JP4001963B2 - COMMUNICATION METHOD, NAVIGATION DEVICE, AND AUTOMOBILE - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication method and a navigation device that are applied when mounted on a moving body such as an automobile to display a map in the vicinity of the position, and to an automobile equipped with the navigation device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, various navigation devices mounted on automobiles and the like have been developed. This navigation device uses, for example, a large-capacity data storage means such as a CD ROM in which road map data is stored, a current position detection means, and a road map near the detected current position as data read from the data storage means. And a display device to be displayed on the basis. In this case, as a means for detecting the current position, a positioning system using a positioning artificial satellite called GPS (Global Positioning System) (hereinafter simply referred to as GPS), a traveling direction of the vehicle, traveling There are autonomous navigation systems that track changes in the current position from the starting point based on information such as speed.
[0003]
Then, the road map data in the vicinity of the current position detected by the current position detection means is read from a large capacity data storage means such as a CD ROM, and a video signal for displaying the road map is created. A video signal is supplied to a display device to display a road map near the current position. Note that the navigation device main body and the display device may be configured separately.
[0004]
Here, there is a CD ROM which is a storage means for road map data in which information other than road map data is stored. For example, there is one that stores data such as tourist information of main tourist spots so that the tourist information can be displayed on a display of a navigation device.
[0005]
On the other hand, small portable computer devices called portable information terminals are becoming popular as means for obtaining information different from these navigation devices. This portable information terminal is connected to, for example, a cellular phone, dials at an arbitrary place with the cellular phone, transmits necessary information, receives it, and displays the received information on a display unit included in the portable information terminal. Let If this portable information terminal and a cellular phone are used, necessary information can be obtained from the outside even in a mobile body such as an automobile.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the tourist information prepared in the CD ROM is displayed on the screen of the navigation device, only the information prepared in advance in the storage medium such as the CD ROM can be displayed. There was a lack of inconvenience. In addition, when obtaining information from the outside by combining a mobile information terminal and a mobile phone, a call operation on the mobile phone, a reception operation of necessary information on the mobile information terminal, a display operation of the received information, etc. Is necessary, and it takes time and effort to obtain and display the necessary information.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to easily obtain necessary information using a navigation device.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such a problem, the present invention detects a current position, reads out map data information based on the detected position from a map database, and performs navigation for displaying a road map on a predetermined display . When a predetermined operation for connecting to the Internet is performed while the current position is being detected, an access point in the vicinity of the detected current position is searched, and predetermined wireless communication is performed via the searched access point. The system is connected to the Internet, the place name near the current position is determined from the map data, the list of determined place names is displayed on the display, and one of the place names displayed on the display is displayed. When a place name is selected, searching the Internet using the selected place name as a keyword Make a list of the searched home page is displayed on the display, if any of the home page from among the displayed list is selected, until the download is complete the information of the selected home page, above A road map for navigation is displayed on the display.
[0009]
According to the present invention, the display of the navigation device, it is possible to display any information obtained out connection using wireless communication system.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
In this example, the present invention is applied to a navigation device that is mounted and used on a mobile body (here, it is an automobile). FIG. This navigation device is used by being mounted on a moving body such as an automobile. However, the navigation device can be used as a map display device in an arbitrary place even when installed in a fixed place.
[0012]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the navigation device of this example will be described with reference to FIG. A GPS antenna 11 is connected to the navigation device of this example, and a signal received by this antenna 11 is supplied to the GPS signal processing unit 12. The GPS signal processing unit 12 performs reception processing for a positioning system called GPS (Global Positioning System). That is, GPS positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of positioning artificial satellites are received, data included in the signals is analyzed, and data on the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) is obtained. The current position data obtained by the GPS signal processing unit 12 is supplied to a central control device (CPU) 13 of the navigation device.
[0013]
The central controller 13 is a controller that performs control to display a road map in the vicinity of the current position that has been measured. When the positioning data of the position is supplied from the GPS signal processing unit 12, the map database unit 14 The nearby road map data is read and transferred to the memory 15. In this case, as the map database unit 14, for example, a CD ROM driver having a CD ROM storing road map data is used. The road map data stored in a storage medium such as a CD ROM is composed of, for example, coordinate position data of the start point and end point of each road and vector data connecting the start point and end point, and displays a road map. Ancillary data necessary for the operation is also stored in the CD ROM.
