JP4858851B2 - Vehicle information display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information display device that collects facility information and the like from a homepage existing on the Internet, analyzes and edits information according to user needs, and provides the information to a vehicle navigation device. is there.

  As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on a display device together with a road map, and an appropriate route from the starting point to the destination The vehicle navigation device that guides the vehicle using a display device, a voice output device, or the like contributes to efficient and safe driving for the user.

  It also collects web pages on the Internet, extracts spatio-temporal information from the collected web pages, creates a structured database from the web information based on the spatio-temporal information, and specifies the geographical and temporal conditions for the database A Web search method for realizing search processing has been devised (see Patent Document 1).

  It also collects information stored on personal computers, information that exists on the Internet, etc., edits information according to user needs, analyzes the collected metadata as a system to provide to users, and means An information providing system has been devised that can determine the similarity between information on at least two scales of target, time, and position (see Patent Document 2).

  In addition, it has a mobile unit connected to an information network that can provide various types of information via a wireless line, and an information providing server connected to the information network via a communication line. ) Is obtained from the information providing server via the information network and displayed, and is displayed to the navigation system user for various kinds of regular information (location, business day, An information display device that can provide real-time latest information (sale information, event information, etc.) in addition to business hours, telephone numbers, parking numbers, adjacent roads, business details, e-mail addresses, website URLs, etc.) It has been devised (see Patent Documents 3 and 4).

  In addition, for example, a point information that is a destination and information on the point information such as a restaurant, an accommodation facility, a shopping facility, a parking lot, and the like are selected, and a plurality of pieces of point information and the point information are selected. The information concerning the business hours information is included, and based on the current time, a navigation device has been devised that excludes the point information outside the business hours range and the information about the point information (see Patent Document 5). ).

JP 2004-234288 A JP 2006-113984 A JP 2004-257951 A JP 2004-264119 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-82652

  In the examples of Patent Documents 1 and 2, a Web server or a metadata collection server is accessed using a terminal such as a user's personal computer (hereinafter also abbreviated as a PC) via a network such as the Internet. In this configuration, desired information is acquired. Therefore, when it is desired to acquire information when moving in a vehicle, it is necessary to bring a terminal into the vehicle, but a user who has only a desktop PC cannot acquire information while moving in a vehicle.

  In addition, in the examples of Patent Documents 3 and 4, real-time information can be obtained, but it is not disclosed that information outside the business hours range can be excluded as in Patent Document 5. In addition, there is a problem in that information on the information providing server is not updated unless the information provider inputs information to the information providing server.

  Moreover, in the example of patent document 5, since it is not the structure which acquires real-time information from a server etc. via a network, there exists a problem that point information etc. are not necessarily the newest.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle information display device capable of collecting Web information on the Internet and acquiring and utilizing real-time information according to user needs.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

An information display device for a vehicle for solving the above-described problem is an information display device for a vehicle including an information providing server connected to a network so as to be communicable and an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle. Facility information request receiving means for receiving a facility information request from the apparatus, Web information acquiring means for acquiring Web information from a Web server based on the received facility information request, geographic information about the facility from the acquired Web information, and sales Facility information extraction means for extracting facility information including time information and congestion information, facility information registration means for registering the extracted facility information in the database, and facility information search for searching facility information corresponding to the facility information request from the database Means and a facility information transmission means for transmitting the retrieved facility information, and the in-vehicle device sets the destination to set the destination Output and stage, the facility information request transmitting means for transmitting the destination information about the destination information providing server included in the facility information request, the facility information receiving means for receiving facility information from the information providing server, the received facility information and facility information output means for, based on the premise that with a.

  In the prior art, the information providing server could not hold the latest facility information without data input from the information provider, but with the above configuration, the information providing server becomes the main entity to acquire facility information. The latest facility information can be collected and registered at all times, and the convenience of the vehicle occupant can be improved by transmitting it to the in-vehicle device.

Further, the information acquisition means in the vehicle information display device of the present invention is configured to acquire Web information only about the facility when the destination information included in the acquired facility information request includes the facility. You can also

  With the above configuration, the time required for acquiring Web information can be shortened.

