parcels. Further, the map data belonging to two or more levels among the plurality of levels may be vector map data (sometimes referred to as vector data). On the other hand, the map data belonging to at least one level among the plurality of levels may be raster map data (sometimes referred to as raster data). For example, in the present embodiment, the map data from level 5 to level 0 is vector map data, and the map data at level -1 is raster map data.

For example, the map distribution server 120 distributes map data from level 5 to level 0 unless instructed by the user. As a result, the communication capacity is greatly reduced. In addition, the amount of resources of the navigation device 182 used for updating the map is greatly reduced. On the other hand, the map distribution server 120 distributes level-1 map data in response to a request from the user. As a result, each time the map is updated, the communication capacity can be reduced and the navigation device 182 can be used without significantly impairing the user experience, as compared with the case where all the map data included in the map recording range is delivered. Resources can be used effectively.

The parcel level may be an example of a hierarchy in data having a hierarchical structure. The basic parcel may be an example of a section having a predetermined geographical range.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of the data structure of the vector map data 600. As described above, the map data included in the data set from level 5 to level 0 may be vector map data 600. In the present embodiment, the vector map data 600 may be an example of map data corresponding to each basic parcel.

In the present embodiment, the vector map data 600 includes header data 620, main map data 640, and route guidance data 660. In the present embodiment, the main map data 640 has basic data 642 and extended data 644. In the present embodiment, the basic data 642 includes road data 652, background data 654, and name data 656. In this embodiment, the extended data 644 includes a VICS conversion table 658.

The header data 620 includes information (sometimes referred to as a management record) for the navigation device 182 to handle the vector map data 600. Examples of the management record include data sizes of various data constituting the vector map data 600.

The main map data 640 shows a map of the geographical range assigned to the vector map data 600. The main map data 640 contains information for drawing a map of the geographical range or basic parcel assigned to the vector map data 600. The route guidance data 660 includes information indicating a point at which the guidance guidance data is output and information associated with the data ID of the guidance guidance data to be output at the point.

The basic data 642 includes basic data required for the navigation device 182 to draw a map. The extended data 644 includes various data used by the navigation device 182 for functions other than drawing a map (sometimes referred to as an extended function). Examples of the extended function include a function of superimposing and displaying road traffic information on a map.

Road data 652 includes various data related to the road included in each map. Details of the road data 652 will be described later. The background data 654 includes data that is the background of the map such as rivers, boundaries of administrative divisions, and railways. The name data 656 includes data in which information indicating the name of the feature included in each map and information indicating the position where the name is displayed are associated with each other.

The VICS conversion table 658 contains a VICS link ID used to identify each of the plurality of road links in the VICS center 160, and a plurality of road links (sometimes referred to as parcel links) in each map data set. The correspondence with the road link ID used for identifying each is shown. Details of the VICS conversion table 658 will be described later.

As a result, even if the road link ID assigned to at least a part of the road links included in the recording range of the map is changed due to the update of the map data set stored in the map distribution server 120, the navigation device The 182 can associate the road link ID in the map data set with the VICS link ID by using the VICS conversion table 658. As a result, for example, the navigation device 182 can reflect the road traffic information transmitted by the VICS signal 22 on the map.

The vector map data 600 may be an example of the first distribution map data or the second distribution map data. The main map data 640 may be an example of the first map data or the second map data. The road data 652 may be an example of driving support information used in the automatic driving system or the driving support system. The VICS conversion table 658 may be an example of correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the road link ID and the VICS link ID. The VICS link ID may be an example of identification information used for identifying each of a plurality of road links in a service that distributes additional information superimposed and displayed on a map. The road link ID may be an example of identification information used to identify each of the plurality of road links in the map dataset.

FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of the data structure of the road data 652 included in the vector map data 600. Road data 652 includes various information about each of the one or more roads contained in each basic parcel. In the present embodiment, the road data 652 stores the parcel level 720, the road link ID 730, the shape information 740, and the attribute information 750 in association with each other. In the present embodiment, the road link ID 730 is represented by, for example, a parcel ID 732 and a parcel link ID 734.

The parcel ID 732 is identification information for identifying each basic parcel. The parcel link ID 734 is identification information for identifying a road link representing each of a plurality of roads arranged in each basic parcel.

The shape information 740 is information for expressing the shape of each road arranged in each basic parcel. As the shape information, information indicating a start point node, an end point node, a link length, and the like of the road link corresponding to each road is exemplified.

The attribute information 750 is information for expressing the attributes of each road arranged in each basic parcel. Road attributes are exemplified by at least one of road type, link type, road structure, regulations applicable to the road, and statistics on the speed of vehicles traveling on the road.

Examples of road types include general roads, expressways, and ferry routes. The types of roads are highway motorways, urban expressways, general national roads, major local roads (prefectural roads), major local roads (designated city roads), general prefectural roads, general city roads of designated cities, introduction roads, etc. It may be subdivided into narrow roads, destination-related roads, parking lot-related roads, and the like. General roads may be subdivided into trunk lines and other guideways.

The types of links are dummy links, main line links where the upper and lower lines are not separated, main line links where the upper and lower lines are separated, connecting road links connecting the main lines, links within intersections, ramp links, etc. Examples include side road links on the same line as the main line, and side line links such as service areas.

Examples of laws and regulations applicable to roads include the direction of travel, the upper limit speed, and the permission or disapproval of activation of an automatic driving system or a driving support system. Examples of the road structure include width, number of lanes, separation method of upper and lower lines, and slope.

The automatic driving system or the driving support system of the vehicle 180 may control the vehicle 180 by using information indicating the type of the road, the number of lanes of the road, the upper limit speed of the road, the structure of the road, and the like. For example, when it is permitted to enable the automatic lane change function of the vehicle 180 only on a road that is exclusively for automobiles, has two or more lanes, and is structurally separated into upper and lower lanes. There is.

In this case, it is conceivable that the navigation device 182 analyzes the image captured by the camera mounted on the vehicle 180 to determine whether or not the above requirements are satisfied. However, as the requirements become more complicated, it is desired to determine the fulfillment of the above requirements more accurately and quickly. According to the present embodiment, since the map data distributed from the map distribution server 120 includes the attribute information 750, the navigation device 182 can accurately and quickly determine whether or not the above requirements are satisfied.

The attribute information 750 may be an example of the driving support information used in the automatic driving system or the driving support system. The attribute information 750 included in each map data constituting the nth generation data set 322 may be an example of the second support information. The attribute information 750 included in each map data constituting the n-1th generation data set 324 may be an example of the first support information.

FIG. 8 schematically shows an example of the data structure of the VICS conversion table 658 included in the vector map data 600. In the present embodiment, the VICS conversion table 658 stores the parcel level 720, the road link ID 730, and the VICS link ID 840 in association with each other. As a result, the road link ID of the road link representing each of the one or more roads included in each basic parcel is associated with the VICS link ID of the road link.

FIG. 9 schematically shows an example of the data structure of the raster map data 900. As described, the map data contained in the level-1 dataset may be raster map data 900. The raster map data 900 differs from the vector map data 600 in that the main map data 940 is provided instead of the main map data 640. The main map data 940 differs from the main map data 640 in that the city map data 952 is provided instead of the road data 652 and the background data 654. The city map data 952 may be raster map data in which features included within the geographical range indicated by each level 0 basic parcel are drawn in detail.

FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the route search server 140. In the present embodiment, the route search server 140 includes a communication unit 1020, a storage unit 1030, and a route search unit 1040. In the present embodiment, the route search unit 1040 has a request reception unit 1042 and a request response unit 1044.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 1020 transmits / receives information between the route search unit 1040 and the vehicle 180 via the communication network 10. The communication unit 1020 may send and receive information between the map distribution server 120 and the route search server 140 via the communication network 10.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 1030 stores various map information. The storage unit 1030 acquires and stores the map data set distributed by the map distribution server 120. When the map dataset is updated, the storage unit 1030 acquires the entire updated map dataset in a relatively short period of time. The storage unit 1030 may acquire a new map data set in a batch, or may acquire the map data set in a divided manner. Details of the storage unit 1030 and details of the map information will be described later.

The route search unit 1040 searches for a route to the destination by using the map data stored in the storage unit 1030 in response to a request from the navigation device 182. Specifically, the request receiving unit 1042 receives a route search request for requesting a route search to the destination from the navigation device 182. When the request receiving unit 1042 receives the route search request, the request response unit 1044 transmits the route data indicating the route to the destination to the navigation device 182 that has transmitted the route search request.

As mentioned above, the route data may include point sequence data. If at least a portion of the route to the destination includes a highway or motorway, the route data may include the highway data described above.

FIG. 11 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 1030. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 1030 includes a map data storage unit 320, a guidance guidance data storage unit 330, an expressway data storage unit 340, a parameter data storage unit 350, a guidance search data storage unit 360, and management information. It is provided with a storage unit 370.

In the present embodiment, the map data storage unit 320 stores the latest map data set, the nth generation data set 322, and is the n-1th generation data set, which is the map data set of the previous generation. It differs from the storage unit 230 of the map distribution server 120 described in connection with FIG. 3 in that it does not store the 324. With respect to other features, the storage unit 1030 and its respective parts may have the same configuration as the storage part 230 and its respective parts. The storage unit 1030 may store the n-1th generation data set 324 in the same manner as the storage unit 230.

