JP3213409B2 - Information retrieval and display device for automobile navigation system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for searching and displaying local information, which is one function of a navigation system for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A car navigation system has a map data recording medium on which normal map information and detailed map information of a specific point are recorded, and displays detailed map information corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on a display unit (CRT). Are already displayed in the prior art.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 115190.

[0003] In the above navigation system, there is a conventional navigation system such as a hospital, a cafeteria, a hotel or a gas station, which can search and display property information existing in the area for each area.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the above-mentioned conventional apparatus processes the information from various sensors for detecting the position of the vehicle, the external information, and the like, and determines the position of the vehicle. Decision unit 1 and data unit 2 for map data, static information, etc.
, An information search device 3, an operation switch 4, an interface / image processing unit 5, and a display unit (CRT) 6, and the information search device 3 is configured as shown in FIG. The search condition selection unit 7, the second search condition selection unit 8, and the third
The search condition selection unit 9, the fourth search condition selection unit 10, and the fifth
A search condition selecting unit 11, a search condition setting unit 12 for setting a search condition according to a selection signal of each of the search condition selecting units,
A search unit 13 for receiving necessary information from the data unit 2 such as map data and static information via the interface / image processing unit 5 and searching for information based on the search conditions set by the search condition setting unit 12; And a display instruction unit 14 for issuing a display command of the search result of the search unit 13.

The first search condition selection section 7 displays and selects property items (hotels, hospitals, cafeterias, parking lots, etc.), and the second search condition selection section 8 performs local (Kanto, Kansai, Tokai). , Chubu, etc.), the third search condition selection unit 9 displays and selects prefectures, and the fourth search condition selection unit 10 displays and selects municipalities. The fifth search condition selection unit 11 selects a property name.

[0006]

If it is desired to obtain information on a property near the area where the vehicle is currently traveling in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus,
An information search operation is performed by the operation switch 4, and a property information list is displayed and a specific property item, for example, a dining room is selected from the information list by operating the first search condition selection unit 7. Next, by sequentially operating the second, third, and fourth search condition selection units 8, 9, and 10, the names of a plurality of cafeterias near the area where the vehicle is currently traveling are displayed. By selecting a specific cafeteria name by operation, detailed information of the specific cafeteria is displayed, so the selection operation of search conditions is complicated, and not only the above-mentioned property information but also the position of the own vehicle If you also want to see the property information of an adjacent area relatively close to the area, you must select the area again (select the area using the second, third, and fourth search condition selection units), which is not convenient. have.

[0007] Further, when a plurality of property names are displayed, conventionally, for example, the properties are listed only in the order of the Japanese syllabary or in the alphabetical order of the initials. It is also difficult to do this.

In some past display examples, the location of a property is displayed as a point on a map. In this case, the mark point is small and inconspicuous or other information (intersection name, road name, town name, etc.). There is a problem that it is difficult for the driver to grasp the position and the contents of the property because the contents are unknown together with the information.

[0009] The present invention has as its main object to address the various problems of the above-described conventional apparatus.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for determining the position of a vehicle.
The self-vehicle position information determined by the
The navigation system displayed on the display
Up by the search condition setting by the selection operation of the search condition selection section
Property information based on the search conditions from the regional information in the data section
To search for and display it as character information on the display
In a device provided with a search device, whether to perform the same search condition setting by the selection operation of the search condition selection unit or to directly set the own vehicle position or an arbitrary point as the search condition in the information search device Is provided, and when the vehicle position or an arbitrary point is directly selected and set as a search condition in the search unit selection unit, the vehicle position information obtained from the vehicle position determination unit or Point information set in advance is set as a direct search condition, and the position of the vehicle or the point is set as a reference point, and the search is performed centering on the reference point.
The first and second features are that the property information list within the set fixed distance range is directly displayed on the display unit, and the vehicle position information or the point information as described above is directly searched for. In the case where is set as, a plurality of searched property lists are displayed, for example, with the cursor closest to the reference point, an underline, shading, etc. at the center, and the property in front of the reference point is displayed near. The third is that an information organizing unit that rearranges according to the distance from the reference point is provided so that properties located behind the reference point are sequentially displayed upward from the central part and sequentially from the central part downward in the order of proximity from the center. ,
This is the fourth and fifth features.

