JP4277394B2 - Point setting device and navigation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a point setting device and a navigation device, and more particularly to a navigation device that can be used for destination setting with reference to a homepage on the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the spread of the Internet has been remarkable, and various information can be easily obtained by referring to various homepages.
[0003]
On the other hand, navigation devices that automatically search for a route from the current position of a vehicle detected by GPS or the like to a destination designated by the user and guide the vehicle along the searched route are also rapidly spreading. A so-called communication navigation system is also known in which information necessary for route search and other processing is acquired from an information center by connecting the device and the information center by a data communication means such as a mobile phone.
[0004]
When setting a destination in a navigation device, it is common to input the destination name, telephone number, address, etc. on the in-vehicle display using a touch panel, etc., but the user's intention about where to go from now on If the decision has not yet been made, it is difficult to set the destination in this way.
[0005]
The navigation device has a function to display major facilities (gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, banks, etc.) near the current position, but only displays facilities that are within a predetermined distance range centered on the current position. For example, if you are currently in Tokyo but want to go to Yokohama and eat at a delicious restaurant, you can use the above functions to search for the desired restaurant. Can not.
[0006]
In addition, the amount of information that can be stored in an internal storage device such as a hard disk or ROM provided in an in-vehicle navigation device or an external storage device such as a CD-ROM or DVD is limited, and in an information center when configured as a communication navigation system Since the amount of stored information is not infinite, it is practically impossible to store all the information that can satisfy various user requirements.
[0007]
In view of this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-101653 proposes that information requested by a user is referred to various Internet homepages and used in a navigation device. According to this prior art, information (HTML file) obtained via the Internet is analyzed to determine a character display descriptor (normal tag) and a navigation function descriptor (extended tag). A normal character display is performed based on the descriptor, and a navigation function such as destination setting is executed based on the descriptor of the extension tag.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above prior art, the information cannot be used for the navigation function such as destination setting unless the HTML file obtained via the Internet includes an extended tag description for the navigation function. This is nothing but a request for the creator of the homepage to create an HTML file including an extended tag description sentence with the intention that the information is used for executing the navigation function. . In other words, such a home page is a special one created for a navigation device after all, and only a small part of the home page can be used for destination setting when viewed from the user side of the navigation device. However, it cannot always meet the user's request.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art and to take in necessary information from a homepage obtained via the Internet, for example, and use it for a navigation function such as destination setting.
[0010]
That is, the present invention according to claim 1 is directed to storage means for storing position data of each point in association with a specific character string or numeric string, receiving means for receiving character data, and character data received by the receiving means. Determining means for determining whether or not a specific character string or numeric string related to the position data is included, and when it is determined that the specific character string or numeric string is included in the received character data InOf the received character dataThe string or numberonlyThe userIdentifies that it is clickableData changing means for changing received character data so as to display, display means for displaying received character data changed by the data changing means, and the user-identifiable expression in the received character data displayed on the display means Input means operated by a user to designate a character string or a numeric string displayed in a form, and position data of a point corresponding to the character string or the numeric string designated by the input meansSearch using the character string or numeric string as a search keyAnd a position data confirmation unit that reads from the storage unit.
[0011]
In this point setting device, the storage means is the storage device 22 in the communication navigation system of the embodiment described later, the reception means is the communication control device 23, the determination means and the data change means are the CPU 11, the position data confirmation means is the CPU 21, The display means corresponds to the display device 16, and the input means corresponds to the input device 14.
[0012]
The present invention according to claim 2 is a sensor means for detecting the current location of the vehicle, a storage means for storing the position data of each point in association with a specific character string or a number string, a receiving means for receiving character data, Determining means for determining whether or not the character data received by the receiving means includes a specific character string or numeric string related to the position data; and the received character data includes the specific character string or numeric string When it is determined thatOf the received character dataThe string or numberonlyThe userIdentifies that it is clickableData changing means for changing received character data so as to display, display means for displaying received character data changed by the data changing means, and the user-identifiable expression in the received character data displayed on the display means Input means operated by a user to designate a character string or a numeric string displayed in a form, and position data of a point corresponding to the character string or the numeric string designated by the input meansSearch using the character string or numeric string as a search keyA position data search means for reading out from the storage means; and a route search means for automatically searching for a route from the current location detected by the sensor means to the location of the position data searched by the position data search means. It is a navigation device.
