JPH09297769A - Device and method for map retrieval - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the device and method for map retrieval which can easily display a desired map. SOLUTION: The map retrieval device displays a map showing the positions of location candidates (n1-n4), when there are location candidates at the time of the retrieval of a placed indicated with vocal place information that is inputted first. Then when location information is additionally inputted, the location indicated with this additionally inputted location information and locations related with location candidates that are already retrieved are selected and a map of the selected location is displayed (n5-n8). Further, the map of the selected location candidate is retrieved from a map data base according to the input from the selection part and displayed (n9-n11).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map search device and a map search method for searching and displaying a map of a place based on place information such as a place name input by voice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, as a device for assisting movement in a vehicle such as an automobile, a navigation device which displays a map and guides a driver to a destination has been put into practical use. The map search in the conventional device has a structure in which the search is advanced while narrowing down the area. For example, the prefecture name is first input, and then the municipality name is input. With this configuration, even when there are a plurality of places with the same place name all over the country, the map of the place desired by the user can be accurately searched and displayed. Further, there is also a device in which by inputting the names of buildings such as hospitals, stations, buildings, etc. after inputting the names of cities, towns, and villages, a map around the buildings is displayed large.

There is also proposed a device capable of inputting information such as the above-mentioned prefecture name (hereinafter referred to as location information) which is input at the time of searching a map by voice (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-324312). .

[0004]

However, as described above, in the conventional device, since the map is searched while narrowing down the area, the order of the prefecture name, the city name, the municipality name, and the building to be the mark must be ensured. Had to enter location information at. Therefore, even if the name of the building is known, the map cannot be displayed unless the accurate prefecture name and / or city name of the place where the building is located is known. For example, when a user wants to display a map around "Kinkakuji", the location information must be entered in three stages: "Kyoto", "Kita-ku, Kyoto", and "Kinkakuji". Even if you know Kyoto is in Kyoto, you cannot display a map of the surrounding area unless you know that it is in Kita-ku, Kyoto. Therefore, the user needs to check the location of the building (eg, Kinkakuji) in advance in order to display the map, and it is not possible to easily display the desired map.

Further, even if the location can be specified by the name of the building such as Kinkakuji, in order to display the map, the location information is in the order of prefecture name, city name, and landmark building. It was necessary to input, and it took a lot of time to input the location information, so that the desired map could not be displayed easily.

The navigation device has been developed with a function such as automatic route setting for automatically setting a route from the current position to the destination when the map is searched and the destination is input. A displayable configuration is desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a map search device and a map search method capable of easily displaying a desired map.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a map storage means for storing a map, a voice input means for inputting location information indicating a place such as a place name by voice, and the above-mentioned location information based on the input location information. In a map search device including a display unit for displaying a map retrieved from the map storage unit, when the input place information indicates a plurality of place candidates, one place candidate is selected from the plurality of place candidates. It is characterized by comprising a place candidate selecting means for selecting, and searching a map corresponding to the selected place candidate from the map storing means and displaying the map on the display means.

With this configuration, the map retrieved from the map storage means based on the location information input by voice is displayed.
If there are a plurality of place candidates indicated by the input place information, a map corresponding to the place candidate selected from these place candidates is retrieved from the map storage means and displayed.

[0010] Further, it is provided with an associative storage means for associating and storing an arbitrary place and a place included in the place, and the place candidate selecting means is a place associated with the place indicated by the additionally input place information. It is characterized by including means for selecting a candidate.

In this configuration, a place included in the place is stored in association with an arbitrary place, and when the place information is additionally input, the additionally input place information is selected from a plurality of place candidates. Select a candidate location associated with the location indicated by. Therefore, when there are a plurality of place candidates according to the input place information, the map of the place can be displayed by additionally inputting the place information of the place associated with the place where the map is to be displayed.

Further, the display means displays the positions of a plurality of place candidates on a map.

With this configuration, since the positions of the plurality of place candidates are displayed on the map, it is possible to visually judge and select a desired place among the place candidates and easily display the desired map. Can be made.

Further, the map search method of the present invention described in claims 4 to 6 has a configuration in which the map search device described in claims 1 to 3 is considered as a method invention.