[0011]

According to the first and second features, the search time for the local information near the own vehicle position or an arbitrary point is greatly reduced, the search operation is very easy and easy, and the driver can concentrate on driving. Ru can be performed to confirm the search operation and purpose properties without reducing the. In addition,
Is set in advance with an arbitrary point as the reference point and the reference point as the center.
The property information within the specified fixed distance range is
It is possible to search and display information on adjacent parcels beyond the picture
Thus, the benefits can be significantly improved. Further, according to the third, fourth, and fifth features, it is possible to find out at a glance the vehicle closest to the own vehicle or an arbitrary point in an unknown area, which is extremely effective in an emergency or a parking lot search.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of the apparatus of the present invention, wherein 1 is a vehicle position determining section, 2 is a data section such as map data and static information, and 3 is an information search apparatus. 4 is an operation switch, 5 is an interface / image processing unit, and 6 is a display unit (CRT).

The vehicle position determination unit 1 includes an antenna 1a, a receiver / signal processing unit 1b, and a vehicle position calculation unit 1c, and is an infrastructure (VICS) implemented by a public organization.
Of absolute position information such as intersections by receiving signals from
The antenna 1a and the receiver / signal processing unit 1b perform calculation and acquisition of the absolute position by satellite navigation and calculation of the vehicle position from sensors mounted on the vehicle such as a geomagnetic sensor or a gyro and a speed sensor. Position calculation unit 1
c processes these absolute position data (e.g., map matching) to determine a more appropriate host vehicle position.

A data section 2 of map data and static information is a CD-ROM, a semiconductor disk (card), or the like, and the map data is composed of an area code defined by the JIS (X-0410) standard and an area defined by the JIS. An original area code consisting of data conforming to the integrated area mesh code is used, whereby the details can be obtained by coordinate calculation and the absolute position information specified by JIS can be obtained.

The information search device 3 is a main part of the present invention, and a first search condition selection unit 7 for displaying and selecting property items as in the conventional device, and displays and selects properties in local units. A second search condition selection unit 8, a third search condition selection unit 9 for displaying and searching for properties in prefectures, a fourth search condition selection unit 10 for displaying and selecting properties in municipalities, A conventional search (hereinafter, referred to as a conventional search) using the fifth selection condition selection unit 11 for performing selection can be performed, and information on the current position of the vehicle is received from the vehicle position determination unit 1. and making it possible to perform a direct property search set to direct the vehicle position information as the search information, the conventional search or direct property
The searched property information is displayed as character information on the display unit 6.
It is supposed to be .

That is, as shown in FIG. 1B, the information search device 3 includes the first to fifth search condition selection units 7, 8,.
In addition to 9, 10, and 11, a search unit selection unit 15 and a vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 are provided, and perform the following operations and operations.

First, when an operation of information retrieval near the own weight position is performed by the operation switch 4, the interface / image processing unit 5 sends a command signal for information retrieval to the information retrieval device 3,
In response to the signal, the search means selection unit 15 switches to the direct property search (switched on in the figure), and the first to fifth search condition selection units use the second or second search condition selection unit for selecting local conditions.
The search conditions of the third and fourth search condition selection units 8, 9, and 10 are canceled, and the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 1 is replaced with the search condition.
6 obtains own vehicle position information from the own vehicle position determining unit 1 and directly sets this as a search condition in the search condition setting unit 12. Then, when the property item is selected in the first search condition selection unit 7, the search unit 13 lists necessary data from the data unit 2 with the relevant property within the set distance R of the current position of the vehicle as a search condition. The plurality of information groups are stored in the search unit 13. Based on the vehicle position information from the vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 and the information group stored in the search unit 13, the information arranging unit 17 determines several property names near the vehicle position according to the distance from the vehicle position. Sort in the set order,
And the cursor, underline,
The display instruction unit 14 displays the information on the display unit 6 through the interface / image processing unit 5 by making a mark by shading or the like so as to be easily distinguished from other property names.

