JP4667209B2 - Navigation device and search condition setting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device and a search condition setting method, and is particularly suitable for use in a navigation device having a route guidance function for searching for a guidance route by selecting a desired search condition.

  In general, an in-vehicle navigation device detects the current position of a vehicle using an autonomous navigation sensor, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, or the like, reads out map data in the vicinity thereof from a recording medium, and displays it on a screen. A vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle position is superimposed and displayed at a predetermined location on the screen so that the current position of the vehicle can be recognized at a glance.

  In addition, many navigation devices receive VICS road traffic information (hereinafter abbreviated as VICS information) sent from a road traffic information center (VICS center), and display a constantly changing road situation on a map screen. It can be done. A navigation device equipped with a VICS function can provide road traffic information such as traffic jam information and regulation information to a user in real time.

  Most navigation devices are equipped with a route guidance function. This route guidance function automatically searches for the route with the lowest cost from the current location to the destination using map data, and uses the searched route as the guidance route to change the color on the map screen and change the color. draw. Further, when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection on the guidance route within a certain distance, an enlarged view of the intersection is displayed and the intersection is guided to guide the driver to the destination.

  As a condition when searching for a route, for example, the type of road to be used preferentially, such as an expressway or a general road, whether to give priority to the travel distance or travel time, whether to use a toll road, Requests for user routes can be set. In recent years, whether or not traffic information represented by VICS is used can be set as a condition. The navigation device calculates a route that best satisfies the search conditions set by the user and uses it for guidance.

  In other words, the navigation device is necessary to pass through the road by multiplying the road distance by a specific coefficient that matches the conditions at the time of route calculation and the road type in order to satisfy various requests for the route of the user. Define as cost. Then, a route that connects the starting point and the destination at a minimum cost is calculated and used as a guidance route. For example, when calculating a guide route giving priority to an expressway, a guide route that uses the expressway preferentially is calculated by multiplying a coefficient so as to reduce the cost of the expressway.

  The above-described route search conditions are generally set by a user in advance. That is, in preparation for a route search, a user uses a user interface such as a remote control or a touch panel to set a request for his route in the navigation device in advance. When route guidance is actually required, the navigation device searches for a route based on the conditions set in advance by the user as described above.

  As described above, in the conventional navigation apparatus, since the user sets the route search conditions in advance, it is difficult to search for the route that the user most wants to use according to the situation when the route is searched. For example, it is assumed that even if the user travels on a general road, he / she goes on vacation to a leisure land at a distance that can be reciprocated on a day trip. Assume that the user wants to arrive at the destination as soon as possible on the outbound route. In this case, if the route search condition is set to expressway priority, a route that can arrive at the destination as soon as possible using the expressway is searched as desired by the user.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the user may take time to return home, so he wants to go home slowly and decides to go home via a general road. When the user returns to the home, the user sets the destination as home and instructs the navigation device to search for a route. Conditions for the route search include a highway priority condition. Therefore, the navigation device provides a route using the highway, and a route that is not expected by the user is searched in contrast to the outward route. In order to search for a route passing through a general road on the return route, the user needs to switch the route search condition from the expressway priority to the general road priority using the user interface.

  Thus, in the conventional navigation apparatus, in order for the user to obtain a desired route, it is necessary to set a route search condition expected by the user at each time of route search. That is, after setting the destination, the user always designates whether or not to change the route search condition. When changing the search condition setting, it is necessary to set the details of the change. Therefore, a considerable amount of operation and confirmation work are required, and there is a problem that the operation becomes troublesome.

A technique has been proposed in which a reciprocal route between two points is calculated simultaneously (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, in this patent document 1, the route is searched under the same search conditions for both the outbound route and the inbound route, and the route most likely to be used by the user according to the respective situations when heading to the destination and when returning home is searched. Difficult to do.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-239079

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a route that the user seems to prefer according to the circumstances of the present situation without the user sequentially setting the conditions for route search. The purpose is to be able to search and provide.

