JP4935017B2 - Facility information providing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing facility information.

  2. Description of the Related Art A navigation device is known in which facility information within a predetermined range in a traveling direction along a traveling road is searched from map data and highlighted (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior art documents related to the invention of this application include the following.
JP 2003-057049 A

  However, in the conventional navigation device described above, facilities that exist within a predetermined range of the traveling direction along the traveling road are searched and provided, so that when the traveling road changes due to a course change, a new traveling is immediately performed. There is a problem that facility information within a predetermined range in the traveling direction along the road cannot be provided.

The current location of the vehicle is detected, the travel distance of the vehicle is detected, and the latest facility information in the circle of radius R1 centered on the preset current location of the vehicle is used as the distance L1 (provided that the travel distance of the vehicle is preset). , L1 <R1) is obtained and stored from the information center so that the latest facility information around the current location of the vehicle is updated , and the mileage of the vehicle is set to a preset distance L2 (where L2 Each time <L1 is reached, it is within a circle of radius R2 (where R2 <R1 and L2 <R2) centered on the current location of the vehicle set in advance from the latest facility information stored. Search for the latest facility information and provide it to the crew repeatedly.

  According to the present invention, the latest facility information around the current location can be immediately provided even when the traveling road changes due to a change of course.

  An embodiment in which the facility information providing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a navigation apparatus will be described. In this specification, various game facilities such as game centers, sports facilities such as tennis courts and pools, department stores and shopping centers, parking lots, gas stations, event venues, etc. Information is called facility information. Since these facilities are often newly installed or removed, it is necessary to constantly deliver the latest information from the information center and provide it to vehicle occupants.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment. The navigation device 1 according to an embodiment is mounted on a vehicle and performs wireless communication with the information center 15 to exchange various information. The information includes the latest facility information.

  The in-vehicle navigation device 1 includes a GPS receiver 2, a VICS receiver 3, a travel distance detection device 4, a traveling direction detection device 5, a communication device 6, a controller 7, a road map storage device 8, a facility information storage device 9, a display device 10, A speaker 11 is provided. The GPS receiver 2 detects the current location and traveling direction of the vehicle by satellite navigation. The controller 7 specifies the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling using the detected current location and road map data. The VICS receiver 3 receives beacon broadcasts and FM multiplex broadcasts and obtains traffic jam information and traffic regulation information.

  The travel distance detection device 4 detects the travel distance of the vehicle, and the travel direction detection device 5 detects the travel direction of the vehicle. The controller 7 calculates a travel locus based on the travel distance and travel direction of the vehicle, performs map matching with the road map data, and detects the current location of the vehicle and the road on which the vehicle is traveling by autonomous navigation. The communication device 6 performs wireless communication with the information center 15 to exchange various information.

  The controller 7 includes a CPU 7a, a ROM 7b, a RAM 7c, an A / D converter 7d, etc., searches for an optimal route to the destination, draws a road map around the current location on the display device 10 and optimizes the current location and the destination of the vehicle. Display the route. The controller 7 also obtains facility information within a predetermined range for each predetermined distance traveled from the information center 15 and stores it in the facility information storage device 9 and retrieves facility information within a predetermined range for each predetermined distance travel from the storage device 9. Then, it is provided to the passenger by the display device 10 and the speaker 11.

  The road map storage device 8 stores road map data, and the facility information storage device 9 stores facility information obtained from the information center 15. The display device 10 displays road map information such as a road map, optimum route, and current location, and also displays facility information around the searched vehicle. The speaker 11 provides voice guidance of the guidance route to the destination and facility information around the current location.

  The information center 15 includes a facility information database 16, a communication device 17, a processing device 18, and the like. The facility information database 16 is a storage device that stores the latest facility information, and the communication device 17 performs wireless communication with the in-vehicle navigation device 1 to exchange various information. The processing device 18 includes a computer, retrieves facility information within a predetermined range around the vehicle current location from the facility information database 16 in response to a facility information distribution request from the in-vehicle navigation device 1, and uses the in-vehicle navigation device 1 via the communication device 17. Delivered to.

  Here, the interval and range for providing facility information to vehicle occupants and the interval and range for acquiring facility information from the information center 15 will be described. In this embodiment, the interval for providing facility information to the occupant is set to a constant travel distance L2, for example, 300 m, and the range for providing facility information is within a circle having a constant radius R2, for example, 500 m centered on the current location of the vehicle. . That is, as shown in FIG. 2, every time the vehicle travels a distance L2 = 300 m, a facility in a circle having a radius R2 = 500 m centered on the current location of the vehicle is searched and provided to the passenger.