[0013]
In this navigation device, the sensor means is the sensor 13 in the communication navigation system of the embodiment described later, the storage means is the storage device 22, the reception means is the communication control device 23, the determination means, the data change means, and the route search means. The CPU 11, the position data search means correspond to the CPU 21, the display means corresponds to the display device 16, and the input means corresponds to the input device 14.
[0014]
Claim 3 is the navigation device according to claim 2,Character data received by the receiving means is in the HTML file format of the Internet homepage.
[0016]
Claim 4Claim 3In the described navigation device,The data changing means inserts a specific tag before and after the character string or number string included in the HTML file received by the receiving means, thereby causing the display means to display the character string or number string in a representation form that can be identified by the user. It is characterized by being.
[0017]
Claim 5 claims2In the described navigation device,The data changing means designates the character string or number string included in the character data received by the receiving means with a specific symbol so that the character string or number string is displayed on the display means in an expression form that can be identified by the user. It is characterized by being.
[0018]
Claim 6Any one of claims 2 to 5In the navigation device ofThe character data received by the receiving means includes a character string or a number string that can be estimated to be at least one selected from the group consisting of a telephone number, a zip code, an address, and a facility name of a specific facility. It is characterized by determining whether or not.
[0019]
In the navigation device according to claim 2, when the specific character string or number string is a number string indicating a telephone number, the determination means determines whether or not “0” is included in the received character data, and “0 "Is included, it is determined whether or not the subsequent numeric string is 9 digits. When a 10-digit numeric string starting with" 0 "is confirmed, the numeric string indicates a telephone number. (Claim 7). 3. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein when the specific character string or numeric string indicates a zip code, the determination means determines whether or not “〒” or “zip code” is included in the received character data. When one of them is included, it is determined whether or not there is a 7-digit number string following it, and when the 7-digit number string is confirmed, the number string indicates a zip code. (Claim 8). In the navigation device according to claim 2, when the specific character string or number string indicates an address, the determining means determines whether the received character data includes a local government name such as a prefecture, When any local government name is included, it is determined whether or not a number is included in the predetermined number of characters that follow it. When a number is included in the predetermined number of characters, the locality name immediately before the number The character string up to is recognized as an address (claim 9). 3. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein when the specific character string or number string indicates the facility name, the determining means determines whether or not the received character data includes a character indicating the facility name. When a character indicating a name is included, a character string starting with the character or a character string ending with the character is recognized as a facility name.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a communication navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is an in-vehicle unit, and 20 is an information center, which are connected via a communication means 30 such as a mobile phone (including PHS and car phone) so as to be able to transmit and receive data.
[0021]
The in-vehicle unit 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11 that performs various data processing and operation control of each unit, and a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and the like connected to the CPU 11 through a bus line such as a data bus or a control bus. It has. The ROM is a read-on memory in which various data and programs for control by the CPU 11 are stored in advance, and the RAM is a random access memory that the CPU 11 uses as a working memory.
[0022]
The storage device 12 stores various data processing executed by the CPU 11 and data and programs necessary for operation control of each unit. Specifically, route search processing for automatically searching for a recommended route from the current location to the destination, and the like. Navigation program 121 used for execution of various navigation functions (including execution of processing according to flowcharts described later), software for browsing Internet information received by the information center 20 and transmitted as it is through the communication means 30 A certain browser program 122, destination data 123 that stores absolute coordinates of facilities and points that can be set as destinations, names, telephone numbers, addresses, postal codes, etc., and functions of the communication control device 15 to be described later are controlled. For communication control program 124 and other processing by CPU 11 Essential various programs or data 125 is stored.
[0023]
The storage device 12 includes various storage media such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, an IC card, an optical card, and a DVD, and a driving device thereof. Alternatively, data may be stored, or a plurality of different storage media may be used for each program or data. In particular, when data unique to the user is stored as various data 125, it can be stored in a storage medium such as an IC card or floppy disk that can be easily carried, and other programs and data can be stored in the hard disk. .
