JP3374882B2 - Place name dictionary search device and method of using the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation system, and more particularly to a place name dictionary search device used in the navigation system and a method of using the place name dictionary search device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A navigation system informs an occupant of where a vehicle, which is a moving body, is currently traveling. Conventionally, there is a technique described below as a technique in such a field. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional navigation system. As shown in this figure,
CD-ROM1 (Compact D
isc-Read Only Memory) is provided. This CD-RO
M1 has various attribute data added based on the basic road map data. Further, a location unit 2 for detecting the position of the vehicle while the vehicle is traveling is provided. The location unit 2 obtains the current position of the vehicle by measuring the traveling distance and the traveling azimuth at a fixed distance or every time. In addition, GPS (Global Position) that automatically receives the latitude and longitude signals that indicate the absolute position of the current position from outside the vehicle and automatically determines the current position.
ing System). Further, a microphone 3 for capturing a command of the voice of the occupant is provided. The destination recognition unit 4 connected to the microphone 3 recognizes the destination of the destination. The control unit 5 connected to the location unit 2 and the destination recognition unit 4 reads out map data including the current position and the recognized destination position from the CD-ROM 1 and expands it in the memory. Display unit 6 connected to the control unit 5
Is composed of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or the like, and displays the map data together with the current position and the recognized destination position. The route search unit 7 connected to the control unit 7 searches the shortest route from the current recognition position to the destination position using the road map data developed in the control unit 5, and displays the result on the display unit 6.

As described above, when the destination recognition unit 4 inputs the address in the administrative district display for the destination position to the control unit 5, the control unit 5 matches the input address from the place name dictionary data of the CD-ROM 1. A place name search is performed in which an object is searched and the corresponding destination position (coordinate) is read.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned place name search, when the voice of the address display is input, for example, Osaka prefecture, no matter how many towns, when searching for a place name in the vicinity of the current position, "Osaka There is a problem that it is complicated and inconvenient because it is necessary to input "Fu, Nozoku" one by one. The following is a solution to such a problem.

It is possible to directly obtain the coordinate position of the place name dictionary data of the CD-ROM 1 based on the name of the municipality. However, the data of municipalities all over Japan is extremely large, and it takes a very long time to search for one municipality from among them, and it is not suitable for actual use. Therefore, it is possible to limit the number of municipalities to be searched as follows.

[0006] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a place name search that is performed using a name of a municipality, which is a nearby place, when setting a destination. The place name dictionary data stores a series of municipalities that are adjacent to a certain municipality. For this reason,
As shown in the figure, the distance between the current position of the specific place name and the position of this neighboring place name is calculated sequentially. Then, for example, a desired city, town, or village name is searched from the nearby place names within the current position or within 50 km. By doing so, it becomes possible to limit the names of municipalities to those in the neighborhood.

However, although the above place name search can be used, since the distance calculation between the current position and the position of a series of neighboring municipalities is performed, the calculation process is enormous and it is necessary to use a processor with high processing capability. There is a problem. In addition, there is also a problem that time is required for that purpose, and the waiting time becomes long due to the usability of the user as well as the cost increase.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a place name dictionary search device that can reduce the amount of calculation, can be processed by a processor having relatively low calculation performance, can reduce the cost, and can reduce the processing time.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a place name dictionary search device having the following configuration. That is, a device for retrieving position coordinates corresponding to an input place name using a place name data group associated with position coordinates, which is associated with a predetermined range including the current location in the place name data group. Using the place name data group, the position coordinates corresponding to the input place name are searched. Then, the predetermined range is set as a current position mesh which is a mesh including the current position among the meshes obtained by dividing the map data in a matrix.

Further, the current position mesh is divided into a plurality of internal meshes, and an internal mesh position determination unit for determining which internal mesh the current position is included in is provided. The position coordinates corresponding to the input place name are searched for using the place name data group associated with the combined range of the mesh and the current place mesh. Further, the place name dictionary search device is used in a navigation system that searches for a route from the current position to the destination, and is used to search the position coordinates of the set destination.

