JP4818864B2 - Destination search device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a destination search apparatus for searching for a destination belonging to a genre selected by a user operation.

Navigation systems that provide route guidance from the current position of a vehicle to a destination are widely known and put into practical use. In such a navigation system, the user can set the route to the destination by inputting the destination address, telephone number, facility name, and the like. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, some applications have a genre search function as an application for setting a destination. In this genre search function, the user selects a genre in each hierarchy, narrows down destinations, and finds a desired destination.
JP 2005-55334 A

  When the genre search function is executed, items of each genre such as “leisure”, “hotel”, and “restaurant” are displayed on the screen of the navigation system by, for example, character strings or image icons. Therefore, when using the genre search function, the user searches for and sets a desired destination by selecting such character strings and image icons representing each genre. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to sensuously search for a destination only with information such as a character string and an image icon displayed on the screen.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a destination search apparatus that can realize more sensual destination search by narrowing down a genre.

A destination search apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problem relates to an apparatus for searching for a destination by a user sequentially selecting hierarchized genres. This destination search apparatus arranges and stores destination information in the lowest layer of a hierarchical structure configured by dividing each of a plurality of upper-layer genres into a plurality of lower-layer genres, and each destination information When the music data storage means for storing the information storage means for storing in association with music attribute information indicating compatible music attribute to each destination information, the music data associated with the music attribute information, genre user Music data extraction for extracting music data associated with music attribute information corresponding to destination information located below the selected genre from the music data storage means as reproduction music data when the selection operation is performed And music data reproducing means for decoding and reproducing the music data extracted by the music data extracting means . When the genre selected by the user is changed to a higher or lower genre, the song data extraction means is a song data associated with the song attribute information corresponding to the destination information located below the changed genre. Are re-extracted from the music data storage means as reproduced music data .

  According to the destination search apparatus configured as described above, music data corresponding to the genre selected by the user is reproduced during the destination search. For this reason, the user can perform destination search while hearing an image of the destination by hearing. As described above, according to the destination search apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to more intuitively perform destination search by narrowing down the genre.

  When there are a plurality of music data extracted by the music data extraction means in the destination search device, the music data reproduction means may reproduce the music data in a predetermined order.

  In this case, the destination search apparatus may further include, for example, music information storage means for storing predetermined music information in association with each music data. The predetermined order here may be an order based on the predetermined music information, for example.

  In addition, the destination search device may further include a music information display means for displaying predetermined music information associated with the music data during music data playback, for example.

  The destination search apparatus may further include a communication unit for communicating with an external terminal, for example. In this case, the predetermined music information may be information acquired from a CDDB (CD DataBase) held by the external terminal via a communication unit, for example.

  The destination search apparatus may further include, for example, frequency analysis means for performing frequency analysis of music data decoded by the music data reproduction means. In this case, the music data reproducing means may be configured to specify a predetermined part of the music data based on, for example, an analysis result by the frequency analyzing means and reproduce only the specified part.

  In addition, a destination search apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problems relates to an apparatus that searches for a destination belonging to a genre selected by a user operation. This destination retrieval apparatus classifies and manages the genres into a plurality of hierarchies, and stores destination information storing means for storing each destination information so as to belong to any genre, and a plurality of digitally encoded music data The music data storage means for storing the music data associated with at least one of the destination information and the genre of the predetermined hierarchy are selected only by the user operation. A music data extracting means for extracting music data associated with destination information belonging to the music data storage means, and a music data reproducing means for decoding and reproducing the extracted music data It is.

  Here, the predetermined hierarchy may be, for example, the highest hierarchy.

  According to the destination search apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to more intuitively perform destination search by narrowing down genres.

  The configuration and operation of the navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the navigation system 100, for example, a navigation application for guiding a user to a destination is installed.

  The navigation system 100 includes a control unit 1, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 2, a gyro sensor 3, a vehicle speed sensor 4, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 5, an input unit 6, a display unit 7, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 8, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 9, SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) 10, VRAM (Video Random Access Memory) 11, user interface 12, image processing unit 13, communication unit 14, audio unit 15, and speaker 16. To do. The control unit 1 operates to control the entire system in an integrated manner. Each component of the navigation system 100 executes various processes under the control of the control unit 1.

  The GPS receiver 2 captures and tracks some of the plurality of GPS satellites that orbit the earth. Then, position and velocity positioning is executed using the GPS signals from the respective GPS satellites received during acquisition / tracking. The GPS receiver 2 sends the calculated positioning result (hereinafter referred to as “GPS positioning” for convenience) to the control unit 1.

