JP4927477B2 - Navigation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a navigation device that makes it easy to set a destination by displaying a list of places that the vehicle has visited in the past and allowing a user to select a destination from the list (Patent Document 1). reference). There is also known a navigation device that sets a route from an arbitrary departure point to a destination and scrolls and displays a map around the vehicle when the vehicle travels virtually along the route (see Patent Document 2). . For example, such a navigation device can be used when a user plans a route to travel in advance. Furthermore, a navigation device is also known in which an approximate distance from a vehicle to a destination point on the map can be known at a glance by displaying circles at equidistant intervals centered on the position of the vehicle on a map ( (See Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-229708 JP-A-7-198401 JP 2000-305452 A

  In the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a list of places that the vehicle has visited in the past is displayed, but it is not possible to indicate a place that the vehicle has visited in the period specified by the user. In the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 2, a map when the vehicle virtually travels on the set route is scroll-displayed, but the position of the vehicle at the time specified by the user cannot be shown. Furthermore, in the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 3, circles at equidistant intervals centered on the position of the vehicle are displayed on the map, but the range in which the vehicle can act when the user's time is determined Cannot be shown. As described above, the conventional navigation device cannot provide the user with various information related to the vehicle position at the current or past time designated by the user.

The navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a map display means for displaying a map on a display monitor, a time designation means for designating a future time, a travel route setting means for setting a travel route of the vehicle, and a travel route setting means. When it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route set by, the predicted position display means for displaying the predicted position of the vehicle at the time specified by the time specifying means on the map, and the facility genre specification for specifying the facility genre And a predicted passage time display for displaying on the display monitor a predicted passage time when the vehicle passes the vicinity of the facility corresponding to the facility genre designated by the facility genre designation means when the vehicle travels on the travel route. for example Bei and means, the passage prediction time display means, different display and one of the sections of the facility display bar that represents the time zone of the future of the other section And the other display section in the facility display bar according to the number of facilities that correspond to the designated facility genre and pass through the vehicle at the estimated passage time. The width of the section displayed in a different display form is changed and displayed on the display monitor .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the first aspect, the time designation means designates a future time according to the position of the slider on the facility display bar .
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to any one of the first to second aspects, a traffic congestion prediction time display means for displaying a traffic congestion prediction time on the display monitor when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route. In addition .
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the third aspect , the traffic jam prediction time display means displays any section of the traffic jam display bar representing the future time zone in a display form different from the other sections. By displaying on the monitor, the predicted traffic jam time is displayed .
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the navigation device according to the fourth aspect , the predicted passage time display means displays or erases the facility display bar according to the user's operation, and when the facility display bar is displayed, the traffic jam occurs. The predicted time display means displays the traffic congestion display bar on the facility display bar smaller than the facility display bar, and when the facility display bar is not displayed, the estimated traffic time display means displays the traffic congestion display bar on the facility display bar. It is displayed larger than the case where it is displayed .
In the navigation device according to claim 5, when the facility display bar is displayed, the time designating unit designates a future time according to the position of the slider on the facility display bar, When the facility display bar is not displayed, the time designation means designates a future time according to the position of the slider on the traffic jam display bar .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the various information relevant to the vehicle position in the time can be provided to a user with respect to the present or past time designated by the user.

-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the navigation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, and when a destination is set by the user, a recommended route to the destination is searched and the vehicle is guided to the destination according to the recommended route. Furthermore, the past travel history information is provided by displaying on the map the places that the vehicle has visited in the past within the specified target period.

  The navigation device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current location detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, an input device 17, and a disk drive 18. The disc drive 18 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 19 in which map data is recorded.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various processes and controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19 by the control circuit 11, for example, display of a map, setting of a destination, search for a recommended route to a set destination, display of past travel history, and the like. Processing is performed.

  The ROM 12 uses a flash memory that can update the data content stored therein. In addition to the control program, the history of places the vehicle has performed in the past is used as travel history data as will be described later. It is remembered. The contents of the travel history data are appropriately updated when a destination is set and a vehicle arrives at the destination.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle, that is, the location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro sensor 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects the vehicle speed, and a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. It consists of various sensors, such as a GPS sensor 14c for detecting. The navigation device 1 can determine a route search start point, which will be described later, based on the vehicle position detected by the current location detection device 14, or can display a vehicle position mark on a map.

