JP3722192B2 - Navigation device and navigation method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and a storage medium that perform guidance through anthropomorphic characters obtained by projecting incidental information such as places and facilities as images.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional navigation device, the destination is set by inputting the location, name, telephone number, etc. desired by the user in advance, or by sequentially selecting items that match the purpose from the hierarchical genre. This is done by selecting a desired one from those finally displayed in the list, or by displaying a facility of a genre selected by a peripheral search on a map and selecting a desired one from the map. When the destination is set, the system searches, performs route calculation, and provides guidance. The item to be selected as the destination is expressed by specific text, letters, numbers, and an icon that expresses the shape of the specific target is attached to help the user select the item Has been.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional destination selection method, it is good if the user knows the specific information such as address, name, phone number, etc. in advance, but it is vague input, that is, “I want to go to such a place” vaguely In the case of the selection, the one that matches the purpose is selected from the hierarchical genres. At that time, the user replaces the character information with “image” and inputs it. Further, a facility of a desired genre in the vicinity is displayed on the map by the peripheral search, and a desired one is selected from the facilities and set as a destination.
[0004]
If you select a hierarchical genre that matches your purpose, for example, if you want to find a Chinese restaurant in Aichi, Okazaki city, you will eventually find and display a list of Chinese restaurants in Okazaki city, Select what the user wants from them. In addition, when selecting a desired one by searching around, a Chinese restaurant around the current position is displayed on the map together with a mark, and a desired one is selected from among the restaurants.
[0005]
In these cases, multiple “candidates” to be displayed on the list or map are all displayed at the same level, and even if one of them is selected, it does not necessarily match what the user wants. Not exclusively. Detailed information about the facility is stored in advance as character information, such as information about whether it is a luxury or commoner if it is a Chinese restaurant, or if it is a clothing store specializing in women's clothing or men's clothing, it is luxury or cheap, and stores one facility. It is conceivable to configure the display so that it can be displayed after selection. However, it is necessary for the user to read and recognize the character information, and it takes time to recognize it. When one is selected and the detailed information is grasped, but it does not match the user's wish, it is desired sequentially It needs to be displayed until something is found. The icon expresses the shape of a specific object to some extent, and thus helps selection. However, it is insufficient to express an image and impression of a desired object.
[0006]
The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to easily and quickly select a desired place, facility, etc., and to prevent the selected result from causing a sense of incongruity with the desired one. And
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a navigation device that proposes a registration point by selecting a displayed character, an information storage unit that stores a character corresponding to the registration point, and a display control unit that extracts and displays the character from the information storage unit Selection means for selecting the displayed character, selection number storage means for storing the number of times the character has been selected by the selection means, and suggestion means for proposing a registration point by the selected character, The control means is characterized in that a character is extracted from the information storage means and displayed based on the selection number stored in the selection number storage means.
[0008]
According to the present invention, in the navigation method for proposing a registered spot by selecting a displayed character, the stage corresponding to the registered spot is stored in the information storage means, and the character is extracted from the information storage means and displayed. A step of selecting the displayed character, a step of storing the number of selections of the selected character in the selection number storage means, and a step of proposing a registration point by the selected character, and extracting the character from the information storage means The displaying step is characterized in that a character is extracted and displayed based on the number of selections stored in the selection number storage means.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a navigation device that presents information using a character image.
Input device 1 for inputting information related to route guidance, current position detecting device 2 for detecting information related to the current position of the host vehicle, navigation data necessary for route calculation, display / voice guidance data required for route guidance, character Information storage device 3 in which data and programs (application and / or OS) for presenting information by image are recorded, display / voice guidance processing necessary for route search processing and route guidance, information presented by character image Central processing unit 4 that performs processing for further control of the entire system, for example, road information and traffic information that are information related to vehicle travel, such as road information and traffic information, detection of information about the current position of the vehicle, and further information about the current position An information transmitting / receiving device 5 for transmitting / receiving information and an output device 6 for outputting information on route guidance It has been.
[0010]
The input device 1 has a function of inputting a destination and instructing the central processing device 4 to perform a navigation process according to the driver's will. As means for realizing the function, a remote controller such as a touch switch or a jog dial for inputting a destination by a telephone number or coordinates on a map or requesting route guidance can be used. Further, the present invention includes a device for performing dialogue by voice input, and functions as a voice input device. A recording card reader for reading data recorded on an IC card or a magnetic card can also be added. In addition, an information center that stores data necessary for navigation and provides information via a communication line at the request of the driver, and a portable type having data such as map data, destination data, simple maps, and building shape maps A data communication device for exchanging data with an information source such as an electronic device can be added.