A specific example of the above display will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, for example, if you are traveling near the Funabashi Bridge in Chiba Prefecture and have selected the automobile dealer from the property item list displayed as shown in FIG. Then, if the search means selection unit 15 is set to the direct property search (when the switch is turned on) at that time, without displaying and selecting the intermediate search condition of the list of automobile dealers in the Kanto region shown in b, the search is directly performed. The name of an automobile dealer near the own vehicle position is displayed as shown in FIG. The display order of the plurality of property names is such that the property name closest to the own vehicle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, that is, “Funabashi Sales Office” is displayed at almost the middle position of the plurality of displays, and the upward direction is the traveling direction. , The lower part is the property name behind the traveling direction,
In the traveling direction, the display order is such that the distance increases as going upward, and the distance increases as going downward. The property name closest to the traveling direction is distinguished from the others by shading so that it can be checked at a glance. Such display order setting is performed by the information organizing unit 17.

When "Funabashi office" is selected in the fifth search condition selection section 11, the detailed information of the selected property is displayed as the final display of the property information as shown in d, or the detailed information is displayed by voice. To the driver.

As described above, the search unit 13 uses the own vehicle position as a reference point and sets a predetermined constant centered on the reference point.
Since the corresponding property within the range, that is, the set distance R range is searched using the search condition as the search condition, not only the section (map data section) of the current position of the own vehicle but also information on an adjacent section within the R range is searched. It can be displayed and significantly improve the benefits. R can be set to an arbitrary value, but it is appropriate to set it to a value of about 30 km or less in consideration of practicality.

An example of a method in which the information organizing unit 17 determines whether the searched article is located in front of or behind the own vehicle position will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, if the origin 0 is fixed and the orthogonal axis is rotated counterclockwise by the angle θ, x = Xcos θ−Ysin θ y = Xsin θ + Ycos θ before and after rotation, and (x, y ) And (X, Y) are the coordinates of the point P with respect to the old axis and the new axis, respectively.

Using this principle, for example, the origin 0 is set as the own vehicle position, and the traveling direction of the own vehicle is θ from the x axis (for example, meridian).
If the object is rotated counterclockwise, the coordinates of the new axis (X, Y) are obtained from the above equation. As a result, the traveling direction is on the X axis. It is possible to determine whether the location of the property is forward or backward in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the distance from the own vehicle position to the property can be easily obtained. Note that if the traveling direction is along the y-axis (for example, the latitude line) direction, θ may be determined so that the direction of the own vehicle rides on the Y-axis.

The display order of the property names by the information organizing unit 17 is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 2, the property name closest to the own vehicle is displayed at the center of the plurality of property names, and the property name in front of the vehicle is displayed above.
The lower part is the rear property name, and these are upward in the order of distance,
If listed in the downward direction, it is possible to bring about an effect that it is very easy to see and select easily, but it is said that the property name display order is other than the above, for example, it is arranged from top to bottom or from bottom to top in order from the own vehicle position. The order may be arranged. In this case, the closest property name is distinguished from the others by a cursor, an underline, hatching or coloring, or the like so as to be conspicuous.

In FIG. 1 (B), the own vehicle position information obtaining section 1
The vehicle position information acquired by the search unit 6 is obtained when the search unit selecting unit 15 switches to the direct property search or the information organizing unit 17.
Is latched at the start of the operation.

When it is desired to obtain property information in an area far away from the current position of the vehicle, for example, near a destination to be visited, a conventional search is selected by the search means selection unit 15 (in FIG. 1, a switch is used). Off), the desired property information can be displayed in the same manner as in the past. In this case, in FIG. 2, after selecting one of the property items a in the first search condition selection section 7, a property list in the Kanto region such as b is displayed in the second search condition selection section 8. And a third search condition selection unit 9 for displaying a list of properties in Chiba prefecture such as c.

In the present invention, it is fundamental that the vehicle position information is set as the direct search condition when the direct search condition setting is selected as described above. A place or a plurality of intermediate points on the way are set and registered, and an arbitrary point registered and set is designated, so that the designated point is directly set as a search condition in the selection condition setting unit 12. As in the example, the area information of the set distance range may be searched and displayed based on the point.

The embodiment will be described below with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 4, the first to fifth search condition selection units 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 16 are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. In the fourth embodiment, in addition to the above, a destination position storage unit 18 is provided so that, for example, a destination or a plurality of waypoints on the way can be set and stored before departure of the drive. In addition to the search means selecting unit 15, it is possible to select whether to perform a conventional search using the second to fourth search condition selecting units 8 to 10 or to perform a property search directly using own vehicle position information as a search condition. Any one of a plurality of pieces of point information stored in the destination position storage unit 18 can be selected as a search condition.