  The radius R2 for determining the information provision range and the travel distance L2 for determining the information provision interval are not limited to the values in this embodiment, but the travel distance L2 of the information provision interval is larger than the radius R2 of the information provision range. Set a small value.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the interval for obtaining facility information from the information center 15 is set to a fixed travel distance L1, for example, 4 km, and the range for obtaining facility information is centered on the current location of the vehicle. And a constant radius R1, for example, within a circle of 5 km. That is, every time the vehicle travels a distance L1 = 4 km, the information center 15 is requested to provide information on a facility in a circle having a radius R1 = 5 km centered on the current location of the vehicle, and the information center 15 obtains the information.

  The radius R1 for determining the information acquisition range and the travel distance L1 for determining the information acquisition interval are not limited to the values in this embodiment, but the travel distance L1 of the information acquisition interval is larger than the radius R1 of the information acquisition range. Set a small value.

  The radius R1 for determining the information acquisition range is larger than the radius R2 for determining the information provision range (R1> R2), and the travel distance L1 for determining the information acquisition interval is greater than the travel distance L2 for determining the information provision range. Is a long distance (L1> L2). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the latest facility information around the current vehicle location can be immediately provided even if the vehicle frequently changes its course and the traveling road changes.

  Furthermore, the radius R1 for determining the information acquisition range and the travel distance L1 for determining the information acquisition interval may be changed according to the road type. When traveling on a general road, as shown in FIG. 6, the route changes frequently due to turning left and right, so if the radius R1 of the information acquisition range is increased to widen the range, the facility that is not provided A large amount of information is obtained, which is wasted. Therefore, when traveling on a general road, the radius R1 of the information acquisition range is made smaller than when traveling on the highway to narrow the information acquisition range, and the travel distance L1 of the information acquisition interval is traveled on the highway. Shorter and frequently obtain information in a range that is likely to be provided to passengers along the actual travel route.

  On the other hand, when traveling on a highway, as shown in FIG. 7, there is no frequent route change as in traveling on a general road, and there is a large amount of movement per hour. The information acquisition range is made wider than when traveling on ordinary roads, and the travel distance L1 of the information acquisition interval is made longer than when traveling on ordinary roads. In this way, by changing the facility information acquisition range and the acquisition interval according to the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, it is possible to acquire information without waste and to save communication costs.

  Furthermore, before acquiring the facility information from the information center 15, the facility information stored in the facility information storage device 9 of the in-vehicle navigation device 1 is confirmed, and the facility information already acquired from the information center 15 is duplicated. And avoid getting it. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, it is desirable to obtain the facility information in units of meshes and confirm the presence / absence of facility information already acquired in units of meshes. Thus, by preventing the same facility information from being obtained many times, it is possible to obtain information without waste and further save communication costs.

  FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing a facility information acquisition program executed by the in-vehicle navigation device 1, and FIG. 9B is a flowchart showing an information distribution program executed by the information center 15. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a facility information providing program executed by the in-vehicle navigation device 1. The operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to these flowcharts.

  When an ignition switch (not shown) is turned on, the controller 7 of the in-vehicle navigation device 1 repeatedly executes the facility information acquisition program shown in FIG. 9A and the facility information provision program shown in FIG. Further, the processing device 18 of the information center 15 always executes the information distribution program shown in FIG. 9B.

  First, the operation of obtaining facility information from the information center 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 1 of FIG. 9A, the current location of the vehicle is detected to identify the traveling road, and the type of the traveling road is confirmed with reference to the road map data. In step 2, the radius R1 of the information acquisition range and the travel distance L1 of the information acquisition interval are determined according to the type of road. As described above, when traveling on a highway, an information acquisition range wider than that of a general road is set, and an information acquisition interval longer than that of the general road is set.

  In step 3, the count value of the travel distance counter La that counts the travel distance of the information acquisition interval is confirmed, and it is confirmed whether or not the count value has reached the information acquisition distance L1. At the start of travel or when the value of the counter La reaches the information acquisition distance L1, the process proceeds to step 4 to start the information acquisition operation. In step 4, the current location of the vehicle and the radius R1 of the information acquisition range are transmitted to the information center 15 to request distribution of facility information.

  In step 11 of FIG. 9B, the information center 15 searches the facility information database 16 for facility information within a circle having a radius R1 centered on the current location of the vehicle, and the facility information retrieved in step 12 is transferred to the in-vehicle navigation device 1. To deliver.

  In step 5 of FIG. 9A, the in-vehicle navigation device 1 receives facility information from the information center 15 and stores it in the facility information storage device 9. Thereafter, the travel distance counter La is reset in step 6 and the process returns to step 1 to repeat the above-described processing.

  Next, the operation of providing facility information to vehicle occupants will be described with reference to FIG. In step 21, the count value of the travel distance counter Lb that counts the travel distance of the information provision interval is confirmed, and it is confirmed whether or not the count value has reached the information provision distance L2. At the start of traveling or when the value of the counter Lb reaches the information providing distance L2, the process proceeds to step 22 to start the information providing operation.

