JP4198510B2 - Mobile navigation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile navigation device, and more particularly to a technique for searching for facilities around a boarding / exiting interchange existing on a route to a destination.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a facility that exists within a certain distance centered on a specific point such as the current location of a vehicle, a destination set by a user, a point on a map displayed on the screen by scrolling, A vehicle-mounted navigation device that displays the type is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
In the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, while the vehicle is traveling on the highway, the control unit is based on the map data stored in the CD-ROM and the current position of the vehicle measured by the position measurement device. The facility which exists within the predetermined distance from the next expressway exit is searched and output to the display controller. The display controller displays the distance from the corresponding highway exit together with the found facility on the map image on the monitor. Then, the control unit searches for a guidance route to the facility selected by the user and stores it in the guidance route memory, and performs guidance to the facility based on the guidance route stored in the guidance route memory. With this configuration, the user can know the position and type of facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the next expressway exit.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-21376
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, consider a case where the vehicle travels to the destination according to the guidance route searched using the route search function of the navigation device. When the searched guidance route includes an expressway, the user may want to know the position of the gas station around the entrance of the expressway because it is necessary to refuel before entering the expressway, for example. In addition, if there is an expressway exit in the middle of the guidance route to the searched destination, consider the situation around the destination and the arrival time at the destination, and eat around the expressway exit. Sometimes you want to.
[0006]
However, the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above only searches for and displays a facility located within a predetermined distance from the next expressway exit while the vehicle is traveling on the expressway. Therefore, in order to know the facilities existing around the desired highway entrance / exit interchange, use the normal peripheral search function installed in the conventional navigation device, that is, scroll the screen to the desired exit / exit interchange. It is necessary to display a map that includes, and perform a search around the interchange at that point. Therefore, the operation until knowing the position of the desired facility is troublesome and improvement is desired.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to meet the above-described demand, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile navigation device capable of quickly knowing a facility existing around a desired getting-on / off interchange by a simple operation. To do.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a navigation device for a moving body according to the present invention includes a map data storage unit that stores map data, a position detection unit that detects a current position, and map data and a position from the map data storage unit. A route creation unit that creates a route from the current position to the destination based on position data that represents the current location detected by the detection unit, and a list of boarding / exit interchanges included in the route created by the route creation unit A list creation unit, a display unit for displaying a list of the getting-on / off interchanges created by the list creating unit, a selection unit for selecting one of the list of getting-on / off interchanges displayed on the display unit, and a selection unit selected by the selection unit And a peripheral facility search unit for searching for facilities existing in the vicinity of the getting-on / off interchange and displaying them on the display unit.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, a case where a vehicle is used as a moving body will be described. However, the navigation device according to the present invention is not limited to a vehicle and can be applied to various moving bodies.
[0010]
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The navigation device for a moving body includes a map data storage unit 11, a position detection unit 12, a route creation unit 13, an getting on / off interchange list creation unit 14, a selection unit 15, a peripheral facility search unit 16, and a display unit 17.
[0011]
The map data storage unit 11 stores map data and facility data. The map data is composed of road network data. As shown in FIG. 3, the facility data includes coordinates representing the location of the facility, facility name, address, telephone number, genre code, and data representing business hours. The genre code is a code representing a genre to which a facility such as a convenience store, a gas station, a restaurant, a store, a tourist facility, a specialty product sales office, a bank, or the like belongs. The map data and facility data stored in the map data storage unit 11 are read from the position detection unit 12, the route creation unit 13, and the surrounding facility search unit 16.
[0012]
The position detector 12 detects the absolute position of the vehicle on which the navigation device is mounted. The position detected by the position detection unit 12 is sent to the route creation unit 13 as coordinate data on a map created from the map data from the map data storage unit 11.
[0013]
The route creation unit 13 creates route data representing a guidance route to a destination set by the user, a destination, and estimated arrival time data, with the current vehicle position as the departure point. The route data is composed of a set of links. Here, the link means each divided piece when the road is divided according to the road shape and road attribute. The types of links include general roads and highways. A connection point between links is called a node. The node corresponds to a boarding / exiting interchange. The estimated arrival time data is data representing an estimated time when the vehicle arrives at the destination and each node. The route data created by the route creation unit 13 is sent to the getting on / off interchange list creation unit 14 and the display unit 17, and the estimated arrival time data is sent to the surrounding facility search unit 16.