Also, Web information acquisition means in the vehicle information display device of the present invention, obtains the acquired destination information included in the facility information request does not contain the facility, the Web information about the property of the neighborhood destination It can also be configured to.

  With the above configuration, even if the user sets only the destination without deciding which store or facility to go to, the in-vehicle device can acquire facility information around the destination, so the user goes to where It can be used as a reference when deciding.

  The vehicle information display device of the present invention includes a road map data storage means for storing road map data, a position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, and the current position and destination of the vehicle on the road map data. Display means for displaying, and the facility information output means may be configured to display the acquired facility information on the display means together with the current position and destination of the vehicle on the road map data.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to grasp what the state of the facility that the user is going to be is now. Moreover, since the facility information is displayed together with the destination, there is an advantage that the user can easily grasp the contents of the information.

  The vehicle information display device of the present invention further includes traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information in an area including a section from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and the facility information output means uses the acquired traffic information as a facility. It can also be configured to display on the display means together with the information.

  With the above configuration, the user can estimate the required time to the destination. It can also be estimated whether it will be in time for business hours. Therefore, it is possible to consider changing the destination.

  The vehicle information display device according to the present invention includes a guide route search means for searching for a guide route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and a destination when the guide route is used based on the acquired traffic information. An expected arrival time calculation means for calculating an expected arrival time for the vehicle, an expected use start time calculation means for calculating an expected use start time of the facility indicated by the destination based on the calculated expected arrival time and congestion information, and calculation When the estimated use start time is not included in the business hours of the facility, it may be configured to include guide route search limiting means for limiting search for the guide route.

  With the above configuration, for example, if the arrival at the destination (facility) is not in time within business hours due to traffic jams, etc., or if you arrive at the destination within business hours and are waiting for the congestion time When it ends, it is possible not to search the guide route. As a result, the user does not waste time, and time can be used effectively by searching for an alternative facility. Also, “I went there but the store was over while it was crowded and waiting for the turn” or “I was unable to enjoy the atmosphere and meals of the store because of the closing time. "Will no longer occur.

  Further, the vehicle information display device of the present invention uses the consumption time acquisition means for acquiring the consumption time in the facility after arriving at the destination, and the use end in the facility based on the estimated use start time and the acquired consumption time. A use end time prediction calculating means for calculating an expected time, and the guide route search restricting means restricts the search for the guide route when the calculated use end predicted time is not included in the business hours of the facility. It can also be configured.

  For example, if you go to a restaurant, you will not be able to eat and drink satisfactorily because you will be chased by time even if you arrive just before closing. Also, depending on the restaurant, the last order time is set, for example, 30 minutes before closing, so it must arrive by then. With the above configuration, since it is determined whether to limit the search for the guide route in consideration of the consumption time in addition to the traffic information and the congestion information, the user is not wasted and the satisfaction level is further improved.

  Hereinafter, a configuration example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the vehicle information display apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle information display device includes an in-vehicle device (vehicle navigation device) 100 mounted on the vehicle 101 and an information providing server 141. In the example of FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device is configured as a vehicle navigation device, but may be configured independently, or may be configured as a part of other in-vehicle devices.

  For example, the GPS satellite 104 is configured by a total of 24 satellites in which four satellites are arranged in six orbits. These satellites orbit around the earth in a period of about 12 hours on an orbit at an altitude of about 20,200 km in order to cover a wide area on the earth and not be affected by the atmosphere. . The vehicle navigation apparatus 100 receives radio waves from the GPS satellite 104 by a GPS antenna included in the GPS receiver 5 (see FIG. 2).

  The wireless communication network 106 is typified by a cellular phone network or a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) network, and is connected to the Internet network 108. The base station 107 is for performing communication with the vehicle 101, and is installed, for example, on a utility pole, a rooftop of a building, a telephone box, or the like. An information providing server 141 is connected to the Internet network 108. Alternatively, the information providing server 141 may be connected via the base station 107 to the telephone station 105 to the telephone line network 109 without using the Internet network 108.