[0011]

According to the place name dictionary retrieval device of the present invention, the place name dictionary data stored in the CD-ROM which is a storage medium is
The location coordinates of the place name, the mesh, and the place name are included.
In addition, by providing a current location mesh determination unit that determines the mesh in which the current location coordinates exist, the location name search unit searches for the location name within the current location mesh range, and all the location names of the mesh that includes the current location are collectively referred to as neighboring location names. Can be determined. As a result, the amount of calculation can be dramatically reduced, that is, it can be reduced to several hundredths, and processing can be performed by a processor having relatively low calculation performance, and the cost can be reduced. Further, the processing time itself can be shortened and the response to the user is improved. In addition, the current position mesh is divided, and the mesh position determination unit that determines which divided mesh the current position coordinates are in, and the adjacent mesh that is adjacent to the current position mesh are added to the current position mesh and enlarged. By providing the mesh enlargement part for searching the place name in step 1, it is possible to perform a reliable search even if the current position coordinate is at the end of the current position mesh. Further, the use value of the navigation system can be increased by using the place name dictionary search device for the navigation system.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing place name dictionary data according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure (a), CD-RO
The place name position data (xk, y) is included in the place name dictionary data of M1.
k), mesh (i, j), and place name are formed. This place name may be an address display of the administrative district, and in this case, the name of the municipality may be independently identified from this address display. Further, as shown in this figure (b), the center coordinates (x0i, y0j) of the mesh (i, j) are provided. Further, as another structure, the place name and the center coordinates are divided into blocks for each mesh in advance, whereby the data capacity can be eliminated.

Regarding the center of the mesh, the latitude and
It may be calculated from the (min, max) of the longitude and the mesh division number. Next, the mesh will be described in detail. 2 is a diagram for explaining the mesh of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the detailed mesh of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the entire search range is preliminarily set (for example, all over Japan).
Is divided into vertical and horizontal matrices by the mesh (i, j). This mesh (i, j) is, for example, divided into north and south (j) by 40, east and west (i) by 55, and one side is Δ =
It has a square of 44 km. In addition, mesh (1, 1)
The minimum coordinate at is (xmin, ymin). When the current coordinates (x0, y0) from the location part 2 are input, the mesh corresponding to this is determined and the place name search is performed within this determination mesh, whereby the neighboring place names can be significantly limited. However, when the current coordinates are located at the end of the mesh and the neighboring place name is in the mesh next to the mesh, an appropriate search may not be possible. The realization of the search in such a case will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a place name dictionary search device in the control unit 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the place name dictionary search apparatus is provided with a current position mesh determination unit 51 that inputs the coordinates (x0, y0) of the current position from the location unit 2 and determines the current position mesh. In this current position mesh determination unit 51, calculations such as (x0-xmin) / Δ ... (1), (y0-ymax) / Δ ... (2) are performed, and the decimal place is moved up to an integer to make the current position mesh. Determine (i, j).

Next, an in-mesh position determination unit 52 is provided after the current position mesh determination unit 51. In this mesh position determination unit 52, comparison calculation such as (x0−x0i) ≧ 0 (3), (y0−y0j) ≧ 0 (4) is performed, and the mesh is divided into four to determine which the current position is. It is determined whether the mesh is at the position of the divided mesh.

Next, a mesh enlarging section 53 is provided after the in-mesh position determining section 52. This mesh expansion part 5
In 3, the in-mesh position determination unit 52 determines which position the current position is, and determines that three neighboring meshes of the divided mesh should be added. That is, the place names in these four meshes in total are determined to be near the current position. Next, the place name search unit 54 is provided at the subsequent stage of the mesh expansion unit 53. In the place name search unit 54, the destination recognition unit 4 is selected from the place names in the four meshes obtained by the mesh expansion unit 53.
Search for the same place name as the recognized place name of. In this way, the coordinates (xk, yk) of the retrieved place name can be obtained. Next, the details of the processing of the in-mesh position determination unit 52 and the mesh enlarging unit 53 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the in-mesh position determining section 52 and the mesh enlarging section 53 of FIG. In step S1, it is determined whether or not i = 1 or 55 among the meshes (i, j) from the current position mesh determination unit 51.

In step S2, the above judgment is "N".
If it is “O”, the success or failure of j = 1 or 40 is further determined. In step S3, it is determined whether x0i≤x0 y0i≤y0.