[0014]
Then, a rendering process in which the map data supplied based on the road map data read into the memory 15 is converted into a display signal (for example, an RGB signal) of a predetermined method for road map display under the control of the central control device 13. I do. Then, the display signal created by the control of the central control device 13 is supplied to the connected display 17. As the display 17, for example, a liquid crystal display device capable of color display is used.
[0015]
Further, the operation information of the operation unit 16 of the navigation device is supplied to the central control device 13, and the operation mode of the device is set based on the operation of the operation unit 16.
[0016]
Up to this point, the navigation apparatus has a general configuration, but in this example, the radio telephone unit 18 can be connected to the central controller 13. That is, a radio telephone unit 18 configured as a radio telephone that can set up a radio telephone line using a predetermined radio telephone system and can communicate (communicate) with any other party connected by the line is connected to the predetermined telephone line. It is connected to the central control device 13 side by a cable, and wireless communication is performed with the base station for the wireless telephone system by wireless communication from the antenna 19 of the wireless telephone unit 18. In this case, the calling process by the radio telephone line from the radio telephone unit 18 can be performed by the control from the central controller 13 in addition to the operation of the dial key provided in the radio telephone unit 18.
[0017]
When the WWW browser storage unit 20 is connected to the central control unit 13 and the wireless telephone unit 18 is connected to a provider that provides Internet services, the provider searches for information and receives the information. Data of a WWW (World Wide Web) browser as a program is stored.
[0018]
In addition to the WWW browser, the WWW browser storage unit 20 of this example also stores data on access points of providers that provide Internet services. The access point data of this provider includes the location data of the access points that the Internet service provider subscribed to by the user of this navigation device has throughout the country, and the telephone number when connecting to each access point by dial-up. Data is stored.
[0019]
When the central control unit 13 determines that an operation to connect to the Internet has been performed by operating the operation unit 16, it determines the current position measured by the GPS signal processing unit 12 at that time, and is closest to the current position. The access point is searched based on the access point data stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20. Then, the calling data of the telephone number of the retrieved access point is supplied from the central control unit 13 to the radio telephone unit 18 to automatically call the corresponding telephone number and connect to the provider by dial-up. Process. Then, based on the WWW browser stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20, necessary information is retrieved, and a download is performed so that the wireless telephone unit 18 receives a home page where the retrieved information exists. The downloaded homepage information is transferred to the memory 15 connected to 13. Then, processing for displaying the home page on the display 17 is performed as a display signal for displaying the home page under the control of the central control device 13.
[0020]
In this example, when the download of all information constituting one homepage is completed and transferred to the memory 15, a display signal for the homepage is created and displayed on the display 17. Until the download is completed, a road map for navigation is displayed on the display 17.
[0021]
Here, when an example of a state in which the navigation device of this example is installed in a car is shown in FIG. 2, for example, the display 17 is attached on the dashboard beside the handle 51, and a person seated in the driver's seat 52 The display 17 can be confirmed without disturbing the front view. Further, the operation unit 16 is a so-called joystick type and is installed beside the handle 51 so that it can be easily operated during operation. As the radio telephone unit 18, a so-called portable radio telephone type is used, which is arranged on the telephone mounting part 53 at a predetermined position in the vehicle and is connected to the central controller 13 side which is the main body of the navigation apparatus by a connection cable 18a. Is done. As the operation unit 16, in addition to the joystick type operation unit as shown in FIG. 2, a so-called keyboard type input unit is separately prepared so that a character input operation when connected to the Internet can be easily performed. May be.
[0022]
Next, details of processing for searching and displaying a homepage on the Internet by the navigation apparatus of this example will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIG.
