JPH08193837A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily display/output data of a text in an expression method required by a user, by providing a converting means for converting an expression method of text data stored in a memory means. CONSTITUTION: A database device (memory means) stores maps and text data. A position-measuring device measures the current position. A text-converting device 55 (converting means) converts an expression method of text data stored in the memory means thereby to obtain converted text data. An image display device 51 displays either the text data or the converted text data in response to a predetermined input. An audio synthesizer 52 which outputs either the text data or the converted text data by sound in accordance with a predetermined input, an amplifier 53 and a speaker 54 are also provided. The converting device 55 can convert the text data into an expression method by synonyms, a predetermined dialect or a predetermined language.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation system such as a car navigation system mounted on a vehicle for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a navigation system which provides a user with information such as a present location and a route (scheduled route) for guiding a user to a destination in order to support movement in an unfamiliar area. ing. The navigation system is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System).
m) a receiver (measuring device) that receives radio waves from a satellite (GPS satellite) and measures the current location, a CD-ROM that stores information such as maps, a device that reads information from the CD-ROM, It is composed of an image display device for displaying the current position in an overlapping manner on a map, an input device for inputting a command from a user to the system, and is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile or used by being carried.

In such a navigation system, a CD-ROM may store text information such as IIS (Integrated Information System) in addition to the map. In addition, CD-RO
M is a character (text information) on the map (for example,
Street name or place name (eg prefecture name, mountain, river,
Others such as names of lakes and buildings) and text information for guiding a predetermined route (for example, "Next intersection,
Go to (direction). "," (Destination), there are (number) kilometers left. ", And (direction),
In some cases, (destination), vocabulary to be inserted in (number), etc. are stored and a voice synthesizer is provided.

If information about a tourist spot such as a railway line name, a station name, or a tourist spot is stored as the IIS information, the input device is operated in the vicinity of the current location. Existing railway line name and station name,
Alternatively, the explanation about the tourist spot is read from the CD-ROM and displayed on the image display device.

Further, for example, a CD-ROM stores text information on a map and text information for guiding a predetermined route (guidance to a predetermined destination along a predetermined route), and further voice synthesis. When the device is provided, for example, a place name representing the current location is output by voice, or a voice guiding a predetermined route is output.

The text information as described above is C
It may be stored in the control unit for controlling the entire system instead of the D-ROM.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
When the text information is stored in the ROM, the text information is conventionally displayed in the same expression form or output as voice. The expression format of the text information is usually a uniform fixed expression such as a common language in Japanese.

Incidentally, there are cases where the user desires a simpler expression, politeness, or expression rather than the expression itself of the text information stored in the CD-ROM. Further, in some cases, it is desired to display and output in a dialect instead of the common language. There are also cases where the user wants to display or output in English or another language instead of Japanese.

However, conventionally, in order to change the expression format of the displayed and output text information, it is necessary to use a CD.
-It was necessary to change the text information itself stored in the ROM, and it was difficult to display and output the text information in the expression format desired by the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to easily display and output text information in an expression format desired by a user.

[0011]

A navigation system of the present invention comprises a storage means (for example, the database device 13 shown in FIG. 1) storing at least a map and text information, and a measuring means (for example, a database). ,
A position measuring device 12 shown in FIG. 1) and display means (for example, the image display device 51 shown in FIG. 5) for displaying the stored information of the storage means and the measurement result of the measuring means. The text information stored in the storage means is converted into an expression format to be converted text information (for example, a text conversion device 55 shown in FIG. 5), and the display means corresponds to a predetermined input. The text information itself or the converted text information is displayed.

In this navigation system,
An output unit (for example, a voice synthesizer 52, an amplifier 53, and a speaker 54 shown in FIG. 5) that outputs either the text information itself or the converted text information by voice according to a predetermined input can be further provided. . Further, the conversion means can convert the expression form of the text information into an expression in a synonym. Further, the converting means can convert the expression form of the text information into an expression in a predetermined dialect. Further, the conversion means can convert the expression form of the text information into an expression in a predetermined language.

Text information is characters on a map, information for guiding a predetermined route, or IIS (Integr
ated Information System).

[0014]

In the navigation system having the above structure, the expression format of the text information stored in the database device 13 is converted into converted text information.
Then, on the image display device 51, either the text information itself or the converted text information is displayed in response to a predetermined input. Therefore, the text information can be easily displayed in the expression format desired by the user.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a car navigation system to which the present invention is applied. This car navigation system is composed of a system control unit 11, a position measuring device 12, a database device 13, an input device 14, and an output device 15, and is installed in an automobile or the like. For example, by operating buttons or the like, interactively. The device is controlled in accordance with the input voice issued to the device.