In step S4, the above judgment is "YE
If “S”, the meshes to be searched are (i, j + 1), (i + 1, j + 1) (i, j), (i + 1, j). If the determination in step S3 is "NO" in step S5, it is determined whether x0i≤x0 y0≤y0i.

In step S6, the judgment is "YE
If "S", the meshes to be searched are (i, j), (i + 1, j) (i, j-1), (i + 1, j-1). In step S7, if the determination in step S5 is "NO", then it is determined whether x0≤x0i y0i≤y0.

In step S8, the above judgment is "YE
If "S", the meshes to be searched are (i-1, j + 1), (i, j + 1) (i-1, j), (i, j). If the above determination is "NO" in step S9, the meshes to be searched are (i-1, j), (i, j) (i-1, j-1), (i, j-1).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the processing when "YES" is determined in step S1 of FIG. In step S10, if the determination in step S1 is "NO", then it is determined whether i = 1.

In step S11, the above judgment is "Y.
If “ES”, then the success or failure of j = 40 is judged. If the above determination is “YES” in step S12, the meshes of the corners to be searched are (1, 15), (2, 15) (1, 14), (2, 14). Similarly, in step S13, if the determination in step S11 is “NO”, it is determined whether or not j = 1.

In step S14, the judgment is "Y".
In the case of "ES", the meshes to be searched are (1, 2), (2, 2) (1, 1), (2, 1). In step S15, the above step S10
If the judgment is “NO”, the success or failure of j = 40 is judged.

In step S16, the above judgment is "Y.
In the case of "ES", the meshes to be searched are (54, 40), (55, 40) (54, 39), (55, 39). If the determination in step S15 is "NO" in step S17, then it is determined whether or not j = 1.

In step S18, the judgment is "Y".
In the case of "ES", the meshes to be searched are (54, 2), (55, 2) (54, 1), (55, 1). If the determination in step S13 is "NO" in step S19, it is determined whether or not y0i≤y0 is satisfied.

In step S20, the above judgment is "Y.
In case of "ES", the surrounding meshes to be searched are (1, j + 1), (2, j + 1) (1, j), (2, j). Similarly, in step S21, if the determination in step S19 is "NO", the meshes to be searched are (1, j), (2, j) (1, j-1), (2, j-1). And

In step S22, the above step S
If the determination in 17 is "NO", then it is determined whether or not y0i≤y0. If the above determination is "YES" in step S23, the meshes to be searched are (54, j + 1), (55, j + 1) (54, j), (55, j).

In step S24, step S22
If the determination is "NO", the meshes to be searched are (54, j), (55, j) (54, j-1), (55, j-1).

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the processing when the judgment of "YES" in step S1 of FIG. 5 is made. In step S30, if the judgment in step S2 is "NO", it is judged whether or not j = 1.

In step S31, the above judgment is "Y.
If "ES", then it is determined whether or not x0i≤x0. If the determination is "YES" in step S32, the meshes to be searched are (i, 2), (i + 1, 2) (i, 1), (i + 1, 1).

In step S33, the above step S
If the judgment of 31 is "YES", the meshes to be searched are (i-1, 2), (i, 2) (i-1, 1), (i, 1).

In step S34, step S30
If the determination is “YES”, then it is determined whether x0i ≦ x0. If the above determination is "YES" in step S35, the meshes to be searched are (i, 40), (i + 1, 40) (i, 39), (i + 1, 39).

In step S36, step S34
If the determination is YES, the meshes to be searched are (i-1, 40), (i, 40) (i-1, 39), (i, 39).

Next, the calculation steps are compared. According to the search by the mesh position determination according to the present embodiment, in the formulas (1), (2), (3) and (4), subtraction: 4 (2 states) division: 2 (14 states), but 16 ÷ 8 → 16-bit comparison: 2 (2 + 4 states) A total of 48 states, and the number of operation clocks is 48 when an 8-bit microcomputer (H8) is used.

