JP2012093318A - Navigation terminal, navigation method and navigation program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation terminal capable of improving navigation accuracy when passing through a place where GPS positioning is difficultly performed on a guide route.SOLUTION: The navigation terminal includes: means for acquiring route guide data from a navigation server; means for acquiring basic information for calculating the current location of the navigation terminal; means for outputting a route guide and the current location based on the acquired basic information and the route guide data; and means for determining whether the coordinate of the current location is within a prescribed range from a coordinate of a destination place of the route guide in the case where a first hierarchical level and a second hierarchical level are set on an object route of the navigation according to reception levels of GPS radio waves, and determining the user has reached the destination when determining that the coordinate of the current location is within the prescribed range on a condition that a hierarchical level of the current location matches a hierarchical level of the destination.

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation terminal, a navigation method, and a navigation program.

  In recent years, not only a dedicated terminal such as a car navigation system but also a navigation system using a portable terminal equipped with a GPS function such as a cellular phone and a portable information terminal has been rapidly spread. In the navigation system, image information including map information and a guide route is displayed on the screen of the terminal, and the user can proceed to the destination while checking the guide route on the map.

  By the way, when the route to the destination includes an underground shopping area, it is difficult to provide navigation services because there is little map information provided for the underground, or GPS signals cannot be received while walking in the underground shopping area. It was said.

  In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses, as a technology related to navigation when the underground is included in the route, means for detecting the position of the own vehicle by satellite positioning using GPS radio waves, and self-supporting positioning when satellite positioning is not possible. Means for detecting vehicle position, means for storing position information on at least the exit of an object for which GPS radio waves are difficult to receive, and the location of the nearest exit stored when GPS radio waves can be received during autonomous positioning A car navigation system including means for correcting the position of the vehicle based on information is described.

JP 2003-279361 A

  By the way, the navigation system terminates its service when the user arrives at the destination. For example, the coordinates of the current position of the user substantially coincide with the position coordinates of the destination. It can be determined by whether or not to do so. However, if the ground route and the underground route are included in the navigation target range, a problem as shown in FIG. 6 may occur.

  6 (A) and 6 (B), the solid line indicates the movement locus of the user, the dotted line indicates the guidance route provided by the navigation, P0 indicates the departure point, and the destination U1 and the point P1, and the destination P2 and the point U2 are The coordinate information (latitude and longitude) is the same. FIG. 6A shows that the destination U1 is in the basement, and the navigation provides guidance to the destination U1 through the underground route. Show. In this case, since the coordinates of the position P1 coincide with the coordinates of the destination U1 when the user travels on the ground and arrives at the position P1, the navigation system allows the user to arrive at the destination even though the user is on the ground. It will be determined that.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 (B) shows that the destination P2 is on the ground, but the navigation shows a route that once arrives on the underground route and then returns to the ground and arrives at the destination. Shows a state of being located almost directly below the destination P2. In this case, when the user walks on the underground route and arrives at the position U2, the coordinates of the position U2 and the coordinates of the destination P2 coincide with each other. Determines that the user has arrived at the destination.

  In order to solve such problems, for example, it is possible to consider the altitude of the user using altitude information by the GPS function, but unlike the ground, it is impossible to receive GPS radio waves while walking in an underground city, so that It is difficult to use such altitude information. Moreover, in the car navigation system described in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to such a problem that occurs during the destination determination.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation terminal capable of further improving the accuracy of destination determination when a location where GPS positioning is possible and a location where GPS positioning is difficult are included on the route. is there.

  A navigation terminal that provides navigation includes route guidance acquisition means for acquiring route guidance data from a navigation server, basic information acquisition means for acquiring basic information for calculating the current position of the navigation terminal, and the acquired basic information And route guidance output means for outputting the route guidance and the current position based on the route guidance data, and the target route to be the target of navigation for the first hierarchy level and the second hierarchy level according to the reception level of GPS radio waves. Is set, and it is determined whether the coordinates of the current position are included within a predetermined range from the coordinates of the destination of the route guidance. A destination judgment that determines that the user has arrived at the destination on the condition that the hierarchical level matches the hierarchical level of the destination. And having a means.

  The basic information acquisition means includes GPS positioning means for measuring the position of the navigation terminal as the basic information, and a step count measuring means for measuring the number of steps of a user carrying the navigation terminal as the basic information, The route guidance output means includes a GPS navigation mode for outputting a position determined by the positioning position measured on the route at the first hierarchy level as a current position, and a position determined by the measured number of steps on the route at the second hierarchy level. And a pedometer navigation mode for outputting the current position as a current position.