FIG. 12 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the navigation device 182. In this embodiment, the navigation device 182 includes, for example, a touch display 1212 and a speaker 1214. The navigation device 182 may include an input / output control unit 1222 and a communication control unit 1224. The navigation device 182 may include a storage unit 1232 and a map data management unit 1234. The navigation device 182 may include a position estimation unit 1242, a road guidance unit 1244, and a drawing control unit 1246.

In this embodiment, the touch display 1212 displays various screens. For example, the touch display 1212 displays a screen containing a map image. On the above screen, the route to the destination may be displayed so as to be superimposed on the above map. Various icons for the passenger 18 to operate the navigation device 182 may be arranged on the above screen. The touch display 1212 may draw various screens based on an instruction from the drawing control unit 1246.

The touch display 1212 may have a touch panel for receiving input from the passenger 18. The touch display 1212 may accept the touch input of the passenger 18. The touch display 1212 receives, for example, an input from the passenger 18 for operating the navigation device 182.

In one embodiment, the passenger 18 inputs that the icon displayed on the touch display 1212 has been selected by touch input. As a result, the process associated with the above icon is executed. In another embodiment, the passenger 18 may input an instruction for scrolling the map displayed on the touch display 1212 by touch input, or an instruction for enlarging the map displayed on the touch display 1212. May be entered.

In yet another embodiment, the passenger 18 may input the position of a specific point (sometimes referred to as a designated place) by touch input. Examples of the designated place include a destination, a departure place, a waypoint, and a POI. The position of the designated place may be represented by coordinates, may be represented by an address or a part thereof, or may be represented by a facility name or a building name.

The input method of the instruction from the passenger 18 is not limited to the touch input. In another embodiment, instructions from the passenger 18 may be input by a keyboard, a pointing device, a voice input system, a line-of-sight input system, a gesture input system, or the like.

In the present embodiment, the speaker 1214 may output various guidance information by voice. The speaker 1214 may output various guidance information based on the instruction from the road guidance unit 1244.

The input / output control unit 1222 controls the input of information to the navigation device 182. Further, the input / output control unit 1222 controls the output of information from the navigation device 182.

For example, the input / output control unit 1222 acquires information indicating the coordinates (sometimes referred to as touch position coordinates) of the position where the touch input is made on the touch display 1212 from the touch display 1212. The input / output control unit 1222 outputs information indicating the touch position coordinates to at least one of the map data management unit 1234 and the road guidance unit 1244, for example. The input / output control unit 1222 may output information indicating the content of the instruction from the passenger 18 indicated by the touch input to at least one of the map data management unit 1234 and the road guidance unit 1244.

The input / output control unit 1222 may adjust the setting of the touch display 1212. For example, the input / output control unit 1222 sets the sensitivity of the touch panel of the touch display 1212. More specifically, the input / output control unit 1222 may adjust the detection sensitivity of the touch input at each position of the touch display 1212. Thereby, for example, a dead area where the touch input is not detected may be arranged in at least a part of the touch display 1212.

The input / output control unit 1222 may acquire the VICS signal 22 and the GPS signal 24 received by the receiving device 186 from the receiving device 186. The input / output control unit 1222 may output the VICS signal 22 to the road guidance unit 1244, for example. The input / output control unit 1222 may output the GPS signal 24 to the position estimation unit 1242, for example.

The input / output control unit 1222 may acquire various data output by the vehicle-mounted sensor 188 from the vehicle-mounted sensor 188. The input / output control unit 1222 outputs, for example, image data output by a camera that images the surroundings of the vehicle 180 to the road guidance unit 1244. The input / output control unit 1222 outputs, for example, data such as acceleration and angular acceleration output by the internal sensor to the position estimation unit 1242.

The input / output control unit 1222 may control the image output of the touch display 1212. The input / output control unit 1222 may control the audio output of the speaker 1214.

In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 1224 controls communication between the communication device 184 and at least one of the map distribution server 120 and the route search server 140. The communication control unit 1224 may be a communication interface.

The communication control unit 1224 acquires information (sometimes referred to as communication information) indicating the communication state of the communication network 10 when the map data management unit 1234 acquires map data from the map distribution server 120. May be good. The communication control unit 1224 may output information indicating the communication state of the communication network 10 to the map data management unit 1234. Examples of the communication state include radio wave strength, communication speed, delay, and communication stability.

Similarly, the communication control unit 1224 may acquire information indicating the communication state of the communication network 10 when the road guidance unit 1244 acquires the route data from the route search server 140. The communication control unit 1224 may output information indicating the communication state of the communication network 10 to the road guidance unit 1244.

The storage unit 1232 stores various types of map information. The storage unit 1232 stores the above-mentioned pre-installed data set. When the map data management unit 1234 acquires the data constituting the distribution data set from the map distribution server 120, the storage unit 1232 may store the data. Details of the storage unit 1232 will be described later.

The map data management unit 1234 manages the map information stored in the storage unit 1232. In one embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 manages the update of map information. For example, the map data management unit 1234 updates the map information by acquiring at least a part of the distribution data set stored in the map distribution server 120.

In another embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 manages the map data used for route guidance by the road guidance unit 1244. In still another embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 manages the map data used for map display by the drawing control unit 1246. Details of the map data management unit 1234 will be described later.

The position estimation unit 1242 estimates the position of the navigation device 182. The position estimation unit 1242 may estimate the position of the navigation device 182 based on at least one of (i) the GPS signal 24 and (ii) various data output by the vehicle-mounted sensor 188.

In the present embodiment, the road guidance unit 1244 presents various information for guiding the road to the passenger 18. The above information may be presented to the passenger 18 by displaying the guidance image on the touch display 1212, or may be presented to the passenger 18 by outputting the guidance voice from the speaker 1214.

In the present embodiment, the road guidance unit 1244 relates to the road around the vehicle 180 by using (i) the route to the destination is not set and the position of the vehicle 180 and the map around the vehicle 180 are used. A free driving mode in which information is presented to the passenger 18 and (ii) a route to the destination are set, and the vehicle is set using the route, the position of the vehicle 180, and a map around the vehicle 180. It has a route guidance mode in which information about the roads around the 180 is presented to the passenger 18.

In the route guidance mode, the road guidance unit 1244 guides the route to the destination. For example, the road guidance unit 1244 (i) acquires information indicating the destination of at least the passenger 18, and searches for a route to the destination. (Ii) The road guidance unit 1244 acquires information indicating the destination of the passenger 18 and information indicating at least one of one or more waypoints and departure points, and based on the information, the destination. You may search the route to.

In one embodiment, the road guidance unit 1244 guides the route to the passenger 18 based on the data stored in the storage unit 1232. In another embodiment, the road guidance unit 1244 guides the route to the passenger 18 based on the route data transmitted from the route search server 140.

The drawing control unit 1246 draws an image on the touch display 1212. The drawing control unit 1246 controls the drawing of the screen displayed on the touch display 1212. The drawing control unit 1246 may control the touch display 1212 to display a map image on the touch display 1212. For example, the drawing control unit 1246 causes the touch display 1212 to display a screen based on the data stored in the storage unit 1232. The drawing control unit 1246 is based on (i) a first drawing mode for drawing a map image based on the map data stored in the pre-in data storage unit 1314, and (ii) based on the map data stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316. It may have a second drawing mode for drawing a map image.

The drawing control unit 1246 may control the touch display 1212 to display the guide image on the touch display 1212. The drawing control unit 1246 may display a guide image corresponding to the position of the vehicle 180 on the touch display 1212 in accordance with an instruction from the road guide unit 1244, for example.

The passenger 18 may be an example of a user. The touch display 1212 may be an example of a display device or an operation input unit. The input / output control unit 1222 may be an example of a position information acquisition unit or a display control unit. The map data management unit 1234 may be an example of a map information acquisition unit. The position estimation unit 1242 may be an example of a position information acquisition unit. The road guide unit 1244 may be an example of a route search unit. The drawing control unit 1246 may be an example of a control device or a display control unit.

In the present embodiment, the details of the navigation device 182 have been described by exemplifying the case where the passenger 18 operates the navigation device 182 via the touch display 1212. However, the navigation device 182 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the passenger 18 may operate the navigation device 182 via a voice input system, a gesture input system, a line-of-sight input system, and the like.

FIG. 13 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the storage unit 1232. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 1232 includes a management information storage unit 1312, a pre-installed data storage unit 1314, and a distribution data storage unit 1316. In the present embodiment, the pre-in data storage unit 1314 includes a map data storage unit 1320, a guidance guidance data storage unit 1330, an expressway data storage unit 1340, a parameter data storage unit 1350, and a guidance search data storage unit 1360. Have.

In the present embodiment, the management information storage unit 1312 stores various information used for managing various data stored in the storage unit 1232. For example, the management information storage unit 1312 stores information indicating the creation time or update time of the m-th generation data set 1322. The management information storage unit 1312 may store information indicating the creation time, update time, or acquisition time of the map data stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316. As described above, the information indicating the creation time or the update time may be information indicating the generation or version.