[0014]
The boarding / alighting interchange list creation unit 14 creates a list of boarding / alighting interchanges (hereinafter referred to as “boarding / alighting interchange list”) existing on the guidance route represented by the route data from the route creation unit 13. The getting on / off interchange list created by the getting on / off interchange list creating unit 14 is sent to the peripheral facility searching unit 16 and the display unit 17.
[0015]
The selection unit 15 is used to select one getting-on / off interchange from the getting-on / off interchange list created by the getting-on / off interchange list creating unit 14. Selection data representing the entry / exit interchange selected by the selection unit 15 is sent to the peripheral facility search unit 16.
[0016]
The peripheral facility search unit 16 selects one getting-on / off interchange from the getting-on / off interchange list sent from the getting-on / off interchange list creating unit 14 according to the selection data sent from the selecting unit 15, and the selected getting-on / off interchange is selected. Search for facilities that are within a certain range of the surrounding area. Data indicating the facility searched by the peripheral facility search unit 16 is sent to the display unit 17.
[0017]
The display unit 17 displays the guidance route image created based on the route data from the route creation unit 13 on the map image created based on the map data from the map data storage unit 11. . Further, the display unit 17 displays a facility mark image representing a facility generated based on the facility data sent from the surrounding facility search unit 16 on the map image. Further, the display unit 17 displays various information in addition to displaying the on / off interchange list sent from the on / off interchange list creating unit 14.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the mobile navigation device shown in FIG.
[0019]
The navigation device for moving body includes a control device 20, a gyro 21, a vehicle speed sensor 22, a GPS receiver 23, an operation unit 24, a CD-ROM 25, an external memory 26, a display 28, and a speaker 29. The position detection unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 includes a gyro 21, a vehicle speed sensor 22, and a GPS receiver 23.
[0020]
The control device 20 is composed of a microcomputer, for example, and controls the entire mobile navigation device. The route creation unit 13, the getting on / off interchange list creation unit 14, and the surrounding facility search unit 16 in FIG. 1 are realized by processing by a microcomputer. Details of processing executed by the control device 20 will be described later.
[0021]
The gyro 21 functions as a direction sensor, and detects the traveling direction of the vehicle. Direction data representing the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the gyro 21 is sent to the control device 20. The vehicle speed sensor 22 detects the speed of the vehicle. Speed data representing the speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22 is sent to the control device 20. The GPS receiver 23 receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite and detects the current position of the vehicle. Position data representing the current position of the vehicle detected by the GPS receiver 23 is sent to the control device 20.
[0022]
The operation unit 24 corresponds to the selection unit 15 illustrated in FIG. For example, the operation unit 24 includes a touch switch overlaid on the display 28. The operation unit 24 is not limited to a touch switch, and can be configured from various pointing devices. The operation unit 24 can also be configured by using a touch switch and a normal mechanical switch in combination. A signal generated by the operation of the operation unit 24 is sent to the control device 20.
[0023]
The map data storage device 25 corresponds to the map data storage unit 11 shown in FIG. The map data storage device 25 can be composed of a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other storage medium. The map data storage device 25 stores map data and facility data as described above. The map data and facility data stored in the CD-ROM 25 are sent to the control device 20.
[0024]
The external memory 26 stores various data other than map data and facility data, for example, various image data to be displayed on the display 28, messages, and the like. The control device 20 generates an image and a message to be displayed on the display 28 based on the data read from the external memory 26.
[0025]
The display 28 displays a guidance route, a vehicle position mark, a facility mark, and the like on a map around the vehicle based on the map data sent from the control device 20. In addition, the display 28 displays an on / off interchange list and other various images and information.
[0026]
The speaker 29 generates a guidance message by voice based on the voice data sent from the control device 20.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the navigation device for a moving body according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention configured as described above will be described focusing on the operation of getting on and off the interchange neighborhood.
[0028]
First, when the destination, waypoint, and the like are input using the selection unit 15, the route creation unit 13 configured by the processing of the control device 20 acquires coordinate data from the position detection unit 12 and obtains the current vehicle current. Calculate the position, that is, the coordinates of the departure point. Further, the map data is read from the map data storage unit 11 to obtain the coordinates of the destination. Then, based on the coordinates of the departure point and the coordinates of the target value, a route search is executed using a known algorithm to create route data.