The system control section 11 sends and receives information to and from each block constituting the system, and controls the operation of the entire system. Position measuring device 1
2 receives electric waves from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite (GPS satellite), and measures the current location using a measuring device such as a geomagnetic sensor, a mileage sensor, or a gyroscope. . In the database device 13, for example, digitized map information of a plurality of scales, characters (text information) on the map (such as the above-mentioned place name), information for guiding a route (text information), IIS. Information (text information), intersection information, and the like are recorded, from which necessary information is retrieved based on a command from the system control unit 11 and transmitted to the system control unit 11. .

The input device 14 is equipped with operating means such as buttons and joystick, and voice input means such as a microphone for inputting voice. The operation unit is operated when instructing the system control unit 11 to perform a process. In this case, a signal corresponding to the operation (operation of the operation unit) is input from the input device 14 to the system control unit 1.
1 is transmitted. Further, the input device 14 has a voice recognition device 44 as shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later. The input voice (voice input to the voice input means) is voice-recognized there, and the voice recognition result is obtained. Is also transmitted to the system control unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, the output device 15 is an image display device 51 such as a liquid crystal monitor or a CRT for displaying images and the like, a speaker 54 for outputting voice and others, and text information. A voice synthesizer 52 for generating a voice (synthesized voice) from the system control unit 11 is provided, and for example, of the information sent from the system control unit 11, for example, map information, current position information, characters on the map, I
IS information is displayed and voice information is output. Further, the output device 15 is
The system control unit 11 also synthesizes and outputs a voice corresponding to the text information.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration example of the position measuring device 12. The position measurement device 12 includes a position measurement control unit 21, a GPS antenna 22, a gyroscope 23,
Also, the position calculation unit 24 is configured to measure the current position and the movement distance from a certain time point.

The position measurement controller 21 is the system controller 1
In addition to controlling each block constituting the position measuring device 12 under the control of 1, the current position and the moving distance calculated by the position calculating part 24 as described later in accordance with a command from the system control part 11, It is adapted to be supplied to the system control unit 11. The GPS antenna 22 receives the radio wave transmitted from the GPS satellite and supplies it to the position calculation unit 24 via the position measurement control unit 21. The gyroscope 23 has, for example, a rotatable top supported by three axes, and outputs the direction of the rotation axis of the top to the position calculation section 24 via the position measurement control section 21. . The position calculation unit 24 uses the position measurement control unit 21.
From the signal supplied from the GPS antenna 22 via the present location (for example, represented by latitude and longitude)
(Current location information) is calculated and output to the position measurement control unit 21.

A rotation amount calculation circuit (not shown) calculates and supplies the rotation amount (rotation number) of the automobile tire to the position calculation unit 24. For example, the position calculation unit 24 is supplied from the gyroscope 23 via the position measurement control unit 21 when the radio waves from the GPS satellites cannot be properly received due to the influence of the weather, or when necessary. Based on the direction of the axis of rotation of the top and the rotation amount of the tire from the rotation amount calculation circuit, the travel distance of the car is calculated, and the current position (current location) is calculated from the travel distance and the position at a certain time. It is designed to calculate. Further, the position calculation unit 24 is configured to output the calculated movement distance to the position measurement control unit 21 as necessary.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration example of the database device 13. The database device 13 includes a recording medium 31, a storage unit 32, and a reading / writing device 33. The recording medium 31 is, for example, a CD-ROM or the like, and stores computerized map data (map information) of a plurality of scales. Furthermore, the recording medium 31
Is the name of the intersection or the location of the intersection on the map (for example,
Information such as those represented by latitude and longitude), names and directions of roads connected to the intersections, intersection information consisting of names of points reached by following the roads, characters on the map, information for guiding routes , IIS information and others are also stored. Note that text information of the above-mentioned information, such as characters on a map, information for guiding a route, and IIS information, is not stored in the recording medium 31 but is stored in the system control unit 11. It is also possible to store it in the built-in memory.

Here, as the information of IIS, as described above, for example, a railway line name, a station name, or a description about a tourist spot such as a tourist spot is stored. The system control unit 11 inputs, for example, from the input device 14, or if necessary, the database device 13 for the explanation of the railway line name or station name existing near the current location, which is supplied from the position measuring device 12, or the tourist spot. It is read out from the device and supplied to an output device 15 (FIG. 5) described later to be output (displayed as an image or output as sound).

The system control unit 11 is designed to operate according to predetermined software.
The processing method (utilization method) of IS information is determined by the software.

Further, the recording medium 31 can be attached to and detached from the database device 13, so that even if a map or the like is changed in the future, the recording medium in which the changed map information is stored is the recording medium. By mounting the database device 13 in place of 31, it is possible to prevent the device from being substantially unusable due to obsolescence of the information stored in the recording medium 31.