  The target route is divided into a plurality of route sections, and the hierarchical level is associated with each of the route sections, and the destination determination unit determines the hierarchical level of the route section including the current position as the current position. A hierarchical level is set, and a hierarchical level of a route section including the destination is set as the hierarchical level of the destination.

  When the route based on the route guidance data includes a ground section at the first hierarchy level and an underground shopping area at the second hierarchy level, the current position is included within a predetermined distance from a boundary position between the ground section and the underground shopping area. Identifying means for determining whether the current position is located in the ground section or the underground shopping area by determining whether or not the current position is determined.

  A navigation method in a navigation terminal that provides navigation includes a route guidance acquisition step of acquiring route guidance data from a navigation server, a basic information acquisition step of acquiring basic information for calculating a current position of the navigation terminal, and the acquisition A route guidance output step for outputting a route guidance and a current position based on the basic information and the route guidance data; a first hierarchy level capable of receiving a GPS radio wave and a GPS radio wave for the target route to be navigated; When the second hierarchical level that cannot be received is set, it is determined whether the coordinates of the current position are included within a predetermined range from the coordinates of the destination of the route guidance, and the determination result is If the answer is yes, make sure that the hierarchy level of the current location matches the hierarchy level of the destination. The matter, and having a a destination determination step of determining that the user has arrived at the destination.

  Further, the present invention is also realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the above steps. This program can be installed or loaded on a computer through various recording media such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, and a semiconductor memory, or via a communication network.

  Further, in this specification and the like, the term “means” does not simply mean a physical means, but includes a case where the functions of the means are realized by software. Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a navigation terminal capable of further improving the accuracy of destination determination when a location where GPS positioning is possible and a location where GPS positioning is difficult are included on the route. become.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the navigation system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the destination determination process by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the underground route process by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional destination determination process.

  Next, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
In the first embodiment, the route includes two hierarchies (levels). As an example, the guidance route has a level at which positioning by GPS (hereinafter referred to as “ground level”) and a level at which positioning by GPS is difficult (hereinafter referred to as “level”). A case where “underground level” is included will be described. In addition, when a user passes an underground level route where positioning by GPS is difficult, route guidance is provided by specifying the current location of the user using the measured value of the pedometer instead of the GPS positioning location To do.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation system 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a navigation system (route guidance system) 1 includes a navigation server (route guidance server) 10 and a terminal device (navigation terminal: route guidance terminal) 20. Are connected via a communication network 50.

  The navigation server 10 is a dedicated or general-purpose server computer that includes a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, an external storage device that stores various information, an input interface, an output interface, a communication interface, and a bus connecting them. Can do. The navigation server 10 may be constituted by a single computer or may be constituted by a plurality of computers distributed on the communication network 50.

  The navigation server 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a route search unit 13, and a transmission data editing unit 14. The communication unit 11, the route search unit 13, and the transmission data editing unit 14 correspond to modules having functions realized by the CPU of the navigation server 10 executing a predetermined program stored in a ROM or the like. The storage unit 12 is realized by a memory such as a ROM or a RAM of the navigation server 10 or an external storage device.

  The communication unit 11 is an interface for transmitting and receiving various types of information by communicating with the terminal device 20 via the communication network 50. The communication unit 11 also functions as a reception unit that receives a route search condition transmitted from the terminal device 20.

  The storage unit 12 stores guidance data, map data, road network data, and the like. Guidance data is a database in which data such as confirmation messages at branch nodes such as entrances to and exits underground malls are accumulated.

  The map data is map data configured by a vector method, a raster method, or the like. Road network data consists of road intersections, inflection points, end points, entrances and exits to underground shopping areas, etc. as nodes, links connecting each node as links, node data (node latitude and longitude), link data ( Link number) and link cost data regarding cost information (distance and required time) of all links.

  The route search unit 13 has a function of searching for an optimum route from the departure point to the destination with reference to search network data such as road network data in accordance with the route search condition transmitted from the terminal device 20. Note that the search network data includes coordinate information regarding the ground section, the underground shopping area, and the entrance and exit to the underground shopping area. At this time, the optimum route can be searched by sequentially searching for a link from the node at the departure point to the node at the destination, and following the link having the smallest cost information on the link as a guide route. As such a route search method, a known method such as a label determination method or a Dijkstra method can be used. The “optimal” route means that the cost information from the starting point to the destination is the smallest. In addition, link cost information can be set according to the purpose, such as a distance, fee, required time, other parameters, and any combination of various parameters.

  The transmission data editing unit 14 has a function of editing the optimum route obtained as a result of the search into guide route data for transmitting to the terminal device 20. The edited guide route data is provided with a function of transmitting to the terminal device 20 via the communication unit 11.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device 20. The terminal device 20 is a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, a portable navigation device, a notebook computer, or other portable terminal device.