In order to solve the above-described problem, in the navigation device of the present invention, the route search condition when the route search is actually performed, the search history information, together with the start time of the route search and the distance from the current location to the destination for the route search. stored as the next time of searching for a route heading to the same destination, based on the combination of the distance and the search history information that is to the storage, until the current time and the destination are trying to route search, the Route search conditions suitable for the combination are extracted from the search history information and set.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, the current route search condition is dynamically set with reference to the past results of the route search condition stored as the search history information. As a result, even if the user does not change the route search condition, the route search can be performed by automatically setting the route search condition according to the situation at that time. In addition, the route obtained here is searched according to the route search conditions set in accordance with the conditions such as the start time of the route search and the distance to the destination, and thus is close to the route desired by the user. . Therefore, the route that the user seems to prefer can be obtained without complicated operations.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration example of the navigation device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a map recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, which stores various types of map data necessary for map display and route search. Here, the DVD-ROM 11 is used as a recording medium for storing the map data, but other recording media such as a CD-ROM and a hard disk may be used. A map data reading unit 12 controls reading of map data from the DVD-ROM 11.

  Here, the details of the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 11 will be described. The map data stored in the DVD-ROM 11 is managed in a hierarchy called a level from a high-level map overlooking a wide area to a low-level map describing a narrow area in detail. . The map of each level is divided in units of rectangular areas called sections (also referred to as meshes or parcels) divided by predetermined longitude and latitude.

  The map data for each block includes a drawing unit composed of various data necessary for map display, a road unit composed of data necessary for various processing such as map matching and route guidance, and an intersection unit composed of detailed intersection data. And are included. The drawing unit described above includes background layer data necessary for displaying buildings, rivers, and the like, character layer data necessary for displaying city names, road names, and the like.

  The above road unit is used for roads and lanes that connect information about nodes corresponding to points where multiple roads intersect, such as intersections and branches, and a node on the road and other nodes adjacent to it. Information about the corresponding link. That is, the road unit includes a connection node table storing detailed data of all nodes and a link table storing detailed data of links specified by two adjacent nodes.

  The connection node table includes information such as normalized longitude / latitude of nodes, attribute flags, the number of traffic regulations, and traffic regulation records for each existing node. The normalized longitude / latitude indicates a relative position in the longitude direction / latitude direction with respect to the section. The attribute flag includes an intersection node flag indicating that the node is an intersection node, an adjacent node flag indicating that the node is at a boundary with other sections, and the like. The number of traffic regulations indicates the number of traffic regulations when there is traffic regulation such as right turn prohibition or U-turn prohibition on the link connected to the node. The traffic regulation record indicates the specific contents of the traffic regulation corresponding to the number of traffic regulations described above, if any.

  The link table stores link records corresponding to all the links included in each section. Each link record includes information such as a link distance, a link cost, a road attribute flag, and a road type flag. The link distance indicates the actual distance of the actual road corresponding to the link. The cost of a link is a value obtained by multiplying a predetermined constant according to the road width, road type (general road or highway, etc.), legal speed, right and left turns, traffic regulations, etc. based on the link distance. The degree of appropriateness as a guide route is quantified.

  The road attribute flag indicates various attributes relating to the link. For example, a VICS link correspondence flag indicating that the link corresponds to a VICS link managed by the VICS center (a link capable of receiving VICS information) is included. The road type flag indicates the rank of a road classification to which an actual road corresponding to the link belongs, for example, a highway, a national road, a prefectural road, or a general road.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes a current position detection unit that detects the current position of the vehicle, and includes an autonomous navigation sensor, a GPS receiver, a position calculation CPU, and the like. The autonomous navigation sensor is a vehicle speed sensor (distance sensor) that outputs a single pulse for each predetermined travel distance to detect the moving distance of the vehicle, and an angular velocity sensor such as a vibration gyro that detects the rotation angle (moving direction) of the vehicle. (Relative orientation sensor). The autonomous navigation sensor detects the relative position and direction of the vehicle by these vehicle speed sensor and angular velocity sensor.