In the present embodiment, the pre-installed data storage unit 1314 stores the pre-installed data. Details of each part of the pre-installed data storage unit 1314 will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the distribution data storage unit 1316 stores the data acquired from the map distribution server 120 by the map data management unit 1234 among the data constituting the distribution data set stored in the map distribution server 120. As described above, according to the present embodiment, for example, the management information storage unit 1312 has the identification information of the data acquired by the map data management unit 1234 from the map distribution server 120, and the map data management unit 1234 has the map distribution server 120. The information indicating the acquisition time of the data acquired from is stored in association with the information. As a result, the data acquired by the map data management unit 1234 from the map distribution server 120 can be managed in association with the information indicating the time when the data was acquired.

In the present embodiment, the map data storage unit 1320 stores the m-generation data set 1322 as the pre-in data set. The mth generation data set 1322 may have the same data structure as the nth generation data set 322.

In the present embodiment, the guidance guidance data storage unit 1330 stores the guidance guidance data corresponding to the mth generation data set 1322. In the present embodiment, the expressway data storage unit 1340 stores the expressway data corresponding to the mth generation data set 1322. In the present embodiment, the parameter data corresponding to the parameter data storage unit 1350 mth generation data set 1322 is stored. In the present embodiment, the guidance search data storage unit 1360 stores the guidance search data corresponding to the mth generation data set 1322.

The mth generation data set 1322 may be an example of a local map data set including map data created or updated at a time earlier than the map data constituting the map data set stored in the map data distribution system. .. The pre-installed data storage unit 1314 constituting the m-th generation data set 1322 may be an example of the first storage unit. The distribution data storage unit 1316 may be an example of the second storage unit.

FIG. 14 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the distribution data storage unit 1316. In the present embodiment, the distribution data storage unit 1316 includes available distribution data 1420 and distribution data 1440 being updated. Examples of available distribution data 1420 include generation X map data 1422, generation X guidance guidance data 1423, and generation X highway data 1424. Other examples of available distribution data 1420 include Generation X parameter data, Generation X guidance search data, and the like. For example, while the update process of the latest map data 1442 is being executed, the map data 1442 is not available until the acquisition process of the map data 1442 is completed. The data in the middle of such acquisition processing can be temporarily stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316 as the distribution data 1440 being updated.

FIG. 15 schematically shows an example of the screen 1500. In the present embodiment, the screen 1500 has a basic function selection area 1520 and a function-dependent area 1540. In the present embodiment, the operation selection area 1542 is arranged in the function-dependent area 1540. Further, in the present embodiment, the scale change button 1580, the map update button 1582, and the map discrimination icon 1584 are arranged in the function-dependent area 1540.

[Positional relationship of each element of screen 1500]
In the present embodiment, the basic function selection area 1520 is arranged outside the function-dependent area 1540. The width of the basic function selection area 1520 may be larger than half the width of the screen.

In the present embodiment, the operation selection area 1542 is arranged between the basic function selection area 1520 and the function-dependent area 1540. The width of the operation selection area 1542 may be larger than half the width of the screen. The operation selection area 1542 may be displayed superimposed on the function-dependent area 1540. In another embodiment, the operation selection area 1542 may be arranged in contact with or superimposed on the end of the function-dependent area 1540 on the side where the basic function selection area 1520 is arranged.

In the present embodiment, the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542 are arranged apart from each other. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a gap 1544 is provided between the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542. As a result, erroneous operations by the passenger 18 are greatly reduced.

In the present embodiment, a division highlight line 1572 for dividing and displaying the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542 is arranged at the end of the operation selection area 1542 on the side of the basic function selection area 1520. The color or pattern of the division emphasis line 1572 is preferably different from the color or pattern of the operation selection area 1542. As a result, the boundary between the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542 can be visually recognized more clearly. As a result, erroneous operations by the passenger 18 are greatly reduced.

In another embodiment, the division emphasis line 1572 is arranged between the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542. In yet another embodiment, the division emphasis line 1572 may be arranged at the end of the basic function selection area 1520 on the side of the operation selection area 1542.

[Functions of each element of screen 1500]
In the present embodiment, the basic function selection area 1520 may be an area for the touch panel of the touch display 1212 to receive the touch input of the passenger 18. In the basic function selection area 1520 of the screen 1500, a basic function selection button 1560 for selecting the basic function of the navigation device 182 is arranged. A plurality of basic function selection buttons 1560 may be arranged in the basic function selection area 1520. According to the present embodiment, as the basic function selection button 1560, buttons for calling each of the screen display setting function, the television broadcast reception function, the audio playback function, the FM broadcast reception function, the telephone function, and the navigation function are arranged. Will be done.

In the present embodiment, the function-dependent area 1540 of the screen 1500 displays a screen corresponding to the basic function to be called. For example, when the navigation function is called, the map image 1510 is displayed in the function-dependent area 1540.

In the present embodiment, the operation selection area 1542 may be an area for the touch panel of the touch display 1212 to receive the touch input of the passenger 18. In the operation selection area 1542 of the screen 1500, an operation selection button 1570 for selecting an operation according to the basic function to be called is arranged. A plurality of operation selection buttons 1570 may be arranged in the operation selection area 1542.

In the present embodiment, the scale change button 1580 is provided to receive a touch input for changing the scale of the map image 1510 displayed in the function-dependent area 1540. In the present embodiment, the map update button 1582 is provided to receive the touch input for executing the update process of the distribution data set.

In the present embodiment, the map discrimination icon 1584 is based on either (i) the pre-in data set stored in the pre-in data storage unit 1314 or (ii) the distribution data set stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316. It is provided to determine whether or not it is displayed. When the map image 1510 is displayed based on the pre-in data set stored in the pre-in data storage unit 1314, and when the map image 1510 is displayed based on the distribution data set stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316. And, at least one of the color, pattern, shape and size of the map discrimination icon 1584 may be different.

The basic function selection area 1520 may be an example of a first touch control area for the touch panel to receive a user's touch input. The function-dependent area 1540 may be an example of a map display area. The operation selection area 1542 may be an example of a second touch area for the touch panel to receive the user's touch input. The division emphasis line 1572 may be an example of a division area for dividing and displaying the first touch control area and the second control area. The map discrimination icon 1584 may be an example of the icon.

In the present embodiment, the details of an example of the screen 1500 have been described by taking as an example a case where a gap 1544 is provided between the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542. However, the screen 1500 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the sensitivity of the touch panel of the touch display 1212 is adjusted. As a result, erroneous input of the passenger 18 is suppressed.

More specifically, for example, the input / output control unit 1222 is an area on the touch panel of the touch display 1212, and is between (a) (i) the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542, and (ii) the basic. The sensitivity of the area corresponding to at least one of the vicinity of the end of the function selection area 1520 on the side of the operation selection area 1542 and (iii) the vicinity of the end of the operation selection area 1542 on the side of the basic function selection area 1520. , (B) The area on the touch panel of the touch display 1212, which satisfies the condition that the distance from the end of the basic function selection area 1520 on the side of the basic function selection area 1520 of the operation selection area 1542 is predetermined. The sensitivity of the touch panel is set so as to be smaller than the sensitivity of the area corresponding to the portion to be used. The portion of the basic function selection area 1520 that satisfies the condition that the distance from the end of the operation selection area 1542 on the side of the basic function selection area 1520 satisfies, for example, is the operation selection of the basic function selection area 1520. The distance from the lower end of the region 1542 is a portion larger than a predetermined value.

The input / output control unit 1222 is an area on the touch panel of the touch display 1212, and is between (i) the basic function selection area 1520 and the operation selection area 1542, and (ii) the side of the operation selection area 1542 of the basic function selection area 1520. A dead area that does not accept the user's touch input is arranged in the vicinity of the end portion of the (iii) operation selection region 1542 and in the region corresponding to at least one of the vicinity of the end portion on the side of the basic function selection region 1520 of the operation selection region 1542. The sensitivity of the touch panel may be set as such. For example, on the touch panel of the touch display 1212, the sensitivity of the touch panel is set so that the area corresponding to the gap 1544 of the screen 1500 becomes a dead area.

FIG. 16 schematically shows an example of a method of updating map data. FIG. 16 schematically shows an example of a method of updating map data when a route is guided based on the set route 1610.

According to the present embodiment, a geographical range having a predetermined shape and size with respect to the starting point 1612 is set in the target area 1622 to be the target of the map data update process. When the departure point 1612 is used as a reference, for example, a geographical range having a predetermined shape and size centered on the departure point 1612 is set in the target area 1622. In this case, the center of the target area 1622 coincides with the starting point 1612. The method of setting the target area 1622 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the target area 1622 may be set so that a specific position other than the center of the target area 1622 coincides with the starting point 1612. The same applies when a point other than the starting point 1612 is used as a reference.

One or more basic parcels including the target area 1622 are determined as target parcels 1624 to be subject to map data update processing. Of the one or more target parcels 1624, (i) the basic parcel for which the latest map data has already been acquired and (ii) at least one of the basic parcels belonging to a specific parcel level are excluded from the target parcel 1624. May be done. Further, the basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level may be determined as the target parcel 1624 to be the target of the map data update process.