  The terminal device 20 includes a control device 21, an input device 22, and a display device 23. The control device 21 includes a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, an external storage device that stores various information, an input interface, an output interface, a communication interface, and a bus connecting them. The control device 21 includes a communication unit 211, a GPS processing unit 212, a route guidance request unit 213, and a pedometer processing unit 214, which includes a navigation mode selection unit 215, a route guidance output unit 216, and an arrival determination unit 217. The communication unit 211, the GPS processing unit 212, the route guidance request unit 213, the pedometer processing unit 214, the navigation mode selection unit 215, the route guidance output unit 216, and the arrival determination unit 217 have predetermined CPUs stored in a ROM or the like. This corresponds to a function module realized by executing a program.

  The communication unit 211 is an interface for communicating with the navigation server 10 via the communication network 50.

  The GPS processing unit 212 has a function as position detection means for detecting the current position (own vehicle position). The GPS processing unit 23 can apply a well-known GPS function that receives a GPS satellite signal by a GPS receiver and measures the position (latitude and longitude) of the terminal device 20. The positioning position by the GPS processing unit 212 is also referred to as calculation information for calculating the current position.

  The route guidance request unit 213 has a function of editing route search conditions input by the user into data to be transmitted to the navigation server 10 and transmitting the data to the navigation server 10 via the communication unit 211. The route search condition includes a current location and a destination, and a positioning position measured by the GPS processing unit 212 can be set as the current location in the current location. Further, when the positioning position is a predetermined distance or more away from the route, a reroute request for searching again for the route from the positioning position to the destination can be transmitted.

  The pedometer processing unit 214 has a step count measuring function for measuring the number of steps of the user by detecting the vertical vibration of the body when the user is walking. For the step counting function that measures the number of steps, for example, the number of steps is counted using a pendulum type that counts the number of steps based on the movement of a pendulum attached inside the mobile terminal 20 or an acceleration sensor that measures a change in speed per fixed time. A well-known step count measuring technique such as an acceleration sensor type can be applied. The pedometer processing unit 214 has a walking distance calculation function for calculating a walking distance based on the measured number of steps. The walking distance can be calculated, for example, by multiplying a predetermined stride value (for example, 80 cm) by the number of walks measured. Note that the stride value can be set as appropriate according to the design, and a predetermined value may be set in advance, or the user may be able to set himself / herself. Note that the measurement result (the number of steps, the walking distance) of the pedometer processing unit 214 is also referred to as calculation information for calculating the current position.

  The navigation mode switching unit 215 determines whether the current position is located in the ground section or the underground shopping area by determining whether or not the current position is included within a predetermined distance from the boundary position between the ground section and the underground shopping area. And switch the navigation mode according to the result. The navigation mode includes a GPS navigation mode that provides navigation using the positioning position detected by the GPS processing unit 212 (hereinafter referred to as “GPS navigation mode”), and the number of steps measured by the pedometer processing unit 214 ( There is a pedometer navigation mode (hereinafter referred to as “pedometer navigation mode”) that provides navigation using a walking distance. Specifically, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the navigation mode is switched from the GPS mode to the pedometer mode near the entrance of the underground shopping area, and the navigation mode is switched from the pedometer mode to the GPS mode near the exit of the underground shopping area.

  The route guidance output unit 216 outputs a GPS navigation mode that outputs the route guidance and the current position based on the positioning position measured by the GPS processing unit 212 and the route guidance data, and the walking distance measured by the pedometer processing unit 214. A pedometer navigation mode for outputting route guidance and a current position based on the route guidance data; That is, in the GPS navigation mode, the current position pointer is superimposed on the route guidance with the GPS positioning position as the current position of the user. On the other hand, in the pedometer navigation mode, the current position pointer is superimposed and displayed on the route guidance with the position determined from the measured walking distance as the current position of the user.

  The arrival determination unit 217 has a function of determining whether or not the user has arrived at the destination in the GPS navigation mode and the pedometer navigation mode. That is, if it is determined that the current position of the user is within a predetermined distance from the destination by comparing the current position and the latitude and longitude of the destination based on the route guidance data (altitude is not considered), the hierarchy of the current position It is determined that the destination has been reached on condition that the level matches the hierarchical level of the destination.

  The input device 22 is for operation and input by the user. The input device 22 is a keyboard or output means for performing various input operations by operating numeric keys, alphabet keys, other function keys, selection keys, scroll keys, and the like. A touch panel for selecting a desired menu from a menu screen displayed on a display device 23 can be used.