  The image memory 15 temporarily stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. The image data includes map drawing data for displaying a map, various graphic data, and the like, and is created by the control circuit 11 based on the map data recorded on the DVD-ROM 19. The generated image data is output from the control circuit 11 to the image memory 15, whereby various images such as a map are displayed on the display monitor 16.

  A touch panel 16a is combined with the display monitor 16, and when any position on the display monitor 16 is touched by a user's finger or the like, information indicating the touch position is output from the touch panel 16a to the control circuit 11. . Based on the touch position information, the control circuit 11 determines which part of the image displayed on the display monitor 16 is touched at that time. The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment performs various processes according to touch panel operations from the user detected by the touch panel 16a and the control circuit 11.

  The input device 17 has various input switches for the user to set a destination and a transit point of the vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a destination). The input device 17 is realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. The user operates the input device 17 to input an address, a telephone number, a facility name, specify a specific point on the map, or select one of registered locations registered in advance. , You can set the destination.

  The disk drive 18 reads map data for displaying a map from the loaded DVD-ROM 19. This map data includes route calculation data used for route search to the destination, route guidance data used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the set route, such as intersection name and road name, and road The road data that represents is included. The map data also includes background data representing map shapes other than roads such as rivers, railways, various facilities on the map (landmarks), and the like.

  In the road data, the minimum unit representing a road section is called a link, and each road is composed of a plurality of links. A point connecting the links is called a node, and each node has position information (coordinate information). The link shape, that is, the shape of the road is determined based on the position information of the node.

  Although an example using a DVD-ROM is described here, the map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM, such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, or a memory card. Or it is good also as receiving the map data transmitted via a mobile telephone line etc. from the outside, and using the map data. That is, any method may be used for acquiring map data.

  When the user operates the input device 17 to set the destination by the method as described above, the navigation device 1 uses the current location detected by the current location detection device 14 as a route search start point based on the above-described route calculation data. A route search from the current location to the destination is performed by calculating a predetermined algorithm. The recommended route obtained as a result of the route search is displayed on the map separately from other roads by changing its display form, for example, display color. Thus, the user can recognize the recommended route on the map displayed on the display monitor 16. In addition, the navigation device 1 guides the host vehicle by instructing the traveling direction by an image or voice to the user so that the host vehicle can travel according to the recommended route. Thus, route guidance to the destination is performed by displaying the map and guiding the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route.

  As described above, the navigation apparatus 1 described above can provide the user with past travel history information by displaying on the map the places that the vehicle has visited in the past in the specified target period. . The specific method will be described. FIG. 2 shows an example of a travel history screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the navigation device 1 provides past travel history information. The travel history screen is displayed when the user selects the travel history mode by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel.

  On the travel history screen shown in FIG. 2, a simplified map of Japan is displayed. On this map, of the places that have been visited by the vehicle in the past, the places that were visited within the target period specified by the user and correspond to the facility genre specified by the user (hereinafter referred to as display target) The location is called a point. The target period and the facility genre are designated by operation buttons described later. In the example of FIG. 2, a simplified national map is displayed, but such a map is not necessarily displayed on the travel history screen. For example, when the display target places are concentrated in any area, a map of the area may be displayed.

  In addition to the map as described above, the travel history screen of FIG. 2 includes a target period display 21 representing a target period specified by the user, a genre switching button 22, a wide area button 23, a detail button 24, and a first slider 25. The second slider 26, the period unit switching button 27, and the update button 28 are displayed. Hereinafter, these contents will be described.

  The target period display 21 represents the target period designated by the user on the travel history screen. In the travel history screen of FIG. 2, among places where the vehicle has traveled in the past, locations where the vehicle has traveled during the period indicated in the target period display 21, that is, from January to March 2005 Is displayed as a display target place on the map, and places where the vehicle has gone during other periods are not displayed. This target period is designated as will be described later by the user operating the first slider 25, the second slider 26, and the period unit switching button 27.

  The genre switching button 22 is an operation button for switching the facility genre to be displayed on the travel history screen. When the user selects the genre switching button 22 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, a list of various facility genres is displayed. By selecting the facility genre that is desired to be displayed from among them, the user can switch the facility genre designated as the display target. When the facility genre to be displayed is specified on the travel history screen in this way, the location corresponding to the specified facility genre among the locations where the vehicle has traveled within the target period shown in the target period display 21 is the display target location. As displayed on the map. For example, if “ski resort” is selected as the facility genre to be displayed on the travel history screen of FIG. 2, the ski resorts that the vehicle has performed during the period from January to March 2005 are displayed on the map. Is done. At this time, it is also possible to display all places where the vehicle has performed within the target period without selecting the facility genre.

  The wide area button 23 and the detail button 24 are operation buttons for changing the scale of the map. When the user selects the wide area button 23 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, the map scale is changed to the wide area side on the travel history screen of FIG.

  The first slider 25, the second slider 26, and the period unit switching button 27 are all operation buttons for the user to specify the above-described target period. The first slider 25 designates the start point of the target period, and the second slider 26 designates the end point of the target period. Specifically, when the user selects the first slider 25 and the second slider 26 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel and moves them to the left and right, respectively, the start point of the target period can be determined according to the position after the movement. Each end point is specified. That is, in the travel history screen of FIG. 2, the position of the first slider 25 corresponds to January of 2005, and the position of the second slider 26 corresponds to March.

  On the other hand, the unit when the target period is designated by the period unit switching button 27 is determined. Specifically, when the user selects the period unit switching button 27 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, the characters displayed on the period unit switching button 27 are sequentially switched between “week”, “month”, and “year”. It is done. In response to this, the target period designated by the first slider 25 and the second slider 26 is sequentially switched between weekly, monthly or yearly. That is, in the travel history screen of FIG. 2, since “month” is displayed on the period unit switching button 27, the target period is specified in units of months. The target period is designated by the operation of each operation button as described above.

  The update button 28 is an operation button for updating the travel history screen while validating the contents of the target period and facility genre designated by the user. When the user selects the update button 28 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, the contents of the target period and facility genre specified by the above-described operation are validated. The travel history screen of FIG. 2 is updated to reflect the target period and facility genre determined in this way.

  In the travel history screen described above, when any of the display target locations displayed on the map is selected by the user by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, the scale of the map is changed and the display target location is changed. The surrounding map is displayed. Thereby, the user can confirm the detailed map about the selected place.

  When the same display target place has been performed a plurality of times, the display form when the display target place is displayed on the map may be changed according to the number of times. For example, a display target place with a larger number of visits can be displayed on a map with a larger point (circular shape), or can be displayed three-dimensionally so as to appear higher. Or it is good also as changing a color and a pattern.

  In order to display on the map the display target location that the vehicle has performed in the past on the travel history screen, the navigation device 1 includes information such as the location of the location that has been in the past, the type of facility, and the date that the location has been visited, The travel history data is stored in the ROM 12. In the travel history data, a history of destinations that the vehicle has actually reached among destinations set in the past is recorded as a history of places the vehicle has visited in the past. That is, the destination that the vehicle has not actually reached is not recorded in the travel history data. Here, the travel history data is stored in the ROM 12, but for example, when map data is recorded on a rewritable recording medium such as a hard disk, a part of the storage capacity of the recording medium is used. The travel history data may be stored.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of processing executed in the control circuit 11 when displaying the travel history screen as described above. In step S10, the target period and facility genre are designated. When the target period and the facility genre are designated for the first time when the travel history screen is displayed, the process of step S10 may be executed with the target period and the facility genre preset as initial values.

  In step S20, travel history data for the target period and facility genre specified in step S10 is read from the ROM 12. In step S30, a display target place is displayed on a map based on the travel history data read in step S20. Thereby, a travel history screen as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the display monitor 16.

  In step S40, it is determined whether the target period has been changed. When the target period is changed by the button operation as described above, the process returns to step S10. In this case, in step S10, the target period after the change is specified according to the user's operation content, and in the next step S20, the travel history data in the specified target period after the change is read from the ROM 12. In step S30, the display target location in the target period after the change is displayed on the map. On the other hand, if the target period has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S50.

  In step S50, it is determined whether the facility genre has been changed. If the facility genre is changed by the button operation as described above, the process returns to step S10. In this case, in step S10, the changed facility genre is designated according to the user's operation content, and in the next step S20, travel history data in the designated changed facility genre is read from the ROM 12. In step S30, the display target location according to the changed facility genre is displayed on the map. On the other hand, if the facility genre is not changed, the process proceeds to step S60.