  The position calculation CPU calculates the absolute own vehicle position (estimated vehicle position) and vehicle direction based on the relative position and direction data of the own vehicle output from the autonomous navigation sensor. The GPS receiver receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites by a GPS antenna and performs a three-dimensional positioning process or a two-dimensional positioning process to calculate the absolute position and direction of the vehicle (the vehicle direction is The calculation is based on the current vehicle position and the current vehicle position one sampling time ΔT before).

  A map information memory 14 temporarily stores map data read from the DVD-ROM 11 under the control of the map data reading unit 12. That is, the map data reading unit 12 acquires information on the current vehicle position from the current position detection unit 13, reads map data necessary for map display and route search from the DVD-ROM 11, and stores the map data in the map information memory 14.

  Reference numeral 15 denotes an operation unit such as a remote controller (remote controller) or the like, in which a user sets various information (for example, a route search destination) to the navigation device, or performs various operations (for example, menu selection operation and enlargement). / Various reduction buttons (buttons, joysticks, etc.) for performing a reduction operation, manual map scrolling, numerical input, route search instruction, and the like. Reference numeral 16 denotes a remote control interface, which receives an infrared signal corresponding to the operation state from the remote control 15.

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a route search unit. When a route search is instructed, the map data read unit 12 reads from the DVD-ROM 11 and stores it in the map information memory 14 to store the destination from the current location. A process for searching for a guide route with the lowest cost is performed. At this time, the route search unit 17 gives priority to, for example, the “priority road type” indicating which of the highway and the general road is used with priority, and the condition of the shortest time or the shortest distance. The route search is executed in accordance with conditions set as described later, such as “type of priority condition” indicating “use of toll road” and “use / nonuse of toll road” indicating whether to use toll road.

  Reference numeral 18 denotes a time measuring unit, which measures the current time. A history information generation unit 19 generates search history information including a route search condition when a route search is actually performed by the route search unit 17, a start time of the route search, and a distance to the destination. Route search conditions are set as either “priority road type” or “highway priority” or “general road priority”. As a result, “priority condition type” is set as either the shortest time or the shortest distance. As a result, the result of setting whether to use a toll road or not to be used as “whether toll road can be used” is shown. The distance to the destination is, for example, a linear distance from the current location to the destination. The straight line distance can be obtained from longitude and latitude information included in the map data. In addition, you may use the total distance of the route | root obtained as a result of carrying out route search using the standard search conditions set beforehand.

  A history information storage unit 20 stores the search history information generated by the history information generation unit 19. The history information storage unit 20 is composed of a non-volatile recording medium whose stored contents do not disappear even when the navigation apparatus is turned off. For example, a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used as the history information storage unit 20. In the history information storage unit 20, for example, a plurality of search history information is stored separately for each destination.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of search history information stored in the history information storage unit 20. The search history information shown in FIG. 2 shows the history of route search conditions (specific point search condition setting history list) set when the user returns from various destinations to his / her home (home is his / her destination). It is. The history information generation unit 19 according to the present embodiment generates search history information having contents as shown in each row of FIG. 2 every time a user performs a route search with a home as a destination, and stores it in the history information storage unit 20. Record.

  For example, the first line in FIG. 2 is a history when the user searches for a route at 7:00:00 home. Here, the time when the route search is started is 7:00, the straight distance 120 Km from the current location to the home, and the route search condition used at that time (priority road type is “highway priority”, priority condition The search parameter of “time priority” and toll road “use” is recorded.