[0023]
First, when starting the navigation apparatus of this example, a menu screen is displayed on the display 17 (step 101), and an operation mode is selected. Here, the central controller 13 determines whether or not the Internet display in the menu screen has been selected by operating the operation unit 16 (step 102). When the Internet display is selected, the current position measured by the GPS signal processing unit 12 at that time is confirmed (step 103), and detection of the nearest access point to the confirmed current position is stored in the WWW browser. This is performed based on the data stored in the unit 20 (step 104).
[0024]
When this access point is detected, the wireless telephone section 18 causes the central control device 13 to execute connection processing by dial-up to the telephone number of the access point (step 105). When the dial-up connection is performed, the display 17 displays that the connection is completed (step 106), and thereafter, download of the home page searched based on the operation of the operation unit 16 or the like is stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20. Based on the stored program, a process for displaying the corresponding home page on the display 17 is performed.
[0025]
If the Internet display on the menu screen is not selected in step 102, the navigation mode for setting the operation mode as a normal navigation device and displaying the road map at the current position is controlled by the central control device 13. (Step 107).
[0026]
As described above, according to the navigation device of this example, simply by selecting the Internet display on the menu screen, the dial-up connection to the provider using the connected wireless telephone (wireless telephone unit 18) is performed, and the desired home page is selected. Can be obtained. In this case, since the current position is confirmed by positioning by GPS and dial-up connection is automatically made to the access point closest to the position, the telephone line usage charge (call charge) can be made the lowest.
[0027]
Next, destination data processing for obtaining destination information when the navigation apparatus of this example performs Internet display will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0028]
In this case, a menu screen is displayed on the display 17 (step 201), it is determined whether or not the Internet display in the menu screen is selected by the operation of the operation unit 16 (step 202), and further destination search is performed. It is determined whether or not it has been selected (step 203). When this destination search is selected, the current position measured by the GPS signal processing unit 12 at that time is confirmed, and a place name in the vicinity of the confirmed current position is determined (step 204). As the determination of the name of a place near here, for example, the traveling direction of the own vehicle is determined, and the names of cities, towns, and villages existing up to a predetermined distance on the extension line of the traveling direction of the own vehicle are determined by the map database 14 Judged from the map data stored in Then, the access point closest to the confirmed current position is detected based on the data stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20 (step 205).
[0029]
When this access point is detected, the wireless telephone section 18 causes the central controller 13 to execute connection processing by dial-up to the telephone number of the access point (step 206). When this dial-up connection is performed, the place names determined in step 204 (place names existing on the extension line in the traveling direction from the current position) are displayed in a list on the display 17 under the control of the central control device 13 (step 207). As a list display at this time, for example, the place names close to the current position are displayed in order. When any place name is selected by the operation of the operation unit 16 in the state where the place name is displayed (step 208), the selected place name is selected as a keyword based on the program stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20. The web search process is started, and a home page whose place name is included in the information is searched (step 209).
[0030]
Then, the list of retrieved home pages is displayed on the screen of the display 17 under the control of the central control device 13 (step 210). When any homepage is selected by operating the operation unit 16 in a state where the list of homepages is displayed (step 211), the data of the corresponding homepage is based on the program stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20. Is downloaded, and the downloaded data is stored in the memory 15. Then, when the information on the home page is completely downloaded and stored in the memory 15, a display signal of the information is created under the control of the central control device 13 and the information on the home page is displayed on the display 17 ( Step 212). Here, a road map for navigation or the like may be displayed after the home page is selected in step 211 until the home page information is displayed in step 212 (that is, while the home page data is being downloaded). .
[0031]
When the Internet display on the menu screen is not selected in step 202, the navigation mode for setting the operation mode as a normal navigation device and displaying the road map at the current position is controlled by the central control device 13. (Step 213).
[0032]
If the destination search is not selected in step 203, the normal Internet display processing (steps 103 to 106) described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 is performed (step 214).
[0033]
Thus, it becomes possible to automatically search the Internet home page based on the searched destination, and to provide various information related to the destination other than the road map using the navigation device. Here, the place name existing in front of the detected current place is set as the destination. However, if the destination is set in advance by the destination setting process provided in the navigation device, the set destination is set. May be added to the list display. In addition, the homepage search is simply performed by the place name here, but the homepage search may be performed by adding other conditions. For example, a search may be performed under the conditions of a place name and a hotel, and a homepage from which information on a hotel existing at the place of the place name can be obtained.