  The display device 23 displays a menu screen, a searched guidance route, and the like. When the user requests the navigation server 10 to search for a route, the user operates the input device 22, displays a service menu screen or a predetermined input screen on the display device 23, and inputs route search conditions such as a departure place and a destination. To do. When the current position is selected as the departure place, the positioning position measured by the GPS processing unit 212 is used as the departure place.

  The communication network 50 is a communication line for transmitting and receiving information between the navigation server 10 and the terminal device 20. For example, it may be any of the Internet, a LAN, a dedicated line, a packet communication network, a telephone line, a corporate network, other communication lines, combinations thereof, and the like, regardless of whether they are wired or wireless.

  Next, the operation of the navigation system 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the terminal device 20. In addition, each processing step to be described later can be executed in any order or in parallel as long as there is no contradiction in processing contents, and other steps may be added between the processing steps. . Further, a step described as one step for convenience can be executed by being divided into a plurality of steps, while a step described as being divided into a plurality of steps for convenience can be grasped as one step.

  In step S <b> 1, the GPS processing unit 212 measures the current position and stores it in the memory or the like of the terminal device 20. In step S <b> 2, the route guidance request unit 213 transmits the route search condition input by the user to the navigation server 10 via the communication unit 211.

  The route search condition transmitted to the navigation server 10 includes information on the departure place and the destination. The starting point and the destination can be input by the user via the input device 22. When the current position is selected as the departure point, the position determined by the GPS processing unit 212 is set as the departure point. When the user operates the input device 22 and inputs a desired point on the address or the map, the input point is used as the departure place.

  When the navigation server 10 receives the route search condition from the terminal device 20, the route search unit 13 searches the optimum route from the departure point to the destination.

  Further, the transmission data editing unit 14 edits the optimum route obtained as a result of the search into guide route data for transmitting to the terminal device 20.

  The guide route data is obtained by arranging position data indicating division positions divided into a plurality of route sections (also simply referred to as “sections”) in the order of the route. A route section is also called a section. For example, the latitude and longitude of the departure point is (X0, Y0), the latitude and longitude of the destination is (Xn, Yn), and the route is divided into n sections from the departure point to the destination. The positions (X1, Y1) to (Xn-1, Yn-1) to be divided are determined and arranged in that order (X0, Y0, X1, Y1, X2, Y2, ... Xn-1, Yn- 1, Xn, Yn). Each section is divided on the basis of a branch such as an intersection on the route from the starting point to the destination, an entrance / exit between the ground and the underground shopping area, and has attribute information for each section. The attribute information includes the coordinates (latitude and longitude information) of the section (also referred to as “guidance point”), the coordinate point sequence of the route to the next section (or from the previous section), hierarchical information, road type, name, progress Angle information, display color, guidance information, and the like are included. The hierarchical information of a section is information for uniquely identifying the hierarchical level to which the section belongs. For example, when the route includes two levels of “ground” and “underground”, the ground level = 1, the underground level = 2 etc. can be stored. For example, the guide image may be an image of a sign posted at an actual underground street entrance or exit, a message for confirming to the user, such as whether an underground street section has been entered or exited, an entrance or exit A nearby still image.

  The transmission data editing unit 14 transmits the edited guide route data to the terminal device 20 via the communication unit 11.

  In step S <b> 3, the terminal device 20 receives guide route data from the navigation server 10 via the communication unit 211, and stores the guide route data in a memory or the like of the terminal device 20.

  Next, in step S <b> 4, the route guidance request unit 213 transmits a map data request around the current position to the navigation server 10 via the communication unit 211.

  The navigation server 10 receives a map data request from the terminal device 20 and transmits the map data to the terminal device 20 via the communication unit 11.

  In step S <b> 5, the terminal device 20 receives map data from the navigation server 10 via the communication unit 211 and stores the map data in a memory or the like of the terminal device 20.

  In step S6, the route guidance output unit 215 of the terminal device 20 performs route matching for correcting the positioning position to a predetermined position on the route when the GPS positioning position is off the route. For example, the positioning position is compared with the path data, the position on the path closest to the positioning position is specified, and the current position is obtained on the path by correcting the positioning position to the specified position. When a section on the path including the current position is specified as the current position section, it is stored in a memory or the like. Further, the hierarchy information (above ground or underground) of the current position section is acquired as the hierarchy level of the current position from the route data. Here, since it is a ground route, the hierarchical level of the current position section is “ground”.

  In step S7, the route guidance output unit 215 displays a route guidance screen including the guidance route, the current position, and the map image on the display device 23. The current position is displayed by a current position pointer.