  The second line in FIG. 2 is a history when the user searches for a route with his home as the destination at 16:05. Here, the route search start time is 16:05, the straight distance from the current location to the home is 70 km, and the route search condition used at that time (priority road type is “general road priority”, priority condition) The search parameter is “distance priority” and the toll road is “not used”). Such a route search condition history is sequentially recorded as a specific point search condition setting history list every time a route search is executed by the route search unit 17.

  Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a search condition setting unit. The search history information stored in the history information storage unit 20 and the current time at which the route search unit 17 is searching for a route (timed by the time measuring unit 18). And route search conditions are set based on the distance to the destination. Details of the route search condition setting process will be described later. The route search unit 17 described above executes route search processing in accordance with the route search condition set by the search condition setting unit 21.

  A display controller 22 generates map image data necessary for display on the display device 23 based on the map data stored in the map information memory 14 and outputs the map image data to the display device 23. In addition, the display controller 22 controls the display device 23 so that the guidance route searched by the route search unit 17 is drawn thickly with a different color from other roads. Further, the display controller 22 performs control so that an enlarged view of the intersection is displayed on the display device 23 when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection or guidance branch on the guidance route within a certain distance.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes a voice generation unit that generates a voice for guiding the traveling direction when the vehicle approaches a guidance intersection or guidance branch point on the guidance route within a certain distance. The speaker 25 outputs the sound generated by the sound generator 24 to the outside.

  Next, an example of setting route search conditions by the search condition setting unit 21 will be described in detail. The search condition setting unit 21 first sets a route search condition on a plane having a two-axis distance from the start time of the route search and the distance to the destination based on the search history information stored in the history information storage unit 20. Find a boundary curve that represents the boundary conditions for setting. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a boundary curve used when setting route search conditions (search parameters for highway priority or general road priority) for priority road types.

  Each plot point (white circle and black circle) graph shown in FIG. 3 is based on the search history information stored in the history information storage unit 20, and the route search is performed on the tendency to select the priority road as the route search condition. They are classified according to the time and the straight line distance to the home at that time. That is, each search history information stored in the history information storage unit 20 is plotted at a corresponding coordinate position on a two-dimensional plane with the route search start time on the horizontal axis and the distance to the destination on the vertical axis. is doing.

  From the example shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the user tends to use the general road without using the expressway if the distance is about 100 km between 8:00 and 12:00. It can also be seen that around 20:00, the user wants to use the highway even at a distance of about 30 km. Thus, it can be seen that even if the straight distance to the home returns from the same point to the home, the road to be prioritized changes according to the departure time. It can also be seen that even at the same departure time, the road to be prioritized changes according to the distance to the destination home.

  Also, the solid boundary curve shown in FIG. 3 shows the tendency when the user chooses between the highway priority and the general road priority, the straight line distance from the current location to the destination and the start time of the route search. It is expressed as a demarcation position. The boundary curve, for example, pays attention to two histories whose plot positions are closest to each other among the history of selecting highway priority at the same route search start time and the history of selecting general road priority. The midpoint of the distance to the destination indicated by the two histories is determined as the demarcation position at the search start time. A boundary curve can be obtained by connecting the demarcation positions obtained for each route search start time with a curve. Further, the boundary curve may be determined by various other known statistical methods.

  Based on the boundary curve obtained as described above, the current time measured by the time measuring unit 18 and the distance to the destination set by the remote controller 15, the search condition setting unit 21 Search parameter for highway priority or general road priority). Specifically, when the current time and the distance to the destination are plotted on the two-dimensional plane of FIG. 3, if the plot position is above the boundary curve, the highway priority is set, and the plot position is If it is below the boundary curve, priority is given to general roads.

  According to the boundary curve shown in FIG. 3, if it is 8:00 am, if the distance to the destination exceeds 75 km, expressway priority is used as the priority road condition, and if it is less than 75 km, the general road priority is used for route search. Use as a condition. The search condition setting unit 21 obtains the statistics shown in FIG. 3 from the search history information stored so far in the history information storage unit 20 every time a route search request for a home is generated. To obtain a typical boundary curve. Then, the type of the priority road is determined from the obtained boundary curve, the straight line distance from the current location to the home, and the current time.