[0015]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a map search device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The map search device 1 includes a voice input unit 2 that has a microphone for inputting by voice, a voice processing unit 3 that processes voice input from the voice input unit 2, and an arbitrary place from a plurality of place candidates. A selection unit 4 for selecting and inputting candidates, a map database 5 for storing map data, an associated storage unit 6 for storing information associating a plurality of places, a search unit 7 for searching the map database 5, And a display unit 8 for displaying a map. The selection unit 4 includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 8. Further, when there is the following relationship between two places, these two places are stored in the association storage unit 6 in association with each other. The relationship is a relationship in which one place includes the other place. In the relation storage unit 6, as shown in FIG. 2, place names are hierarchically associated and stored. For example, information in which "Kyoto", "Nagaokakyo", "Kita-ku", etc. are associated with "Kyoto" is stored. Note that "Nagaokakyo City" and "Kyoto City" are not associated with each other, but "Kyoto City" and "Kita Ward" are associated with each other. In addition to the place name, the file number of the map data of the place stored in the map database 5 is also stored.

Further, in the map database 6, in addition to the map data, the place names of the same occurrence are grouped and the respective coordinates are stored. For example, for a place name "Kyoto", "Kyoto Prefecture" and "Kyoto City" are grouped as shown in FIG. 3 (A), and each place is stored in a plurality of coordinates. There is. These coordinates have the X coordinate as the longitude (east longitude) and the Y coordinate as the latitude (north latitude), and are data indicating the position on the map (FIG. 3).
(B)).

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing of the map search device according to the embodiment of the present invention. When displaying a desired map, the user inputs place information indicating the place by voice from the voice input unit 2. At this time, the place information to be input may be a prefecture name, a municipality name, or a name of a building or the like.

When the location information is input (n1), the map search device 1 causes the voice processing unit 3 to perform voice recognition processing on the input voice (n2). Then, the map database 5 is searched based on the result recognized in n2 (n
3) The map of the place indicated by the input place information is displayed on the display unit 8 (n4). At this time, if there are a plurality of place candidates searched by the input place information, the positions of these plurality of place candidates are displayed on the map.

For example, when "Kyoto" is input by voice in n1, two of Kyoto prefecture and Kyoto city are detected as place candidates, and a map of Kyoto prefecture is displayed on the display unit as shown in FIG. 5 (A). It is displayed in 8, and only the part of Kyoto city blinks (or the color is changed). When "Fujimigaoka" is input by voice in n1, all the places recognized by the place name "Fujimigaoka" in the whole country are detected as place candidates,
The position of the detected place is displayed on the map as shown in FIG. Note that the plurality of place candidates may be displayed in a list format instead of being displayed on the map. further,
When "Kinkakuji" is input by voice in n1, a map of the vicinity of Kinkakuji is displayed on the display unit 8 at a set magnification, although not shown. It should be noted that only one place is detected when a search is performed using the place information of Kinkakuji.

When the location information by voice is additionally input from the voice input unit 2 (n5), the map search device 1 performs voice recognition processing on the additional location information (n5).
6) The map database 5 is searched (n7). Here, the place indicated by the additionally input place information is searched from the places associated with the already detected place candidates. That is, a place that is not associated with a place that has already been detected is excluded from the search range, and the search range is limited to shorten the processing time required for the search. The location detected here is n
If it is included in the place candidates detected in 3, the map of the place detected here is conversely, the place detected here is n3.
If the place candidate detected in step 3 is included, the map of the place detected in n3 is displayed at a reduced scale that fills the screen of the display unit 8 (n8). That is, the map with the smaller area (the map with the larger map display magnification) is displayed. This is because it is presumed that the most limited place (the place where the area is the smallest) is the place intended by the user, and by displaying in this way the most detailed map for the user can be obtained. This is because it can be provided.

For example, when "Kita-ku" is newly input as the location information when the map shown in FIG. 5 (A) is displayed on the display unit 8, the location associated with Kyoto Prefecture. Other than is outside the search range, Kita-ku in Osaka, Tokyo, etc. is not detected, and only Kita-ku in Kyoto is detected. Then, although Kita Ward is associated with both Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City, since it is included in both Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City, a map of Kita Ward in Kyoto is displayed on the screen of the display unit 8. . If there are a plurality of place candidates even when additional input is made, the positions of those places are displayed on the map (displayed as shown in FIG. 5B). Further, when "Shizuoka Prefecture" is newly input as the location information when the map shown in FIG. 5B is displayed on the display unit 8, the map of Fujimigaoka located in Shizuoka Prefecture is displayed. To display. In addition, when there are a plurality of places called Fujimigaoka in Shizuoka prefecture, the positions of all Fujimigaoka in Shizuoka prefecture are displayed on the map. At this time, the display of the map of Japan is stopped on the screen, the map of Shizuoka prefecture is enlarged, and the position of Fujimigaoka is displayed on this map.