  The configuration of the vehicle navigation device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. A vehicle navigation device (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation device) 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) sensor 11, a voice synthesis circuit for performing voice guidance, and the like. 24, speaker 15, memory 9, display 10, transmitter / receiver 13, hard disk device (HDD) 21, LAN (Local Area Network) I / F (interface) 26, control circuit 8 connected to these, remote control terminal 12, etc. It has.

  The position detector 1 is based on a known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3 for detecting the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle 101, a distance sensor 4 for detecting the travel distance of the vehicle 101, and a radio wave from a GPS satellite 104 (see FIG. 1). The GPS receiver 5 (including the GPS antenna of FIG. 1) for detecting the position of the vehicle 101 is provided. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, some of the sensors described above may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor (not shown), a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, for example, a vehicle speed sensor 23 or the like may be used. The position detector 1 corresponds to the position detection means of the present invention.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a known touch panel 22 integrated with the display 10 or a mechanical switch is used. In addition to the mechanical switch, a pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used.

  It is also possible to input various instructions using the microphone 31 and the voice recognition unit 30. In this method, a voice signal input from the microphone 31 is processed by a voice recognition technique such as a well-known hidden Markov model in the voice recognition unit 30, and converted into an operation command corresponding to the result. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7, the remote control terminal 12, the touch panel 22, and the microphone 31 corresponding to the destination setting means of the present invention.

  The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and connects a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 as an input / output circuit, A / D conversion unit 86, drawing unit 87, clock IC 88, and these components. A bus line 85 is provided. The CPU 81 controls the navigation program 21p and data stored in the HDD 21. In addition, a program for performing a minimum necessary operation as the navigation device 100 may be stored in the ROM 82 in a case where the data read / write control from the CPU 81 to the HDD 21 becomes impossible. The control circuit 8 corresponds to the guidance route search means, predicted arrival time calculation means, use start expected time calculation means, guide route search restriction means, consumption time acquisition means, and use end expected time calculation means of the present invention.

  The A / D conversion unit 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 1 or the like to the control circuit 8 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 81, for example. It is.

  The drawing unit 87 generates display screen data to be displayed on the display 10 from road map data 21m (described later), display data, and display color data stored in the HDD 21 or the like.

  The clock IC 88 is also called a real-time clock IC, and sends or sets clock / calendar data in response to a request from the CPU 81. The CPU 81 acquires date / time information from the clock IC 88. Further, date and time information included in the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 5 may be used. The date information may be generated based on a real-time counter included in the CPU 81. The acquired date / time information is used, for example, for travel history management.

  In addition to the navigation program 21p, the HDD 21 stores so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and road map data 21m, which is a road map database including road data representing road connections. The road map data 21m stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like in the link attributes. The node information is information defining an intersection (branch road) or the like, and is composed of position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connecting road link, a distance cost, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information. The road map data 21m corresponds to the road map data storage means of the present invention.

  In the HDD 21, auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and other data can be written independently by the user and stored as user data 21u. Data and various information necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 are also stored as the database 21d.

  The navigation program 21p, road map data 21m, user data 21u, and database 21d can be added / updated from the storage medium 20 via the map data input device 6. The storage medium 20 is generally a CD-ROM or DVD based on the amount of data, but may be another medium such as a memory card. Moreover, you may use the structure which downloads data via an external network.

  The memory 9 is composed of a rewritable device such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, and stores information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation apparatus 100. Has been. The memory 9 holds the stored contents even when the navigation device 100 is turned off. Further, instead of the memory 9, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored in the HDD 21. Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored separately in the memory 9 and the HDD 21.

  The display 10 is composed of a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, a well-known active matrix driving method, and performs display based on a display command and display screen data sent from the control circuit 8 (drawing unit 87). Further, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display or a plasma display may be used as the display 10. The display device 10 corresponds to facility information output means and display means of the present invention.

  The transceiver 13 is, for example, a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System: registered trademark) center 14 by an optical beacon or a radio beacon output from a transmitter (not shown) provided along the road. It is a device for receiving road traffic information from or receiving FM multiplex broadcasting. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which can be connected to external networks, such as the internet, using the transmitter / receiver 13. FIG. The transceiver 13 corresponds to the traffic information acquisition means of the present invention.