The storage unit 32 is, for example, a RAM,
The read / write device 33 is configured to temporarily store the data read from the recording medium 31. The storage unit 32 can be accessed at a higher speed than the access to the recording medium 31, and the data stored in the recording medium 31 can be stored in the storage unit 32 as needed. Then, the data can be read out from there to speed up the process.

The read / write device 33 includes a system controller 11
Control is performed to read data from the recording medium 31 and read / write data from / to the storage unit 32.

The database device 13 is configured so that the current position and the moving distance are appropriately supplied from the position measuring device 4 via the system controller 11.
2 also temporarily stores these pieces of information. The current location and the moving distance stored in the storage unit 32 are read by the reading / writing device 33 as needed,
The system control unit 11 is used when a predetermined process is performed.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration example of the input device 14. The input device 14 includes a remote controller 40 and a voice recognition device 44. Also, the remote controller 40
Is composed of a joystick 41, a button group 42, and a microphone 43.

The joystick 41 can be tilted vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and an operation signal corresponding to the tilted direction is output to the system control unit 11. The button group 42 includes, for example, a voice output button, a route setting button, an intersection button, a reduction button, an enlargement button, a menu button, a power button, and the like. When the button is operated, it corresponds to the operated button. The operation signal is output to the system control unit 11. When a voice is input, the microphone 43 converts the voice into a voice signal as an electric signal and outputs the voice signal to the voice recognition device 44.

The voice recognition device 44 is configured to perform voice recognition processing on the voice signal from the microphone 43 and output the result to the system control unit 11. As a result, the joystick 41 and the button group 4 of the remote controller 40
The process performed by operating 2 is the microphone 43
It can also be performed by inputting a predetermined voice into.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration example of the output device 15. The output device 15 includes an image display device 51, a voice synthesizer 52, an amplifier 53, a speaker 54, and a text converter 55.

The image display device 51 is, for example, a liquid crystal monitor or a CRT as described above, and the system control unit 1
The map data (map information) supplied from 1 through the text conversion device 55, the current location data (current location information), characters on the map, IIS information, and the like are displayed. The voice synthesizer 52 includes a system controller 1
1. Based on the text information (text data) supplied from 1 through the text conversion device 55, voice synthesis (text voice synthesis) is performed as necessary (synthesized voice corresponding to the text data is generated). ing. The synthetic sound output from the voice synthesizer 52 is supplied to the speaker 54 via the amplifier 53 and output. That is, for example, a user who is driving can be made to recognize information through hearing rather than sight.

Here, the system control section 11 is adapted to generate text information as a response to the voice input to the microphone 43 of the input device 14 (FIG. 4) and recognized by the voice recognition device 44. (The database device 13 (or the memory included in the system control unit 11) also stores information (text information) for creating a response voice, and text information as a response is generated based on this information. Be done). As mentioned above,
The voice synthesizer 52 generates and outputs a synthetic sound based on the text information, that is, outputs a response voice, which is a response to the input voice, so to speak, so that the user interacts with the response voice. By speaking to
You can operate the car navigation system.

The amplifier 53 amplifies the signal (audio signal) supplied from the system controller 11 or the voice synthesizer 52 and supplies it to the speaker 54. The speaker 54 outputs the amplified audio signal supplied from the amplifier 53 as a sound (voice).

Here, an audio signal is also stored in the database device 13 (or a memory incorporated in the system control section 11), and the system control section 11 reads out the audio signal as necessary and the amplifier 53.
It is designed to be directly supplied.

The text conversion device 55 converts the expression format of the text information (characters, sentences, etc.) supplied from the system control unit 11 in accordance with the operation of the input device 14, and outputs the converted text information as an image display device. 51 or the voice synthesizer 52.

When the system control unit 11 supplies, for example, map information, which is image information, other than the text information, the text conversion device 55 does not perform any particular processing on the information and directly converts the image. It is adapted to output to the display device 51.

Further, the text conversion device 55 is capable of converting the expression form of the text information from the system control unit 11 into an expression in a synonym, a predetermined dialect, or a predetermined language. Further, the text conversion device 55 can be made to output the text information from the system control unit 11 as it is. Whether to convert the expression format of text information,
Alternatively, what kind of expression format of the text information is converted can be selected by operating the input device 14 and giving a predetermined input to the system control unit 11.

Therefore, in the image display device 51 or the speaker 54, in response to a predetermined input from the input device 14,
Either the text information whose expression format is the same or the converted text information whose expression format is changed is displayed or output as voice.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation will be described. First, in step S1, the remote controller 40 that constitutes the input device 14 (FIG. 4).
The system control unit 11 determines whether or not the power button of the button group 42 is operated to turn on the power. In the car navigation system of FIG. 1, the power is turned on when the power button is operated once while the power is off.
Moreover, when the power button is operated once while the power is on, the power is turned off.

