JP3402386B2 - Vehicle navigation system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular navigation apparatus mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly, to display a map and information on a travel destination on a screen of a display device. About what you do. 2. Description of the Related Art In a navigation device of this kind, a current position (current traveling position) of a vehicle is detected from a traveling distance and a traveling direction of the vehicle by a map matching method or the like, and a map stored in a CD-ROM or the like is used. The map information including the detected current position is read out from the information and displayed on a screen such as a CRT, and a current position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle and a destination mark indicating a driving destination set by the occupant are superimposed on the map. It is displayed. Here, in the navigation device, as the mode for setting the travel destination described above, a map designation mode for designating a travel destination by a cursor on a display screen in a map display is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2-310423. As mentioned above, using a point information file that stores point information including the names of travel destinations (place names, various facility names) and their location information, designates the travel destination using the name of the travel destination. Mode. [0003] However, in the above-mentioned map designation mode and name designation mode, first, in the display of the nationwide map, the region where the travel destination is located is first referred to as "Kanto", "Chubu", "Chubu". Kinki ", and then select the prefecture where the destination is located from the prefecture name on the map for each prefecture, and select the destination from within the selected prefecture. To be set. That is, the user is forced to select a method of narrowing down from the nationwide level regardless of the destination area, so that a lot of operations and time are required until the destination is set, which is inconvenient. In particular, general vehicles are not frequently driven for long distances to other regions, and the driving destination is often the own prefecture where the vehicle is located or a nearby prefecture. However, setting a travel destination from the national level as described above is not appropriate. According to the present invention, the traveling destination of a general vehicle is:
In many cases, focusing on the local prefecture where the vehicle is located, or its neighboring prefectures, for vehicles that have been improved so that the setting of the travel destination can be easily performed with good operability without requiring many key operations It is intended to provide a navigation device. The present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 which is a claim correspondence diagram. In the present invention, a destination setting means 102 for setting a traveling destination by operating an operation means 101 Display control means 10 for displaying information on the set destination together with a map on the display means 103.
4 is applied to the vehicular navigation device provided with.
Then, a storage means 105 in which an area name set for each area is stored, and a current position detecting means 1 for detecting the current position of the vehicle from position information such as a running distance and a running direction of the vehicle.
06, and a search unit 107 for searching the storage unit 105 for the area name of the area including the current position and the surrounding area names based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 106, and Control means 1
The above-mentioned problem is solved by configuring the driving destination 04 and the travel destination setting 102 as follows. Display control means 10
Reference numeral 4 denotes a geographical proximity between the local name of the current location of the vehicle searched by the search means 107 and the local name around it in the travel destination setting mode, with the local name of the own vehicle position as the center.
A region name display control unit 104A that displays regions on the display unit 103 adjacent to each other in the vertical and horizontal directions is included. The destination setting unit 102 includes a selection unit 102A that selects one of the area names displayed on the display unit 103 in response to a selection operation by the operation unit 101, and a selection unit 102A in response to a setting operation of the operation unit 101. A setting unit 10 for setting a point existing in an area corresponding to the selected area name as a destination
2B. Here, the above-mentioned area name in the present invention is a name of a relatively narrow area, and even if the area name where the vehicle is located and the area names around the area are displayed, it covers a part of the nationwide level. It is nothing more than a thing. Based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detecting means 106, the name of the area including the current position and the names of the surrounding areas are retrieved from the storage means 105. Then, in the travel destination setting mode, the searched area name (the area name of the area including the current location and the area name of the surrounding area) is centered on the area name of the own vehicle position.