[0024]
Various sensors 13 are provided for detecting the situation of each part of the vehicle (engine, transmission, door, window, wiper, air conditioner, etc.) and the situation inside and outside the vehicle (vehicle interior temperature, outdoor temperature, weather, road surface condition, etc.) Particularly important in the present embodiment is a current position detection device that detects the absolute position of the vehicle, which is a GPS receiver that measures the vehicle position using an artificial satellite, a direction sensor, a steering angle sensor, a distance sensor, and a road sensor. A beacon receiving device that obtains position information from a beacon is used alone or in any combination. The GPS receiver and the beacon receiver can measure the position independently, but in order to enable the position measurement at a place where reception by these is impossible, a direction sensor (geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, wheel sensor, etc.), snake It is preferable to use a combination of an angle sensor, a distance sensor, and the like. Further, for more accurate current position detection, D-GPS (differential GPS) that receives a correction signal for a positioning error transmitted from a predetermined base station and corrects the current position may be used. Since these receiving devices and sensors themselves are known, further detailed description is omitted. The sensor 13 as the current position detecting device constitutes the sensor means for detecting the current vehicle position in the present invention.
[0025]
The input device 14 is used especially for the user to set the destination of the vehicle, and specifically includes a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a light pen, a joystick, an infrared remote controller, a voice recognition device, and the like.
[0026]
The communication control device 15 is controlled by the CPU 11 based on the communication control program 124 and enables data transmission / reception with the information center 20 via the communication means 30. Specifically, the communication control device 15 is configured as a modem. obtain.
[0027]
The display device (display) 16 is for displaying the result of processing by the CPU 11 as information visible to the user. Specifically, a liquid crystal display device, a CRT, or the like is used. Further, when the display device 16 is configured as a touch panel, the display device 16 can also have a function as the input device 14.
[0028]
As a processing result of the CPU 11 displayed on the display device 16, for example, a recommended route from the current location to the destination searched based on the navigation program 121, or received Internet information that can be browsed based on the browser program 122 ( Homepage). In addition, a map around the current location or an arbitrary point, a selection menu screen for selecting an operation desired by the user, such as destination input, or the inside / outside of the vehicle imaged by a CCD camera (considered as a kind of sensor 13) An image is also displayed on the display device 16.
[0029]
On the other hand, the information center 20 is similarly provided with a central processing unit (CPU) 21 and a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and the like connected to the CPU via a bus line such as a data bus or a control bus to perform various data processing. In the present invention, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the character data received by the receiving means includes a specific character string or number string related to the position data, and the specific character string or number. A data changing means for changing the received character data so as to display the character string or the numerical string in an expression form that can be identified by the user when it is determined that the character string is included.
[0030]
The storage device 22 connected to the CPU 21 is configured by a single or a plurality of types of storage media, similar to the storage device 12 described above, and corresponds by referring to the destination data 224 below using a character string designated by the user as a search key. Functions of a destination search program 221 for performing processing (S310 and S312 of the flow shown in FIG. 4), an http server program 222 for transmitting and receiving Internet information, and communication control devices 23 and 24 to be described later Communication control program 223 for controlling the destination, absolute coordinates of facilities and points that can be set as destinations, destination data 224 for storing names, telephone numbers, addresses, postal codes, etc., and other various types of processing necessary for the CPU 21 A program or data 225 is stored.
[0031]
The communication control devices 23 and 24 are controlled by the CPU 21 based on the communication control program 223. Specifically, the communication control devices 23 and 24 can be configured as modems. The communication control device 23 stores Internet information distributed as HTML files through a telephone line. The communication control device 24 enables data transmission / reception with the in-vehicle unit 10 via the communication means 30.
[0032]
In the communication navigation system according to this embodiment, in order to set the destination, “Destination setting” is selected from the selection menu screen displayed on the display device 16 as in the conventional case, and the name of the desired destination, The destination can be set by inputting an address, a telephone number or the like via the input device 14, and a desired destination can be found and set from the Internet information. Internet information is acquired primarily by the information center 20 via the communication control device 23, and is transmitted to the in-vehicle unit 10 via the communication control device 24, the communication means 30, and the communication control device 15. The character information processed based on the above is displayed on the display device 16. When the destination desired by the user is found in the displayed character information, the user can designate the telephone number, postal code, facility name, address, etc. of the destination using the touch panel as the input device 14 or the like. . The CPU 11 reads position data (coordinates) of the designated destination from the destination data 123 and sets it as a guidance destination of the navigation device.