[0029]
The route creation unit 13 sends the created route data to the display unit 17. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8A, the screen of the display unit 17 has a thick line 40 indicating the guidance route to the destination on the map (details omitted), and the destination. And a vehicle position mark 42 representing the current position of the vehicle. Also, a button (hereinafter referred to as “soft button”) formed by an image of “route details” is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen.
[0030]
In the state shown in FIG. 8A, when the user touches the “route details” soft button, a signal indicating that the touch has been made is sent from the touch panel forming the operation unit 24 to the control device 20. Thereby, the control apparatus 20 starts the getting on / off interchange periphery search process shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[0031]
In this getting-on / off interchange neighborhood search process, first, an getting-on / off interchange list creation process is executed (step ST10). That is, the boarding / exiting interchange list creation unit 14 extracts the boarding interchanges and boarding interchanges from the departure point to the destination by taking route data from the route creation unit 13 and sequentially checking them, and adds them to the boarding / exiting interchange list. Here, the ride interchange refers to a node connected from a link representing a general road to a link representing a highway, as indicated by a connection point A in FIG. Moreover, a descending interchange means the node connected to the link showing a general road from the link showing a highway as shown in the connection point B of FIG.
[0032]
This getting on / off interchange list creation processing will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This getting on / off interchange list creating process is executed by the getting on / off interchange list creating unit 14 constituted by the processing of the control device 20.
[0033]
In the entry / exit interchange list creation process, first, it is checked whether or not there is a link next to the current link, that is, the link currently being checked (step ST20). If it is determined that there is a link next to the current link, it is then checked whether the current link is a highway (step ST21).
[0034]
If it is determined in step ST21 that the current link is an expressway, it is then checked whether the next link is a general road (step ST22). Here, if it is determined that the road is a general road, the node on the destination side of the current link is added as an exit interchange to the exit / interchange list (step ST23). Thereafter, the sequence proceeds to step ST24. If it is determined in step ST22 that the road is not a general road, the process in step ST23 is skipped, and the sequence branches to step ST24.
[0035]
If it is determined in step ST21 that the current link is not a highway, it is then checked whether the next link is a highway (step ST25). Here, if it is determined that the road is an expressway, the node on the destination side of the current link is added as a boarding interchange to the boarding / exiting interchange list (step ST26). Thereafter, the sequence branches to step ST24. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST25 that the road is not a highway, the process in step ST26 is skipped, and the sequence branches to step ST24.
[0036]
In step ST24, the link to be checked is changed to the next link. Thereafter, the sequence returns to step ST20. In the same manner, the processing from step ST20 to step ST26 is repeated. In the process of repeated execution, if it is determined in step ST20 that there is no link next to the current link, it is recognized that the check of the link having the destination node has been completed, and The list creation process ends. Then, the sequence returns to the getting on / off interchange neighborhood search process (see FIG. 4).
[0037]
In the getting-on / off interchange neighborhood search process, a list of getting-on / off interchanges is then displayed on the display unit 17 (step ST11). An example of the list displayed on the display unit 17 is shown in FIG. In this example, the name of the destination and the distance to the destination, the name of the boarding / exiting interchange existing on the guidance route to the destination, and the distance to the boarding / exiting interchange are displayed. In addition, a soft button “periphery” associated with each getting-on / off interchange is displayed.
[0038]
In a state where the screen shown in FIG. 8B is displayed, when the user touches the “peripheral” soft button corresponding to the desired interchange, a signal indicating that the touch has been made is a touch panel constituting the operation unit 24. To the control device 20. Thus, the peripheral facility search unit 16 selects one boarding / interchange from the boarding / alighting interchange list sent from the boarding / alighting interchange list creation unit 14 according to the selection data sent from the selection unit 15.
[0039]
Next, the surrounding facility search unit 16 executes a process of searching for a facility near the selected getting-on / off interchange (step ST12). Details of the processing performed in step ST12 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0040]
In the process of searching for facilities near the boarding / exiting interchange, first, the coordinates of the boarding / exiting interchange are designated as the search center coordinates (step ST30). That is, the peripheral facility search unit 16 acquires the coordinates of the getting on / off interchange selected from the getting on / off interchange list received from the getting on / off interchange list creating unit 14.