  In step S8, the terminal device 20 executes an underground shopping center entrance determination process for determining whether or not the user has approached the underground shopping street entrance. Specifically, by comparing the current position of the user and the position coordinates of the entrance to the underground shopping area included in the guidance route data, whether or not the current position of the user is included within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping area entrance ( It is determined whether or not the user is within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping center entrance. If the user is within the predetermined distance (YES), the process proceeds to the underground shopping center processing in step S12. On the other hand, if the user is not within the predetermined distance from the underground mall entrance (NO), the process proceeds to step S9. The predetermined distance from the underground shopping center entrance can be set as appropriate according to the design, but it is desirable to set a distance that can prevent re-routing due to a decrease in GPS positioning performance. In the present embodiment, 10 m is set as the predetermined distance from the underground mall entrance. For example, when the current position of the user is included within a radius of 10 m from the underground mall entrance position, the user is within the predetermined distance from the underground mall entrance. Determined.

  In step S9, the terminal device 20 performs destination arrival determination processing for determining whether or not the user has arrived at the destination. Details of the destination arrival determination process will be described later.

  In step S10, the GPS processing unit 212 acquires and updates the current position of the terminal device 20.

  In step S11, the terminal device 20 determines whether it is necessary to acquire map data to be displayed on the route guidance screen. The map data up to the destination may be acquired in a lump. However, if the map data is not acquired in a lump, the terminal device 20 is in the vicinity of the current position from the navigation server 10 via the communication network 50 until it arrives at the destination. Get map data.

  If it is determined in step S11 that map data needs to be acquired (YES), the process proceeds to step S4. If it is not necessary to acquire map data (NO), the process proceeds to step S6.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8 that the user is within a predetermined distance from the entrance of the underground shopping area (YES), the terminal device 20 proceeds to the underground shopping process after step S12.

  In step S <b> 12, the terminal device 20 displays a confirmation message screen on the display device 23 that notifies the user of the transition to the underground shopping area and switching to the pedometer navigation. The confirmation message screen is configured so that the confirmation result can be input by the user's operation. For example, when the user moves to the underground shopping area, “OK” is input, and when the user does not move to the ground section, “NO” is input. it can.

  In step S12, the terminal device 20 proceeds to step S13 when the transition from the user to the underground shopping area (switching to the pedometer navigation) is affirmed (YES), and proceeds from the user to the underground shopping area ( If the switch to pedometer navigation is denied (NO), the process returns to step S9.

  In step S13, the current position is corrected to the position of the underground shopping area entrance in the underground shopping area. If the underground data is required, it is requested to the navigation server 10, the corresponding underground data is acquired from the navigation server 10, and stored in a memory or the like (step S14). Note that the confirmation message screen in step S12 can be omitted depending on the specifications and design. In this case, when the terminal device 20 determines in step S8 that the user is within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping street entrance, the terminal device 20 automatically corrects the positioning position by GPS to the location of the underground shopping street section (S13). In addition, the correction to the underground street entrance position in step S13 can be omitted depending on the specifications and design.

  In step S15, the terminal device 20 switches the navigation from the GPS navigation to the pedometer navigation mode.

  In step S16, the pedometer processing unit 214 counts the number of steps the user has walked. Then, the user's walking distance is calculated based on the measured number of steps and a predetermined stride value, and the current position of the user on the underground route is measured based on the position of the underground shopping street and the walking distance.

  In step S17, the route guidance output unit 215 of the terminal device 20 specifies the current position of the user on the underground route based on, for example, the position of the underground shopping street entrance and the walking distance measured by the pedometer processing unit 214. Then, the section on the route including the current position is specified as the current position section, and the hierarchy information (ground or underground) of the current position section is acquired from the route data as the hierarchy level of the current position. Here, since it is an underground route, the hierarchical level of the current position section is “underground”.

  In step S18, the route guidance output unit 215 of the terminal device 20 displays a route guidance screen including the guidance route, the current position, and a map image. In the route guidance screen, a current position pointer is displayed on the current position specified by the pedometer navigation.

  In step S19, the terminal device 20 performs a destination arrival determination process for determining whether or not the user has arrived at the destination. Details of the destination arrival determination process will be described later.

  In step S <b> 20, the terminal device 20 executes a ground determination process for determining whether or not the user has departed the route and went to the ground. For example, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the GPS processing unit 212 has received GPS radio waves. If the GPS radio waves are received (YES), the terminal device 20 has an exit different from the underground shopping area planned on the route of the underground shopping area. Assuming that the user has left the ground, a confirmation message screen is displayed on the display device 23 to confirm with the user whether or not the user has left the ground. The confirmation message screen is configured so that the confirmation result can be input by the user's operation. For example, “OK” is displayed when the user goes from the underground shopping area to the ground section, and “OK” is displayed when the user does not go to the underground shopping area. “NO” can be selected and entered. If it is affirmed that the user has exited from the underground shopping street exit (YES), the map switching process and the GPS radio wave determination process in step S21 are executed, and then the process proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if it is denied by the user that the user has exited from the underground shopping area exit (NO1), the process proceeds to step S16. If no GPS radio wave is received (NO2), the process proceeds to step S21. If the user inputs “NO” to the previous confirmation message screen, the confirmation message screen may not be displayed until a predetermined time has elapsed since the last confirmation message screen was output.