  The gyro sensor 3 and the vehicle speed sensor 4 are sensors for known dead reckoning (hereinafter abbreviated as “DR”). The gyro sensor 3 measures an angular velocity related to the direction of the vehicle on which the navigation system 100 is mounted, and outputs the measurement result to the control unit 1. The vehicle speed sensor 4 detects the rotational speeds of the left and right drive wheels of the vehicle, generates a vehicle speed pulse signal corresponding to the average speed, and outputs the vehicle speed pulse signal to the control unit 1. For convenience of explanation, these sensor outputs are referred to as “DR sensor outputs”.

The HDD 5 stores map data MD necessary for the navigation system 100 to execute a navigation application, for example. Here, FIG. 2 schematically shows the map data MD. As shown in FIG. 2, the map data MD is composed of a map database MDB ₁ and a symbol database MDB ₂ (and various data such as map image data).

In the map database MDB ₁ , for example, map information for all of Japan is managed by being divided into regions of a predetermined unit. The map database MDB ₁ has fields of “region”, “coordinates”, “map image”, “road”, and “character information”.

  In the “region” field, the name (or identification number or the like) of each region divided into predetermined units is entered. In the “coordinate” field, coordinate data representing each area in terms of coordinates (or an address in the HDD in which the coordinate data is stored) is entered. In the “map image” field, map image data (or an address in the HDD in which the map image data is stored) representing the terrain of each area is entered. In the “road” field, coordinate data (or an address in the HDD in which the coordinate data is stored) of roads included in each area is entered. In the “character information” field, text data (or an address in the HDD in which the data is stored) representing additional information regarding each area is entered. The coordinate data in the “region” and “road” fields is data corresponding to the GPS positioning result and the DR positioning result (described later).

Further, in the symbol database MDB ₂ , for example, data of symbols that can be destinations such as restaurants, convenience stores, tourist facilities, commercial facilities, etc. existing in each region of Japan are managed. The symbol database MDB ₂ has fields of “large genre”, “medium genre”, “small genre”, “symbol name”, “coordinates”, and “song attribute”.

In the symbol database MDB ₂ , each symbol is classified by genre and managed hierarchically for each classification. In the “large genre” field, each symbol is roughly classified. In the “Large Genre” field, data for categorizing and managing each symbol, for example, “Sightseeing”, “Shopping”, “Leisure”, “Accommodation”, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “Large Genre Data”) is entered. Has been. In the “medium genre” field, the symbols classified by “large genre” are classified more finely. In the “medium genre” field, data for classifying and managing each symbol by, for example, “commercial facility”, “convenience store”, “public facility”, “resting place” (hereinafter referred to as “medium genre data”). Is entered). In the “small genre” field, each symbol classified by “medium genre” is classified more finely. In the “small genre” field, data for classifying and managing each symbol by, for example, “Aquarium”, “A Mart”, “Racetrack”, “Hot Spring”, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “small genre data”) Is entered.

  In the “symbol name” field, for example, name data of each symbol such as “XX aquarium”, “A mart ×× branch”, “ΔΔ racetrack”, “FGH hot spring”, and the like are entered. Coordinate data representing position information of each symbol is entered in the “coordinate” field. This coordinate data is also data corresponding to the GPS positioning result and the DR positioning result (described later), as before.

In the “song attribute” field, for example, song attribute data of each symbol such as “water / fish”, “town”, “horse”, “hot spring”, and the like is entered. The large genre data, medium genre data, and small genre data are data for classifying and managing each symbol on the symbol database MDB ₂ , whereas the song attribute data is data representing the image of the song. .

  Returning to the description of FIG. The input unit 6 is for performing a user operation, and is, for example, a mechanical input key installed on a front panel (not shown) of the navigation system 100. Alternatively, it is a remote control device (not shown) that realizes a user operation by performing infrared communication with the user interface 12. For example, the power switch is one element constituting the input unit 6.

  The display unit 7 is for displaying a navigation screen, for example. An image displayed on the display unit 7 is generated by the image processing unit 13. In addition, the display unit 7 is a known touch panel such as a pressure-sensitive type or an electrostatic type, and also serves as an input unit. When the input unit 6 or the display unit 7 is operated, a corresponding signal is input to the control unit 1 via the user interface 12. And the control part 1 controls each component so that the process corresponding to user operation may be performed.