So that areas that are geographically close to each other
It is displayed on the display unit 103 to. When a predetermined selection operation is performed in this state, one of the area names displayed on the display unit 103 is selected, and when a setting operation is performed, a point existing in the area corresponding to the selected area name is determined. It is set as a traveling purpose. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a vehicle navigation device according to the present invention. The navigation device includes a traveling direction detecting device 1, a traveling distance detecting device 2, an input device 3,
, A RAM 4, a ROM 5, a control device 6, and a display device 7 such as a CRT, which are mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and used. The traveling direction detection device 1
The traveling direction (traveling direction) of the vehicle is detected using a geomagnetic sensor or the like, and the detected traveling direction is output to the control device 6 as traveling direction information. The traveling distance detection device 2 detects the traveling distance of the vehicle from the wheel speed or the like, and outputs this to the control device 6 as traveling distance information. The input device 3 is composed of various switches arranged around the display device 7 and a touch panel switch attached to a screen of the display device 7 and the like, and is displayed on the display device 7 for setting a travel destination. A selection operation for selectively selecting the selected area name, a setting operation for setting a point existing in an area corresponding to the selected area name as a travel destination, and the like are possible. The RAM 4 temporarily stores information and the like necessary for calculation and control by the control device 6. The ROM 5 stores map information, an area name arrangement table, and a point information file that stores point information including the names (place names and various facility names) of travel destinations and their location information. Here, the area name arrangement table is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), this is a data table in which each region is divided into prefectures, and prefecture names set for each prefecture are arranged according to the relative geographical positional relationship of each prefecture. The control device 6 is constituted by a microcomputer or the like, reads out map information stored in the ROM 5 as appropriate, displays the map information on the screen of the display device 7, or displays the traveling direction information input from the traveling direction detecting device 1; Based on the traveling distance degree information input from the traveling distance detection device 2, the current position of the vehicle is detected, and control is performed to superimpose the current position mark of the vehicle on the displayed map. Further, the control device 6 searches the area name arrangement table of the ROM 5 for the area name (prefecture name) of the area including the detected current position of the vehicle, and displays the searched area name and the area name of the surrounding area on the display device 7. In response to a selection operation or a setting operation of the input device 3, selection of a region name, setting of a travel destination, and control for displaying a mark indicating the set destination on the display device 7. . Next, the operation of the navigation device configured as described above when setting a travel destination will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5 and a screen transition diagram of FIG. When the travel destination setting mode is set, the control device 6 first displays a facility name designation menu shown in FIG. 6A on the screen of the display device 7 and operates the input device 3 under the screen display. Accordingly, the type of the destination facility, for example, "hotel", "station", etc., is selected (step S400 in FIG. 4). Next, the control device 6 detects the current position of the vehicle based on the traveling direction information input from the traveling direction detection device 1 and the traveling distance degree information input from the traveling distance detection device 2, and determines the current position of the vehicle from the detected current position of the vehicle. The prefecture where the own vehicle position is located (hereinafter, abbreviated as prefecture) is calculated (step S405). Further, the corresponding prefecture name (the name of the prefecture where the vehicle is located) and the names of neighboring prefectures (names of neighboring prefectures) are searched from the area name arrangement table (correspondence table) of the ROM 5 (step S410), and FIG. As shown in (b), the name of the prefecture where the vehicle is located and the name of the neighboring prefecture are displayed on the display device 7 on the screen while maintaining their respective geographic relative positional relationships (step S41).
5). FIG. 6B shows an example in which the name of the prefecture where the vehicle is located is “Nagano”, and this “Nagano” and the names of the eight prefectures around it are displayed. In the prefecture display of FIG. 6B, if there is a prefecture name not displayed at the top, bottom, left and right of the screen display, scroll keys (arrow keys) SK in each direction are used.
Is displayed on the screen. Next, the control device 6 determines whether or not the user has performed an operation of selecting a prefecture name using the touch panel switch (constituting the input device 3) of the display device 7 (step S42).
0), whether the arrow key SK has been operated (step S425)
Input waiting state. When the arrow key SK is operated, the prefecture name and the neighboring prefecture name in the corresponding scroll direction are searched from the correspondence table (step S430), and as shown in FIG. The display device 7 maintaining the relative geographical position of each of them
Is displayed on the screen (step S435). Also in this screen display state, the control device 6 waits for an input as to whether the user has performed an operation of selecting a prefecture name using the touch panel switch of the display device 7 (step S440) or operated the arrow key SK (step S445). State. When the prefecture name is selected, the name of the facility existing in the prefecture is searched from the point information file in the ROM 5 (step S450), and the names are displayed on the display device 7 in alphabetical order (step S450). Step S455).
FIG. 6 shows an example in which “station” is selected as the facility type. In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the railway line names are displayed on the display device 7 in alphabetical order on the display device 7. ,
When the route name is selected, as shown in FIG. 6 (e), the station names on the route are displayed on the display device 7 in the order of the Japanese syllabary. In any of these facility name designation screens,
A roll-up key RU and a roll-down key RD,
The index keys IK of “A”, “KA”, “SA”, “TA”, “NA”,... Are displayed on the screen, and the user presses the roll-up key RU or the roll-down key RD by the touch panel switch of the display device 7. Was operated (step S46)
0), whether the index key IK was operated (step S47)
0), facility name (in this case, railway line name or station name)
Waits for an input as to whether or not a selection operation has been performed (step S480). When the roll-up key RU or the roll-down key RD is operated, the display of the facility name in alphabetical order is scrolled up and down (step S465).