When the search means selecting unit 15 selects the direct search based on the vehicle position and selects the property item in the first search condition selecting unit, as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. The vehicle position information is acquired from the vehicle position determination unit 1 of the navigation system, and is directly set as a search condition in the search condition setting unit 12. The vehicle position and the set distance R set by the distance setting unit 19 are obtained. The search unit 13 uses the property item within the search range determined by
The necessary data is listed up from the data section 2 and stored in the search result storage section 13 '. Then, the information organizing unit 17 rearranges a plurality of property names near the own vehicle position in the order set according to the distance from the own vehicle position, as described later. That is, the absolute position information of the own vehicle acquired by the display reference position setting unit 17a from the search condition setting unit 12, and the display reference point longitudinal position boundary setting unit 17b is acquired by the own vehicle position information acquisition unit 16
Direction information of the own vehicle obtained from the search result storage unit 13 '
From the property data read from, the coordinate conversion unit 17c performs coordinate conversion on the coordinates representing the positional relationship of the property with the own vehicle position as the origin O (so that the traveling direction of the own vehicle is on the X axis with the own vehicle position as the origin O). The position data comparison unit 17d calculates the relative distance from the reference point to each property, and sorts the property names in the first and second phenomena of coordinates (in front of the vehicle) in order from the reference point to the farthest from the reference point. A process of rearranging the property names in the third and fourth phenomena (behind the own vehicle) in order of decreasing distance from the reference point and marking the closest property name in front of the own vehicle with a cursor, underline, hatching, or the like. The display instructing unit 14 displays on the display unit 6 through the interface / image processing unit 5 on the basis of this.

The search means selecting section 15 uses the target position storing section 18
If one of the point information stored in is selected as a search condition, the point information is directly set as a search condition in the search condition setting unit 12, and the point is used as a reference point based on the set distance R. The search range is determined, the search unit 13 lists the properties within the search range, and the search result storage unit 13 'stores it. The following is exactly the same as the case where the own vehicle position is used as the reference point. Then, the information organizing unit 17 obtains the relative distance from the selected point (reference point) to each property, and sorts the property names in front of the reference point with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle in order of distance from the reference point. The property names behind the points are rearranged in the order of proximity to the reference point, and the property name closest to the reference point is marked in front of the reference point with a cursor, underline, hatching, or the like. Display instruction unit 14 displays on the display unit 6 through the interface, the image processing unit 5.

When the manual setting using the second, third, and fourth search condition selection units 8, 9, and 10 for selecting the local condition in the conventional manner is selected in the search means selection unit 15, basically the point (Points) cannot be set, and therefore the condition is set in the search condition setting unit 12 as, for example, an area in units of municipalities. Therefore, the search unit 13 lists up the properties in the set area from the data unit 2. The search result storage unit 13 'stores the information, and the information organizing unit 17 sorts the property names listed by the area information sorting unit 17e in, for example, A, B, C, A order, or A, B, C order. Sorting is performed by marking the property name at the center of the list with a cursor, underline, shading, or the like. Based on the processing, the display instruction unit 14 is displayed on the display unit 6 through the interface / image processing unit 5. To display.

As described above, the property name list within the set distance range from the reference point or the property name list within the set area is displayed, and when one of the property names is selected in the fifth search condition selection section 11, The final property selection unit 20 obtains detailed information of the property from the data unit 2 and displays it on the display unit 6 through the display instruction unit 14 and the interface / image processing unit 5, and the detailed information on the selected property is displayed by the driver. Etc. can be recognized.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are flow charts showing the information retrieval mode of FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 5 leads to FIG. 6 and FIG. 5 leads to FIG.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to search for local property information in a car navigation system .
When a search means selecting section is provided in the information search apparatus, and a direct search is selected by the search means selecting section, a vehicle position determining section of the navigation system is provided. The vehicle position information or arbitrary point information obtained from is set directly as a search condition , and a plurality of property names within a fixed distance range set in advance with the vehicle position or the point as a reference point and the reference point as a center. Is displayed on the display, which greatly reduces the time required to search for property and makes operation easier, and the driver can easily display the desired property without reducing the degree of concentration on driving. Can be confirmed. In addition, the property information is
Beyond the data block to the information of the adjacent block.
Therefore, the benefits can be significantly improved.

Further, by providing an information organizing unit that rearranges the display order of the searched property list in a specific arrangement in order from the reference point, the property closest to the reference point in an unknown area can be found at a glance. This is extremely effective especially in emergency or when searching for a parking lot at the destination.

Further, the arrangement order of the property list in the information organizing section is such that the property closest to the reference point is displayed at the center of the display list, other plurality of properties are displayed from the center to the outside, and the upper part from the center is displayed. The property in front of the traveling direction of the car
By setting each property below to be displayed behind the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle, it becomes easier for the driver to grasp not only the distance from the reference point of each property but also the direction of his / her location. Can significantly improve sex.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a navigation system,
(B) is a block diagram showing details of the information search device 3 of (A).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information display according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining whether a search article is located ahead or behind a vehicle position;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an information search device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart (No. 1) showing an information search mode of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (No. 2) showing an information retrieval mode of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart (No. 3) showing an information retrieval mode of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 8A and 8B show an example of a conventional apparatus, in which FIG. 8A is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a navigation system, and FIG. 8B is a block diagram showing details of the information search apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Own vehicle position determination part 2 Data part 3 Information search device 4 Operation switch 5 Interface / image processing part 6 Display part 7 First search condition selection part 8 Second search condition selection part 9 Third search condition selection part 10 Fourth Search condition selection unit 11 Fifth search condition selection unit 12 Search condition setting unit 13 Search unit 14 Display instruction unit 15 Search unit selection unit 16 Own vehicle position information acquisition unit 17 Information arrangement unit 18 Target position storage unit 19 Distance setting unit

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G06F 17/30 G09B 29/10

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A navigation system for displaying vehicle position information determined by a vehicle position determination unit in combination with map data in a data unit on a display unit, wherein the data condition is set by a search condition selection operation of a search condition selection unit. Search for property information based on the search condition from the regional information of
In an apparatus provided with an information search device for displaying as character information, the information search device selects whether to perform search condition setting by a selection operation of the search condition selection unit or to directly set the search condition for the own vehicle position. A search means selection unit is provided, and when the user selects a method of directly setting the search condition of the own vehicle position in the search means selection unit, the own vehicle position information is directly set as the search condition by the own vehicle position determination unit. The position is set as a reference point, and a preset value is set around the reference point.
An information search and display device for an automobile navigation system, wherein information on properties in a region within a fixed distance range is searched and displayed. 2. The information search and display device for an automobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the search means selection unit can directly set search conditions for any one of a plurality of preset points. When the search condition selection unit selects to directly set the search condition for the point, the information of the point is set as a direct search condition, and the point is set as a reference point and the reference point is set to the reference point.
An information search and display device for a navigation system for an automobile, characterized by searching and displaying property information in an area within a predetermined distance range set in advance around the vehicle. 3. The information retrieval and display device for an automobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the position of the own vehicle or a point where selection conditions are set is set as a reference point, and the reference point is set as a center.
When searching for and displaying property information of an area within a predetermined distance range set in advance as a center, the distance from the reference point of each of the plurality of searched properties is determined, and a specific arrangement is performed in the order of closest distance from the reference point. An information retrieval and display device for an automobile navigation system, comprising an information arrangement unit for rearranging and displaying the information. 4. The information arranging unit according to claim 3, wherein the property closest to the reference point is set to a substantially central part of the property list, and the other properties are arranged so as to be further away from the reference point as going outward from the central part. Is displayed, and one outside of the central portion displays a property located in front of the reference point from the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the other outside displays a property located behind the reference point in the traveling direction of the own vehicle. An information retrieval and display device for an automobile navigation system, wherein a display array of a property list is set. 5. The information search and display device for an automobile navigation system according to claim 3, wherein a property closest to the reference point is provided with a means such as a cursor, an underline, and a shade so as to be distinguishable from other properties. An information retrieval and display device for an automobile navigation system, wherein the information is displayed.