[0034]
Next, processing for obtaining road information when the Internet display is performed by the navigation device of this example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0035]
In this case, a menu screen is displayed on the display 17 (step 301), it is determined whether or not the Internet display in the menu screen is selected by the operation of the operation unit 16 (step 302), and road information is further selected. It is determined whether it has been done (step 303). When this road information is selected, the current position measured by the GPS signal processing unit 12 at that time is confirmed, and the area (location name, city name, prefecture name, etc.) to which the current position belongs is determined ( Step 304). Then, the access point closest to the confirmed current position is detected based on the data stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20 (step 305).
[0036]
When this access point is detected, the wireless telephone section 18 causes the central controller 13 to execute connection processing by dial-up to the telephone number of the access point (step 306). When this dial-up connection is made, the road information (congestion information, traffic regulation information, new opening information, etc.) of the area name determined in step 304 based on the program stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20 is used as a keyword. A web search process is activated to search for a home page for road information in the area (step 307). When the home page is searched, the data of the corresponding home page is downloaded based on the program stored in the WWW browser storage unit 20 and the downloaded data is stored in the memory 15. When the home page information is completely downloaded and stored in the memory 15, the central control device 13 controls to generate a display signal of the information, and the display 17 displays the road information home page information. It is displayed (step 308). In this case, a navigation road map or the like may be displayed after the road information is selected in step 303 until the road information on the home page is displayed in step 308.
[0037]
If the Internet display on the menu screen is not selected in step 302, the navigation mode in which the operation mode as a normal navigation device is set and the road map at the current position is displayed is controlled by the central controller 13. (Step 309).
[0038]
If no road information is selected in step 303, the normal Internet display processing (step 103 to step 106) described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 or the destination processing (step 204 to step) described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step 212) is performed (Step 310).
[0039]
The homepage of road information is automatically searched based on the area name determined based on the current position, and the road information (congestion information, traffic regulation information, new opening information, etc.) of the homepage is automatically searched. Is displayed on the display 17, and the road information obtained through the Internet can be provided using the navigation device. Here, the road information of the current location is obtained. However, for example, the road information of the destination may be obtained. Moreover, although the process for obtaining road information has been described here, other information related to the area may be obtained. For example, weather information in the vicinity of the current position may be obtained.
[0040]
In the above-described embodiment, positioning by GPS is performed. However, positioning may be performed by other methods. For example, positioning based on so-called autonomous navigation in which the position from the start point is measured by integrating the travel distance of the automobile and the change in the traveling direction may be performed.
[0041]
Further, instead of such a highly accurate current position measurement, a rough current position detection process may be performed to search for an access point based on the detected position. For example, a radio receiver that receives FM broadcasts and AM broadcasts is connected to the apparatus of this example, transmission frequency data of major radio broadcast stations nationwide is prepared in advance, and the frequency at which radio broadcasts can be received at that position From this determination, the current position (region) may be determined to search for an access point nearest to the region.
[0042]
In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a navigation device mounted on an automobile. However, it goes without saying that the processing of the present invention can be applied to navigation devices for other moving bodies.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the display of the navigation device, it is possible to display any information obtained out connection using wireless communication system, for example a check location by performing a map display as a navigation function In addition, information on the confirmed location can be obtained and displayed, and the use of the navigation device is expanded.
[0044]
In this case, based on the detected information of the current position, and searches the access point nearest to, that which is adapted to be connected to the retrieved access point, automatically be connected to the nearest access point This eliminates the trouble of searching for an access point.
[0045]
In addition, when searching for this access point, the current position is detected by positioning based on the reception of positioning signals, so that the current position can be detected with high accuracy, and the nearest access point can always be determined. It becomes possible to search.
[0046]
In the case described above, an information program that contains information related to the area near the detected position is searched, and the information program is displayed, so that the information about the area near the current position is automatically displayed. The necessary information is automatically obtained without inputting a keyword to be searched.