  In step 22, the facility information storage device 9 is searched for facility information in a circle with a radius R2 centered on the current location of the vehicle. The facility information retrieved in the subsequent step 23 is displayed on the display device 10 and broadcast by the speaker 11. Thereafter, the mileage counter Lb is reset in step 24, the process returns to step 21, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  Thus, according to one embodiment, the present location of the vehicle is detected, and the facility information in the circle of radius R1 centered on the preset current location of the vehicle is obtained from the information center, stored, and stored. Since the facility information within the circle of radius R2 (where R2 <R1) centered on the vehicle's current location set in advance is searched and provided to the passengers, the route is changed. Even when the travel road changes, the latest facility information around the current location can be provided immediately.

  Further, according to the embodiment, the vehicle travel distance is detected, and the vehicle travel distance is centered from the information center each time the vehicle travel distance reaches a preset distance L1 (where L1 <R1). The facility information in the circle of radius R1 is acquired and stored, and is stored every time the travel distance of the vehicle reaches a preset distance L2 (where L2 <L1 and L2 <R2). Since the facility information within the circle of radius R2 centered on the current location of the vehicle is searched from among the existing facility information and provided to the passengers, even if the driving road changes due to a change of course, The latest facility information can be provided.

  The correspondence between the constituent elements of the claims and the constituent elements of the embodiment is as follows. That is, the GPS receiver 2, the travel distance detection device 4, the traveling direction detection device 5 and the controller 7 are present location detection means and road type detection means, the controller 7 is information acquisition means and information provision means, and the facility information storage device 9 is As the information storage means, the travel distance detection device 4 constitutes the distance detection means. The above description is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, the correspondence between the items described in the above embodiment and the items described in the claims is not limited or restricted.

It is a figure which shows the structure of one embodiment. It is a figure which shows the provision space | interval and provision range of facility information. It is a figure which shows the acquisition interval and acquisition range of facility information. It is a figure which shows the acquisition interval and acquisition range of facility information. It is a figure which shows the relationship between acquisition and provision of facility information. It is a figure explaining the determination method of the acquisition interval and acquisition range of the facility information in the case of drive | working a general road. It is a figure explaining the determination method of the acquisition interval and acquisition range of the facility information in the case of driving on an expressway. It is a figure explaining the method of performing acquisition of facility information per mesh. It is a flowchart which shows the facility information acquisition program (a) and information distribution program (b) of one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the facility information provision program of one Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 In-vehicle navigation apparatus 2 GPS receiver 4 Traveling distance detection apparatus 5 Traveling direction detection apparatus 6 Communication apparatus 7 Controller 8 Road map storage apparatus 9 Facility information storage apparatus 10 Display apparatus 11 Speaker 15 Information center 16 Facility information database 17 Communication apparatus 18 Process apparatus

Claims (4)

In the facility information providing apparatus that performs wireless communication with the information center outside the vehicle to obtain facility information from the information center and provides it to the vehicle occupant,
Current location detection means for detecting the current location of the vehicle;
Distance detecting means for detecting the travel distance of the vehicle;
Each time the vehicle travel distance reaches a preset distance L1 (where L1 <R1), the information center is updated with the latest facility information in a circle with a radius R1 centered on the preset current location of the vehicle. Information acquisition means obtained from
Information storage means for storing the latest facility information obtained from the information center so as to update the latest facility information around the current location of the vehicle ;
Every time the travel distance of the vehicle reaches a preset distance L2 (where L2 <L1), the latest facility information stored in the information storage means is centered on the preset current location of the vehicle. An information providing means for retrieving the latest facility information in a circle of radius R2 (where R2 <R1 and L2 <R2) and repeatedly providing the retrieved latest facility information to the occupant. Facility information provision device. The facility information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
Road type detection means for detecting the road type on which the vehicle is running;
The facility for providing facility information is characterized in that the information obtaining means sets a smaller radius R1 than when traveling on a highway when the traveling road is a general road. The facility information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
Road type detection means for detecting the road type on which the vehicle is running;
The facility for providing facility information is characterized in that the information obtaining means sets a shorter distance L1 than when traveling on a highway when the traveling road is a general road. In the method of providing facility information provided to vehicle occupants by obtaining facility information from the information center by performing wireless communication with an information center outside the vehicle,
The current location of the vehicle is detected, the travel distance of the vehicle is detected, and the latest facility information in the circle of radius R1 centered on the preset current location of the vehicle is used as the distance L1 (provided that the travel distance of the vehicle is preset). , L1 <R1) is obtained and stored from the information center so as to update the latest facility information around the current location of the vehicle, and the mileage of the vehicle is set to a preset distance L2 (however, Each time L2 <L1) is reached, it is within a circle of radius R2 (where R2 <R1 and L2 <R2) centered on the current location of the vehicle set in advance from the latest facility information stored. A facility information providing method comprising: searching for the latest facility information in the vehicle and repeatedly providing the information to a passenger.

Images