  In step S <b> 21, the terminal device 20 executes an underground shopping area determination process for determining whether or not the user has approached the underground shopping area exit. The current position of the user measured by the pedometer navigation is compared with the position coordinates of the exit from the underground shopping area included in the guidance route data, and it is determined whether or not the user is within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping area exit. The predetermined distance from the underground shopping street exit can be set as appropriate according to the design, but here, 10 m is set. Therefore, when the current position of the user is included within a radius of 10 m from the underground shopping street exit position, it is determined that the user is within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping street exit.

  If it is determined in step S21 that the user is not within the predetermined distance from the underground shopping area exit (NO), the terminal device 20 proceeds to step S16 assuming that the underground shopping area is still walking. When the process proceeds to step S16, route guidance by the pedometer navigation is continued according to the user's walking.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the user is within a predetermined distance from the underground shopping area exit (YES), a confirmation message screen for confirming whether the user is going to go to the ground is displayed. To 23. In this case, the confirmation message screen is configured so that the confirmation result can be input by the user's operation. For example, “OK” is displayed when the user goes from the underground shopping area to the ground section, and “NO” when the user does not go to the ground section. Can be entered. When the user inputs “NO”, the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, when the user inputs “OK”, a map switching process for switching the map on the display screen from the underground map to the ground map is executed. In this case, if the map data on the ground is stored in the storage device, the map data is used. If the map data is not stored in the storage device, the map data on the ground near the current position is acquired from the navigation server 10. . Thereby, since the presence or absence of the movement from an underground shopping area section to a ground section is known, it becomes possible to perform switching from the pedometer navigation to the GPS navigation more reliably. Further, when the user inputs “NO” to the previous confirmation message screen, the confirmation message screen may not be displayed until the user travels a predetermined distance from when the previous confirmation message screen is output.

  Furthermore, after the map switching process, the terminal device 20 executes a GPS radio wave reception determination process for determining whether the GPS processing unit 212 has received a GPS radio wave. When reception of GPS radio waves is started, it is determined whether or not the positioning level by the GPS processing unit 212 matches a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition can be appropriately set according to the design. For example, it can be set that the positioning level is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. The positioning level indicates an error range of the positioning result. For example, the positioning level 3 is “horizontal error <50 m”, the positioning level 2 is “50 m ≦ horizontal error <300 m”, and the positioning level 1 is “300 m ≦ horizontal error”. Indicates. The predetermined condition may be set such that the positioning level is continuously a predetermined number of times or more and a predetermined threshold or more. If the determination result is negative, the terminal device 20 returns to step S16 and continues pedometer navigation. On the other hand, if the determination result is yes, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, the terminal device 20 switches the pedometer navigation mode to the GPS navigation mode, and proceeds to step S10.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram when the above embodiment is applied. Q indicates the current position by GPS navigation, and S indicates the current position by pedometer navigation. In this figure, when the current positions Q1, Q2, Q3 are measured according to the user's walk, Q3 is located within a predetermined distance R1 from the underground shopping area entrance E1. Therefore, when Q3 is detected, a confirmation message is displayed. When the user inputs confirmation (OK), the current position of the user is moved from Q3 to E1, and the navigation mode is switched from GPS navigation to pedometer navigation. . Thereafter, route guidance by pedometer navigation is executed in the underground shopping area, and current positions S1, S2,... S6, S7 are calculated according to the user's walk. Since the current position S7 is located within a predetermined distance R2 from the underground shopping area exit E2, a confirmation message is displayed at that time. When the user inputs confirmation (OK), the GPS detection status is determined while maintaining the pedometer navigation. That is, although the current positions Q5 to Q7 by GPS are detected at the time of the current positions S8 to S10 by pedometer navigation, since the positioning level is not equal to or higher than the threshold value, switching to GPS navigation is not executed, and the current position Q8 Since the positioning level is equal to or higher than the threshold when Q10 is detected, switching from the step number navigation to the GPS navigation is executed.

  Next, the flow of the destination determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S30, the arrival determination unit 217 determines whether the current position (latitude / longitude) of the user is included within a predetermined distance from the destination (latitude / longitude) included in the route data. In the GPS navigation mode, the current position is the current position on the route after route-matching the positioning position measured by GPS. In the pedometer navigation mode, the current position is specified by the measured walking distance. The current position on the route. The value of the “predetermined distance” from the destination can be set as appropriate according to the design, and is, for example, 10 m.