  Also, the conditions are determined in the same manner for the priority condition type (distance priority or time priority search parameter) and toll road availability (search parameter for toll road use).

  According to the navigation device of the present embodiment as described above, if a sufficient number of search history information is secured, the guided route searched according to the route search condition set using the search history information is used. It will be as close as possible to the route desired by the person. Since a sufficient number of search history information is secured for frequently used destinations, route search condition dynamic setting processing using the search history information only when such destinations are set May be performed.

  Examples of frequently used destinations include points registered in the registered point list. A registered point list is a list of points that a user wants in advance to save the user from having to specify a destination using map scrolling and various searches when calculating a route to an arbitrary destination. Is a list that is registered and stored in the navigation device. A home can also be registered in the registration point list.

  As described above, the search condition setting unit 21 may perform the route search condition setting process only when the destination set by the remote controller 15 is a spot registered in advance in the registered spot list. good. Also, the history information generating unit 19 may generate search history information only when a spot registered in advance in the registered spot list is set as the destination.

  Note that if the search history information about the set destination is not sufficiently secured, or if the user's preference for the route changes, the route search condition according to the user's wish may not be set. . In that case, the user needs to change the route search condition. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a screen transition example when the user changes the route search condition after the search condition setting unit 21 sets the route search condition. The thick lines in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4E indicate highways, and the thin lines indicate general roads.

  First, in FIG. 4A, the user searches for a home from the registered spot list and sets it as a destination. The search condition setting unit 21 confirms that the set destination is a point registered in the registered point list, and executes the route search condition setting process as described above. And the route search part 17 performs a route search process according to the set route search conditions. The display controller 22 displays the guidance route obtained as a result of the route search on the display device 23. FIG. 4B shows this state. In FIG. 4B, a dotted arrow indicates a guidance route.

  A condition change button is displayed on the screen of FIG. When the searched guidance route is different from the user's preference as shown in FIG. 4B, the user operates the condition change button. Then, since a route search condition change screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 4C, the user changes the route search conditions as shown in FIG. 4D, and a change confirmation button (“YES”). Button).

  When the route search condition is changed, the route search unit 17 re-executes the route search process according to the changed route search condition. Further, the history information generation unit 19 generates search history information including the changed route search condition, the route search start time, and the distance from the current location to the destination, and stores the search history information in the history information storage unit 20. The display controller 22 displays a new guidance route obtained as a result of the route search process according to the changed condition on the display device 23. FIG. 4E shows this state. In the example of FIG. 4 (e), the route is changed from a guide route passing through a general road to a guide route passing through a highway.

  Next, the operation of the navigation device according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a route search processing procedure performed by the navigation device of the present embodiment. First, the user operates the remote controller 15 to set a desired destination (step S1). The search condition setting unit 21 confirms whether or not the set destination is registered in the registered point list (step S2).

  If the destination is not a point registered in the registered point list, the route search unit 17 executes the route search process according to a predetermined route search condition without performing the route search condition setting process by the search condition setting unit 21. (Step S3). On the other hand, when the destination is a point registered in the registered spot list, the search condition setting unit 21 reads the search history information regarding the destination from the history information storage unit 20 (step S4).

  Then, the search condition setting unit 21 calculates a boundary curve based on the read search history information (step S5), the obtained boundary curve, the current time at which the route search is to be performed, and the distance to the destination Based on the above, a route search condition is set (step S6). The route search unit 17 performs route search according to the route search conditions set by the search condition setting unit 21 as described above (step S7), and the display controller 22 displays the guidance route obtained thereby on the display device 23. indicate.

  Next, the search condition setting unit 21 determines the presence / absence of a route search condition change request, specifically, the presence / absence of an operation of a condition change button displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 4B (step S8). . When the condition change button is operated, the search condition setting unit 21 changes the route search condition according to the procedures of FIGS. 4C and 4D (step S9). Then, it returns to step S7 and the route search part 17 performs a route search process according to the changed route search conditions.