When the index key IK is operated, the facility name corresponding to the selected index is displayed (step S475). For example, if the "NA" index key IK is operated, the facility names starting with "NA" are displayed at the top and displayed in alphabetical order. When a facility name is selected, map information including the facility searched by designating the facility name is read out from the ROM 5 so that the searched facility is located at the center of the screen.
A map based on the map information is displayed on the screen of the display device 7 as shown in FIG. 6F (step S485). In this screen display, the searched facility is instructed at the center of the screen by the intersection of a crosshair, and a set button SB is displayed on the screen together with a message such as "Do you want to set as a destination?" When the set button SB is selected (when a setting operation is performed), the facility is set as a travel destination (step S490). According to the above procedure, when the travel destination setting mode is set, the area name including the current location and the area names around the current location are searched based on the current location of the vehicle. The names are displayed on the display device 7 in a state where the names are arranged according to the relative positional relationship on the geography. When a region name selection operation is performed in this state, one of the displayed region names is selected. After that, when a facility in the region corresponding to the selected region name is selected and the setting operation is performed, the facility is displayed. Is set as the traveling destination.
According to this, the travel destination can be set from the local level where the vehicle is currently located. Therefore, when the setting of the travel destination in a place close to the area where the vehicle is present, for example, the own prefecture or the neighboring prefecture, is searched from the national level. This can be done easily compared to. In the configuration of the above embodiment, the input device 3
Is the operation means 101, and the display device 7 is the display means 1
03, the ROM 5 constitutes the storage means 105, and the control device 6 constitutes the destination setting means 102, the display control means 104, the current position detection means 106 and the search means 107. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the area name (prefecture name) is displayed for nine prefectures at a time. However, the number of display prefectures is not limited to nine prefectures, and for example, as shown in FIG. It may be displayed. In the above description, the name of the prefecture including the current location of the vehicle and the names of the surrounding prefectures are displayed as the region names, but the region names are not limited to the names of the prefectures, and may be, for example, groups or cities. When displaying a relatively wide area name such as "Kanto" or "Kinki", the number of display areas is reduced. For example, if the current position of the vehicle is "Kanto", "Chubu", "Kanto", Only "Tohoku" should be displayed. According to the present invention, in the travel destination setting mode, the area name of the area including the current position of the vehicle and the area names around the area are geographically centered on the area name of the own vehicle position.
Are displayed adjacent to each other vertically and horizontally, and one of these area names is selected to set a point existing in that area as the destination. Focusing on the fact that it is close to the area where the vehicle is located, the number of operations to set the destination can be reduced and the time required can be shortened compared to the case where the search is started from the nationwide level as before, and it is easy to use Can be improved. In addition, the area name and the surrounding area names are located in geographically
Since the areas are displayed adjacent to each other vertically and horizontally, the area where the destination exists can be easily found, and the usability is further improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to claims. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a vehicle navigation device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing three examples of an area name arrangement table used in the navigation device. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the navigation device when setting a travel destination. FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when a travel destination is set by the navigation device. FIG. 7 is a view showing a modification of FIG. 6; [Description of Signs] 1 traveling direction detecting device 2 mileage detecting device 3 input device 4 RAM 5 ROM 6 control device 7 display device 101 operating means 102 destination setting means 102A selecting unit 102B setting unit 103 display means 104 display control means 104A Area name display control unit 105 Storage means 106 Current location detection means 107 Search means

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-62-151885 (JP, A) JP-A-5-34169 (JP, A) JP-A-4-336592 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 310423 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 21/00 G08G 1/0969 G09B 29/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1) Destination setting means for setting a travel destination by operating an operation means, and display control means for displaying information on the set destination together with a map on a display means. In a vehicle navigation device comprising: a storage unit in which a region name set for each region is stored; a current position detection unit that detects a current position of the vehicle from position information such as a traveling distance and a traveling direction of the vehicle; A search unit for searching the storage unit for an area name of an area including the current location and an area name around the area based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection unit; At the time of the destination setting mode, the area name of the current location of the vehicle searched by the search means and the area name around the vehicle are centered on the area name of the own vehicle position,
An area name display control unit for displaying the geographically close areas on the display means adjacent to each other vertically and horizontally , wherein the destination setting means is displayed on the display means in response to a selection operation by the operation means A selection unit that selects one of the area names, and a setting unit that sets a point existing in an area corresponding to the area name selected by the selection unit in accordance with the setting operation of the operation unit as a destination. A vehicle navigation device characterized by including: