JPH0755492A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To search the name of place by inputting a string of characters. CONSTITUTION:When a string of charactors of any registered place name is input by an input means 11, list processing of a retrieved place name is performed and it is output to a display means 12 after a place name retrieval means 4 reads place name data and place name reading data from a storing means 3 and place name retrieval is performed due to frontward accordance. The name of the registered place can be detected by further narrowing place names shown in a list in accordance with classification. If the place name is known by doing like this, selection can be performed by the input. In addition, because the names of registered places can be directly retrieved, and retrieval can be simply performed in fewer step than the conventional.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device which guides a route to a destination through a preset route, and in particular, a place name which enables a search with a similar name or an abbreviation for a registered place name. The present invention relates to a navigation device having a search function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation devices provide route guidance so that a vehicle can be safely visited to a first destination. In recent years, navigation accuracy, operability, visibility, etc. Technological development for improving functions is being actively conducted, and various types of methods have been proposed. This navigation device is provided with a place name search screen used when setting a route, a destination setting screen, a route guidance screen that is opened automatically or in response to a driver's request during guidance. These screens provide information such as remaining distance, name, turn left and right, and registered location information about intersections that should turn so that you can definitely drive on the route, and you can also check the features of the route so that you can check the route while driving. There are those which teach and the like, and those which provide guidance by voice as well as display.

In such a navigation device,
To set the route, it is necessary to enter the starting point or the current position and the destination, and by this input, the starting point,
When the current location and the destination are determined, the route search processing is performed from the starting point or the vicinity of the current location and the destination and the road information data between them, and the optimum route is set from a plurality of routes. For example, target registration locations such as origins and destinations are divided into genres such as tourism, parking lots, restaurants, etc., and coded separately according to regions such as prefectures and cities, and the code input method and code number are In addition to inputting, there is a method of displaying a menu and sequentially selecting from the menu and inputting, node data, linking this node data to define a road network, and inputting the position by the coordinate place of east longitude and north latitude A method of inputting, a method of inputting a telephone number, etc. have been proposed.

Further, in the case of having a place name search function, when setting a destination, a map around the destination is displayed and the vicinity of the destination is checked in advance, or the place name search is used during traveling to obtain the destination. You can see the map around the registered site corresponding to. In the conventional place name search, when the input place name and the registered place name completely match, a peripheral map of the place name is displayed. A navigation device having this type of place name search function is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-136014.
It is disclosed in JP-A-1-149200.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the conventional place name search, a genre such as station, hotel, park, etc. is selected, and the registered place name extracted by the genre is further searched by the prefecture to obtain the registered place name. Had been selected. When the registered place is selected by such a procedure, for example, although the registered place name is known, the registered place name may not be selected when the prefecture name in which the registered place is located is unknown. Further, when "Nagoya Station" and "Shin-Nagoya Station" are registered in the registered place, only "Nagoya Station" is detected and "Shin-Nagoya Station" is not detected when a prefix search is performed with "Nagoyaeki".
Similarly, when "Hotel Tokyo" is registered as a registered location, "Hotel Tokyo" cannot be detected even if "Tokyo Hotel" and "Tokyo" are entered. Other golf courses,
Similarly, even in an amusement park, there is a problem in that it cannot be detected unless the official name or registered name is input. An object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that enables a place name search by inputting an arbitrary character string.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 has a function of searching a place name, and sets the searched place name as a destination to provide route guidance. In the navigation device, place name data for searching place names, storage means storing place name reading data, character input means for inputting an arbitrary character string of place name reading, and place name having the input character string The place name search means for detecting and the place name display means for displaying the searched place name by performing a list display process are provided. The navigation device according to another invention is the navigation device according to the invention described in claim 1, further comprising character input means for inputting a character string for narrowing down a place name from a list display.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned invention, when an arbitrary character string for reading a desired registered place name is inputted by the character input means, the place name search means causes the place name data to be stored in the storage means.
The place name reading data is read, a place name search is performed by prefix matching, and the result is output to the display means. Therefore, if only the registered place name is known, it is possible to select it by character input, and since the registered place name is directly searched, the number of input procedures is smaller than in the conventional case, and the search can be performed easily. That is,
Since the search range is expanded for one registered place name compared to the data in which the reading data is one, the place name search can be performed efficiently.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration for realizing a registered location search function in the navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a system configuration of a navigation device having a function of searching a registered place name from an input arbitrary character string. The navigation device includes an input / output unit 1 for inputting and outputting information regarding route guidance, a current position detecting device 2 for detecting information regarding the current position of the vehicle, navigation data required for route calculation, and a display necessary for guidance. It is composed of an external storage device 3 in which guidance data and the like are recorded, a central processing unit 4 which executes route search processing and display guidance processing necessary for route guidance, and controls the entire system.

The input / output unit 1 instructs the central processing unit 4 to perform navigation processing according to the user's will so that the driver can input the destination and display the guidance information by voice and / or screen when the driver needs it. In addition, it has a function of printing out processed data, communication data, etc., outputting sound from a speaker, or displaying output on a display. As an input means for realizing that function, a touch switch for inputting a destination by an address, a telephone number, coordinates, or requesting route guidance is constituted by a touch panel 11 incorporated in a display 12. There is. In addition, the output means displays the input data on the screen, or the display 1 for displaying the driver's request or the route guidance automatically on the screen
2. Data processed by the central processing unit 4 and external storage device 3
The printer 13 includes a printer 13 for printing out the data stored in and a speaker 14 for outputting route guidance by voice.

Here, a voice recognition device for enabling voice input and a recording card reading device for reading data recorded on an IC card or a magnetic card can be added. It also stores data necessary for navigation and provides it with an information center such as an information center that stores user-specific data such as map data and destination data in advance, which is provided via a communication line when a user requests it. A data communication device for exchanging data between them can be added.

The display 12 constitutes display means by a color CRT or a color liquid crystal display, and includes a destination setting screen, route guidance screen, section map screen based on map data and guidance data processed by the central processing unit 4. All screens required for navigation, such as the intersection view screen, are displayed in color, and on this screen, button switches for setting route guidance, guidance during route guidance, and screen switching operations are displayed. The route guidance screen has at least a screen for displaying an entire route map, route information, and a surrounding map. Further, the display 12 is provided with a touch panel 11 corresponding to the display of the function buttons, and is configured to execute the above operation based on a signal input by the button touch.

Although the buttons and the touch panel 11 constitute an input means, detailed description thereof will be omitted here. The current position detection device 2 is a satellite navigation system (G
GPS receiver 21 using PS), a beacon receiver 22, a data transmitter / receiver 23 for receiving a GPS correction signal using, for example, a cellphone or FM multiplex signal,
For example, a steering angle sensor 24 including a wheel sensor and a steering sensor, an orientation sensor 25 including a geomagnetic sensor, and a distance sensor 26 that detects a traveling distance from the number of rotations of the wheel. The external storage device 3 is
It is a database in which all data necessary for route guidance such as maps, intersections, nodes, roads, photographs, destinations, guide points, detailed destinations, road names, branch points, display guidance, voice guidance, etc. are recorded. In particular, a destination data file and a destination reading data file associated with the map data file are stored as the place name search / setting information necessary for carrying out the present invention.

The central processing unit 4 is a C for executing arithmetic processing.
PU 40, program for performing processing such as route search, display control necessary for route guidance, program for performing voice output control required for voice guidance and first ROM 41 storing data necessary for it, route searched RAM for temporarily storing guidance information and data being processed
42, a second ROM 43 in which display information data necessary for route guidance and map display is stored, an image memory 44 in which image data used for screen display on a display is stored,
An image processor 45 that extracts image data from an image memory based on a display control signal from the CPU, performs image processing and outputs the image data to a display, and a voice read from the external storage device 3 based on a voice output control signal from the CPU.
A voice processor 46 for synthesizing a phrase, a sentence, a sound, etc., into an analog signal and outputting the analog signal to a speaker, a communication interface 47 for exchanging input / output data by communication, and a sensor signal of a current position detection unit It comprises an input interface 48 for taking in and a clock 49 for entering a date and time in the internal diagnostic information.

The system is constructed so that the driver can select either route display or voice output for route guidance. Further, the present system calculates an estimated position based on various sensor signals from the current position detection device and GPS data, and determines the position on the road by correlating the estimated position with the road on the map and GPS data. , Find the current position. Further, the present system has a function of illuminating the current position on the route to the destination and determining whether or not the vehicle is approaching a predetermined guide point with respect to the position on the lane. That is, the function determines the timing of a predetermined distance before the intersection on the guide route, automatic voice output after the intersection passage determination, or output of intersection information display such as a passing intersection name. A guidance command is issued to the image processor and the voice processor based on the determination result. When the request signal is input, the voice processor is instructed to provide voice guidance of the current location.

Next, the search for the registered place name will be described.
FIG. 3 shows a registration place name search procedure in the case where the navigation system according to the embodiment of the present invention applies a plurality of readings to data. As shown in FIG. 3, the data structure is dataized so that the parts having common readings in destination names can be listed. For example, in the case of Shin-Nagoya Station (Meitetsu) and Nagoya Station (JR), the reading is common for “Nagoyaeki”, so Shin-Nagoya Station reads “Shinnagoyaeki” and “Shin-Nagoya Station” on the “Shi” line. In addition, in the “Na” line, “Shin-Nagoya Station” and “Nagoya Station” whose reading is “Nagoyaeki” are converted into data. By converting the destination names into data in this way, a plurality of destination names can be detected by inputting "Nagoyaeki" as a keyword.

When the registered destination name search is selected from the menu screen in the case of detecting the destination name, the registered place name search screen described below opens, and when the registered place name is input from this search screen and the search is started, The destination name reading data is searched to detect the destination name. For example, if "Nagoyaeki" is entered, the destination name reading data search searches for readings beginning with "Nagoyaeki". If Shin-Nagoyaeki Shin-Nagoya Station (Meitetsu) and Nagoya-eki (Nagoya Station) JR Station are registered as destination names for the destination name reading data, these two destination names are detected. To be done. The destination can be specified from these search results.

FIG. 4 shows a procedure for searching by adding a character string for each genre. As shown in FIG. 4, the data structure is dataized so that destination names can be listed in a portion having a common reading for each genre. For example, in the data of the destination name whose reading starts with "Aichi", "Aichi Prefectural Office", "Aichi ＊＊＊", "Aichi ＊＊＊＊", and in the data of the hotel name whose reading starts with "Hotel", "Hotel Aichi""Hotel**""Hotel***"
Convert data such as.

By converting the destination names into data in this way, it is possible to detect all the destination names satisfying the conditions by inputting the reading of a part of the destination after designating the genre. For example, when searching for a hotel that has "Aichi" as part of the nickname, if you enter "Aichi", the destination name reading data search will search for readings that start with "Aichi", and the hotel name reading data search will search for "hotel". Search for readings that start with. As a result, the destination names are "Aichi Prefectural Office", "Aichi **", and "Aichi ****".
"Hotel Aichi" is detected. From this, "Hotel Aichi" can be designated as the destination. FIG. 5 shows an example of the layout of the registration place name input screen. Figure 5
The screen shown in (a) is composed of a name display section 51 for displaying the inputted registered place name and a character type designating section 52.

The screen of the character type designating section 52 is constructed so that it can be switched to the individual character input screen 6 to be opened according to the designated character type. In the character type designation portion 52 on the input screen, a kana input line designation button 530 for opening the character input screen 6 by character type designation, a symbol input symbol designation button 531, a numeral input number designation button 532, and an English character input A character type designation button 53 for inputting a registered location, such as an alphabetic character designation button 533, is provided, and function keys necessary for input character operations such as correction, deletion and completion of input characters are provided. The function keys are an erase button 55 for erasing one character in the displayed portion of the cursor 510 among the input characters, and a cursor movement key 56 for moving the cursor 510 of the name display section 51 for displaying the input character. And a completion button 54 for confirming the entered registered place name.