  If the route search condition change is not requested after the route search, the history information generation unit 19 generates search history information using the route search condition at that time (step S10), and stores the history information. Recorded in the unit 20 (step S11).

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the route search condition when the route search is actually performed is stored as the search history information together with the start time of the route search and the distance to the destination, and then the same purpose. When searching for a route to the ground, route search conditions are set based on the stored search history information, the current time at which the route search is being attempted, and the distance to the destination. As a result, the current route search conditions are dynamically set with reference to the search history information that is past results, and even if the user does not change the route search conditions, the current situation can be changed. Accordingly, the route search can be performed by automatically setting the route search condition that the user likes.

  Specifically, it is possible to automatically search for a route that meets the user's wishes that change according to the distance to the destination. That is, even if the route search start time is the same, for example, if the distance to the destination is 20 km, a general road is used, but if it is 100 km, a highway is used, the distance to the destination This makes it possible to search for a guide route under a search condition that predicts a change in the road to be used.

  It is also possible to automatically search for a route that meets the user's wishes that change according to the time. That is, even if the distance to the destination is the same, for example, a general road is used if it is around 8 am, but a highway is used if it is around 8 pm. It is possible to search for a guidance route under search conditions that anticipate changes.

  For example, when a user goes on vacation to a leisure land at a distance of about 40 km from his / her home, he / she arrives at the destination quickly by using an expressway (that is, searching for a route with priority to the expressway). And when returning to the home, the search conditions are automatically switched to priority on the general road according to the start time of the route search and the distance to the home of 40 km, without the user having to reset the route search conditions, It is also possible to obtain a guidance route that gives priority to general roads.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to search for a route desired by the user in accordance with a change in orientation with respect to the route search condition of the user. For example, if the distance to the home is about 40 km, a road that has been used on a general road, but if the highway is used more frequently due to changes in orientation, the search history information prioritized on the highway becomes history information. The information is stored in the storage unit 20 and adapted to automatically search for a route using a highway even when the distance to the home is about 40 km.

  In the above embodiment, the priority road type, the priority condition type, and the availability of the toll road are exemplified as the route search conditions, but the present invention is not limited to this. The above three route search conditions are not necessarily essential, and other route search conditions may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shortest time and the shortest distance are described as examples of the priority condition, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, conditions such as minimum number of passing signals, minimum number of right turns, minimum number of left turns, maximum road width, and minimum traffic volume may be used. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the priority condition is an alternative is shown, but there may be three or more options.

  In the above embodiment, the route search condition is set only when the point registered in the registered point list is set as the destination. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the navigation device detects a point where the user frequently stops even if it is not registered in the registered point list and stores it in the memory, and sets the point stored in the memory as the destination In addition, it is possible to perform route search condition setting processing.

  The following methods are conceivable as methods for detecting points where users frequently stop by. For example, the navigation device detects that the vehicle is parked in a facility such as a parking lot. Specifically, the state of the speed sensor, the pressure sensor of the side brake, the accessory power supply, and the like are input as vehicle information, and the current position information of the vehicle is input from the current position detection unit 13. Then, after detecting that the vehicle has stopped in the facility and the side brake has been applied, when a restart of the engine is detected, the currently stopped point is detected as a parking point. Further, the navigation device records information on the parking spot detected as described above (including information such as the position representing the parking spot and the number of times of parking) in the memory. And the point where the frequency | count of parking became more than predetermined number is detected as a point where a user stops frequently.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which calculates | requires a boundary curve like FIG. 3 and sets route search conditions using this boundary curve, this invention is not limited to this. For example, when the coordinates determined by the current time and the distance to the destination to be searched for a route are plotted on the two-dimensional plane shown in FIG. 3, the route follows the history closest to the plot position. Search conditions may be set.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which memorize | stores search history information for every destination, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the search history information may be stored for each facility genre to which the destination when the route search is performed (however, when the destination is home, the current location where the route search is performed) belongs. In this case, the search condition setting unit 21 searches for the facility genre to which the destination or the current location belongs when searching for a route among the search history information for each facility genre stored in the history information storage unit 20. Set route search conditions using history information.