  The ROM 8 stores, for example, programs for realizing a well-known navigation function, various data, and the like. The DRAM 9 and the SRAM 10 are development destinations of programs and data stored in the HDD 5 and the ROM 8, for example. The control unit 1 reads out a program stored in, for example, the HDD 5 or the ROM 8 and develops the program in a predetermined area of the DRAM 9 or the SRAM 10 for execution. As a result, for example, a navigation application operates to realize a navigation function. The SRAM 10 is backed up by a battery when the power is turned off, and can retain the memory contents. The VRAM 11 is an image memory for holding an image displayed on the display unit 7.

  Here, the processing of the control unit 1 when receiving the GPS positioning result from the GPS receiver 2 and the DR sensor output from each sensor will be described.

The control unit 1 performs DR positioning calculation based on the DR sensor output output by each sensor, and obtains the traveling direction and the moving distance of the vehicle. Next, the control unit 1 compares the calculated DR positioning result and the GPS positioning result with the error estimation value for each positioning result. And based on this comparison result, the positioning result determined to be highly accurate is selected, and the selected positioning result is map-matched. Further, the control unit 1 searches the map database MDB _{1 of the} HDD 5 based on each positioning result, and extracts map image data around the current position. Next, the image processing unit 13 is operated so that the vehicle position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle is superimposed on the extracted map image data.

  Note that the map matching here refers to correcting an error such as a vehicle position mark being displayed at a position off the road in the map displayed on the display unit 7. By performing map matching, the vehicle position can be matched with the map, and the user can accurately grasp the current position of the vehicle. Map matching is always performed regardless of the execution of navigation.

  When a user operation is performed so that navigation is performed toward a certain destination, the control unit 1 reads a navigation program from the ROM 8 and develops it in, for example, the DRAM 9. Next, the map data MD of the HDD 5 is read, and the route search is executed by, for example, a known Dijkstra method with reference to the current position information and the set destination information based on the positioning result. Then, a route determined to be optimal is obtained as a search result. For example, the control unit 1 causes the image processing unit 13 to operate so that the obtained route and various information related to the route are superimposed and displayed on the map being displayed on the display unit 7. As a result, various information including navigation information is output and displayed on the display unit 7.

  Here, in addition to the map data MD, for example, thousands of music data are stored in the HDD 5. This music data is digitally encoded in a predetermined format, for example, taken from a storage medium such as an optical disk, or downloaded from a server on the network via the communication unit 14. . The audio unit 15 has a well-known configuration, and operates to decode the music data stored in the HDD 5 and output it to the speaker 16. Thus, the music is reproduced by the speaker 16, and the user can enjoy various music in the vehicle.

  The HDD 5 further stores a music information database MUDB and a playlist PL that store information related to each music data. Here, FIG. 3 schematically shows the music information database MUDB and the playlist PL.

The music information database MUDB stores information related to music, and includes fields of “song ID”, “song attribute”, “song name”, “artist name”, “TOC (Table of contents) information”, and “address”. Have. In each of the “song attribute”, “song name”, “artist name”, and “TOC information” fields, for example, music information data downloaded from a CDDB or the like on the network via the communication unit 14 is entered. In the “Song ID” field, convenient information for identifying each record included in the music information database MUDB is entered. In the “address” field, an address in the HDD 5 in which music data corresponding to each record is stored is entered. Similarly to the “song attribute” field of the symbol database MDB ₂ , song attribute data representing the image of the song is entered in the “song attribute” field of the song information database MUDB.

  When a user operation is performed in the playlist PL to set a destination using the genre search function, music related to the genre being searched is entered. Here, FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a music reproduction process corresponding to a genre search in which music is entered in the playlist PL and the music is reproduced based on the entry.

  The music playback process of FIG. 4 is performed by the user operation so that, for example, when the “genre” item J is selected on the destination search screen shown in FIG. It will start when

When the “genre” item J is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 5, the display on the display unit 7 displays items corresponding to “large genre” (that is, “tourism”, “shopping”, “leisure”). , “Accommodation” or the like) is switched to a genre search screen (hereinafter referred to as “large genre search screen”). When any item is selected on the large genre search screen (step 1, hereinafter, step is abbreviated as “S” in the description and drawings), the control unit 1 searches the symbol database MDB ₂ and selects the above items. Keep an eye on the records with large genre data corresponding to the selected item. For example, when the item “sightseeing” is selected in the process of S1, the control unit 1 records that have large genre data of “tourism” including records having entry data of “XX aquarium”. Watch closely. Next, the song attribute data of each watched record is acquired (S2). For example, song attribute data of “water / fish” is acquired from a record having entry data of “XX aquarium”.