[0033]
In order to enable destination setting from the Internet information, the CPU 11 on the in-vehicle unit 10 side is a character string that can be information for specifying a destination such as a telephone number, a postal code, a facility name, and an address from the Internet information. It is necessary to display on the display device 16 so as to indicate that the user can set the input via the input device 14 as a destination. Hereinafter, the processing for this will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
[0034]
In this embodiment, since the Internet information received by the information center 20 is configured to be transmitted to the in-vehicle unit 10 via the communication means 30 or the like, the CPU 11 first starts from the information center 20 in S100 of the flowchart of FIG. Wait for data reception. When data such as HTML is received (S100: Yes), a predetermined character string (or character) is extracted from the data such as HTML (S102, S208). In this embodiment, the received HTML data includes a character string indicating a telephone number, a character string indicating a postal code, and a character string indicating an address. And whether or not the character string indicating the facility name is included, and if it is determined that the corresponding character string is included, the character string is clickable so that the user can specify it. Set (described later).
[0035]
First, in S102, it is determined whether or not there is a character “0” in the received HTML data. If there is a character “0” (S102: Yes), it is determined whether or not the character string following the character “0” is a 9-digit number string (S104). At this time, if a character string following “0” includes parentheses “(”, “)”, a hyphen “-”, or a space, these are ignored. When a 10-digit numeric string starting with “0” is confirmed in this way (S106: Yes), the CPU 11 recognizes this numeric string as a telephone number and sets it in a clickable manner (S108).
[0036]
Next, in S110, it is determined whether or not the received HTML data includes the characters “〒” or “zip code”. When the character “〒” or “zip code” is included (S110: Yes), the character string following the character is a combination of a 3-digit number string + a character “-” (hyphen) + a 4-digit number string. It is determined whether or not there is (S112). In this determination, it does not matter whether “-” is present, and can be ignored when there is a space. When it is confirmed that the character string following the character “〒” or “zip code” is the above combination (S112: Yes), the CPU 11 recognizes this character string as a zip code and clickable (S114). .
[0037]
Moving to the flowchart of FIG. 3, next, in S <b> 200, “city”, “road”, “fu”, “prefecture”, “city”, “city”, “ It is determined whether there is a “town”, “village”, “county”, or the like. When these characters are included (S200: Yes), it is determined whether or not a predetermined number of characters following that character, for example, a number (that is, an address) is included in 30 characters (S202). When a number is included in 30 characters (S202: Yes), the CPU 11 recognizes a character string from a prefecture, a municipality, or a county to the immediately preceding number as an address, and sets the clickable (S204).
[0038]
Next, in S206 and S208, it is determined whether the character string extracted in S102 includes, for example, “corporation”, “store”, “station”, “country club”, “golf club”, and the like. If the extracted character string contains the character “corporation” at the beginning or end (S206: Yes), the character string “corporation XX” or “XX corporation” is used as the facility name. It is recognized that there is a clickable setting (S212). Further, when the extracted character string ends with “Store”, “Station”, “Country Club”, or “Golf Club” (S208: Yes), the character string ending with the character is recognized as the facility name. Then, clickable setting is performed (S212). As the name of a golf course, “country club” or “golf club” may be used at the head, so these may also be used when those characters are included at the head as in the case of “stock” (S206). The facility name can be determined (S208: Yes) and clickable setting can be performed (S212).
[0039]
As described above, after performing the above-described processing for all characters included in the received HTML data, the process proceeds to the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[0040]
That is, first, the HTML data received in S300 is displayed on the screen of the display device 16. The displayed HTML data already includes a phone number, a postal code, an address, a character string estimated as a name (or a numeric character string, or a numeric character string if it is simply referred to as a character character string). Is determined (S104, S110, S200, S206, S208), and the telephone number, postal code, address, and name character string recognized based on the determination result are as follows. Clickable is set (S108, S114, S204, S212).
[0041]
Here, “clickable setting” will be described. When “<P> phone number is 03-1234-5678” is obtained as HTML data, for example, this HTML data is directly sent to the browser program 122 as it is. Based on the original data, “phone number is 03-1234-5678” is displayed when displayed on the display device 16. Note that <P> and </ P> are symbols called tags indicating that the character string between them is a group. In such a display, the user can only visually recognize the information, and cannot set (input) a telephone number as destination data. That is, the telephone number in this case is not “clickable”.