  The speaker 15 is connected to a well-known voice synthesis circuit 24, and the digital voice data stored in the memory 9 or the HDD 21 in accordance with a command from the navigation program 21p is converted into analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 24 and sent out. Note that speech synthesis methods include a recording / editing method in which speech waveforms are stored as they are or after being encoded and connected as necessary, and a text synthesis method in which corresponding speech is synthesized from character input information.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder. For example, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is installed in the vicinity of the wheel mounting unit to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. In the control circuit 8, the number of rotations of the wheel is converted into the speed of the vehicle 101 to calculate an expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle 101 to a predetermined place, or an average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle 101. To do.

  The communication unit 25 is configured as a well-known wireless transceiver (including an antenna), and is used for communicating with the information providing server 114 via the base station 107 or the like. The communication unit 25 may be configured as a communication interface circuit that communicates with the outside by connecting a mobile phone or a PHS (both not shown). The communication unit 25 corresponds to a facility information request transmitting unit, a facility information receiving unit, and a consumption time acquiring unit of the present invention.

  The LAN I / F 26 is an interface circuit for exchanging data with other in-vehicle devices and sensors via the in-vehicle LAN 27. Further, data may be taken from the vehicle speed sensor 23 via the LAN I / F 26.

  With this configuration, the navigation device 100 allows the user to operate the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22, the remote control terminal 12, or from the microphone 31 when the navigation program 21 p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8. When a route guidance process for displaying a destination route on the display 10 is selected from a menu (not shown) displayed on the display 10 by voice input, the following process is performed.

  That is, first, the user searches for a destination. The destination search method is, for example, a method of specifying an arbitrary point on the map, a method of searching from the area where the destination is located, a method of searching from the telephone number of the destination, or the name of the destination from the Japanese alphabet. There are a method of searching by inputting the number of characters stored in the memory 9 as a facility frequently used by the user. When the destination is set, the current position of the vehicle is obtained by the position detector 1, and a process for obtaining an optimum guide route to the destination from the current position is performed. Then, the guidance route is superimposed on the road map on the screen of the display 10 to display an appropriate route for the user. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. In addition, at least one of the display 10 and the speaker 15 performs notification of a message according to an operation guidance or an operation state.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the information providing server 141. The information providing server 141 is configured as a well-known personal computer or workstation, and includes an HDD 143, a communication I / F (Interface) 144, a display unit 145, an operation unit 146, and a control circuit 142 to which these are connected.

The HDD 143 includes an OS program 143S that functions as an operating system (OS) that operates the information providing server 141, an application program 143P that functions as an application running on the OS, a database (also referred to as DB) 143D, and the like. It is remembered.

  The communication I / F 144 includes a network adapter having an interface function with a communication network such as the Internet network 108 or the telephone line network 109. The communication I / F 144 corresponds to the facility information request receiving unit, the facility information transmitting unit, and the Web information acquiring unit of the present invention.

  The display unit 145 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT display. The operation unit 146 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and operation means such as a keyboard.

  The control circuit 142 includes a CPU 142a, a ROM 142b, a RAM 142c, an input / output interface (I / O) 142d, a clock IC 142f having the same configuration as the clock IC 88 of the navigation device 100, and a bus line 142e that connects these configurations. . The CPU 142a performs control based on the OS program 143S stored in the HDD 143. The OS program 143S is executed on the RAM 142c with the OS work memory 142S as a work area. In addition, the application program 143P is executed in the form in which the application work memory 142P is used as a work area on the RAM 142c. The control circuit 142 corresponds to facility information extraction means, facility information registration means, and facility information search means of the present invention.

  The database 143D is for registering facility information retrieved and collected from the Web server group 110 (see FIG. 1). Details of the facility information will be described later.