  In step S60, it is determined whether the map scale has been changed. When the map scale is changed by the operation of the operation buttons as described above, the process proceeds to step S70, and the map with the changed map scale is displayed in step S70. If step S70 is performed, it will progress to step S80. On the other hand, if the map scale is not changed, step S70 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S80.

  In step S80, it is determined whether one of the display target locations displayed in step S30 has been selected. When any one of the display target locations is selected, the process proceeds to step S90, and in step S90, a surrounding map of the selected display target location is displayed. If step S90 is performed, it will return to step S40. On the other hand, if no display target location is selected, the process returns to step S40 without executing step S90.

According to 1st Embodiment described above, there exists the following effect.
(1) Designate a past target period (step S10), read out the corresponding data from the travel history data stored in the ROM 12 (step S20), and within the specified target period based on the read travel history data The display target place, which is the place where the vehicle went, is displayed on the map displayed on the display monitor 16 (step S30). Since it did in this way, the place which the vehicle went in the past period designated by the user can be shown clearly. Thereby, with respect to the past time designated by the user, information related to the vehicle position at that time can be provided to the user.

(2) In the ROM 12, the history of the destinations that the vehicle has actually reached among the destinations set in the past is stored in the travel history data as the history of the places that the vehicle has visited in the past. Since it did in this way, the place which the vehicle went in the past can be judged appropriately and the history can be memorized.

(3) The facility genre is designated (step S10), the corresponding data is read from the travel history data stored in the ROM 12 (step S20), and the display target place is displayed on the map based on the read travel history data. (Step S30). Thereby, in step S30, the place corresponding to the designated facility genre is displayed on the map among the places that the vehicle has performed within the designated target period. Since it did in this way, it can prevent that the place where a user does not need to confirm a travel history is displayed on a map, and it can be set as the display content which is easy to see.

(4) When one of the locations displayed on the map on the travel history screen is selected (step S80), a map around the location is displayed (step S90). Since it did in this way, detailed map information can be provided to a user about the selected place.

-Modification of the first embodiment-
In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the travel history screen is displayed based on the travel history data stored in the navigation device 1 has been described. However, the travel history data collected from a plurality of vehicles is described. It is good also as displaying based on. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a navigation system that displays a travel history screen based on travel history data collected from a plurality of vehicles. The navigation device 1 is provided in the vehicle 100, and a communication terminal 200 is connected thereto. As the communication terminal 200, for example, a mobile phone is used. Communication terminal 200 is wirelessly connected to mobile communication network 300. A travel history database 400 is connected to the mobile communication network 300. That is, the navigation device 1 is connected to the travel history database 400 via the communication terminal 200 and the mobile communication network 300.

  When the travel history data of the vehicle 100 is updated, the navigation device 1 transmits the updated content to the travel history database 400. At this time, the navigation device 1 and the travel history database 400 are connected via the communication terminal 200 and the mobile communication network 300. The travel history database 400 collects travel history data from a plurality of vehicles in this way and records the travel history data.

  When the travel history screen is displayed based on the travel history data collected from a plurality of vehicles in the navigation device 1, the target period designated by the user as described above from the navigation device 1 to the travel history database 400 or Send information on facility genre. At this time, the navigation device 1 and the travel history database 400 are connected via the communication terminal 200 and the mobile communication network 300. When the information on the target period and the facility genre is transmitted from the navigation device 1, the travel history database 400 extracts the corresponding place from the travel history data recorded in accordance with the information and displays the data of the place as the display target place. The data is transmitted to the navigation device 1 as data. The navigation device 1 receives the display target place data transmitted from the travel history database 400, and displays a travel history screen as shown in FIG. Thus, a travel history screen can be displayed based on travel history data collected from a plurality of vehicles.

  According to the modification described above, the user can check the tendency of where the driver of the other vehicle is going and can use it for the travel plan. For example, by examining the tendency of which place is congested at the time of autumn leaves, a place that is not congested as much as possible can be selected as the destination. You can also check popular tourist spots and reflect them in your travel plans.

-Second Embodiment-
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. When a future time is specified when the vehicle is traveling toward the destination, the navigation device according to the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the navigation device 2) displays the predicted position of the vehicle at the specified time on the map. Is displayed. The configuration of the navigation device 2 is the same as that of the navigation device 1 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a travel prediction screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the navigation device 2 indicates the predicted position of the vehicle at a future designated time. In the travel prediction screen, when the destination of the vehicle is set in the navigation device 2 and the vehicle is traveling toward the destination, a button (time machine button) indicated by reference numeral 31 in FIG. 5 is displayed on the screen. Displayed when selected by the user.