[0047]
Furthermore, when this automatic search is performed, an information program in which road information at the position exists is searched as an information program in which information related to the detected position exists. Road information in the vicinity of the position is obtained, and accurate navigation based on the received road information is performed.
[0048]
Also in the case described above, after receiving all of the information obtained, it was to perform the display of the received information on the display, the while downloading the information, is not performed display processing of the information In addition, navigation information such as road maps can be displayed, and the waiting time while downloading can be used effectively.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a driver's seat when the apparatus of one embodiment is attached to an automobile.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating Internet connection processing according to an embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing of destination data by the Internet according to an embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing road information processing by the Internet according to an embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
12 GPS signal processing unit, 13 central control unit (CPU), 14 map database, 15 memory, 16 operation unit, 17 display, 18 wireless telephone unit, 20 WWW browser storage unit

Claims (6)

A communication method for performing navigation for detecting a current position, reading map data based on the detected position from a map database, and displaying a road map on a predetermined display ,
When a predetermined operation for connecting to the Internet is performed while the current position is being detected, an access point in the vicinity of the detected current position is searched, and predetermined wireless communication is performed via the searched access point. Using the system to connect to the Internet, determine the place name near the current position from the map data, display the list of determined place names on the display,
When any place name is selected from the place names displayed on the display, a search is performed on the Internet using the selected place name as a keyword, and a list of searched home pages is displayed on the display. A communication method in which, when any home page is selected from the displayed list, a road map for navigation is displayed on the display until the download of information on the selected home page is completed. The communication method according to claim 1,
A communication method in which the current position is detected by positioning by receiving a positioning signal. A position detector for detecting the current position;
A map database storage unit;
A control unit that reads map data in the vicinity of the position detected by the position detection unit from the storage unit;
In a navigation apparatus comprising: a display processing unit for creating a display signal for displaying a road map on a predetermined display based on map data read out by control of the control unit;
A wireless communication unit connected to the Internet using a predetermined wireless communication line;
A search program storage unit that searches for information in the Internet by the read map data information on the Internet connected by the wireless communication unit ,
When a predetermined operation for connecting to the Internet is performed while the current position is detected by the position detection unit, the control unit searches for an access point near the detected current position, and the search is performed. Connected to the Internet by wireless communication at the wireless communication unit via the access point, determining a place name near the current position from the map data, and displaying a list of the determined place names on the display,
When any place name is selected from the place names displayed on the display, the control unit performs a search on the Internet using the selected place name as a keyword, and displays a list of searched home pages. When any homepage is selected from the displayed list, a road map for navigation is displayed on the display until the information on the selected homepage is downloaded. Let navigation device. 4. The navigation device according to claim 3 , wherein as the current position is detected by the position detection unit, a positioning signal is received, and the received positioning signal is analyzed to perform position positioning. A position detector for detecting the current position;
A map database storage unit;
A control unit that reads map data in the vicinity of the position detected by the position detection unit from the storage unit;
A display processing unit for generating a display signal for displaying a map based on the map data read by the control of the control unit;
In an automobile provided with a display for displaying a display signal created by the display processing unit,
A wireless communication unit connected to the Internet using a predetermined wireless communication line;
A search program storage unit that searches for information in the Internet by the read map data information on the Internet connected by the wireless communication unit ,
When a predetermined operation for connecting to the Internet is performed while the current position is detected by the position detection unit, the control unit searches for an access point near the detected current position, and the search is performed. Connected to the Internet by wireless communication at the wireless communication unit via the access point, determining a place name near the current position from the map data, and displaying a list of the determined place names on the display,
When any place name is selected from the place names displayed on the display, the control unit performs a search on the Internet using the selected place name as a keyword, and displays a list of searched home pages. When any homepage is selected from the displayed list, a road map for navigation is displayed on the display until the information on the selected homepage is downloaded. A car characterized by letting it. The automobile according to claim 5 ,
A vehicle that receives a positioning signal and analyzes the received positioning signal for position detection as detection of the current position by the position detection unit.

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