  The example of FIG. 3 shows a history when searching for a guidance route from a point belonging to various facility genres (corresponding to the current location) to the home as a destination. On the other hand, if the facility genre is leisure land, the history of going to the leisure land is stored together, and if it is a family restaurant, the history of going to the family restaurant is stored together. Then, when the facility genre goes next to a spot belonging to the leisure land, the route search condition is set using only the history of the leisure land.

  In this way, it is possible to automatically search for a route that meets the user's wishes that change according to the facility genre. In other words, even if the distance to the destination and the route search start time are the same, if there is a history of selection of search condition parameters (for example, general roads and highways) to be prioritized according to the facility genre, It is possible to search for a guide route under a search condition that predicts a change in a road to be used depending on the facility genre.

  In addition, each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a navigation device having a route guidance function that selects a desired search condition and searches for a guidance route.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structural example of the navigation apparatus by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the search log | history information memorize | stored in the log | history information storage part of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the boundary curve used when setting route search conditions (search parameter of a highway priority or a general road priority) about the kind of priority road. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen transition in case a user changes this after setting route search conditions. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process sequence of the route search process performed by the navigation apparatus of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

17 Route Search Unit 18 Timekeeping Unit 19 History Information Generation Unit 20 History Information Storage Unit 21 Search Condition Setting Unit

Claims (6)

A history information generating unit that generates search history information including information on a route search start time, a distance from the current location to the destination related to the route search, and route search conditions;
A history information storage unit that stores the search history information generated by the history information generation unit;
And the search history information stored in the history information storage unit, based on the current time and current location according to the route search trying to route search to the combination of the distance to the destination, conforms to the combination A search condition setting unit that extracts and sets route search conditions from the search history information ;
A navigation device comprising: a route search unit that searches for a guided route in accordance with a route search condition set by the search condition setting unit. Based on the search history information stored in the history information storage unit, the search condition setting unit is configured to select the route search condition on a plane with the start time of the route search and the distance to the destination as two axes. Obtaining a boundary curve representing the boundary condition when selecting, and setting the route search condition based on the boundary curve and the current time and the distance from the current location to the destination for the route search The navigation device according to claim 1 . The history information storage unit stores the search history information separately for each facility genre to which the destination or current location belongs when the route search is performed,
The search condition setting unit includes search history information corresponding to a facility genre to which a destination or current location belongs when searching for a route, among search history information of each facility genre stored in the history information storage unit. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the route search condition setting process is performed using the navigation apparatus. A first step of reading the search history information from a history information storage unit storing information on a route search start time, a distance from the current location to the destination related to the route search, and route search condition information as search history information;
Based on the search history information read out in the first step, the combination of the current time at which the route search is to be performed and the distance from the current location to the destination related to the route search, the route search condition that matches the combination And a second step of extracting and setting the search history information from the search history information . In the second step, on the basis of the search history information read from the history information storage unit, the route search condition is selected on a plane with the start time of the route search and the distance to the destination as two axes. Determining a boundary curve representing a boundary condition when performing the search, and setting the route search condition based on the boundary curve and the distance from the current time and the current location to the destination for the route search The search condition setting method according to claim 4. A third step of determining whether or not there is a request for changing the route search condition set in the second step;
A fourth step of displaying a route search condition change screen and accepting a change operation of the route search condition when it is determined in the third step that there is a request for changing the route search condition;
6. The search condition setting method according to claim 4 , further comprising a fifth step of setting the changed route search condition received in the fourth step.

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