When it is determined in step S1 that the power button has not been operated to turn on the power, the process returns to step S1. When it is determined in step S1 that the power button has been operated to turn on the power, the system control unit 11 turns on the power.
To be. Then, the process proceeds to step S2, where the position measuring device 12 starts measuring the current position, and the system control unit 11 creates a map of an appropriate (appropriate) scale including the current position based on the measurement result in the database device. 1
3 (FIG. 3) read from the recording medium 31 and output device 1
No. 5, and the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the image display device 51 of the output device 15 (FIG. 5) displays the map including the current location supplied from the system control unit 11 at an appropriate scale.

Here, thereafter, while neither the joystick 41 nor the button group 42 is operated and the voice input to the microphone 43 is not performed, the position measuring device 12 is constantly operated.
The current location is measured by and the map including the current location is displayed.
The display of the image display device 51 is updated. Further, a cursor (for example, a mark in the shape of a car) indicating itself is displayed at the current position. Further, in the system control unit 11, a place name as a character in a map including the present location, a street name, etc. are also read from the database device 13,
The image is supplied to the image display device 51 and displayed. Further, the image display device 51 can display a map including the current location so that the current location is located substantially at the center of the screen.

After the map including the current location is displayed, the process proceeds to step S4, and the button group 4 of the input device 14 (FIG. 4).
The system control unit 11 determines whether the menu button of 2 is operated. If it is determined in step S4 that the menu button has been operated,
In step S5, menu mode processing is performed.
That is, in step S5, first, in step S21 of FIG. 7, the menu is displayed on the image display device 51 of the output device 15 (FIG. 5).

Here, the menu is the database device 1
3 (FIG. 4). When the menu button is operated, the system control unit 11 reads the menu from the database device 13, and outputs the menu to the output device 15.
It is designed to be supplied to and displayed.

After displaying the menu, the process proceeds to step S22, and the system control unit 11 determines whether or not any one of the menus is selected. here,
When the menu is displayed on the output device 15, the cursor is also displayed together with the menu. This cursor can be moved by operating the joystick 41 of the input device 14 (FIG. 4), and the menu can be selected by moving the cursor to a desired menu position. It is made possible.

When it is determined in step S22 that the menu has not been selected, the process returns to step S22. If it is determined in step S22 that the menu is selected, the process proceeds to step S23, and the process corresponding to the selected menu is performed by the system control unit 1.
1 and ends the processing (menu mode processing).

The menu is used to set the display color on the output device 15, the display direction of the map (which direction is the top to display the map), the volume, etc., and is stored in the database device 13. Outputting information such as existing map information, setting a route (direction) to the destination,
Those that perform guidance according to the route (route guidance),
For example, some output IIS information. Further, the menu also includes items such as whether to convert the expression format of the text information and selecting the expression format of the text information.

It is possible to make these menus easier to use by arranging these menus in a hierarchical structure.

After the menu mode process is completed, the process proceeds to step S6 (FIG. 6).

If it is determined in step S4 that the menu button has not been operated, step S4.
5, skip to step S6, and enter the input device 14
The system control unit 11 determines whether or not the enlargement button (FIG. 4) has been operated. When it is determined in step S5 that the enlargement button has been operated, the process proceeds to step S7, the map enlargement process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S8. That is, in step S7, the system control unit 11 determines that the map currently displayed on the output device 15
A large-scale map (detailed map) including the current location is read from the database device 13 and supplied to the output device 15. Then, the output device 15 displays the map.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the enlargement button has not been operated, step S7 is skipped and step S8 follows, in which it is determined whether or not the reduction button of the input device 14 (FIG. 4) has been operated. Is determined by the system control unit 11. When it is determined in step S8 that the reduction button has been operated, step S9
Then, the map reduction process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S10. That is, in step S9, the system control unit 11 reads from the database device 13 a map (wide area map) having a smaller scale than the map currently displayed on the output device 15 and including the current location. , To the output device 15. Then, the output device 15 displays the map.

When the enlargement button or the reduction button is operated, the system control unit 11 is now in the output device 1
When a map whose scale is larger or smaller than the map displayed in No. 5 is not stored in the database device 13, a message to that effect is output from the output device 15 (a message indicating that is displayed or Is output).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8 that the reduction button has not been operated, step S9 is skipped and step S10 follows.
The system control unit 11 determines whether or not the power button (FIG. 4) has been operated to turn off the power. In step S10, the power button turns the power on.
When it is determined that the FF operation has been performed, the system control unit 11 turns off the power and ends the process.

If it is determined in step S10 that the power button has not been operated to turn off the power, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the joystick 41 of the input device 14 (FIG. 4) has been operated. Is determined by the system control unit 11. Step S11
If it is determined that the joystick 41 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S12, the map scroll process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S13.