[0011]
The current position detection device 2 obtains the current position information of the vehicle using a satellite navigation system (GPS), an absolute direction sensor that detects the traveling direction of the vehicle in an absolute direction by using, for example, geomagnetism, a vehicle For example, a steering sensor, a relative azimuth sensor that detects the relative azimuth by using a gyro sensor, for example, a distance sensor that detects the travel distance of the vehicle from the rotational speed of the wheel.
[0012]
The information storage device 3 is an external storage device that stores navigation programs and data, and includes, for example, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. The program includes a program for performing processing such as route search, a processing program shown in the flowchart described in the present embodiment, a display output control necessary for route guidance, a program for performing interactive guidance by voice input, and necessary for it A program for performing voice output control necessary for voice guidance and data necessary for voice guidance, and a program for performing presentation and guidance of information on pre-registered places and facilities via anthropomorphic characters Data necessary for it is stored. Stored data includes map data, search data, guidance data, map matching data, destination data, registration point data, road data, genre-specific data, landmark data, character data, location and facility type data, etc. All data necessary for the navigation device is stored. The present invention can also be applied to a type in which only data is stored in a CD-ROM and the program is stored in a central processing unit.
[0013]
The central processing unit 4 includes a CPU 40 that executes various arithmetic processes, a flash memory 41 that reads and stores a program from a CD-ROM of the information storage device 3, a program that performs program checking and update processing for the flash memory 41 (program reading means) ), The coordinates of the set destination point, and the road name code No. The RAM 43 temporarily stores the searched route guidance information and the data being processed. In addition to this, although not shown in the figure, dialogue processing by voice input from the input device 1 is performed, or voice, phrase read out from the information storage device 3 based on a voice output control signal from the CPU is one. A speech processor that synthesizes a set of sentences, sounds, etc., converts them into analog signals and outputs them to a speaker, a communication interface for exchanging input / output data by communication, and a sensor input interface for capturing sensor signals of the current position detection device 2 In addition, it has a clock for entering date and time in internal diagnosis information. Note that a program for performing the above-described update processing may be stored in an external storage device.
[0014]
The program according to the present invention and other programs for executing navigation may all be stored in a CD-ROM which is an external storage medium, or a part or all of these programs may be stored in the ROM 42 on the main body side. Good. Various navigation functions are realized by inputting data and programs stored in the external storage medium as external signals to the central processing unit of the navigation apparatus main body and performing arithmetic processing.
[0015]
The navigation device of the present invention has a relatively large capacity flash memory 41 for reading a program from a CD-ROM of an external storage device as described above, and a small program that stores a program for starting up a CD (program reading means). A ROM 42 having a capacity is incorporated. The flash memory 41 is a non-volatile storage unit that retains stored information even when the power is turned off. Then, as a CD start-up process, a program in the ROM 42 as a program reading means is activated and the program stored in the flash memory 41 is checked, and the CD-ROM disc management information and the like of the information storage device 3 are read. The program loading process (update process) is performed based on this information and the state of the flash memory 41.
[0016]
The information transmitter / receiver 5 is a GPS receiver that acquires information using a satellite navigation system (GPS), a VICS information receiver that acquires information using FM multiplex broadcasting, radio wave beacons, optical beacons, etc. By using a telephone, a personal computer, etc., it is composed of an information center (for example, ATIS) and a data transmitting / receiving device for bidirectionally communicating information with other vehicles.
[0017]
The output device 6 has a function of outputting guidance information by voice and / or a screen when the driver needs it, and printing out data subjected to navigation processing by the central processing unit 4. For this purpose, input data is displayed on the screen, a display that displays a route guidance screen, a printer that prints out data processed by the central processing unit 4 or data stored in the information storage unit 3, and voice guidance for route guidance. A speaker for output is provided.
[0018]
The display is composed of a simple liquid crystal display, etc., and an enlarged intersection screen based on map data and guidance data processed by the central processing unit 4, destination name, time, distance, direction arrow, anthropomorphic character The images etc. are displayed. Since the image data sent to the display is binary image data (bitmap data), a communication line used for serial communication or the like is used instead of a dedicated image signal line. A communication line can also be used. The display is provided with a memory that temporarily holds bitmap data.
[0019]
This display is provided in an instrument panel in the vicinity of the driver's seat, and the driver can check the current location of the host vehicle and obtain information on the route from now on by looking at the display. Although not shown in the figure, a tablet including a touch panel, a touch screen, etc. may be used on the display screen, and the point input, road input, etc. can be performed by touching the screen or tracing the screen. Good.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the entire system of the navigation apparatus of the present invention.