[0042]
On the other hand, when the number string of “03-1234-5678” in the HTML data is recognized as a telephone number by the processing of S104 to S108 in the flow of FIG. Processing necessary to display the numeric string in an expression form different from other parts is performed and displayed on the display device 16. As an expression form in this case, for example, an underline is added only to a part of a numeric string identified as a telephone number, or this numeric string part is displayed in a color different from other display parts, It is conceivable to display the image in a different size or font in an emphasized manner or attach a specific symbol, and the data processing necessary for displaying on the display device 16 in such an expression form is performed. Therefore, the user can recognize this numeric string portion as a telephone number such as a destination, and can designate it with the input means 14 such as a touch panel. In the present specification, such processing is called “clickable setting” by analogy with mouse operation. As a specific method of “clickable setting” by the CPU 11, a numeric string recognized as a telephone number is sandwiched between specific tags (for example, <PHONE> and </ PHONE> in the following example), and the HTML original data is “ <P> The phone number is <PHONE> 03-1234-5678 </ PHONE>. </ P> ". The corrected data is stored in a RAM connected to the CPU 11.
[0043]
Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 4, when a clickable character string in the HTML data displayed on the display device 16 is designated by the user via the input means 14 (S302: Yes), then in S304, the designated character is designated. It is determined whether or not a link destination is set for the column. In some cases, a link destination that can be designated by the user is already set in the received HTML original data itself. In this case, the character string designated by the user in S302 is clickable by a process specific to this embodiment. This is because it is necessary to determine whether the character string is a set character string (S108, S114, S204, S212) or a character string indicating a link destination already set in the HTML original data. When it is determined in S304 that a link destination is set (S304: Yes), the link destination is connected (S306), and the process is terminated.
[0044]
When the link destination is not set for the character string designated by the user (S304: No), it means that the character string is clickable, and is acquired (S308). The acquired character string is transmitted from the CPU 11 on the in-vehicle unit 10 side to the CPU 21 on the information center 20 side via the communication control device 15, the communication means 30, and the communication control device 24.
[0045]
In accordance with the destination search program 221, the CPU 21 on the information center 20 side searches for a facility or the like corresponding to the acquired character string as a search key (S310). Specifically, it is searched whether there is a character string corresponding to the acquired character string in the destination data 224 stored in the storage device 22, and the search result is acquired (S312). That is, when a facility corresponding to a character string such as a telephone number, a postal code, an address, or a name designated by the user is searched, the data of the facility stored as the destination data 224, particularly the absolute coordinates thereof. Is obtained as a search result. This search result is transmitted to the CPU 11 on the in-vehicle unit 10 side via the communication control device 24, the communication means 30, and the communication control device 15.
[0046]
The CPU 11 on the in-vehicle unit 10 side confirms in S314 that the search result obtained by the CPU 21 on the information center 20 side, that is, the location data of the facility corresponding to the user-specified character string has been input in S314. When acquisition of data of a facility (destination) corresponding to a character string such as a telephone number, a postal code, an address, or a name specified by the user in S314 is confirmed (S314: Yes), the CPU 11 routes the facility. It is set as a search destination (S316). In addition, various data stored as the destination data 123 for the facility (facility name, address, postal code, telephone number, etc., as well as a photograph of the facility, a surrounding map, etc.) are displayed on the display device 16, and this is displayed. The user is notified that the navigation destination has been set as the guidance destination (S318). When the corresponding facility cannot be searched, a message such as “No corresponding facility is found” is displayed to prompt the user to set a destination by another method.
[0047]
The processing according to this flow is thus completed. After the destination is set in this way, the CPU 11 automatically searches for a recommended route from the current location detected by the sensor 13 to the destination according to the navigation program 121. I do. Since this process is known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0048]
In the flow of FIG. 4, the act of the user specifying a clickable character string is regarded as an intention display for setting a facility or the like corresponding to the specified character string as a guidance destination of the navigation device. When the location data of the destination is acquired in S314, it is immediately set as the destination of the route search (S316), but the name of the searched facility is displayed on the display device 16 before S316. At the same time, a message such as “Do you want to set as a destination?” Or “Set destination” is displayed and the user is asked to confirm whether or not to set this facility as a destination. Good. In this case, when the user's intention to set the destination is confirmed through the input means 14 such as a touch panel, the CPU 11 sets the facility as the destination (S316).