For example, if the A row button is selected, FIG.
The (a) line character input screen 6 opens. On this A-line character input screen, a character button 61 for inputting the upper and lower case letters of A-line and a cancel key 62 for closing this character input screen are provided. The screen configuration of this kana character input is the same for the other lines. FIG. 6 is a character input screen that opens when the symbol designation button 531 and the number designation button 532 are pressed. The operation on this screen is basically the same as for kana input. FIG. 7 shows an alphabet input screen that opens when the alphabet designating button 533 is pressed. The first screen shown in FIG.
It has a next page key for opening the next page, and is opened by pressing the next page key. The second screen shown in FIG. 7B has N to Z character buttons, before returning to the screen of the previous page. A page key is provided, and a cancel key for returning to the character type designation screen of FIG. 5A is provided on each screen.

Next, the prefix match search will be described with the input character string. FIG. 8 shows the character string "Sakurai" as a search example. In this example, we search all over the country and all genres, and find "station"
The genre of "hotel" is searched for the one that includes the input character string. In the figure, a circle indicates that detection is possible, and a cross indicates that detection is not possible. For example,
This means that if a search is made for a character string entered for the genres of "station" and "hotel", "Higashisakurai Park" will not be searched.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the layout of the registered place name display screen and the transition screen showing the search procedure. When "Sakurai" is input from the registered place name input screen, registered places having "Sakurai" in the registered place name are listed from all genres and displayed on the registered place list display screen shown in FIG. The registered place list display screen is a first display unit that displays the number of registered places (the number of lists) searched, the division to which the registered place selected with the cursor belongs, and a second display that displays registered place names as a list from the search results. It consists of the display section. The searched registration place is scroll-displayed on the second display portion by the operation of the scroll key, and the cursor button is operated to select the cursor from the scroll-displayed registration place. For example, there are 100 registered locations for reading "Sakurai" on the first display, and "Sakurai Station" selected by the cursor on the second display is "Nagoya Railroad".
It is displayed that there is.

This screen is provided with a genre key for designating a genre for narrowing down registered places and a prefecture key for designating within a range of prefectures from the whole country. When you press the genre-specific key, the genre designation screen opens, and the genre name provided for each registered place name is displayed in advance. By specifying the genre from among these, the genre is selected from the registered place names searched. It is possible to extract a narrowed down registration area. Further, the search is limited to the prefectures. That is, when the genre is designated, the genre-based list display screen opens. This genre list display screen basically has the same configuration as the registered site list display screen,
A key for each prefecture is provided to narrow down the registered places by prefecture. If you press the key for each prefecture, the prefecture designation screen that lists the prefecture names will open. If one of the prefecture names is specified on this screen, a regional list display screen will be opened in which only registered locations in the prefecture are listed.

In this example, it is possible to narrow down the search for registered locations that read "Sakurai" on the genre designation screen to three genres of "park,""station," and "hotel." Here, when the station key is pressed, the registered locations for reading "Sakurai" in the railway category are displayed in a list on the genre-based list display screen. Since this list display includes national districts, the number of the lists is large, and if it is difficult to find the desired registered location from among these, the search is narrowed down to the prefecture. In that case, on the prefecture designation screen, for example, "Aichi Prefecture"
By specifying, it is possible to display only the registered places that read "Sakurai" in the railway division of Aichi prefecture on the regional list display screen.