As described above, when the place cannot be specified by the inputted place information and there are a plurality of place indications, all of them are displayed on the map, so that the user can use the place information inputted. It is possible to easily know that the desired place has not been specified. Then, by additionally inputting the place information including the place or the place information indicating the included place (place information indicating the associated place), the desired place is specified, and the map of the place is displayed. It is possible to display the entire display screen of the section 8.

Further, the map search device 1 can display a map of a desired place without additionally inputting place information as described above. The map search device 1 searches the map database 5 when one place candidate is selected from the place candidates displayed in the selection unit 4 without additional input of place information at n5 (n9). The map of this selected place candidate is displayed on the display unit 8 (n10, n1).
1). The selection input of the place candidate is performed using a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 8. As an operation, it suffices to press the place candidate selected from the plurality of place candidates displayed on the display unit 8. For example, the display unit 8
When the map shown in FIG. 5 (A) is displayed, if the user presses the top of Kyoto city, the map of Kyoto city is displayed at a scale that fills the screen of the display unit 8. On the other hand, if a place other than Kyoto is pressed, it is determined that Kyoto is selected and the blinking display of Kyoto is returned to the normal display. In addition, the display unit 8
When the map shown in Fig. 5 (B) is displayed in Fig. 5, if any of the candidate places is pressed, the Fujimigaoka map of the pressed position is displayed at a scale that fills the screen of the display unit 8. To do.

As described above, in the map search device according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to input the place information in a predetermined order such as a prefecture name, a city name, etc., unlike the conventional case. You can enter as much information as you know in the order you come up with. Also, for example, if you want to display a map around "Kinkakuji", you can simply enter the location information "Kinkakuji" and you do not need to enter the prefecture or city name as in the past. So you can easily enter the location information required to search the map,
A desired map can be easily displayed. Therefore, even a user who does not know the prefecture name or the municipality name of the target building can display the map on the display unit 8 without checking the location of the building.
Moreover, by selecting an arbitrary place from the place candidates displayed on the map, the map of the place can be displayed.

As described above, in this device, the order of inputting the place information is arbitrary, and the map desired by the user can be easily displayed no matter what order the place information is input. However, as is clear from the above description, in the map search device according to the present embodiment, the location information indicating the intended location is first input, and the location is not specified only by this location information. By making a selection or further inputting additional location information at any time, the desired map can be displayed most easily.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the location is not specified only by the entered location information, the location where the map is to be displayed is selected from the plurality of detected location candidates. By doing so, a map of the place can be displayed.

Further, since it is possible to select an arbitrary place candidate from a plurality of place candidates by additionally inputting place information indicating a place associated with the place, a desired map can be easily displayed. Can be made.

Further, when there are a plurality of place candidates,
Since the positions of those place candidates are displayed on the map, it is possible to easily determine the place where the map is desired to be displayed among the plurality of place candidates and to easily select the place.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a map search device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing information associating places in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing position data in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of a map search device according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a map.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-Map Retrieval Device 2-Voice Input Section 3-Voice Processing Section 4-Selection Section 5-Map Database 6-Related Storage Section 7-Search Section 8-Display Section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenya Miura, Kenya Miura, Kyoto, Kyoto Shimogyo-ku, Kizuyabashi-dori, Nishitotoin, Higashiiri, Togashi-koji, 606 Omron Software Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Masaaki Hayashi, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto No. 10 Hanazono Dodocho OMRON Corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A map storage means for storing a map, a voice input means for inputting location information indicating a place such as a place name by voice, and a map retrieved from the map storage means based on the input location information. And a display unit for displaying, when the input place information indicates a plurality of place candidates, a place candidate selecting unit for selecting one place candidate from the plurality of place candidates. A map search device, comprising: a map corresponding to the selected place candidate is searched from the map storage means and displayed on the display means. 2. An association storage means for storing an arbitrary location and a location included in the location in association with each other, wherein the location candidate selection means is associated with the location indicated by the additionally input location information. The map search device according to claim 1, further comprising means for selecting a candidate. 3. The display means displays the positions of a plurality of place candidates on a map.
The map search device described in any of 1. 4. A map search method for searching a map based on place information indicating a place such as a place name input by voice and displaying the searched map, wherein the input place information indicates a plurality of place candidates. In this case, a map search method is characterized in that a map corresponding to one place candidate selected from these plurality of place candidates is searched and displayed. 5. An arbitrary place and a place included in the place are stored in association with each other, and when there is additional input place information, the additional input place information among a plurality of place candidates. 5. The map search method according to claim 4, wherein a place candidate associated with the place indicated by is selected. 6. The map search method according to claim 4, wherein the positions of a plurality of place candidates are displayed on a map.