That is, in step S12, the system controller 11 reads a map in the same direction as the direction in which the joystick 41 is operated (or in the opposite direction) from the database device 13 and outputs it to the output device 51. Supplied. Then, the map is displayed on the output device 15 (note that the characters on the map are also displayed in the same manner). As a result, on the output device 15, the map currently displayed is displayed on the joystick 41.
Is scrolled in the same direction as (or opposite to) the direction in which was operated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the joystick 41 has not been operated, then step S12 is skipped and step S13 is reached.
The system control unit 11 determines whether the voice output button of the input device 14 (FIG. 4) has been operated. When it is determined in step S13 that the voice output button is operated, the process proceeds to step S14, the voice output process is performed, and the process returns to step S2.

That is, in step S14, the system control unit 11 sends, for example, text information representing the present location to
Output device 15 read from database device 13
It is supplied to the speech synthesizer 52 (FIG. 5). In the voice synthesizer 52, a synthesized sound corresponding to the text from the system control unit 11, that is, a synthesized sound of the current location is generated, and the amplifier 5
3 to the speaker 54. As a result, the present location is output from the speaker 54 as a synthetic sound.

The synthetic sound output from the speaker 54 is changed according to the mode of the system. That is, when the mode of the system is, for example, a navigation mode for guiding a predetermined route, the route is displayed on the image display device 51 so as to be superimposed on the map. When the button is operated, the voice synthesizer 52 is configured to generate a synthetic voice for guiding the route based on the text information for guiding the route stored in the database device 13.

The system mode is, for example, IIS.
When the mode for outputting the information (text information) is set, the IIS information is displayed on the image display device 51. In this case, when the voice output button is operated, the voice synthesizer 52 , The synthesized sound corresponding to the IIS information is generated based on the IIS information (text information) stored in the database device 13.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S13 that the voice output button is not operated, step S14 is skipped and the process returns to step S2.

6 and 7, the process of determining whether or not the route setting button and the intersection button of the input device 14 (FIG. 4) are operated, and the process performed when these are operated. Although not shown, the system control unit 11 also performs a determination process as to whether or not these buttons have been operated, and the following processes are performed according to the determination result.

That is, when the route button is operated,
The system control unit 11 sets the system mode to a mode for setting a route.

When the intersection button is operated, the system control unit 11 uses the current location supplied from the position measuring device 12 as the intersection information about the intersection that is currently heading, that is, the intersection information, for example. The name, the latitude and the longitude, the name of the road connected to the intersection, the direction, the name of the point reached by following the road, and the like are read from the database device 13. Then, these pieces of information are supplied from the system control unit 11 to the image display device 51 of the output device 15 (FIG. 5) and displayed.

Further, the processing in FIGS. 6 and 7 (including the processing performed by operating the above-mentioned route setting button and intersection button) is performed by the input device 14 (FIG. 4).
In addition to operating the joystick 41 and button group 42 of
It is also possible to input a command corresponding to the processing by voice input to the microphone 43. That is,
When the voice of the command is input to the microphone 43 of the input device 14 (FIG. 4), the voice is recognized by the voice recognition device 44, and the recognition result is the system control unit 1.
1 is supplied. The system control unit 11 performs the above-described processing according to the voice recognition result from the voice recognition device 44.

As a result, when a voice such as "power on", "menu", "enlarge", "reduce", "power off", or "voice output" is input to the microphone 43, the system By the control unit 11, power ON processing,
Menu mode processing, map enlargement processing, map reduction processing, power supply OFF processing, or audio output processing is performed, respectively. In addition, for example, “right”, “left”,
When a voice indicating a direction such as “up” or “down” is input, the system control unit 11 performs the same map scroll processing as when the joystick 41 is operated in that direction.

Next, the text conversion device 55 constituting the output device 15 (FIG. 5) will be described in detail. FIG. 8 shows a detailed configuration example of the text conversion device 55. As shown in the figure, the text conversion device 55 includes an analysis unit 61 and a conversion generation unit 62.

Text information (input sentence) is input from the system control unit 11 to the analysis unit 61. Then, the analysis unit 61 refers to the analysis dictionary and analyzes the text information from the system control unit 11 according to the rule described in the analysis rule.

In the analysis unit 61, for example, morphological analysis, syntactic analysis, semantic / context analysis, etc. are performed as necessary. In addition to the standard Japanese language, the analysis dictionary also describes certain local dialects, as well as morphemes of languages other than Japanese (such as English and French), their readings, parts of speech, and accent types. Therefore, the analysis unit 61 can perform analysis if the text information is composed of morphemes described in the analysis dictionary. Furthermore, the analysis rules include morphological analysis, syntactic analysis,
It describes the rules necessary for performing semantic / contextual analysis.