  FIG. 4 shows the flow of each information in the vehicle information display device of the present invention. First, a facility information request is transmitted from the navigation device 100 to the information providing server 141 via the communication unit 25. In the information providing server 141, information (search information) about the facility included in the received facility information request is read by the search information reading unit 142 g included in the control circuit 142. Based on the read result, the homepage search unit 142h included in the control circuit 142 searches the homepage of the Web server group 110 using the search information as part or all of the keywords, and the facility information (details will be described later) from the search result Is extracted and registered in the DB 143D. Then, in the facility information reading unit 142j included in the control circuit 142, the facility information corresponding to the request from the navigation device 100 is read from the DB 143D and transmitted to the navigation device 100 via the communication I / F 144. Details will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the facility information display process from the reception of facility information in the navigation device 100 to route guidance will be described. This process is included in the navigation program 21p and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the navigation program 21p. First, when the user searches and sets a destination by operating the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22, the remote control terminal 12, or by voice input from the microphone 31, the destination setting information is acquired (S11). Next, the destination setting information is transmitted to the information providing server 141 as a facility information request (S12). Thereafter, the facility information is received from the information providing server 141 (S13). The facility information generation process in the information providing server 141 will be described later.

  When facility information is received from the information providing server 141, it is stored in a predetermined area of the database 21d or the memory 9. An example of the facility information stored in FIG. 13 is shown. The last update date and time may be used as it is included in the facility information, or may be replaced with the date and time acquired from the clock IC 88 when the facility information is received. The database 21d or the memory 9 can store a plurality of facility information.

  Then, the facility information stored in the database 21d or the memory 9 is read, and the facility information is displayed on the display 10 as shown in FIG. 6 (S14). The facility information includes facility name, facility location, business hours, last order time, congestion status (congestion information of the present invention), and the like.

  Subsequently, an availability determination process is performed to determine whether or not the facility included in the set destination is available, that is, whether or not the facility is reachable within business hours (S15, described later).

  When the facility can be reached within the business hours (S16: Yes), as shown in FIG. 7, a message to search for traffic information and a guide route to the facility is displayed on the display 10 as shown in FIG. Are displayed together with the contents (S16a). Then, a guidance route to the destination is searched (S17), and route guidance is performed based on the guidance route (S18).

  When the user presses the “Don't search” button on the display screen of FIG. 7, the search for the guidance route and the route guidance may not be performed. If the facility can be reached within the business hours, a guidance route may be automatically searched when a message as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed.

  On the other hand, when the facility cannot be reached within the business hours (S16: No), as shown in FIG. 8, the traffic information and a message indicating that the facility cannot be reached within the business hours are displayed on the display 10 in FIG. The displayed contents are displayed (S19). At this time, the user may be allowed to select what to do. That is, when the “Search” button is pressed on the display screen of FIG. 8 (S20: Yes), the guide route to the destination is searched with priority given to the user's intention (S17), and the guide route is displayed. Based on this, route guidance is performed (S18).

  Further, when the user presses the “Don't search” button (S20: No → S21: No), this process ends.

  Further, when the user presses the “search for alternative facility” button (S20: No → S21: Yes), the alternative destination is displayed on the display 10 (S22). The alternative destination is, for example, included in the same genre as the facility included in the initially selected destination, and is closer to the initial destination. Since the method of searching for facilities (destinations) by genre is well known as a function of the navigation device, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  When the user selects to search for an alternative destination on the display screen of the display device 10 (S23: Yes), the process returns to step S12, and the facility is sent to the information providing server 141 as the new destination setting information. Send an information request.

  On the other hand, when the user has not selected to search for an alternative destination on the display screen of the display device 10 (S23: No), this process ends.

  The availability determination process corresponding to S15 in the step of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. First, traffic information is acquired from the VICS center 14 (S31). The traffic information includes traffic jam information such as a traffic jam section and a time required for passing through the traffic jam section.

  Next, date information is acquired from the clock IC 88 (S32). Next, the congestion information included in the facility information received from the information providing server 141 is acquired (S33). The congestion information includes waiting time at the facility. When the facility information does not include congestion information, a predetermined value such as zero waiting time is used.

  Subsequently, the expected arrival time to the facility included in the destination is calculated (S34). For example, a guide route candidate from the current position to the destination is searched, and for each guide route candidate, the expected arrival time = current date and time (time) + time required for a non-congested section + time required for a congested section is calculated. . Then, the estimated arrival time plus the waiting time is calculated as the expected use start time (S35).