When the program is read from the information storage device 3 to the CPU 40 of the central processing unit 4 and the route guidance program is activated, the current position is detected by the current position detection device 2 and the surrounding map is displayed centering on the current position. At the same time, the name of the current position and the like are displayed (step S1). Next, a destination is set using a target name such as a place name or facility name, a telephone number or address, a registration point, a road name, etc. (step S2), and a route search from the current position to the destination is performed (step S3). ). When the route is determined, the route guidance / display is repeated until the destination is reached while tracking the current position by the current position detection device 2 (step S4). If there is an input for setting a detour before arriving at the destination, a search area is set and re-search is performed in the search area, and route guidance is repeated until the destination is reached in the same manner.
[0021]
Next, an example in which information such as a place and a facility is proposed as a destination or a passing point using a character image will be described.
In order to express the impression of a registration point such as a place or facility, the present invention sets a character having several types of human appearances in which an image and personality of the genre and the registration point are projected. Is stored in the storage device. For example, characters of a type corresponding to genres such as amusement parks, meals, sports, travel, movies, music, entertainment, etc., or characteristics of places and facilities, such as luxury, commoner, female, male, family, The character of the type corresponding to the young orientation and the year orientation is stored. When setting the destination, the user compares the vague image of the place or facility he wants to go with the impression of the character, selects the matching character, and selects the destination presented by the selected character.
[0022]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image character that displays the personality of a genre and a registration point in a human appearance, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the type of each character.
In this example, character (1) is a curious type with the image of a young man, character (2) is a type that wants to go to various places with an image of a young woman, and character (3) is an activity with an outdoor image. The character type (4) is a poor student's image that you want to play without spending money, the character (5) is an elderly type of calmness, and the character (6) is a fortune teller image. It is an unpredictable type. The character located in the center serves as a guide when the destination proposed by the characters (1) to (6) is set and the route calculated based on the destination is traveled. These characters are stored in a storage device, read out as necessary, displayed on the screen, and various proposals are made. Of course, the characters are not limited to these, and a plurality of sets of characters as shown in FIG. 1 may be prepared so that the characters can be selected according to the user's preference.
[0023]
Such a character is suggested in correspondence with a genre or a registration point. Here, an example in which a facility is associated with a character will be described with reference to FIG.
The facilities A1 to An set as destinations and passing points are: For women 2. 2. For men 3. Suitable for families 4. For couples Luxury, 6. Common, 7 Quiet, 8. 8. Lively, Younger, 10. 11. For elderly people Daytime, 12. For nighttime, 13. It is assigned to the six types of characters shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 depending on whether the conditions such as outdoors are satisfied, and the data is stored in the storage device. Therefore, for example, when the character (1) is selected, the facility An is included in the character proposal, and when the character (2) is selected, the facility A2 is included in the character proposal. In the above example, a single character is associated with a registration point such as a facility or place, but each character is further hierarchized into a parent character, a child character, a grandchild character, etc., and is further divided and registered. You may make it correspond to a point and make many characters appear. In this case, for example, the “facility types” shown in FIG. 5 are hierarchically ranked so that facilities can be narrowed down sequentially from the upper hierarchy to the lower hierarchy. Characters are stored for each facility type in each hierarchy. For example, when a character that distinguishes female orientation and male orientation appears in the upper hierarchy, and one of them, for example, a character that represents female orientation, is selected, a female character such as younger or older is selected as a lower hierarchy character. (Child character), and selecting one of them, it is possible to narrow down the favorite genre so that a female character expressing a personality such as high-class or common people appears. In addition, the type of character corresponding to each facility may be changed depending on various factors such as the passage of time, the location of the facility, the season, and the fashion. For example, information such as VICS may be acquired by an information transmitting / receiving device, and the character may be changed based on the acquired information.
[0024]
The selected facilities and characters are counted and stored. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the number of times of selection of the facilities A1 to An up to the present or in the past fixed period is N1, N2, N3... Nn, and also shown in FIG. As described above, the number of selections of the characters {circle around (1)} to {6} up to the present time or the past fixed period is counted and stored as n1, n2, n3. These count values are referred to as weights for the next proposal, and characters and facilities with a large number of past selections are preferentially proposed. When hierarchizing characters, the lowermost character is learned, and the next time a character is selected, a character with a large number of past selections is displayed along with the upper-level character, making it easy to select a genre that the user often uses. You can also.