  On the travel prediction screen shown in FIG. 5, a map around the current position of the vehicle is displayed in the same manner as the map screen normally displayed on the navigation device 2. Furthermore, a slider 32, an end button 33, a traffic jam display bar 34, a traffic jam button 35, a convenience store button 36, a restaurant button 37, and a toilet button 38 are also displayed at the bottom of the screen. Hereinafter, these contents will be described. Note that the display contents other than those listed here are not related to the present invention, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  The slider 32 is an operation button for designating a time indicating the predicted position of the vehicle on the travel prediction screen. The slider 32 is displayed on a traffic congestion display bar 34 or a facility display bar described later, and moves to the left and right according to the operation of the input device 17 and the touch panel performed by the user. A future time is designated between the current time and the predicted arrival time at the destination according to the position of the slider 32 thus moved. When the time machine button 31 is selected and the travel prediction screen is displayed, the slider 32 is at the “current” position as shown in FIG. Therefore, the current position of the vehicle is displayed on the map. By moving the slider 32 to the right from here, a future time is designated, and the predicted position of the vehicle at that time is displayed on the map.

  The end button 33 is an operation button for ending the travel prediction screen and returning to the normal map screen. When the user selects the end button 33 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, each display at the bottom of the screen is erased and the display returns to the normal map screen.

  The traffic congestion display bar 34 is a display portion for indicating a predicted traffic congestion time when the vehicle travels from the current position toward the destination. The traffic congestion display bar 34 represents a future time zone, and any one of the sections is displayed in a different display form from the other sections. This filled section indicates the time when the vehicle is predicted to travel on a congested road. That is, in the example of the travel prediction screen of FIG. 5, it is predicted that the vehicle is traveling on a congested road from about 12:15 to about 12:30 corresponding to the section where the traffic congestion display bar 34 is painted. I understand that. At this time, the degree of traffic congestion may be expressed by changing the display form such as the fill color. For example, in the case of “congestion” that is a medium traffic jam, the color is orange, and in the case of “traffic jam” that is a heavy traffic jam, the color is red.

  The traffic congestion display bar 34 as described above can be displayed based on the VICS information received from the road traffic information communication system center. That is, based on the received VICS information, the current traffic congestion status is obtained for the travel route of the vehicle set in advance as a recommended route to the destination. Based on the current traffic jam condition of the travel route thus obtained, an estimated arrival time when the vehicle travels from the current position to the destination on the travel route and a predicted traffic time between them are calculated. This calculation result is reflected in the display of the traffic jam display bar 34.

  Alternatively, the traffic jam display bar 34 can be displayed based on statistical traffic information obtained by statistically processing past traffic situation data. That is, based on the statistical traffic information, the future traffic situation is predicted for the travel route of the vehicle set in advance as a recommended route to the destination. Based on the future traffic jam situation of the travel route predicted in this way, an estimated arrival time and a predicted traffic jam between them are calculated when it is assumed that the vehicle traveled from the current position to the destination on the travel route. This calculation result is reflected in the display of the traffic jam display bar 34. The statistical traffic information may be stored in the navigation device 2 or may be acquired from outside by wireless communication.

  The traffic jam button 35 is an operation button for displaying the traffic jam display bar 34. When the user selects the traffic jam button 35 by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, the traffic jam display bar 34 is displayed large as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when a facility display bar, which will be described later, is displayed, a traffic congestion display bar 34 is displayed below it. Note that the traffic congestion display bar 34 is also displayed large when the travel prediction screen is first displayed.

  The convenience store button 36, the meal button 37, and the toilet button 38 are all operation buttons for designating the facility genre when a facility display bar (to be described later) is displayed on the travel prediction screen. When the user selects any of the operation buttons described above by operating the input device 17 or the touch panel, a facility display bar is displayed for the facility corresponding to the selected operation button. That is, when the convenience store button 36 is selected, a facility display bar for the convenience store is displayed. Similarly, when the meal button 37 is selected, a facility display bar is displayed for a dining facility such as a restaurant, and when the toilet button 38 is selected, a facility display bar is displayed for a public toilet or a facility where a toilet can be rented. Is done. The genre buttons described here are merely examples, and they can be assigned to other facility genres such as a gas station or a parking lot.