[0049]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can take various forms within the scope of the invention defined by the claims. For example, although the notification to the user in S318 is performed by displaying the fact on the display device 16, a speaker is provided in the in-vehicle unit 10, and the speaker is replaced with or used in combination with the display on the display device 16. The above notification can be performed by voice from
[0050]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, CPU11 by the side of vehicle-mounted unit determines whether the character string or number string which shows a telephone number etc. is contained in received character data (determination means), and the said character string is contained. However, it is also possible to configure so that the CPU 21 on the reception center side performs these operations. In this case, the received character data changed by the CPU 21 is transmitted to the CPU 21 via the communication control device 24, the communication means 30 and the communication control device 15, and displayed on the display device 16.
[0051]
Moreover, although the said embodiment is a structural example as a communication navigation system, you may make it perform all the processes by the vehicle-mounted unit 10 side. In this case, the determination unit, the data change unit, the position data search (confirmation) unit, and the route search unit according to the present invention are performed by the CPU 11 on the in-vehicle unit 10 side, and the destination search program 221 and the http server program 222 are stored. A communication control device 23 (which constitutes a receiving means in the present invention) which is stored in the device 12 (which constitutes a storage means in the present invention) and acquires Internet information is provided on the in-vehicle unit 10 side.
[0052]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the Internet information is cited as information used by the user for destination setting. However, the information is not limited to this, and the CPU 11 has a data format that allows clickable setting. Any information can be used.
[0053]
As a process for extracting a predetermined character string (or number string) from the HTML data in S102, for example, a process for setting a line feed symbol, a space, a comma or the like as a delimiter and extracting a character string sandwiched between delimiters from HTML data. May be performed. In this case, the processing after S104 is executed on the extracted character string.
[0054]
In the above embodiment, the characters “city”, “road”, “prefecture”, “prefecture”, “city”, “ward”, “town”, “village” or “county” are determined from the HTML data in S200. When it is detected and it is detected in S200 to S204 that a number is included in a predetermined number of characters (for example, 30 characters) following these characters, a character string from the character to the number is clickable as an address. However, if a character such as a prefecture is detected from a character string sandwiched between delimiters, whether the character string contains a city or county character, and the character string Whether numbers are included or not is detected, and when these are detected, the character string from the prefecture to the number may be recognized as an address and clickable.
[0055]
In the above embodiment, HTML data has been described as an example of clickable document data (character data, character string data). However, so-called text format document data may be used, or a format dedicated to a specific word processor. Document data, e-mail document data, and other document data. For example, the number string of the telephone number can be clickably set for the text-format document data “I made a call to 031345678”. In this case, when the user designates a clickable phone number on the edit screen of the text-format document data “I made a call to 0123345678.”, the destination corresponding to the designated phone number is the same as in the above embodiment. Setting data (location data of a facility corresponding to a telephone number, etc.) can be acquired, and the destination of the navigation device can be set using the acquired destination setting data.
[0056]
Here, the document data includes not only data as documents (50 sounds, alphabets, etc.) but also numbers and symbols.
[0057]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as a clickable setting, by setting the character string (or number string) identified as a telephone number or the like to be sandwiched between specific tags, the character string of the portion sandwiched between the tags is used. It explained so that the telephone number etc. to be displayed could be clickable. Alternatively, or together with this, a character string identified as a telephone number or the like is displayed in a clickable map (for example, a telephone number character string clickable map if a telephone number is identified, or an address character string clickable if an address is identified. If the facility name is identified in the map, it is added to the facility name string clickable map, and if the zip code is identified, it is added to the zip code string clickable map, and the display color of the identified string is changed (for example, telephone If the number is identified, the display color is changed to the display color dedicated to the telephone number. If the address is identified, the display color is changed to the display color dedicated to the address. If the facility name is identified, the display color is changed to the display color dedicated to the facility name. Change the display color to the postal code only), save it in the buffer, and display it based on the data in the buffer after the identification process for the entire HTML data is completed. It may be so.
[0058]
In the above-described embodiment, when a clickable character string for which no link destination is set is specified by the user, the specified character string is transmitted to the information center (as a search key). Alternatively, the user may designate an arbitrary character string from the document or character string displayed on the display device, and the designated character string may be transmitted to the information center as a search key. The operation of the information center that has received the designated character string is the same as in the above embodiment.
[0059]
Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the destination setting, but also to an intermediate point (point to be routed to the destination) and other arbitrary points.