  Moreover, the consumption time information regarding the consumption time in the facility included in the destination is acquired (S36). The consumption time information is information on the time required for eating and drinking if it is a restaurant, and if it is included in the facility information, it is used. When the consumption time information is not included in the facility information, a predetermined value such as 30 minutes is used. In the case of a restaurant, the consumption time may be set individually according to the time zone (morning, noon, night). For example, 30 minutes in the morning and noon and 60 minutes in the evening. Then, the estimated use start time plus consumption time is calculated as the expected use end time (S37).

  Then, in step S16 of FIG. 5, when the estimated use start time or the estimated use end time is included in the business hours of the facility, it is determined that the facility is usable. Further, when the facility information includes the last order time, the last order time may be used instead of the business end time. Note that when it is determined whether or not the facility can be used using the estimated use start time, it is not necessary to calculate the expected use end time in FIG.

  The facility information search / transmission process in the information providing server 141 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is included in the application program 143P and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the application program 143P. First, a facility information request is received from the navigation device 100 (S51). Next, when the facility to be searched is determined, that is, when the facility is included in the destination information included in the facility information request (S52: Yes), the process proceeds to the next step (S53).

  Priorities of genres that include facilities to be searched may be set in advance. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the genre of the facility and the search priority are defined in association with a predetermined area of the database 143D. Alternatively, the facility genre and the search priority order may be stored in the database 21d or the memory 9 of the navigation apparatus 100, and the contents may be included in the facility information request and transmitted to the information providing server 141.

  On the other hand, when the facility is not included in the destination information included in the facility information request (S52: No), the facility around the destination is searched (S60). Then, the facility closest to the destination or the facility representing the destination is determined as the target facility for searching the home page (S61). Alternatively, the target facility may be determined based on the facility genre and the search priority. The database 143D includes data similar to the road map data 21m of the navigation device 100.

  Next, with reference to the database 143D, it is checked whether or not the facility information of the search target facility has already been registered. If registered, it is acquired from the registration date and time (last update date and time in FIG. 13) and the clock IC 142f. When the facility information is updated within a predetermined time, such as 15 minutes before, for example, the facility information is regarded as the latest information.

  If the latest facility information of the corresponding facility is not registered in the database 143D (S53: No), the homepage of the corresponding facility is searched (S54). If the homepage of the facility does not exist, users will need it on the Internet, such as information services such as news and stock prices, Web mail services that can be used from browsers, electronic bulletin boards, and chats, with search engines and links as the core. A well-known portal site that provides all functions for free is accessed, a search is performed using the name of the corresponding facility as a keyword, and a Web site containing information on the corresponding facility is searched from the search result.

  Subsequently, homepage information (or information regarding the corresponding facility included in the website) is read (S55). Reading is performed using a Web page storage function of a Web browser. Next, facility information is extracted using well-known morphological analysis, which is a technique for dividing a sentence written in a natural language into morphemes, which are the smallest units having meaning as a language (S56).

  An example of a homepage is shown in FIGS. In FIG. 11, the top page of the restaurant XX is shown. Normally, when the user clicks “access guidance” in the display of FIG. 11, an access guidance screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. Some web browsers cannot save files at all levels. However, the web site specified by the link tracking function is searched for, and its hierarchical structure and file structure are displayed. By using software that can extract existing files, it is possible to read the entire homepage information and extract facility information.

  11 and 12, the facility name is extracted from the top page of FIG. 11, and other information is extracted from the access guidance screen of FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the position of the facility is specified from the extracted location. A two-dimensional coordinate value searchable by the navigation device 100 is obtained from the location of the facility (S57).

  Next, the contents of the database 143D are updated with the extracted facility information (S58). FIG. 13 shows the stored contents of the database 143D. The facility information includes the facility name, location, telephone number, business hours, last order time (if set in the facility), and congestion status (if set in the facility). In addition, the date and time when the data was last updated is also stored.

  On the other hand, when the database 143D has the latest facility information of the facility (S53: Yes), the facility information of the facility is read (S62).

  Finally, the facility information is transmitted to the navigation device 100 (S59).