On the other hand, as in the conventional case, the radius is 50 km.
For the search of, the arithmetic expression of the distance D ² is: D ² = (xi−x0) ² + (yi−y0) ² (5) Addition: 1 (2 states) Subtraction: 2 (2 states) Multiplication: 2 (14 states) However, 8 × 8 → 16 bit comparison: 2 (2 + 4 states) 40 states in total. As an example, the number of municipalities included in a circle with a radius of 50 km centering on Toyota City is about 170, but even if the range is narrowed down to a radius of about 100 km in advance for reliable search, the area ratio will be 4 It is necessary to calculate twice as many place names, and in that case, the number of operation clocks is 40 × 170 × 4 = 20400 clocks.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to dramatically reduce the calculation amount, that is, to 1 of several hundreds by collectively determining all the place names of the mesh including the current position as the neighboring place names. It is possible, and processing can be performed by a processor with relatively low computing performance, cost can be reduced, and processing time itself can be shortened, and response to the user is improved.

Further, by using the place name dictionary search device in the navigation system, it becomes easy to input a nearby destination.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the range to be searched is divided into a plurality of vertical and horizontal matrixes into a plurality of meshes, and a mesh is attached to the data of the place name and the position coordinates. And a current location mesh determination unit for determining the mesh in which the current coordinates to be input are provided, and since the location name search unit searches for the input location name within the determination current location mesh range, the location name of the mesh including the current position is determined. It is possible to collectively determine that all the names are neighboring places, and it is possible to dramatically reduce the calculation amount, that is, to 1 of several hundreds, and the processing can be performed by a processor having a relatively low calculation performance, which results in cost reduction. The processing time itself can be shortened and the response to the user is improved. Even if the current coordinates are at the edge of the determination current position mesh, a reliable search can be performed. In addition, the usefulness of the navigation system can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing place name dictionary data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the mesh of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed mesh of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a place name search device in a control unit 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a position-in-mesh determination unit 52 and a mesh enlargement unit 53 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process when “YES” is determined in step S1 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a process when “YES” is determined in step S2 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional navigation system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a place name search performed using a name of a municipality, which is a nearby place, when setting a destination.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... CD-ROM 2 ... Location department 3 ... Microphone 4 ... Destination recognition unit 5 ... Control unit 6 ... Display 51 ... Present location mesh determination unit 52 ... Position determination unit in mesh 53 ... Mesh expansion section 54 ... Place name search section

Front page continued (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Fujimoto 1-2-2 Goshodori, Hyogo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Within Fujitsu Ten Ltd. (72) Inventor Ikue Takahashi 1-2-2 Gosho-dori, Hyogo-ku, Hyogo Prefecture No. FUJITSU TEN CO., LTD. (72) Inventor Hidefumi Fuse No. 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-3-175478 (JP, A) JP-A-6-43807 ( (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G09B 23/00-29/14 JISC file (JOIS)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A place name data group associated with position coordinates
Use to search for the position coordinate corresponding to the input place name.
A place name dictionary search device for a place name dictionary, which is a device for searching a predetermined range including the current place in the place name data group.
By using the assigned place name data group, the input place
A place name dictionary search device that searches the position coordinates corresponding to the name
The map data is divided into a matrix in the predetermined range.
Location that is a mesh that includes the current location of the
A mesh divides the current position meshes into a plurality of internal mesh current position inside the mesh position determination unit for determining comprises whether is included in which the interior mesh of the place name data group, adjacent to the interior mesh including the current position A place name dictionary search device for searching a position coordinate corresponding to the input place name using a place name data group associated with a range in which the mesh and the current place mesh are combined. 2. A road map storage medium in which road map data is stored, and a place name dictionary in which a place name data group is stored which is associated with position coordinates and is associated with one of meshes obtained by dividing map data in a matrix. A storage medium, a location unit that detects the current location of the vehicle, a microphone that detects voice, a place name recognition unit that recognizes the voice detected by the microphone as a place name, and a place name that is recognized by the place name recognition unit. a destination setting unit that sets a, from the current position detected by the location portion, the navigation system comprising a route search section for searching for a route to a destination set by the destination setting unit, 請
A method of using a place name dictionary search device that uses the place name dictionary search device according to claim 1, wherein the place name dictionary search device is used to search for position coordinates of a destination set by the destination setting unit. A method of using a place name dictionary search device characterized by the following.