[0060]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, for example, necessary information can be taken from any homepage obtained via the Internet and used for a navigation function such as destination setting. For example, if you are in Tokyo but want to go to Yokohama and eat at a delicious restaurant, as in the example described in the related art at the beginning, the Internet has an enormous amount of information. By opening an appropriate home page from the information, a restaurant desired by the user can be found and set as a destination. The homepage can include various information such as introductions to menus, prices, store atmosphere, availability of reservations, etc. in addition to the data provided in normal navigation devices such as restaurant names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The user can accurately find a desired restaurant with reference to these.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication navigation system as an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of telephone number recognition processing and postal code recognition processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of address recognition processing and facility name recognition processing performed subsequent to the processing of FIG. 2;
4 is a flowchart of a destination search / setting process performed subsequent to the process of FIG. 3;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 In-vehicle unit
11 Central processing unit (CPU)
12 Storage device
13 Sensor
14 Input device
15 Communication control device
20 Information Center
21 Central processing unit (CPU)
22 Storage device
23, 24 Communication control device
30 Communication means

Claims (10)

Storage means for storing the position data of each point in association with a specific character string or numeric string, receiving means for receiving character data, and a specific character string related to the position data in the character data received by the receiving means Or a determination means for determining whether or not a numeric character string is included, and when it is determined that the specific character string or the numeric character string is included in the received character data, the character string or A data changing means for changing the received character data so that the user can identify that only the numeric string is clickable, a display means for displaying the received character data changed by the data changing means, and a display means An input operated by the user to specify a character string or a numeric string displayed in the user-identifiable expression form in the displayed received character data. Includes means, and a position data confirming means for reading from the storage means to search for the character string or numeric string as a search key the position data of the point corresponding to the specified character string or numeric string by the input means The point setting device characterized by becoming. Sensor means for detecting the current location of the vehicle, storage means for storing position data of each point in association with a specific character string or numeric string, receiving means for receiving character data, and character data received by the receiving means Determining means for determining whether or not a specific character string or numeric string related to the position data is included; and when it is determined that the specific character string or numeric string is included in the received character data Data changing means for changing the received character data so that the user can identify that only the character string or the number string is clickable among the received character data, and the received character data changed by the data changing means A character string or a number string displayed in the user-identifiable expression form in the received character data displayed on the display means. Input means operated by the user to a constant, the position of reading from the storage means the position data of the point corresponding to the specified character string or numeric string and search for the character string or numeric string as a search key by the input means A navigation apparatus comprising: data search means; and route search means for automatically searching for a route from the current location detected by the sensor means to a location of the position data searched by the position data search means. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the character data received by the receiving means is in an HTML file format of an Internet homepage. The data changing means may allow the user to designate the character string or number string by inputting means by inserting a specific tag before and after the character string or number string included in the HTML file received by the receiving means. The navigation device according to claim 3. The data changing means has a representation form that allows the display means to identify the character string or number string by designating the character string or number string included in the character data received by the receiving means with a specific symbol. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the navigation device is displayed. In the character data received by the receiving unit, the determination unit includes a character string or a numeric string that can be estimated to be at least one selected from the group consisting of a telephone number, a zip code, an address, and a facility name of a specific facility. claims 2, characterized in that it is intended to determine if it contains to the navigation device according to any one of 5. The specific character string or number string is a number string indicating a telephone number, and the determination means determines whether or not “0” is included in the received character data, and “0” is included. It is determined whether or not the subsequent numeric string is 9 digits, and when the 10-digit numeric string starting with “0” is confirmed, it is recognized that the numeric string indicates a telephone number. The navigation device according to claim 2. The specific character string or number string indicates a zip code, and the determination means determines whether or not “〒” or “zip code” is included in the received character data, and includes either of them. It is determined whether or not there is a 7-digit number string following it, and when the 7-digit number string is confirmed, it is recognized that the number string indicates a postal code. The navigation device according to claim 2. The specific character string or number string indicates an address, and the determining means determines whether or not a local government name such as a prefecture is included in the received character data, and any local government name is When it is included, it is determined whether or not a number is included in the predetermined number of characters following it. When the number is included in the predetermined number of characters, the character string from the local name to the immediately preceding number The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein the navigation device is recognized as being present. The specific character string or number string indicates a facility name, and the determination unit determines whether or not the received character data includes a character indicating the facility name, and includes a character indicating the facility name. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a character string starting with the character or a character string ending with the character is recognized as a facility name.

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