  If the current position is within a predetermined distance from the destination (YES), the arrival determination unit 217 proceeds to step S31. If the current position is not within the predetermined distance from the destination (NO), the arrival determination unit 217 ends the arrival determination process. Return to step S10 in FIG.

  In step S31, the arrival determination unit 217 acquires hierarchical information of the current position section (hereinafter referred to as “current position hierarchical information”) from the guide route data stored in the memory or the like, and in step S32, the destination is included. Section information (hereinafter referred to as “destination hierarchy information”).

  In step S32, the arrival determination unit 217 determines whether or not the level indicated by the current location hierarchy information matches the level indicated by the destination location hierarchy information. For example, a destination arrival message is output and the navigation process is terminated. On the other hand, if they do not match, it is determined that the user has not arrived at the destination because the user is at a hierarchical level different from the hierarchical level of the destination, the destination determination processing ends, and the process returns to step S10 in FIG. .

  Here, the case where the destination determination process of this embodiment is applied to the situation shown in FIG. 6 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), when the user departs from the departure point P0 on the ground, route guidance by GPS navigation is provided in steps S1 to S7 in FIG. Then, when the user approaches the entrance of the underground route, the underground street entrance determination (S8) is performed, and after the transition to the underground route, guidance to the destination U1 by the pedometer navigation is performed through steps S12 to S18. When the user goes off the route and goes to the ground in the middle of the underground route, a ground determination (S20) is performed, and the pedometer navigation is switched to GPS navigation. Thereafter, returning to step S10, guidance by GPS navigation is executed again. When the user approaches position P1, destination arrival determination (S9) is executed, and position P1 is determined to be within a predetermined distance from destination U1. However, since the hierarchical level of the section at the position P1 is “above”, the hierarchical level of the section of the destination U1 is “underground”, so the two do not match and have not reached the destination. (S30 to S33 in FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, in FIG. 6B, when the user departs from the departure point P0 on the ground, route guidance by GPS navigation is provided in steps S1 to S7 in FIG. Then, when the user approaches the entrance of the underground route, an underground street entrance determination (S8) is performed, and after moving to the underground route, guidance to the destination U2 by the pedometer navigation is performed through steps S12 to S18. Then, when the user approaches the position U2 of the underground route, the destination arrival determination (S19) is executed, and although the position U2 is determined to be within a predetermined distance from the destination P2, the hierarchical level of the section of the position U2 is “ Since the level of the section of the destination P2 is “ground”, it is determined that the two do not match and have not reached the destination (S30 to S33 in FIG. 4). .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the current position of the user is within a predetermined distance from the destination, the hierarchical information of the current position is compared with the hierarchical information of the destination, and the hierarchical levels match. If not, it is determined that the destination has not arrived. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from being judged to have arrived at the destination even though he / she is at a different hierarchy level from the destination hierarchy level. Even in this case, it is possible to make an appropriate destination arrival determination.

  This improves the accuracy of destination determination when the route includes locations where GPS positioning is possible and locations where GPS positioning is difficult, thus preventing confusion due to destination arrival determination errors and more convenience. High-level navigation service can be provided to users.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. The above-described embodiment is merely an example in all respects, and is not construed as limiting.

  (1) A hierarchy flag indicating a hierarchy level may be additionally provided as user attribute information together with or instead of the hierarchy information of the current position section. The hierarchy flag is appropriately updated at a place where the hierarchy of the section changes during route guidance. For example, when walking on a ground route, the level flag is set to ON (= ground level), and if it is determined that the underground market has entered the underground market (when the map data is switched from the ground to the basement), the level flag is set to OFF (= underground). When it is determined that the exit from the basement is determined by the determination of the exit from the underground (when the map data is switched from the basement to the ground), the hierarchy flag is set to ON (= ground). In the destination arrival determination process, the hierarchy level of the current position is determined with reference to the user's hierarchy flag. Further, the hierarchy level of the hierarchy flag may be determined according to the reception level of the GPS radio wave. For example, when the reception level of the GPS radio wave is good, the hierarchy flag is turned ON (= ground), and the reception level is bad. Can turn off the hierarchy flag (= underground). Furthermore, the hierarchy level of the hierarchy flag may be determined according to the navigation mode. For example, in the GPS mode, the hierarchy flag is set to ON (= ground), and in the case of pedometer navigation, the hierarchy flag is set to OFF = It may be made underground). Further, without providing a hierarchy flag, the hierarchy level of the current position can be determined based on the type of map data (ground map, underground map) and the type of navigation mode (GPS mode, pedometer navigation).