The analysis result of the analysis unit 61 is the conversion generation unit 62.
And the conversion generation unit 62
A synonym dictionary, a dialect dictionary, or a bilingual dictionary is referred to, and the conversion generation of the text information input to the text conversion device 55 is performed according to the rules described in the synonym conversion generation rule, the dialect conversion generation rule, or the bilingual conversion generation rule. Is designed to do. That is, the conversion generation unit 62 includes the analysis unit 61.
From the analysis result from the expression format of the text information input to the text conversion device 55, the synonym expression, a predetermined dialect,
Alternatively, it is converted into an expression in a predetermined language. Then, the text information (output sentence) obtained as a result of the conversion (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as converted text information)
Is output to the image display device 51 or the voice synthesizer 52.

In the synonym dictionary, synonyms of words (morphemes) described in the analysis dictionary (reading of the synonyms, part of speech,
Accent types are included), and the dialect dictionary describes various local dialects (including their pronunciation and accent type) and the correspondence between those dialects and the words described in the analysis dictionary. Has been done. The bilingual dictionary describes correspondences (translations) of words in Japanese, English, and other languages (including their reading, part of speech, accent type, etc.). Here, it is possible to describe not only Japanese dialects but also dialects of other languages in the dialect dictionary.

The synonym conversion generation rule describes a rule to be followed when converting to a synonym such as "synonyms of the same part of speech can be replaced". Furthermore, in the dialect conversion generation rule, a rule to be followed when converting to a dialect is described. In the parallel translation generation rule, grammatical rules and the like necessary for converting one language into another language are described.

Further, the conversion and generation can be performed by, for example, a method using a template (sentence pattern), a syntax direct method used in machine translation, a transfer method, an intermediate language method, or the like. Whichever is used depends on the system. You just have to decide. However, here, the conversion generation is performed by the syntax direct method.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the user operates the input device 14 to select whether or not to convert the expression format of the text information and, if so, what expression format to convert. This selection can be made in the menu mode as described above.

When it is selected not to convert the expression form of the text information, the system control unit 11 notifies the text conversion device 55 of that fact. In this case,
The text conversion device 55 outputs the text information supplied from the system control unit 11 as it is to the image display device 51 or the voice synthesis device 52. Therefore, in this case, the text information supplied from the system control unit 11 is displayed on the image display device 51 in the same expression format, or is output as a voice from the speaker 54.

On the other hand, when the conversion of the expression format of the text information is selected and the expression format to be converted is further selected, that effect is also notified from the system control unit 11 to the text conversion device 55. Be informed. In this case, in the text conversion device 55, the system control unit 11
When the text information is supplied from the analysis unit 61, the analysis unit 61 analyzes the text information and outputs the analysis result to the conversion generation unit 62. Then, in the conversion generation unit 62, the expression format of the text information supplied from the system control unit 11 is converted into the expression format selected by the user using the analysis result, and the converted text information obtained as a result is converted. Image display device 51 or voice synthesizer 5
2 is output.

That is, when the user selects a synonym, a dialect, or an expression in another language, the conversion generator 62 causes the synonym conversion generation rule and synonym dictionary, the dialect conversion generation rule and dialect dictionary, or According to the bilingual translation generation rule and the bilingual dictionary, respectively, the text information from the system control unit 11 is converted into the converted text information and output to the image display device 51 or the voice synthesizing device 52. Therefore, in this case, the text information supplied from the system control unit 11 is similar to the user's desired synonym, dialect,
Alternatively, the image is displayed on the image display device 51 in a representation format in another language, or is output as voice from the speaker 54.

Next, the operation will be further described with reference to FIG. The text information input from the system control unit 11 is, for example, a standard Japanese word.

For example, the system is now set to the navigation mode, and is approaching the city of Kobe, which is a transit point, in order to inform the user of that fact.
If the text information “the next point is Kobe City” is supplied from the system control unit 11 to the text conversion device 55, the analysis unit 61 analyzes the text information, for example, as shown in FIG. 9 (A). An analysis result like this is output.

Here, the analysis result output from the analysis unit 61 includes the words (morphemes) forming the text information, the pronunciation, accent type, part of speech, the identification result of the phrase or phrase of the text information, and the phrase or phrase. Although various grammatical information such as the property of is included, only main ones are shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the text information "next point is Kobe city" is analyzed by the analysis unit 61, and the words (morpheme) "next", "no", "point", " It is divided into "ha", "Kobe city", and "is", and the part of speech of each word is identified. Also, it is identified that the reading of "Kobe City" is "Kobeshi" and the accent type is Type 3.

The analysis result as described above is converted into the conversion generation unit 62.
Is supplied to the conversion generation unit 62,
The expression format of the text information is converted into the one selected by the user.