  When any item corresponding to “large genre” is selected on the large genre search screen, the display on the display unit 7 displays each item corresponding to “medium genre” (that is, “commercial facility”, “convenience store”). ”,“ Public facilities ”,“ rest room ”, etc.) are switched to a genre search screen (hereinafter referred to as“ medium genre search screen ”). Furthermore, when any item corresponding to “medium genre” is selected on the medium genre search screen, the display on the display unit 7 displays each item corresponding to “small genre” (ie, “aquarium”, “A mart”). , “Horse racetrack”, “Hot spring”, etc.) are switched to a genre search screen (hereinafter referred to as “small genre search screen”). When any item corresponding to “small genre” is selected on the small genre search screen, the display unit 7 displays a list of symbols belonging to the “small genre” (for example, “XX Aquarium”, “XX Aquarium” etc.) is displayed. When any symbol in this list is selected, the destination setting is completed.

  Following the process of S2, the control unit 1 searches the music information database MUDB, and extracts records of all the songs in which the acquired song attribute data is entered in the “song attribute” field (S3). For example, when the song attribute data acquired in the process of S2 is “water / fish”, the control unit 1 sets the record of “water / fish” including the record of the song having the entry data of “AB Coast Medley”. Extracted to records of all songs having song attribute data. Then, the entry data of “song ID” of all the extracted records is added to the playlist PL in the order based on a predetermined rule (for example, order based on “song ID”, 50-sound order (song name), random, etc.). (S4). “Entry to playlist PL” means writing some information for specifying the music data to the playlist PL. Here, as described above, the entry data of “Song ID” is entered in the playlist PL.

  When the playlist PL is created in the process of S4, the control unit 1 operates in cooperation with the audio unit 15 and performs music reproduction based on the playlist PL (S5). Specifically, the audio unit 15 sequentially reproduces the music according to the ordinal number of the playlist PL (“No.” in FIG. 3). First, the audio unit 15 searches the music information database MUDB using the entry data of the “music ID” with the ordinal number “1” as a key, and extracts a corresponding record. Next, the address is accessed with reference to the “address” field of the extracted record, and the music data is acquired. Then, the music data is decoded and output to the speaker 16. By executing such a process for each piece of music entered in the playlist PL in order, the user is searching for a destination with the genre search function, and is related to the selected genre (here, a large genre). The music is sequentially played back by the speaker 16. The user can search for a destination by genre search while listening to music related to the selected genre as well as information such as character strings and image icons displayed on the screen. That is, the user can perform the destination search more intuitively. In addition, as described above, by configuring the navigation system 100 to create the playlist PL based on the selected genre and song attribute data, a song that the user does not normally listen to may be played. In such a case, the user can learn freshness and enjoy music more.

  Following the processing of S5, the control unit 1 displays the music information on the display unit 7 using each entry data of the record of the music currently being reproduced (S6). This music information is displayed superimposed on the genre search screen. And if the control part 1 displays music information, it will determine whether the destination setting of the genre search by user operation was completed (S7). When the destination setting is completed (S7: YES), the control unit 1 ends the process of this flowchart. When the destination setting is not completed (S7: NO), the control unit 1 returns to the process of S5 and continues the music reproduction process. Note that the playlist PL is deleted when the music reproduction process is completed.

  Here, at the time of product purchase or the like, it is conceivable that the music corresponding to the music attribute is not stored in the HDD 5. Therefore, it is preferable to store in advance a number of songs having attributes corresponding to each genre in the HDD 5 at the time of product shipment. According to such a configuration, even if the user does not store any music in the HDD 5, playlist creation / playback using the initially stored music is realized. For this reason, the user can perform more sensory destination search even when purchasing the product.

  The above is the embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various ranges. For example, in this embodiment, the playlist PL is created based on the item “large genre” selected on the large genre search screen. However, in another embodiment, the play list PL is displayed on the medium genre search screen or the small genre search screen. The playlist PL may be created based on the selected item.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of music reproduction processing executed in the navigation system according to another embodiment. The processes in S11 to S16 in FIG. 6 are substantially the same as the processes in S1 to S7 in FIG. In the process of S17, when it is determined that the genre search destination setting has been completed (S17: YES), the control unit 1 ends the process of this flowchart as in the present embodiment. If it is determined that the destination setting has not been completed (S17: NO), the control unit 1 determines whether an item selection operation on the genre search screen has been performed during the processing of S12 to S17. (S18).

  In the process of S18, when the control unit 1 determines that an item selection operation on the genre search screen has not been performed (S18: NO), the process returns to the process of S15. If it is determined that an item selection operation on the genre search screen is performed (S18: YES), the process proceeds to S19. And the process corresponding to the item (genre) selected during the process execution of S12 thru | or S17 is performed.