The determination process of the target parcel 1624 is executed within a predetermined period after the set route 1610 is determined, for example. The determination process of the target parcel 1624 may be executed when the set route 1610 is determined. In the determination process of the target parcel 1624, the order of transmission from the map distribution server 120 to the navigation device 182 may be determined. For example, the order in which each of the plurality of basic parcels included in the target parcel 1624 is transmitted is determined based on the parcel level to which each basic parcel belongs.

In the present embodiment, a geographical range having a predetermined shape and size with respect to the destination point 1614 is set in the target area 1632 to be the target of the map data update process. Then, one or more basic parcels including the target area 1632 are determined as the target parcel 1634 to be the target of the map data update process. Of the one or more target parcels 1634, (i) the basic parcel for which the latest map data has already been acquired and (ii) at least one of the basic parcels belonging to a specific parcel level are excluded from the target parcel 1634. May be done. Further, the basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level may be determined as the target parcel 1624 to be the target of the map data update process.

The determination process of the target parcel 1634 is executed within a predetermined period after the set route 1610 is determined, for example. The determination process of the target parcel 1634 may be executed when the set route 1610 is determined. In the determination process of the target parcel 1624, the order of transmission from the map distribution server 120 to the navigation device 182 may be determined. For example, the order in which each of the plurality of basic parcels included in the target parcel 1624 is transmitted is determined based on the parcel level to which each basic parcel belongs.

The shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1632 may be the same as the shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622. The shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1632 may differ from the shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622.

In the present embodiment, a geographical range having a predetermined shape and size with respect to each of the plurality of points 1640 located on the set route 1610 is set in the target area 1642 to be the target of the map data update process. Set. Then, one or more basic parcels including the target area 1642 are determined as the target parcels 1644 to be the target of the map data update process. Of the one or more target parcels 1644, (i) the basic parcel for which the latest map data has already been acquired and (ii) at least one of the basic parcels belonging to a specific parcel level are excluded from the target parcel 1644. May be done. Further, the basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level may be determined as the target parcel 1624 to be the target of the map data update process.

The determination process of the target parcel 1644 is executed within a predetermined period after the set route 1610 is determined, for example. The determination process of the target parcel 1644 may be executed when the set route 1610 is determined. In the determination process of the target parcel 1624, the order of transmission from the map distribution server 120 to the navigation device 182 may be determined. For example, the order in which each of the plurality of basic parcels included in the target parcel 1624 is transmitted is determined based on the parcel level to which each basic parcel belongs.

The shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1642 may be the same as the shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622. The shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1642 may differ from the shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622.

The shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1642 is such that the area of the geographical range used to set the target area 1642 is smaller than the area of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622. May be set as. As a result, even if the route is changed, the amount of wasted data can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, a geographical range having a predetermined shape and size based on the own vehicle position 1650 is set in the target area 1652 to be the target of the map data update process. Then, one or more basic parcels including the target area 1652 are determined as the target parcel 1654 to be the target of the map data update process. Of the one or more target parcels 1654, (i) the basic parcel for which the latest map data has already been acquired and (ii) at least one of the basic parcels belonging to a specific parcel level are excluded from the target parcel 1654. May be done. Further, the basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level may be determined as the target parcel 1624 to be the target of the map data update process.

The determination process of the target parcel 1654 is executed within a predetermined period after the set route 1610 is determined, for example. The determination process of the target parcel 1654 may be executed when the set route 1610 is determined. In the determination process of the target parcel 1624, the order of transmission from the map distribution server 120 to the navigation device 182 may be determined. For example, the order in which each of the plurality of basic parcels included in the target parcel 1624 is transmitted is determined based on the parcel level to which each basic parcel belongs.

The shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652 may be the same as the shape and size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652. The shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652 may differ from the shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652.

The shape or size of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652 is such that the area of the geographical range used to set the target area 1652 is larger than the area of the geographical range used to set the target area 1622. May be set as. As a result, the map data in a wider range around the vehicle position 1650 can be updated with the latest map data. Further, as the vehicle 180 travels, the map data stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316 of the navigation device 182 is updated with the latest map data.

For example, the target parcel 1664 indicates a basic parcel that was the target of the map data update process at a time before the target parcel 1654. As described above, according to the present embodiment, among the data constituting the latest distribution data set stored in the map distribution server 120, the regional data determined according to the situation of the navigation device 182 is transmitted each time. Will be done. As a result, the amount of data communication can be suppressed while maintaining the user experience.

In the present embodiment, for example, in the determination process of the target parcel 1654, (i) first, the geographical range having a predetermined shape and size based on the own vehicle position 1650 is the target of the map data update process. (Ii) Next, when all or part of one or more basic parcels including the target area 1652 is determined as the target parcel 1654 to be the target of the map data update process. As an example, the details of the method for determining the target parcel 1654 have been described. However, the method of determining the target parcel 1654 is not limited to this embodiment.

In other embodiments, (i) one or more basic parcels including the vehicle position 1650 (sometimes referred to as the vehicle position parcel) and (ii) a plurality of basic parcels adjacent to the basic parcel (adjacent). (Sometimes referred to as a parcel)) is selected as the target parcel 1654 that is the target of the map data update process. For example, a parcel-level basic parcel corresponding to the scale of the map image 1510 currently displayed on the touch display 1212, a single basic parcel including the vehicle position 1650, and eight adjacent vehicle position parcels. Is selected as a candidate for the target parcel 1654.

All of the nine basic parcels selected as candidates for the target parcel 1654 may be determined as the target parcel 1654, or some of the above nine basic parcels may be determined as the target parcel 1654. For example, of the above nine basic parcels, (i) the basic parcel for which the latest map data has already been acquired, and (ii) the basic parcel excluding at least one of the basic parcels belonging to a specific parcel level are , Determined as the target parcel 1654. Further, among the above nine basic parcels, the basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level may be determined as the target parcel 1654.

In the above embodiment, the own vehicle position parcel and eight basic parcels adjacent to the own vehicle position parcel (sometimes referred to as first-level adjacent parcels) are candidates for the target parcel 1654. Was selected as. However, the method of selecting the basic parcel adjacent to the vehicle position parcel as a candidate for the target parcel 1654 is not limited to the above embodiment.

In another embodiment, 16 basic parcels adjacent to the 1st level adjacent parcel (sometimes referred to as the 2nd level adjacent parcel) are targeted as basic parcels adjacent to the vehicle position parcel. Selected as a candidate for parcel 1654. Twenty-four basic parcels adjacent to the second level adjacent parcel (sometimes referred to as the third level adjacent parcel) are selected as candidates for the target parcel 1654 as the basic parcel adjacent to the vehicle position parcel. May be done. Similarly, a plurality of basic parcels adjacent to the n-1th level adjacent parcel (that is, the nth level adjacent parcel) are candidates for the target parcel 1654 as the basic parcel adjacent to the vehicle position parcel. May be selected as. n may be an integer of 2 or more. The upper limit of n may be any predetermined positive integer.

The above items are not limited to the method for determining the target parcel 1654. For example, at least one of the target parcel 1624, the target parcel 1634, the target parcel 1644 and the target parcel 1664 described in connection with FIG. 16 is similar to the method of determining the target parcel 1654 described in connection with the above embodiment. It is determined by the procedure of.

An example of a method of switching map data for screen drawing will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. As described above, the drawing control unit 1246 has (i) a first drawing mode for drawing the map image 1510 of the screen 1500 based on the map data stored in the pre-in data storage unit 1314, and (ii) the distribution data storage unit. It has a second drawing mode for drawing the map image 1510 of the screen 1500 based on the map data stored in 1316.

In FIGS. 17 and 18, the basic parcel 1712 and the basic parcel 1714 indicate a basic parcel in which the latest map data is stored in the available distribution data 1420 of the distribution data storage unit 1316. On the other hand, the basic parcel 1716 indicates a basic parcel in which the latest map data is not stored in the available distribution data 1420 of the distribution data storage unit 1316. For the purpose of simplifying the explanation, in the present embodiment, a method of switching map data for screen drawing is taken as an example when the parcel levels of the basic parcel 1712, the basic parcel 1714, and the basic parcel 1716 are the same. An example will be described.

In FIGS. 17 and 18, the determination area 1722 is used for determining whether the drawing control unit 1246 draws the map image 1510 in either the first drawing mode or the second drawing mode. The shape and size of the determination area 1722 are set so that the screen display area 1724 is included inside the determination area 1722. The shape of the determination region 1722 may be determined based on the traveling direction of the vehicle 180. The screen display area 1724 indicates a geographical range corresponding to the map displayed on the screen 1500.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the determination area 1722 is arranged inside the basic parcel 1712 and the basic parcel 1714, the drawing control unit 1246 draws the map image 1510 in the second drawing mode. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 18, when at least a part of the determination area 1722 is arranged inside the basic parcel 1716, the drawing control unit 1246 draws the map image 1510 in the first drawing mode.