[0041]
Next, the search genre is designated (step ST31). That is, the peripheral facility search unit 16 causes the display unit 17 to display a search genre designation screen including a plurality of genres as shown in FIG. The search genre designation screen is composed of soft buttons representing a plurality of genres such as “convenience store”, “gas station”,... “Bank”.
[0042]
The order of the genres displayed on the search genre designation screen can be determined based on the estimated arrival time at the selected getting-on / off interchange or the coordinates of the interchange obtained from the route creation unit 13. For example, a genre such as a restaurant or a store is displayed on the upper side if the estimated arrival time at the selected getting-on / off interchange is a meal time, and an accommodation facility is displayed on the upper side if it is late at night. Moreover, if the selected getting-on / off interchange is a sightseeing spot, it can be configured to display a tourist facility or a specialty product sales office on the upper side. According to this configuration, the user can easily select a genre.
[0043]
When the search genre designation screen is displayed, when a user touches a soft button of a desired genre, for example, a “convenience store” soft button, a signal indicating that the touch has been made is controlled from the touch panel constituting the operation unit 24. Sent to the device 20. As a result, a facility near the designated coordinates is searched (step ST32). That is, the surrounding facility search unit 16 searches for all facilities that exist within, for example, 10 km from the coordinates acquired in step ST30 and belong to the genre selected in step ST31.
[0044]
Next, business hours are determined (step ST33). That is, the peripheral facility search unit 16 reads out the facility data of all the facilities searched in step ST32 from the map data storage unit 11, and the estimated arrival time at the selected getting-on / off interchange is included in the business hours included in each facility data Check if it ’s within, and remove facilities that are not open. As a result, facilities that cannot be used are excluded from the display target, and therefore, the user can easily select a desired facility.
[0045]
Next, the search result is displayed (step ST34). A list of facilities other than the facilities removed in step ST33 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 17, as shown in FIG. Thus, the getting-on / off interchange neighborhood search process ends. The user goes to the desired facility by referring to the list of facilities.
[0046]
As described above, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the first embodiment, the user can select the desired boarding / exiting interchange from the list of boarding / exiting interchanges displayed on the display unit 17 only by the simple operation. You can find out about the facilities around the boarding / exiting interchange. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the troublesome operation of scrolling the screen to display a map including a desired getting-on / off interchange and performing a peripheral search in that state becomes unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to quickly know facilities around the desired boarding / exiting interchange by a simple operation.
[0047]
Embodiment 2. FIG.
The mobile navigation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is configured such that a facility existing around a desired getting-on / off interchange can be searched from a main menu screen.
[0048]
The configuration of the mobile navigation device according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment described above, and is displayed on the contents of processing performed by the control device 20 and on the display unit 17. The contents are different from those of the first embodiment. Only the differences will be described below.
[0049]
In this mobile navigation device, the main menu screen displayed on the display unit 17 in the initial state is “Destination setting” for setting a destination, as shown in FIG. .., “Periphery search” for performing various peripheral searches, display conditions, and “system settings” for performing settings for the system. The portion where each item is displayed is configured to function as a soft button.
[0050]
When searching for getting on and off interchanges from this main menu screen, first, the “Destination setting” button is touched. Thereby, the route creation unit 13 creates route data in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. In this state, an operation for searching around the getting-on / off interchange is performed.
[0051]
That is, in the state where the screen shown in FIG. 9A is displayed, a soft button called “peripheral search” is touched. As a result, a peripheral type search selection screen as shown in FIG. 9B is displayed on the display unit 17. This neighborhood type search selection screen displays “current location search” to search for facilities around the current location, “destination search” to search for facilities around the destination, and “route periphery search” to search for facilities along the set route. ”And“ Exit / Exit IC area search ”for searching for facilities around the exit / interchange. The portion where each item is displayed is configured to function as a soft button.
[0052]
If the soft button “Exit / Exit IC area search” is touched while the screen shown in FIG. 9 (B) is displayed, the exit / exit existing until reaching the destination as shown in FIG. 9 (C). The name of the interchange is displayed on the display unit 17 as a list of getting-on / off interchanges to be searched. The part where the name of the boarding / exiting interchange is displayed is configured to function as a soft button. The screen shown in FIG. 9C corresponds to the screen shown in FIG. 8B in Embodiment 1 described above.