  For example, when “convenience store” is selected on the medium genre search screen, the control unit 1 is created based on the previously created playlist PL (for example, “large genre” selected on the large genre search screen). Is deleted (S19). Next, returning to the processing of S12, attention is paid to records having the genre data in the “convenience store” including the records having the entry data of “A mart ×× branch”. Then, the song attribute data of each watched record is acquired. For example, the song attribute data of “town” is acquired from the record having the entry data of “A mart ×× branch”. After acquiring the song attribute data, the control unit 1 performs a record extraction process based on the song attribute data (S13), a playlist PL creation process based on the extracted record (S14), a song playback process based on the playlist PL (S15), and Then, the music information display process (S16) is executed.

  According to another embodiment, the playlist PL corresponding to the current hierarchy is created and reproduced each time the hierarchy is moved (for example, moved from “large genre” to “medium genre”). Therefore, the music reproduced by the music reproduction processing of another embodiment has an image closer to the destination as it moves to a lower level. For this reason, the user can perform destination search more intuitively.

  That is, in this embodiment, there is an advantage that the number of times the playlist PL is created is limited to one, and the burden on the control unit 1 is reduced. In another embodiment, the destination search is performed more intuitively. There is a merit that it can be done.

  Further, in the present embodiment, each music piece in the playlist PL is reproduced from the head portion thereof, but in another embodiment, for example, a well-known frequency analysis is performed on the music piece decoded by the audio unit 15, A predetermined part (for example, a rust portion) of each music piece may be specified based on the analysis result, and only the specific portion may be reproduced by the speaker 16.

In the present embodiment, the symbol database MDB ₂ has a plurality of genre fields (“large genre”, “medium genre”, and “small genre” fields). In still another embodiment, the symbol database MDB ₂ has symbols. The database MDB ₂ may have only a “large genre” field as a genre field, for example.

In still another embodiment, the “song attribute” field may be excluded from the symbol database MDB ₂ and the song information database MUDB. In this case, the music information database MUDB includes, for example, a field corresponding to “large genre” as the “music attribute” field. In other words, in such an embodiment, data for linking the symbol database MDB ₂ and the music information database MUDB is not tune attribute data but large genre data. In this case, since the number of fields of the symbol database MDB ₂ is reduced, an effect of reducing the data capacity can be obtained.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the navigation system of embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed roughly the map data stored in HDD of embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed roughly the music information database and playlist which were stored in HDD of embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the music reproduction process performed with the navigation system of embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the screen for the destination search in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the music reproduction process performed with the navigation system of another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Control Unit 2 GPS Receiver 3 Gyro Sensor 4 Vehicle Speed Sensor 5 HDD
6 Input unit 7 Display unit 8 ROM
9 DRAM
10 SRAM
11 VRAM
12 User Interface 13 Image Processing Unit 14 Communication Unit 15 Audio Unit 16 Speaker 100 Navigation System

Claims (7)

In a destination search device for searching for a destination by a user sequentially selecting hierarchized genres,
Destination information is arranged and stored in the lowest layer of a hierarchical structure configured by dividing each of a plurality of higher-level genres into a plurality of lower-level genres, and each destination information and each destination information and information storing means for storing in association with music attribute information indicating compatible music attribute to,
Music data storage means for storing music data associated with the music attribute information;
When a genre selection operation is performed by the user, music data associated with the music attribute information corresponding to the destination information located below the selected genre is extracted from the music data storage means as reproduced music data Music data extraction means to perform,
Music data reproducing means for decoding and reproducing the music data extracted by the music data extracting means ;
Equipped with,
When the genre selected by the user is changed to a higher or lower genre, the music data extracting means is a music associated with the song attribute information corresponding to the destination information located below the changed genre. Re-extracting data as reproduced music data from the music data storage means ;
Destination search device characterized by.   2. The destination search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the music data reproducing means reproduces a plurality of music data extracted by the music data extracting means in a predetermined order. Further comprising music information storage means for storing predetermined music information in association with each of the music data,
The destination search apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined order is an order based on the predetermined music information.   4. The destination search apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising music information display means for displaying predetermined music information associated with the music data being reproduced. A communication means for communicating with an external terminal;
5. The destination search apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined music information is information acquired from a CDDB (CD DataBase) held by the external terminal via the communication unit. . Further comprising frequency analysis means for performing frequency analysis of the music data decoded by the music data reproduction means,
6. The music data reproducing unit according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined part of the music data is identified based on an analysis result by the frequency analyzing unit, and only the identified part is reproduced. The destination search device according to any one of the above.   The destination search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the music data storage means stores music data associated with the music attribute information in advance.

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