For example, due to the influence of the communication environment, the latest map data acquisition process corresponding to the basic parcels belonging to some parcel levels among the basic parcels including a specific position or geographical range has not been completed. As the vehicle 180 continues to move, a portion of the determination area 1722 may be located inside the base parcel 1716. Further, even when the input / output control unit 1222 receives an instruction for scrolling the map displayed on the touch display 1212, a part of the determination area 1722 may be arranged inside the basic parcel 1716.

[Outline of the process of acquiring data from the map distribution server 120]
A process in which the map data management unit 1234 acquires data from the map distribution server 120 (sometimes referred to as a data acquisition process) using FIGS. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. The details of one example (there is) will be explained. Examples of the data acquired by the map data management unit 1234 from the map distribution server 120 include (i) map data and (ii) at least one of various data related to the map data. The data acquisition process is performed, for example, in the map data update process described above.

FIG. 19 schematically shows an example of the data acquisition process of the map data management unit 1234. FIG. 20 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the map data management unit 1234. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 23, and FIG. 24 schematically show an example of a method for determining a basic parcel to be acquired. FIG. 24 schematically shows an example of the procedure of the data acquisition process. FIG. 25 schematically shows another example of a method of determining a basic parcel to be subjected to data acquisition processing.

As described above, the navigation device 182 uses various data distributed from the map distribution server 120 to display the map image 1510, display the set route 1610, and display the road traffic information. .. Therefore, if the data acquisition process by the map data management unit 1234 is delayed, the drawing process of the screen 1500 by the drawing control unit 1246 may be affected. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, at least one of the range of the basic parcel that is the target of the data acquisition process and the acquisition order of various data related to the basic parcel that is the target of the data acquisition process is adjusted.

FIG. 19 schematically shows an example of the data acquisition process of the map data management unit 1234. In the present embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 adjusts the parcel level to be the target of the data acquisition process according to the situation of the navigation device 182 and the positional relationship between the navigation device 182 and the basic parcel.

As described in connection with FIG. 16, when the road guidance unit 1244 is operating in the route guidance mode, the map data management unit 1234 uses the target parcel 1624, the target parcel 1634, the target parcel 1644, and the target parcel 1654. Acquire various data related to. As shown in FIG. 19, the map data management unit 1234 acquires data on the basic parcels having parcel levels from 0 to 5 among the target parcel 1624, the target parcel 1634, the target parcel 1644, and the target parcel 1654.

Similarly, when the road guidance unit 1244 is operating in the free driving mode, the map data management unit 1234 is a basic parcel corresponding to the area around the designated place (for example, the target parcel 1624 and the target parcel 1634). Of these, data on basic parcels with parcel levels from 0 to 5 are acquired. Further, the map data management unit 1234 acquires data on basic parcels having a parcel level of 0 to 5 among the basic parcels (for example, the target parcel 1654) corresponding to the area around the position of the own vehicle. The map data management unit 1234 acquires data related to the basic parcel whose parcel level is 0 among the basic parcels (for example, the target parcel 1664) for which the map data management unit 1234 has acquired data during a specific period in the past. You may.

As described in connection with FIG. 15, the passenger 18 may touch the scale change button 1580 on the touch display 1212 to request the display of the city map. In this case, the map data management unit 1234 acquires data on the basic parcel having a parcel level of -1 among the basic parcels (for example, the target parcel 1654) corresponding to the area around the position of the own vehicle.

Further, as described in connection with FIGS. 12 and 15, the passenger 18 is required to touch the map image 1510 displayed on the touch display 1212 to scroll the map displayed on the touch display 1212. May be done. For example, the passenger 18 scrolls the map when registering a specific point as a designated place, checking the map, or checking the set route 1610. Therefore, when scrolling of the map is requested, the designated place already registered may be changed, or the set route 1610 may be changed and tiled. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when scrolling of the map is requested, the map data management unit 1234 interrupts the data acquisition process.

[Overview of Map Data Management Department 1234]
Next, an example of the map data management unit 1234 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the details of the map data management unit 1234 will be described by taking as an example the case where the map data management unit 1234 acquires the data related to the basic parcel described in connection with FIG. In another embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 may acquire data relating to a basic parcel other than the basic parcel described in connection with FIG.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the present embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 includes a target range specifying unit 2020, a target parcel determination unit 2040, an acquisition order determination unit 2050, a data acquisition unit 2060, and a setting information storage unit. It is equipped with 2070. In the present embodiment, the target range specifying unit 2020 includes a designated area peripheral parcel specifying unit 2022, a route peripheral parcel specifying unit 2024, and a vehicle peripheral parcel specifying unit 2026.

In the present embodiment, the target range specifying unit 2020 specifies the geographical range that is the target of the data acquisition process. As described above, in the present embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 acquires the data relating to the basic parcel described in relation to FIG. More specifically, the map data management unit 1234 has a basic parcel located around the vehicle position, a basic parcel located around the set route, a basic parcel located around the past travel route, and a designated location. Get data about at least one of the basic parcels located around.

In the present embodiment, the designated area peripheral parcel specifying unit 2022 specifies the area corresponding to the basic parcel located around the designated area as the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The parcel identification unit 2022 around the designated place may output the parcel ID of the basic parcel located around the designated place to the target parcel determination unit 2040 as information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process.

For example, the parcel specifying unit 2022 around the designated place first acquires information indicating the position of the designated place input by the passenger 18 to the touch display 1212 from the input / output control unit 1222. Thereby, the parcel specifying unit 2022 around the designated place can specify the position of the designated place. As described above, examples of the designated place include a destination, a departure place, a waypoint, and a POI.

Next, the parcel specifying unit 2022 around the designated place specifies the area corresponding to the basic parcel including the position of the designated place as the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The parcel specifying unit 2022 around the designated place is a basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level, and specifies an area corresponding to the basic parcel including the position of the designated place as a geographical range to be subject to data acquisition processing. You may. The parcel identification unit 2022 around the designated place may output the parcel ID of the above basic parcel to the target parcel determination unit 2040 as information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process.

In the present embodiment, the route peripheral parcel specifying unit 2024 specifies the area corresponding to the basic parcel located around the route of the vehicle 180 as the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The route peripheral parcel identification unit 2024 may output the parcel ID of the parcel located around the route of the vehicle 180 to the target parcel determination unit 2040 as information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The route of the vehicle 180 may be a set route, or may be an area corresponding to a basic parcel (that is, a past route) to which map data has been distributed during a specific period in the past.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle peripheral parcel specifying unit 2026 specifies the area corresponding to the basic parcel located around the vehicle 180 as the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit 2026 may output the parcel ID of the basic parcel located around the vehicle 180 to the target parcel determination unit 2040 as information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process.

For example, the vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit 2026 first acquires information indicating the estimated position of the vehicle 180 from the position estimation unit 1242. The vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit 2026 outputs an area corresponding to the basic parcel whose positional relationship with the estimated position satisfies the predetermined condition as a geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit 2026 may output the parcel ID of the basic parcel located around the vehicle 180 to the target parcel determination unit 2040 as information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process. The information indicating the above-mentioned predetermined conditions is stored in, for example, the setting information storage unit 2070.

In one embodiment, the basic parcel that satisfies the predetermined conditions is a basic parcel centered on the estimated position of the vehicle 180 and including at least a part of a predetermined shape and size region. It's okay. Examples of such a basic parcel include one or more basic parcels constituting the target parcel 1654.

In other embodiments, the basic parcel that satisfies the predetermined conditions may include a vehicle position parcel including the estimated position of the vehicle 180 and an adjacent parcel adjacent to the vehicle position parcel. .. An example of such a basic parcel will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the target parcel determination unit 2040 acquires information indicating the geographical range to be the target of the data acquisition process from each unit of the target range specifying unit 2020. The information indicating the geographical range to be processed for data acquisition may be (i) a basic parcel belonging to a specific parcel level, and may be a parcel ID of the basic parcel included in the geographical range (ii). ) It may be the parcel ID of all the basic parcels included in the geographical range.

The target parcel determination unit 2040 determines the basic parcel that requests the map distribution server 120 to transmit data from one or more basic parcels included in the geographical range that is the target of the data acquisition process. For example, the target parcel determination unit 2040 acquires data related to the basic parcel (for example, the latest generation map data) among one or more basic parcels included in the geographical range specified by the target range identification unit 2020. The basic parcel that has not been set is determined as the basic parcel that requests the map distribution server 120 to transmit data. As a result, among one or more basic parcels included in the geographical range specified by the target range specifying unit 2020, the area corresponding to the basic parcel for which the data related to the basic parcel has not been acquired becomes the target of the data acquisition process. Identified as a geographical area.

In the present embodiment, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 determines the order in which the data acquisition unit 2060 acquires data from the map distribution server 120. The acquisition order determination unit 2050 outputs information indicating the acquisition order of the above data to the data acquisition unit 2060.

In one embodiment, when the target parcel determination unit 2040 decides to acquire data relating to one or more basic parcels, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 assigns a priority to each of the one or more basic parcels. In another embodiment, when the map distribution server 120 stores (i) map data and (ii) various data related to the map data for each basic parcel, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 determines the type of data. Give priority to each. The priority may be a continuous numerical value or a gradual division.

More specifically, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 first acquires the parcel IDs of one or more basic parcels determined to request the map distribution server 120 to transmit data from the target parcel determination unit 2040. Next, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 determines the order in which data related to the above one or more basic parcels is acquired based on a predetermined setting or rule.

Predetermined settings or rules include (i) a particular type of data in which data about a basic parcel belonging to a particular parcel level is acquired before data about a basic parcel belonging to another parcel level. Data is acquired prior to other types of data, (iii) data on a base parcel containing a particular location or on a base parcel containing at least a portion of a particular geographic range is data on other base parcels. Examples of (iv) combinations of these, which are acquired before. Information indicating a predetermined setting or rule is stored in, for example, the setting information storage unit 2070.

In one embodiment, in the acquisition order determination unit 2050, the map data belonging to the parcel level having the largest scale among the two or more parcel levels including the map data expressed as vector data is the map data belonging to the other parcel level. Based on the rule that the data is acquired before, the order in which the data related to one or more basic parcels to be the target of the data acquisition process is acquired is determined. For example, when a plurality of map data relating to the basic parcel belonging to the parcel level from level 0 to level 5 are included in the data acquisition process, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 determines the road data relating to the basic parcel belonging to the parcel level of level 0. The data acquisition order is determined so that 652 is acquired before other data. The acquisition order of the basic parcels belonging to the parcel levels from level 1 to level 5 is not particularly limited.

In another embodiment, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 is subject to data acquisition processing based on the rule that a specific type of data belonging to a specific parcel level is acquired before other data1. Determine the order in which the data related to the above basic parcels are acquired. For example, when a plurality of map data relating to the basic parcels belonging to the parcel levels from level 0 to level 5 are included in the data acquisition process, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 first relates to the basic parcels belonging to the parcel level of level 0. The road data 652 is acquired, then the VICS conversion table 658 for the basic parcel belonging to the level 0 parcel level is acquired, and then the data acquisition order is determined so that the data belonging to the other parcel level is acquired. do. The acquisition order of the basic parcels belonging to the parcel levels from level 1 to level 5 is not particularly limited.

When the acquisition order determination unit 2050 acquires data related to one or more basic parcels belonging to the above other parcel levels, after the road data 652 of all the basic parcels is acquired, the VICS conversion table of each basic parcel is obtained. The data acquisition order may be determined so that 658 is acquired. In the case where data relating to one or more basic parcels belonging to the other parcel levels described above is acquired, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 obtains the road data 652 of the specific basic parcel, and then VICS of the specific basic parcel. The data acquisition order may be determined so that the conversion table 658 is acquired, then the road data 652 of the other basic parcel is acquired, and then the VICS conversion table 658 of the other basic parcel is acquired. ..

In the present embodiment, the data acquisition unit 2060 acquires at least one of (i) map data and (ii) various data related to the map data from the map distribution server 120 via the communication network 10. In the present embodiment, the data acquisition unit 2060 adjusts the data acquisition range and the acquisition order according to, for example, the situation of the navigation device 182 described in connection with FIG. The data acquisition unit 2060 stores various data acquired from the map distribution server 120 in the distribution data storage unit 1316.

As described in connection with FIG. 3, the map distribution server 120 stores the distribution data set. As described in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5, the distribution dataset includes a plurality of map data (eg, vector map data 600 or raster map data 900). Each of the plurality of map data includes basic data 642 and VICS conversion table 658.

As described in connection with FIG. 5, each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of the plurality of parcel levels. Also, the scale is different for each parcel level. For example, each parcel level is determined by scale. Each of the plurality of map data is the map data of the area corresponding to one of one or more basic parcels defined for each parcel level.

In the present embodiment, the map data belonging to two or more parcels among the plurality of parcel levels is vector data. In the embodiments described in connection with FIG. 5, the map data belonging to the six parcel levels from level 0 to level 5 (eg, basic data 642 or road data 652) is vector data. Similarly, the map data belonging to at least one hierarchy among the plurality of parcel levels is raster data. In the embodiments described in connection with FIG. 5, the map data belonging to parcel level-1 (eg, city map data 952) is raster data.

More specifically, the data acquisition unit 2060 first acquires the parcel ID of the basic parcel that is the target of the data acquisition process and the information regarding the data acquisition order from the acquisition order determination unit 2050. The information regarding the data acquisition order may be information indicating the order in which the data of each basic parcel is acquired, or information indicating the priority order of each basic parcel.

As described above, in the acquisition order determination unit 2050, for example, the map data belonging to the parcel level having the largest scale among the two or more parcel levels including the map data expressed as vector data belongs to the other parcel level. Based on the rule that the data is acquired before the map data, the order of acquiring the data related to one or more basic parcels to be the target of the data acquisition process is determined. In this case, the data acquisition unit 2060 makes, for example, the first distribution request requesting the distribution of the basic data 642 or the road data 652 of the basic parcel belonging to the parcel level having the largest scale, and the basic parcel belonging to another parcel level. The data is transmitted to the map distribution server 120 prior to the second distribution request requesting the distribution of the basic data 642 or the road data 652. Thereby, for example, the basic data 642 or the road data 652 of the basic parcel belonging to the level 0 parcel level can be acquired before the basic data 642 or the road data 652 of the basic parcel belonging to the other parcel level.

After transmitting the first distribution request and before transmitting the second distribution request, the data acquisition unit 2060 requests the distribution of the VICS conversion table 658 of the basic parcel belonging to the parcel level having the largest scale. The request may be sent to the map distribution server 120. As a result, for example, after the basic data 642 or the road data 652 of the basic parcel belonging to the level 0 parcel level is acquired, the VICS conversion table 658 of the basic parcel belonging to the level 0 parcel level is acquired, and then another Basic data 642 or road data 652 belonging to the parcel level can be acquired.

In the present embodiment, the data acquisition unit 2060 may interrupt the data acquisition process or delay the execution of the data acquisition process depending on the situation of the navigation device 182. For example, when the input / output control unit 1222 receives an instruction for scrolling the map displayed on the touch display 1212, the data acquisition unit 2060 at least causes the drawing control unit 1246 to move the map on the screen of the touch display 1212. The data acquisition process may be interrupted or the execution of the data acquisition process may be delayed while the process for the purpose is being executed. As a result, consumption of communication resources can be suppressed. In addition, the amount of communication data can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the setting information storage unit 2070 stores various settings related to the data acquisition process. For example, the setting information storage unit 2070 stores information indicating conditions for specifying a geographical range that is the target of data acquisition processing. The setting information storage unit 2070 may store information indicating settings or rules regarding the data acquisition order.

The target range specifying unit 2020 may be an example of an acquisition range specifying unit, a position information acquisition unit, or an input point specifying unit. The parcel specifying unit 2022 around the designated place may be an example of the acquisition range specifying unit or the input point specifying unit. It may be an example of the route peripheral parcel specifying unit 2024 and the acquisition range specifying unit. It may be an example of a vehicle peripheral parcel specifying unit 2026 acquisition range specifying unit or a position information acquiring unit. The data acquisition unit 2060 may be an example of the map information acquisition unit.

The data acquisition process may be an example of the acquisition process by the map information acquisition unit. The information indicating the estimated position of the vehicle 180 or the navigation device 182 may be an example of the position information. The position of the vehicle 180 may be an example of the position of the navigation device 182 or the passenger 18. The estimated position of the vehicle 180 may be an example of the estimated position of the navigation device 182 or the occupant 18.

[Example of data acquisition process by map data management unit 1234]
Using FIGS. 21, 22, 23, and 24, the map data management unit 1234 takes as an example the case where the map data management unit 1234 acquires data related to the target area 1652 set around the own vehicle position 1650, as an example. The details of the data acquisition process in the above will be described. In the present embodiment, the map data management unit 1234 uses as an example the case where the data relating to the basic parcel including a part of the determination area 1722 is acquired before the data relating to the basic parcel including a part of the target area 1652. The details of the data acquisition process will be explained.

FIG. 21 shows the positional relationship between the target parcel 1654 and the pre-acquired parcel 2124. In the present embodiment, the target area 1652 is larger than the determination area 1722, and the determination area 1722 is arranged inside the target area 1652. As described above, the target parcel 1654 is composed of one or more basic parcels including at least a portion of the target area 1652. In the present embodiment, the pre-acquisition parcel 2124 is composed of one or more basic parcels including at least a part of the determination area 1722. As described above, the data relating to the basic parcel included in the pre-acquired parcel 2124 is acquired before the data relating to the other basic parcels included in the target parcel 1654.

FIG. 22 shows the hierarchical structure of the basic parcel included in the pre-acquisition parcel 2124. As described in connection with FIG. 19, in the present embodiment, the basic parcel belonging to any of the parcel levels from level 0 to level 5 is the target of the data acquisition process. Further, in FIG. 22, the basic parcel 2220 constituting the pre-acquisition parcel 2124 is shaded. As shown in FIG. 22, the basic parcel 2220 is a basic parcel corresponding to the determination region 1722 of the actual ground surface 2200 at each parcel level. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 22, the data acquisition process of the basic parcel 2240 not shaded is started after the data acquisition process of the basic parcel 2220 constituting the pre-acquisition parcel 2124 is completed.

FIG. 23 shows changes in the pre-acquired parcel 2124 with the movement of the vehicle 180. For the purpose of simplifying the explanation, in FIG. 23, the fluctuation of the basic parcel constituting the pre-acquired parcel 2124 with the movement of the vehicle 180 will be described by taking the basic parcel belonging to the parcel level of level 0 as an example. ..

As shown in FIG. 23, at time t2, the vehicle 180 is located at the own vehicle position 2312. At this time, the basic parcel 2322, the basic parcel 2324, and the basic parcel 2326 are included in the pre-acquisition parcel 2124. After that, the vehicle 180 moves, and at time t4, the vehicle 180 is located at the own vehicle position 2314. At this time, the basic parcel 2326, the basic parcel 2342, and the basic parcel 2344 are included in the pre-acquisition parcel 2124. On the other hand, the basic parcel 2322 and the basic parcel 2324 and the basic parcel 2346 adjacent to the basic parcel 2344 are not included in the advance acquisition parcel 2124.

In this case, the data regarding the basic parcel 2326 has already been acquired at time t2. Therefore, it may be excluded from the pre-acquisition parcel 2124.

FIG. 24 shows an example of data acquisition processing when the map data management unit 1234 acquires data related to the target area 1652. According to the present embodiment, first, in S2410, the geographical range to be the target of the acquisition processing of the latest generation map data is determined. For example, the vehicle peripheral parcel specifying unit 2026 specifies the target area 1652 located in the vicinity of the vehicle 180 as a geographical range to be the target of the above data acquisition processing. Next, the vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit 2026 targets the data acquisition process for the basic parcels belonging to any of the parcel levels from level 0 to level 5 among the plurality of basic parcels including at least a part of the target area 1652. Select as a candidate for the basic parcel.

Next, in S2420, the target parcel determination unit 2040 executes a map version check. For example, the target parcel determination unit 2040 requests the map distribution server 120 to transmit information indicating the generation of the latest distribution data set currently stored in the map distribution server 120. When the target parcel determination unit 2040 receives the information indicating the latest distribution data set generation from the map distribution server 120, the target parcel determination unit 2040 receives the latest distribution data set generation stored in the map distribution server 120 and the distribution data storage. Compare with the generation of the distribution data set stored in unit 1316.

Next, in S2430, the target parcel determination unit 2040 determines the basic parcel to be the target of the data acquisition process from one or more basic parcels selected as candidates for the data acquisition process in S2410. In S2420, when the generation of the latest distribution data set stored in the map distribution server 120 and the generation of the distribution data set stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316 match, the target parcel determination unit 2040 determines S2410. Of the one or more basic parcels selected as candidates for the data acquisition process in the above, the basic parcel for which the latest generation map data has not been acquired is determined as the basic parcel to be the target of the data acquisition process. On the other hand, in S2420, when the generation of the latest distribution data set stored in the map distribution server 120 and the generation of the distribution data set stored in the distribution data storage unit 1316 do not match, the target parcel determination unit 2040 , All the basic parcels selected as candidates for the data acquisition process in S2410 are determined as the basic parcels to be the target of the data acquisition process.

Next, in S2440, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 determines the acquisition order of one or more basic parcels determined as the target of the data acquisition process in S2430. According to the present embodiment, the acquisition order determination unit 2050 obtains data so that one or more basic parcels included in the pre-acquisition parcel 2124 are acquired before the other basic parcels included in the target parcel 1654. Determine the acquisition order.

Next, in S2450, the data acquisition unit 2060 requests the map distribution server 120 to transmit data related to one or more basic parcels included in the pre-acquisition parcel 2124. After that, the data acquisition unit 2060 requests the map distribution server 120 to transmit data related to the remaining basic parcels included in the target parcel 1654.

According to this embodiment, the map of the area corresponding to the screen display area 1724 is preferentially acquired. As a result, when the drawing control unit 1246 draws the map image 1510, there is a high possibility that the acquisition process of the latest generation map data has been completed. As a result, the frequency of switching between the pre-installed map data and the distributed map data at the time of drawing the map image 1510 can be reduced.

FIG. 25 schematically shows another example of a method of determining a basic parcel to be acquired. According to the embodiment described in relation to FIG. 21, the case where the data of the basic parcel corresponding to the determination area 1722 is acquired before the data of the other basic parcels included in the target parcel 1654 is taken as an example. , The details of the map data management unit 1234 were explained. In the present embodiment, the data of the own vehicle position parcel 2522 and the adjacent parcel 2524 are acquired before the data of the other basic parcels included in the target parcel 1654, which has been described in relation to FIG. Different from the embodiment. With respect to features other than the above differences, this embodiment may have a configuration similar to that of the embodiments described in connection with FIG.

FIG. 26 shows an example of a computer 3000 in which a plurality of aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. A part of the vehicle 180 may be realized by the computer 3000. A part of the navigation device 182 may be realized by the computer 3000. For example, the controller of the navigation device 182 is realized by the computer 3000. The controller of the navigation device 182 is, for example, at least one of an input / output control unit 1222, a communication control unit 1224, a storage unit 1232, a map data management unit 1234, a position estimation unit 1242, a road guidance unit 1244, and a drawing control unit 1246. To be equipped.

The program installed on the computer 3000 causes the computer 3000 to function as an operation associated with the device according to an embodiment of the present invention or as one or more "parts" of the device, or the operation or the one or more "parts". A unit can be run and / or a computer 3000 can be made to perform a process according to an embodiment of the present invention or a stage of the process. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 3012 to cause the computer 3000 to perform a specific operation associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

The computer 3000 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 3012, a RAM 3014, a graphic controller 3016, and a display device 3018, which are interconnected by a host controller 3010. The computer 3000 also includes an input / output unit such as a communication interface 3022, a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM drive 3026, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 3010 via the input / output controller 3020. The computer also includes legacy I / O units such as the ROM 3030 and keyboard 3042, which are connected to the I / O controller 3020 via an I / O chip 3040.

The CPU 3012 operates according to the programs stored in the ROM 3030 and the RAM 3014, thereby controlling each unit. The graphic controller 3016 acquires the image data generated by the CPU 3012 in a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 3014 or itself so that the image data is displayed on the display device 3018.

The communication interface 3022 communicates with other electronic devices via the network. Hard disk drive 3024 stores programs and data used by CPU 3012 in computer 3000. The DVD-ROM drive 3026 reads the program or data from the DVD-ROM 3001 and provides the program or data to the hard disk drive 3024 via the RAM 3014. The IC card drive reads the program and data from the IC card and / or writes the program and data to the IC card.

The ROM 3030 stores in it a boot program or the like executed by the computer 3000 at the time of activation, and / or a program depending on the hardware of the computer 3000. The input / output chip 3040 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 3020 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, and the like.

The program is provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM 3001 or an IC card. The program is read from a computer-readable storage medium, installed on a hard disk drive 3024, RAM 3014, or ROM 3030, which is also an example of a computer-readable storage medium, and executed by the CPU 3012. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 3000 and provides a link between the program and the various types of hardware resources described above. The device or method may be configured to implement the operation or processing of information in accordance with the use of computer 3000.

For example, when communication is executed between the computer 3000 and an external device, the CPU 3012 executes a communication program loaded in the RAM 3014, and performs communication processing on the communication interface 3022 based on the processing described in the communication program. You may order. Under the control of the CPU 3012, the communication interface 3022 reads and reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in a recording medium such as a RAM 3014, a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM 3001, or an IC card. The data is transmitted to the network, or the received data received from the network is written to the reception buffer area or the like provided on the recording medium.

Further, the CPU 3012 makes the RAM 3014 read all or necessary parts of the file or the database stored in the external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 3024, the DVD-ROM drive 3026 (DVD-ROM3001), and the IC card. Various types of processing may be performed on the data on the RAM 3014. The CPU 3012 may then write back the processed data to an external recording medium.

Various types of information such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases may be stored in recording media and processed. The CPU 3012 describes various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, and information retrieval described in various parts of the present disclosure with respect to the data read from the RAM 3014. Various types of processing may be performed, including / replacement, etc., and the results are written back to RAM 3014. Further, the CPU 3012 may search for information in a file, a database, or the like in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of the first attribute associated with the attribute value of the second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 3012 is the first of the plurality of entries. The attribute value of the attribute of is searched for the entry that matches the specified condition, the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry is read, and the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition is selected. You may get the attribute value of the associated second attribute.

The program or software module described above may be stored on or near computer 3000 in a computer-readable storage medium. In addition, a recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a dedicated communication network or a server system connected to the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, whereby the above program can be transmitted via the network. Provided to computer 3000.

The block in the flowchart and block diagram of the above embodiment may represent a stage of the process in which the operation is executed or a "part" of the device having a role of executing the operation. Specific stages and "parts" are supplied with dedicated circuits, programmable circuits supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on computer-readable storage media, and / or computer-readable instructions stored on computer-readable storage media. It may be implemented by the processor. Dedicated circuits may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuits include logical products, logical sums, exclusive logical sums, negative logical products, negative logical sums, and other logical operations, such as, for example, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like. , Flip-flops, registers, and reconfigurable hardware circuits, including memory elements.

The computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions executed by the appropriate device, so that the computer-readable storage medium having the instructions stored therein is in a flow chart or block diagram. It will be equipped with a product that contains instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the specified operation. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium may include an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, a semiconductor storage medium, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include floppy (registered trademark) disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory). , Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Blu-ray® Disc, Memory Stick , Integrated circuit cards and the like may be included.

Computer-readable instructions are assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or object-oriented programming such as Smalltalk, JAVA®, C ++, etc. Contains either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including languages and traditional procedural programming languages such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. good.

Computer-readable instructions are used to generate means for a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or the processor of another programmable data processing device, or a programmable circuit, to perform an operation specified in a flowchart or block diagram. General purpose computers, special purpose computers, or other programmable data processing locally or via a wide area network (WAN) such as the local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc., to execute the computer-readable instructions. It may be provided in the processor of the device or in a programmable circuit. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers and the like.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Further, to the extent that there is no technical contradiction, the matters described for the specific embodiment can be applied to other embodiments. Further, each component may have the same characteristics as other components having the same name but different reference numerals. It is clear from the description of the claims that such modified or improved forms may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

The order of execution of operations, procedures, steps, steps, etc. in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specification, and drawings is particularly "before" and "prior to". It should be noted that it can be realized in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Even if the scope of claims, the specification, and the operation flow in the drawings are explained using "first", "next", etc. for convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. It's not a thing.

10 communication network, 18 passengers, 22 VICS signal, 24 GPS signal, 100 navigation system, 120 map distribution server, 140 route search server, 160 center, 162 VICS information transmitter, 180 vehicle, 182 navigation device, 184 communication device, 186 receiver, 188 in-vehicle sensor, 220 communication unit, 230 storage unit, 240 map data management unit, 242 request reception unit, 244 request response unit, 320 map data storage unit, 322 nth generation data set, 324th n-1 Generation data set, 330 guidance guidance data storage, 340 highway data storage, 350 parameter data storage, 360 guidance search data storage, 370 management information storage, 372 generation management information, 420 parcel data set, 440 regions System data set, 510 blocks, 512 basic parcels, 520 blocks, 522 basic parcels, 530 blocks, 532 basic parcels, 540 blocks, 542 basic parcels, 550 blocks, 552 basic parcels, 560 blocks, 562 basic parcels, 572 basic parcels, 600 vector map data, 620 header data, 640 main map data, 642 basic data, 644 extended data, 652 road data, 654 background data, 656 name data, 658 VICS conversion table, 660 route guidance data, 720 parcel level, 730 roads Link ID, 732 parcel ID, 734 parcel link ID, 740 shape information, 750 attribute information, 840 VICS link ID, 900 raster map data, 940 main map data, 952 city map data, 1020 communication unit, 1030 storage unit, 1040 route Search unit, 1042 request reception unit, 1044 request response unit, 1212 touch display, 1214 speaker, 1222 input / output control unit, 1224 communication control unit, 1232 storage unit, 1234 map data management unit, 1242 position estimation unit, 1244 road guidance unit , 1246 Drawing control unit, 1312 management information storage unit, 1314 pre-in data storage unit, 1316 distribution data rating Delivery part, 1320 map data storage unit, 1322 m generation data set, 1330 guidance guidance data storage unit, 1340 highway data storage unit, 1350 parameter data storage unit, 1360 guidance search data storage unit, 1420 distribution data, 1422 map data , 1423 Guidance guidance data, 1424 highway data, 1440 distribution data, 1442 map data, 1500 screens, 1510 map image, 1520 basic function selection area, 1540 function dependent area, 1542 operation selection area, 1544 gap, 1560 basic function selection button , 1570 operation selection button, 1572 division highlight line, 1580 scale change button, 1582 map update button, 1584 map discrimination icon, 1610 setting route, 1612 departure point, 1614 destination point, 1622 target area, 1624 target parcel, 1632 target area, 1634 Target parcel, 1640 points, 1642 Target area, 1644 Target parcel, 1650 Vehicle position, 1652 Target area, 1654 Target parcel, 1664 Target parcel, 1712 Basic parcel, 1714 Basic parcel, 1716 Basic parcel, 1722 Judgment area, 1724 screen Display area, 2020 Target range identification unit, 2022 Designated area peripheral parcel identification unit, 2024 Route peripheral parcel identification unit, 2026 Vehicle peripheral parcel identification unit, 2040 Target parcel determination unit, 2050 Acquisition order determination unit, 2060 Data acquisition unit, 2070 setting Information storage unit, 2124 Pre-acquisition parcel, 2200 Ground surface, 2220 basic parcel, 2312 own vehicle position, 2314 own vehicle position, 2322 basic parcel, 2324 basic parcel, 2326 basic parcel, 2342 basic parcel, 2344 basic parcel, 2522 own vehicle Position parcel, 2524 Adjacent parcel, 3000 computer, 3001 DVD-ROM, 3010 host controller, 3012 CPU, 3014 RAM, 3016 graphic controller, 3018 display device, 3020 input / output controller, 3022 communication interface, 3024 hard disk drive, 3026 DVD-ROM drive, 3030 ROM, 3040 input / output chip, 3042 keyboard

Claims (10)

A map information acquisition unit that acquires at least a part of the plurality of map data from a map data distribution system that stores a map data set including a plurality of map data via a wireless communication network.
An acquisition range specifying unit that specifies a geographical range to be acquired by the map information acquisition unit,
With
Each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of a plurality of layers defined by the scale, and is map data corresponding to one of one or more sections defined for each layer.
The map data belonging to two or more layers among the plurality of layers is vector data.
The map information acquisition unit
In the case of acquiring one or more map data corresponding to a section including at least a part of the geographical range specified by the acquisition range specifying unit among the one or more sections.
Among the two or more layers including the map data expressed as vector data, the first distribution request requesting the distribution of the map data belonging to the layer having the largest scale is requested, and the distribution of the map data belonging to the other layer is requested. It is transmitted to the map data distribution system before the second distribution request.
Information processing device. The map data set identifies each of the plurality of road links in a service that distributes identification information used to identify each of the plurality of road links in the map data set and additional information superimposed and displayed on the map. Further includes correspondence information indicating the correspondence with the identification information used for the purpose.
After transmitting the first distribution request and before transmitting the second distribution request, the map information acquisition unit has at least the geographical range specified by the acquisition range specifying unit among the one or more sections. Acquire the correspondence information regarding the road link included in the section including at least a part.
The information processing device according to claim 1. The identification information used in the service for delivering the additional information is a VICS link ID.
The information processing device according to claim 2. It also has a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the user's location.
The acquisition range specifying unit determines, among the sections whose positional relationship with the position indicated by the position information satisfies a predetermined condition, the area corresponding to the section for which the map data corresponding to the section has not been acquired. Specified as the geographical range to be the target of the acquisition process,
The sections that satisfy the predetermined conditions are (i) a section centered on the position indicated by the position information and including at least a part of a region having a predetermined shape and size, and (ii) the above. Includes at least one of the compartments containing the location indicated by the location information and the compartments adjacent to the compartment.
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It also has an input point identification unit that identifies the position of the point entered by the user.
The acquisition range specifying unit is a section belonging to a specific hierarchy, and the area corresponding to the section including the position specified by the input point specifying section is specified as the geographical range to be the target of the acquisition process. ,
The point includes at least one of the user's destination, the user's waypoint, and the point the user wants to search for or register.
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A display control unit that displays the screen on the display device,
An operation input unit that accepts user operations
With more
The map information acquisition unit
When the operation input unit accepts an operation for moving the map on the screen of the display device,
At least, while the display control unit is executing the process for moving the map on the screen of the display device, the acquisition process is interrupted or the acquisition process is not executed.
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The map data belonging to at least one of the plurality of layers is raster data.
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
A route search unit that acquires at least information indicating the user's destination and searches for a route to the destination.
A route guidance device. A program for describing a computer as an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A map information acquisition stage in which at least a part of the plurality of map data is acquired from a map data distribution system that stores a map data set including a plurality of map data via a wireless communication network.
The acquisition range specifying stage for specifying the geographical range to be acquired in the map information acquisition stage, and the acquisition range specifying stage.
Have,
Each of the plurality of map data belongs to one of a plurality of layers defined by the scale, and is map data corresponding to one of one or more sections defined for each layer.
The map data belonging to two or more layers among the plurality of layers is vector data.
The map information acquisition stage is
In the case of acquiring one or more map data corresponding to a section including at least a part of the geographical range specified in the acquisition range specifying stage among the one or more sections.
Among the two or more layers including the map data expressed as vector data, the first distribution request requesting the distribution of the map data belonging to the layer having the largest scale is requested, and the distribution of the map data belonging to the other layer is requested. Including the step of transmitting to the map data distribution system prior to the second distribution request.
Information processing method.

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