  (2) The pedometer navigation may be provided with a function of correcting the current position in accordance with a user input operation in order to correct the distance error of the pedometer. For example, a function of moving the current position in the traveling direction by a predetermined distance (advancing) and a function of moving in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (returning) can be provided.

  (3) The underground street entrance determination and the underground street exit determination are not limited to the above-described processing. For example, when the user approaches the underground street entrance or the underground street exit, the user operates the terminal device 20 to enter or exit the underground street May be input.

  (4) The hierarchical level is not limited to the combination of the ground and the underground as long as the GPS radio wave can be received and is difficult, and for example, the ground path includes both a path through which GPS radio waves can be received and a difficult path. This can be applied.

  (5) The terminal device 20 includes the functions of the route search unit 13 and the transmission data editing unit 14 of the navigation server 10, and accumulates guidance data, map data, road network data, and the like of the storage unit 12 in the storage device. The route search function of the navigation server 10 can be provided. As a result, the terminal device 20 can provide the user with the navigation service alone without communicating with the navigation server 10.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation system, 10 Navigation server, 11 Communication part, 12 Storage part, 13 Path | route search part, 14 Transmission data edit part, 20 Terminal device, 21 Control apparatus, 22 Input device, 23 Display apparatus, 211 Communication part, 212 GPS processing Unit, 213 route guidance request unit, 214 pedometer processing unit, 215 navigation mode switching unit, 216 route guidance output unit, 217 arrival determination unit, 50 communication network

Claims (6)

A navigation terminal that provides navigation,
Route guidance obtaining means for obtaining route guidance data from the navigation server;
Basic information acquisition means for acquiring basic information for calculating the current position of the navigation terminal;
Route guidance output means for outputting the route guidance and the current position based on the acquired basic information and the route guidance data;
When the first hierarchy level and the second hierarchy level are set according to the reception level of the GPS radio wave in the target route to be the navigation target, the coordinates of the current position are the coordinates of the destination of the route guidance. And if the determination result is positive, the user sets the destination on the condition that the hierarchical level of the current position matches the hierarchical level of the destination. Destination judging means for judging that the vehicle has arrived on the ground;
A navigation terminal characterized by comprising: The basic information acquisition means includes
GPS positioning means for positioning the position of the navigation terminal as basic information; and step count measuring means for measuring the number of steps of the user carrying the navigation terminal as basic information;
The route guidance output means includes:
A GPS navigation mode for outputting the position determined by the measured positioning position on the route of the first hierarchy level as the current position, and a position determined by the measured number of steps on the route of the second hierarchy level as the current position. The navigation terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a pedometer navigation mode. The target route is divided into a plurality of route sections, and the hierarchy level is associated with each route section,
The destination determination means includes
The hierarchy level of the route section including the current position is set as the hierarchy level of the current position, and the hierarchy level of the route section including the destination is set as the hierarchy level of the destination. The navigation terminal described in 1. When the route based on the route guidance data includes a ground section at the first hierarchy level and an underground shopping area at the second hierarchy level, the current position is included within a predetermined distance from a boundary position between the ground section and the underground shopping area. Identifying means for determining whether the current position is located in the ground section or the underground shopping area section by determining whether or not
The navigation terminal according to claim 2, further comprising: A navigation method in a navigation terminal that provides navigation,
A route guidance obtaining step for obtaining route guidance data from the navigation server;
A basic information acquisition step of acquiring basic information for calculating the current position of the navigation terminal;
A route guidance output step for outputting route guidance and a current position based on the acquired basic information and the route guidance data;
In the case where the first route level capable of receiving GPS radio waves and the second layer level not capable of receiving GPS radio waves are set in the target route to be the navigation target, the coordinates of the current position are It is determined whether or not it is included within the predetermined range from the coordinates of the destination of the route guidance. If the determination result is positive, the condition is that the hierarchy level of the current position matches the hierarchy level of the destination. And a destination determination step for determining that the user has arrived at the destination;
A navigation method characterized by comprising: For navigation terminals that provide navigation,
A route guidance obtaining step for obtaining route guidance data from the navigation server;
A current position acquisition step of acquiring basic information for calculating the current position of the navigation terminal;
A route guidance output step for outputting route guidance and a current position based on the acquired basic information and the route guidance data;
In the case where the first route level capable of receiving GPS radio waves and the second layer level not capable of receiving GPS radio waves are set in the target route to be the navigation target, the coordinates of the current position are It is determined whether or not it is included within the predetermined range from the coordinates of the destination of the route guidance. If the determination result is positive, the condition is that the hierarchy level of the current position matches the hierarchy level of the destination. And a destination determination step for determining that the user has arrived at the destination;
A program for running