[0025]
Next, the facility proposal processing by the character will be described with reference to the processing flow and display screen example of FIG.
The process of FIG. 7 shows an example of setting a facility such as a Chinese restaurant around the current location. When the suggestion mode by the character is entered, first, facility proposal candidates around the current location, for example, within 3 km are extracted (S11). Next, the facility / character data as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is referred to (S12), and the facility / character weight (number of selections) as shown in FIG. 6 is further referred to (S13). Next, the facility proposal order is determined based on the weight of the facility and the character (S14), and information on each proposed facility is extracted. Next, the type of each proposed facility is determined based on the data shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the character corresponding to each facility is extracted based on the facility / character weighting, and the facility information is added. (S16-17). Next, the extracted character is displayed on the map as shown in FIG. 3 (S18). The characters displayed in FIG. 3 are displayed up to the sixth in descending order of weighting. Next, it is determined whether or not a character has been selected (S19). As shown in FIG. 8, for example, when the character (1) is selected, the character is largely highlighted on the map (S20). The highlighting method may be blinking display, changing the color, deleting other characters, and the like. Next, the facilities are presented according to the order determined in S14 (S21), and it is determined whether the presented facility is selected (S22). If the presented facility is not selected, the next weighted facility is displayed, and if selected, the facility information is displayed as shown in FIG. Next, the number of times of selection of the selected facility and the number of times of selection of the selected character are added, and the process ends. When the destination is set in this way, as shown in FIG. 10, the screen changes to a screen on which a guide character is displayed, and guidance is performed along the route.
[0026]
In addition, when making a genre and a character correspond, character is hierarchized, the registration point is narrowed down by the character of the lower set sequentially from the highest set character, and the character is made to correspond to the registration point in the detailed lower hierarchy. Proposals should be made. In this case, some character sets among the character sets from the highest level to the lowest level may be selected by the character information. Further, in the case of the upper set character, it is displayed in a list format, and the detailed character in the lower hierarchy is displayed superimposed on the map.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to display a character obtained by projecting incidental information such as a pre-registered place and facility as an image, and to compare the appearance of the character with the current state of the user. The location, facility, etc. can be selected easily and quickly, and the selected registration point can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable with the image actually felt by the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a navigation device that presents information using a character image.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the entire system.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image character.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the type of each character.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence example between a facility and a character.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data on the number of times a facility and character are selected.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing flow of facility proposal by a character.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen on which a character is selected.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen in which a proposed registration point is selected.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a route guidance screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input device, 2 ... Current position detection device, 3 ... Information storage device, 4 ... Central processing unit, 5 ... Information transmission / reception device, 6 ... Output device

Claims (11)

In a navigation device that proposes a registration point by selecting a displayed character ,
Information storage means for storing a character corresponding to the registration point;
Display control means for extracting and displaying characters from the information storage means;
Selecting means for selecting the displayed character;
Selection number storage means for storing the number of times the character is selected by the selection means;
Proposing means for proposing a registration point by the selected character,
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means extracts and displays a character from the information storage means based on the number of selections stored in the selection number storage means . The character represents the genre registration point, the proposed means, the navigation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that to propose a registration point of a particular genre by selecting a character. 2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character represents a character of a registered point, and the suggesting unit proposes a registered point of a specific character by selecting a character. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the character represents a personality of the registration point with a human appearance. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit preferentially extracts and displays characters having a high selection count. The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information storage unit stores characters in a hierarchical manner, and the selection unit sequentially narrows down characters from an upper layer to a lower layer . 7. The navigation apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the display control means displays a list of characters in the upper hierarchy and displays detailed characters in the lower hierarchy on a map. The navigation device according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the display control means displays characters in a partial hierarchy among characters from an upper hierarchy to a lower hierarchy as character information . The navigation apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the display control means displays a lower-layer character having a high selection count together with an upper-layer character. In addition to the character that proposes the registration point, the guide character of the route calculated based on the set registration point is stored in the information storage means, and the display control means displays the image of the guide character and displays the route The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein guidance is provided. In a navigation method for proposing a registration point by selecting a displayed character,
Storing the character corresponding to the registration point in the information storage means;
Extracting and displaying characters from the information storage means;
Selecting the displayed character;
Stage for storing the number of selection times of the selected character selection frequency storage means,
Providing a registration point according to the selected character,
The navigation method characterized in that the step of extracting and displaying the character from the information storage means extracts and displays the character based on the number of selections stored in the selection number storage means.

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