FIG. 10 shows an operation when a key for each prefecture is pressed. Since the search target is the same as that shown in FIG. 9, description thereof will be omitted here. First, select the prefecture name to be searched on the prefecture specification screen. The registration location list display screen for each selected prefecture opens, and the registration location is set by searching for the target registration location on this screen, aligning the cursor with the registration location and touching the cursor if found. . If the list is too large to find, press the genre-specific key to open the genre specification screen. Here, when a genre is designated, a list display screen for each area opens, and registered places in the genre are displayed in a list.

FIG. 11 shows a display example of a registration place list display screen when the number of lists is large as a result of the search. If the number of lists is large, change to list display and display the message "Cannot be displayed because there are many relevant data. Please specify" genre "or" prefecture "". here,
If "Genre" or "Prefecture" is specified,
Alternatively, the screen shown in FIG. 12 opens, and the registered places can be narrowed down from this screen to perform the search. Note that the narrowing down of registered locations is the same as the screen operation shown in FIG. In this embodiment,
The genre to search for those containing the entered character string,
Although it is limited to “station” and “hotel”, it is possible to search for all genres without such limitation.

Next, another embodiment of the registration place name input screen will be described. FIG. 13 shows a registration place name input screen and a transition screen according to the operation procedure. In FIG. 13 (a), the registration place name input screen is a registration place name display section for displaying the inputted registration place name, a character type selection key for specifying a character type such as kana characters, letters and numbers, and the cursor is operated to invert it. A clear key for deleting the displayed input characters and a completion key for validating the input characters are provided. The character input screens shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 are prepared for inputting respective character types corresponding to the character type selection keys.

For example, when the A-line key is pressed from the character type selection keys, the A-line character input screen shown in FIG. 13B opens, and the upper and lower case letters of the A-line can be input using this screen. it can. Figure 4 shows the screen operations for each character type.
Since the operation is basically the same as the screen shown in, the description is omitted here. In this embodiment, the selected character input screen is automatically erased when no operation is performed for a predetermined time period. For example, after inputting "o", after a while, the screen moves to the screen of FIG. 13 (c).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration for realizing a registered place name search function of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a navigation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of searching for a plurality of reading destination data structures and registered place names.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a data structure and a procedure when a character string for each genre is added and a search is performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of an input screen of a registered place name and screen transition at the time of screen operation.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a layout of a character input screen that opens when the symbol designation button and the number designation button are pressed from the registered place name input screen of FIG. 5, FIG. b) is a figure of a number input screen.

7 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of a character input screen that opens when an alphabetic character designation button is pressed from the registered place name input screen of FIG. 5 and screen transitions when a next page key or a previous page key is operated. .

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example for explaining a prefix match search with an input character string.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of a registered place name display screen and a transition screen of a search procedure for each genre.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of a registration place name display screen and a transition screen of a search procedure for each prefecture.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of a registered site list display screen and a transition screen of search procedures by genre when the number of lists is large.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of a registration place list display screen in the case where the number of lists is large and a transition screen of a search procedure for each prefecture.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a registered place name input screen and a transition screen according to an operation procedure according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of a character input screen for inputting character types of A line, K line, C line, Ma line, symbols, numbers, and letters (MNOP, QRST).

FIG. 15: Sa line, ta line, ya line and English characters (ABCD, E
It is a figure which shows an example of the layout of the character input screen for inputting the character type of FGH, UVWX, YZ).

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a layout of a character input screen for inputting character types of na-row, wow and alphabetic characters (IJKL).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Input / output unit, 2 ... Current position detection device, 3 ... External storage device, 4 ... Central processing unit, 5 ... Registered place name input screen, 6 ...
Character input screen

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Kyomi Morimoto 10 Takane, Fujii-cho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture Aisin AW Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryoji Ogawa 2-19-12 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Stock company Equus Research

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device that has a function of searching a place name, sets a searched place name and provides route guidance, and stores a place name data for searching a place name and a place name reading data. A character input means for inputting an arbitrary character string for reading a place name, a place name search means for detecting a place name having the input character string, and a place name display means for displaying the searched place name by performing a list display process, Navigation device comprising. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising character input means for inputting a character string for narrowing down a place name from the list display.