That is, the user has selected to convert the expression into a synonym expression, and in the synonym dictionary, the part of speech is a synonym of "da" and the part of speech is a "junction". For example, "da", "is", "is", etc. are described.
When a rule such as "synonyms of the same part of speech can be replaced" is described, "da" is followed by "da", "is", "as shown in FIG. 9B according to the rule. It is converted to "etc."

Here, whether to convert "is" to the synonymous expression "da", the new expression "is", or the polite expression "is" is a menu. It is designed to be selectable by mode.

For example, when the simple expression is selected, the text information "Next point is Kobe city",
The converted text information "Next point is Kobe city" is output to the image display device 51 or the voice synthesizer 52.

In FIG. 9B, "da" is replaced with "da".
It also shows the case of being converted to "is".

Next, when the user has selected to convert the expression into a dialect, the following processing is performed. The dialect of which region is used can be selected in the menu mode. Here, for example, the dialect of the Kyoto region is selected. Therefore, it is assumed that the dialect dictionary describes at least the correspondence between Japanese common words (standard words) and the dialects of the Kyoto region. Further, it is assumed that the dialect conversion generation rule describes a rule that "vocabularies whose correspondences are described in a dialect dictionary can be replaced with each other", a rule regarding intonation of dialects in the Kyoto region, and the like.

Specifically, in the dialect dictionary, at least
For example, the grammar when the part-of-speech is described as being associated with "da" and "dosu" and the part-of-speech is the noun "Kobe-shi" in standard language and dialects of the Kyoto region. It is assumed that information (reading of "Kobe city", accent type, etc.) is associated and described.

Here, the reading of "Kobe city" is "kobeshi" in both the standard language and the dialects of the Kyoto region.
("-" Means long sound), but the accent type is different. That is, a beat with a strong sound or a weak beat when uttering "kobeshi" is designated as "high" or "low", respectively.
When expressed by, when the standard word "kobeshi" is used,
If the strength of the sound is expressed in two levels of "high" and "low", it becomes "low high high low". Thus, the beginning is "low"
Then, in the case where it becomes “high” and then “low”, the number of beats from the beginning of the position from “high” to “low” is N
Then, if the accent type of the word is called N type, the accent type of "Kobe city" in the standard word is type 3 (Fig. 9 (A)).

On the other hand, in the case of "kobeshi" in the dialect of the Kyoto region, if the strength of the sound is expressed in two levels as in the above case, it becomes "high high high low". In this way, when the number of beats from the beginning of the position from “high” to “low” is N when the first is “high” and then “low”,
If the accent type of the word is called the high N type, the accent type of "Kobe City" in the dialect of the Kyoto region becomes the high 3 type.

Therefore, the dialect dictionary describes that the accent type, which is the grammatical information when "Kobe-shi" is spoken in the standard language or the dialect of the Kyoto region, is type 3 or high type 3, respectively. .

In the case where the above information is described in the dialect dictionary and the dialect conversion generation rule, FIG.
As shown in (C), in the text information "The next point is Kobe City", "is" is converted into "Dosu" associated with it, and the accent type of "Kobe City" is changed. , The converted text information is converted into the high-three type, and the converted text information “Next point is Kobe city dosu” is generated. Further, into the converted text information “the next point is Kobe city dosu” is given an intonation according to the rule regarding the intonation of the dialect of the Kyoto region described in the dialect conversion generation rule, and the image display device 51 or the voice synthesis is added. It is output to the device 52.

In this case, when the converted text information "the next point is Kobe city dosu" is output to the speech synthesizer 52, the speech synthesizer 52 synthesizes the synthesized speech corresponding to the intonation and accent type given to it. Is generated, but when it is output to the image display device 51, the image display device 51 displays it while ignoring information necessary only when outputting as voice of intonation or accent type. That is, the converted text information “The next point is Kobe city” is displayed on the image display device 5.
When the output is 1, the image display device 51 displays "Next point is Kobe city."

Next, when the user has selected to convert the expression into another language, the following processing is performed. In addition, which language is used for expression can be selected in the menu mode, and here, for example, English is selected. Therefore, it is assumed that the bilingual dictionary describes at least the correspondence between Japanese common words (standard words) and English. Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the correspondence relationship shown in FIG. 10 is described.

In the parallel translation conversion generation rule, it is assumed that the rule "words whose correspondences are described in the bilingual dictionary can be replaced with each other" and the rule shown in FIG.

In the case where the above-mentioned information is described in the bilingual dictionary and the bilingual conversion generation rule, first, FIG.
According to the correspondence R1 described in the bilingual dictionary shown in 0, the noun "next" and the case particle "no"
Is converted to the adjective “next”. Further, according to the correspondences R2 to R4, the noun "point" is added to the noun "point", and the noun "Kobe-shi" is the noun "Kobe-cit".
"y", the conjunct "is" to the conjunct "is",
Each is converted. As a result, the Japanese text information "The next point is Kobe City" is the English text information "next point Kobe-city is".
It is said.