[0053]
When the user touches the soft button with the name of the desired entry / exit interchange in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 9C is displayed, a signal indicating that is sent from the touch panel constituting the operation unit 24 to the control device 20. It is done. Thereby, the getting-on / off interchange list creation unit 14 sends selection data representing the selected interchange to the peripheral facility search unit 16. In response to receiving the selection data from the getting-on / off interchange list creation unit 14, the peripheral facility search unit 16 executes a facility search process for searching for a facility near the selected interchange. This facility search process is the same as the facility search process in the first embodiment described above.
[0054]
As described above, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the second embodiment, the user can select the desired getting-on / off interchange from the main menu screen via the peripheral search screen by a simple operation. You can know the facilities that exist in the vicinity. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the troublesome operation of scrolling the screen to display a map including a desired getting-on / off interchange and performing a peripheral search in that state becomes unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to quickly know facilities around the desired boarding / exiting interchange by a simple operation.
[0055]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the facility is configured to search for facilities around the interchange from the ordinary road to the expressway and the exit interchange from the expressway to the ordinary road. Such a mobile navigation device can be applied to any type of road, not limited to general roads and highways, as the types of roads connected by interchange.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to know the facilities existing in the vicinity of the getting-on / off interchange with a simple operation of selecting a desired getting-on / off interchange from the list of getting-on / off interchanges displayed on the screen. So, as before, scrolling the screen to display a map that includes the desired boarding / exiting interchange, and doing the surrounding search in that state is unnecessary, and it exists around the desired boarding / exiting interchange There is an effect that can quickly know the facility to be operated by a simple operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the moving body navigation apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of facility data used in the mobile navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an exit / interchange vicinity search process in the mobile navigation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing in detail the entry / exit interchange list creation process in FIG. 4;
6 is a flowchart showing in detail a process for searching for facilities near the interchange selected by the user in FIG. 4; FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a boarding / alighting interchange used in the mobile navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing transition of screen display accompanying the operation of the mobile navigation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing transition of screen display accompanying the operation of the mobile navigation apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Map data memory | storage part, 12 Position detection part, 13 Path | route creation part, 14 Entry / exit interchange (IC) list creation part, 15 Selection part (interchange periphery search instruction | indication part), 16 Peripheral facility search part, 17 Display part, 20 Control apparatus , 21 Gyro (position detection unit), 22 Vehicle speed sensor (position detection unit), 23 GPS receiver (position detection unit), 24 Operation unit (selection unit, interchange periphery search instruction unit), 25 Map data storage device (map data) Storage unit), 26 external memory, 28 display (display unit), 29 speaker.

Claims (4)

A map data storage unit storing map data;
A position detector for detecting the current position;
A route creation unit that creates a route from the current position to the destination based on map data from the map data storage unit and position data representing the current position detected by the position detection unit;
A list creation unit for creating a list of getting on and off interchanges included in the route created by the route creation unit;
A display unit for displaying a list of on / off interchanges created by the list creation unit;
A selection unit for selecting one of a list of on / off interchanges displayed on the display unit;
A mobile navigation apparatus comprising: a peripheral facility search unit that searches for a facility existing around a boarding / exit interchange selected by the selection unit and uses the facility as the display unit. The selection unit further selects the genre of the facility to be searched,
2. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral facility search unit searches for facilities that exist in the vicinity of the getting-on / off interchange selected by the selection unit and belong to the genre selected by the selection unit. apparatus. The route creation unit further calculates the estimated arrival time at the getting-on / off interchange included in the created route and sends it to the surrounding facility search unit,
The peripheral facility search unit is a facility that exists in the vicinity of the getting-on / off interchange selected by the selection unit, and searches for a facility that is open at the estimated arrival time and displays it as a display unit. 3. A navigation device for a moving body according to 2. It further includes a boarding / interchange interchange search instruction section for instructing a search around the boarding / exit interchange from the main menu screen displayed on the display section,
2. The mobile navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a list of the getting-on / off interchange created by the list creating unit in response to the getting-on / off interchange surrounding search instruction unit.

Images