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

The figure which shows the structure of the information display apparatus for vehicles. The figure which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus for vehicles. The figure which shows the structure of an information provision server. The figure which shows the flow of each information in the information display apparatus for vehicles. The flowchart explaining facility information display processing. The figure which shows the example of a display of facility information. The figure which shows the example of a display of the message to search for the guidance route to a facility. The figure which shows the example of a display of the message to the effect that a facility cannot be reached within business hours. The flowchart explaining an availability determination process. The flowchart explaining facility information search transmission processing. The figure which shows an example of a homepage (top page). The figure which shows an example of the homepage following FIG. The figure which shows the memory content of a database. The figure which shows the relationship between a facility and the priority of a search.

Explanation of symbols

1 Position detector (position detection means)
7 Operation switch group (Destination setting means)
8 control circuit (guidance route search means, expected arrival time calculation means, use start expected time calculation means, guide route search restriction means, consumption time acquisition means, use end expected time calculation means)
9 Memory 10 Display (facility information output means, display means)
13 Transceiver (Traffic information acquisition means)
21 Hard disk drive (HDD)
21d database 21m road map data (road map data storage means)
22 Touch panel (Destination setting means)
25 Communication unit (facility information request transmission means, facility information reception means, consumption time acquisition means)
30 Voice recognition unit 31 Microphone (Destination setting means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle navigation apparatus 101 Vehicle 105 Telephone station 106 Wireless communication network 107 Base station 108 Internet network 109 Telephone line network 110 Web server group 141 Information providing server 142 Control circuit (facility information extraction means, facility information registration means, facility information search means) )
143D database 144 Communication I / F (facility information request reception means, facility information transmission means, Web information acquisition means)

Claims (6)

An information display device for a vehicle including an information providing server connected to a network so as to be communicable and an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle,
The in-vehicle device is
Destination setting means for setting the destination;
Facility information request transmission means for including destination information regarding the destination in a facility information request and transmitting the information to the information providing server,
The information providing server includes:
A facility information request receiving means for receiving the facility information request from the in-vehicle device,
Web information acquisition means for acquiring Web information from a Web server based on the received facility information request;
Facility information extraction means for extracting facility information including geographical information, business hours information, and congestion information about the facility from the acquired Web information;
Facility information registration means for registering the extracted facility information in a database;
Facility information retrieval means for retrieving the facility information corresponding to the facility information request from the database;
Facility information transmitting means for transmitting the searched facility information,
The in-vehicle device is
Facility information receiving means for receiving the facility information from the information providing server;
Facility information output means for outputting the received facility information;
Road map data storage means for storing road map data;
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle;
Traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information of an area including a section from the current position of the vehicle to the destination;
Guidance route search means for searching for a guidance route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination;
Based on the acquired traffic information, expected arrival time calculating means for calculating an expected arrival time when using the guide route,
Based on the calculated expected arrival time and the congestion information, expected use start time calculating means for calculating a predicted use start time of the facility indicated by the destination;
When the calculated expected start time of use is not included in the business hours of the facility, guidance route search restriction means for restricting the search for the guidance route;
In a state where the search of the guide route is restricted, a guide route search restriction releasing means for releasing the search restriction of the guide route by a predetermined operation input by the user;
An information display device for vehicles, further comprising: The vehicle information display device according to claim 1, wherein, when the destination information included in the acquired facility information request includes a facility, the information acquisition unit acquires Web information about only the facility. The Web information obtaining means, on the acquired destination information included in the facility information request does not contain the facility, according to claim 1 or claim 2 acquires Web information about the property of near the destination The vehicle information display device described in 1. Display means for displaying the current position of the vehicle and the destination on the road map data;
4. The vehicle information display device according to claim 1 , wherein the facility information output unit displays the acquired facility information on the display unit. 5. The vehicle information display device according to claim 4 , wherein the facility information output unit displays the acquired traffic information together with the facility information on the display unit. Consumption time acquisition means for acquiring the consumption time in the facility after arriving at the destination;
Based on the estimated use start time and the acquired consumption time, use expected end time calculation means for calculating a predicted use end time at the facility, and
The said guidance route search restriction | limiting means restrict | limits the search of the said guidance route, when the calculated said use completion estimated time is not contained in the business hours of the said facility. Vehicle information display device.

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