After that, the processing according to the rule described in the parallel translation conversion generation rule shown in FIG. 11 is performed. Note that in the figure (also in FIG. 10), the description of (Japanese) or (English) at the beginning of the rule is applied to Japanese text information or English text information, respectively. .

That is, according to the rule r1 described in the bilingual transformation generation rule shown in FIG. 11, the text information "next point is Kobe city" is aligned with the noun, the case particle "no", and the noun. "Next point" which is the part
Is identified as a noun phrase (FIG. 9 (A)). And
According to the rule r2, the text information “next po
"Int Kobe-city is", which is the part that is lined with adjectives and nouns.
The “t” is also identified as a noun phrase (FIG. 9D).

Therefore, the sequence of parts of speech of the Japanese text information "The next point is Kobe city" is the noun phrase, the case particle "ha", the noun, the conjunction, and the condition on the left side of the rule r3 is satisfied. To do. In addition, English text information "next
The sequence of parts of speech of "point Kobe-city is" is a noun phrase, a noun, and a noun. If the order of the noun and the noun is exchanged, the condition on the right side of the rule r3 is satisfied. Then, the word order of the noun "Kobe-city" and the conjunction "is" is exchanged, and the text information "n"
ext point Kobe-city is "
"Next point is Kobe-city"
It is said.

It is possible to describe such a change in the word order not only in the parallel translation generation rule but also in the dialect conversion generation rule or the synonym conversion generation rule.

Then, according to the rule r3, the text information "Next point is Kobe City" is converted text information "next point is Kobe-cit."
y ”and is output to the image display device 51 or the voice synthesizer 52.

Since the expression format of the text information is converted as described above, the information can be presented in the expression format desired by the user without replacing the text information itself. As a result, the user can easily understand the information, and the usability of the system can be improved. Moreover, since it is not necessary to prepare text information for each language, it is possible to facilitate the manufacturing of the system and reduce the cost.

The case where the present invention is applied to a navigation system (car navigation system) mounted on an automobile has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a portable navigation system, a vehicle other than an automobile, and a ship. It can be applied to navigation systems mounted on aircraft, etc.

In the present embodiment, the text information output from the system control unit 11 is made up of Japanese common words (standard words), but the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, in this embodiment, the system control unit 11
When converting the expression format of the text information from
Although either one of the dialect and the expression in another language is selected, a plurality of them can be selected. That is, for example, since there are dialects in English and the like, it is possible to convert Japanese standard words into English in a predetermined dialect by selecting English as another language and further selecting the dialect. Become.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the expression format of the text information for guiding the predetermined route is converted in the navigation mode has been described, but the expression format of the text information can be converted in other modes. Is. That is, for example, in a mode in which a predetermined map is displayed together with a place name and a street name, if the expression format is selected to be converted into English, for example, "Roppongi street" becomes "ropponngist." It is converted and displayed.

[0107]

As described above, according to the navigation system of the present invention, the text information can be easily displayed and output in the expression format desired by the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a car navigation system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of a position measuring device 12 of FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of a database device 13 of FIG.

4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of an input device 14 in FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of an output device 15 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the car navigation system of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the process of step S5 of FIG.

8 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of a text conversion device 55 in FIG.

9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the text conversion device 55 of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence relationships described in a bilingual dictionary.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a rule described in the parallel translation generation rule.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 system control unit 12 position measurement device 13 database device 14 input device 15 output device 21 position measurement control unit 22 GPS antenna 23 gyroscope 24 position calculation unit 31 recording medium 32 storage unit 33 read / write device 40 remote control 41 joystick 42 button group 43 microphone 44 voice recognition device 51 image display device 52 voice synthesis device 53 amplifier 54 speaker 55 text conversion device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A navigation system comprising: a storage unit that stores at least a map and text information; a measurement unit that measures the current location; and a display unit that displays the storage information of the storage unit and the measurement result of the measurement unit. There is further provided a conversion means for converting the expression format of the text information stored in the storage means to obtain converted text information, wherein the display means corresponds to a predetermined input, or the text information itself or A navigation system displaying any one of the converted text information. 2. The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs, as voice, either the text information itself or the converted text information according to the predetermined input. 3. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the expression format of the text information into a synonymous expression. 4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts an expression format of the text information into an expression in a predetermined dialect. 5. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts an expression format of the text information into an expression in a predetermined language. 6. The text information is characters on the map, information for guiding a predetermined route, or II.
6. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the navigation system is S (Integrated Information System) information.