  Next, the facility display bar will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example of a travel prediction screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the meal button 37 is selected in FIG. 5, and a facility display bar 39 for a dining facility such as a restaurant is displayed. Note that the traffic congestion display bar 34 is displayed below the facility display bar 39 as described above. The facility display bar 39 also represents a future time zone in the same manner as the traffic jam display bar 34, and any one of the sections is displayed in a different display form from the other sections. This filled section indicates the predicted passage time when the vehicle passes through the vicinity of the dining facility corresponding to the designated facility genre when the vehicle travels from the current position toward the destination. That is, in the example of the travel prediction screen of FIG. 6, the vehicle is located near the dining facility at around 11:00, around 11:40, around 12:00, and around 12:30, which corresponds to the section where the facility display bar 39 is painted. It can be seen that it is predicted to pass.

  The width of the painted section in the facility display bar 39 represents the number of facilities that pass through. The wider this is, the more food facilities are passed around at the predicted passage time. That is, in the example of the travel prediction screen of FIG. 6, it can be seen that at about 11:00 and around 12:00, it is predicted that more dining facilities will be passed than at around 11:40 and around 12:30.

  In the travel prediction screen of FIG. 6, a traffic congestion display bar 34 and a facility display bar 39 are displayed side by side so that the user can easily compare the traffic congestion predicted time and the predicted traffic time. Thereby, the user can easily consider a stop-by plan for a dining facility during the trip. For example, when it is desired to have lunch before traffic jam, it is understood that it is only necessary to stop at the dining facility when the predicted passing time indicated on the facility display bar 39 is earlier than the predicted traffic jam time indicated on the traffic jam display bar 34. .

  The facility display bar 39 described above can also be displayed based on the VICS information or the statistical traffic information, similarly to the traffic congestion display bar 34 described above. That is, a facility corresponding to the designated facility genre is searched from facilities existing near the recommended route based on the map data. And the present traffic condition is calculated | required about the driving | running route of the vehicle preset as a recommended route to the destination with the received VICS information. Alternatively, based on the statistical traffic information, the future traffic situation is predicted for the travel route of the vehicle that is set in advance as a recommended route to the destination. Based on the current or future traffic situation of the travel route thus obtained, the estimated passage time when the vehicle travels near the facility when it is assumed that the vehicle traveled from the current position to the destination is calculated. This calculation result is reflected in the display of the facility display bar 39.

  Next, a method for displaying the predicted position of the vehicle at the specified time on the travel prediction screen on the map will be described. FIG. 7 shows the display monitor 16 when the slider 32 moves on the facility display bar 39 according to the user's operation in FIG. 6 and a future time is designated according to the position of the slider 32 after the movement. The example of the driving | running | working prediction screen displayed on is shown. When the slider 32 is moved, the map is scrolled accordingly, so that the predicted position of the vehicle at the time designated by the position of the slider 32 is displayed on the map. In the example of the travel prediction screen in FIG. 7, the time around 12:00 is designated by the slider 32, so the map is scrolled according to the predicted position of the vehicle at the designated time. In this way, the future time is designated, and the predicted position of the vehicle at the designated time is displayed on the map.

  Similar to the traffic jam display bar 34 and the facility display bar 39, the predicted position of the vehicle described above can also be obtained based on VICS information or statistical traffic information. In other words, the current traffic congestion state is obtained for the travel route of the vehicle that is set in advance as a recommended route to the destination by the VICS information. Alternatively, based on the statistical traffic information, the future traffic situation is predicted for the travel route of the vehicle that is set in advance as a recommended route to the destination. When it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route based on the current or future traffic congestion on the travel route thus obtained, the predicted position of the vehicle at the designated time is obtained.

  In the above description, the example in which the travel prediction screen is displayed on the assumption that the vehicle has traveled on the recommended route to the preset destination has been described, but the travel prediction screen is displayed even if the recommended route is not set. Can be displayed. In this case, by setting the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling as the travel route of the vehicle and assuming that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route as it is, the traffic congestion display bar 34 and the facility display bar 39 are set as described above. It is possible to display or obtain the predicted position of the vehicle.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of processing executed in the control circuit 11 when displaying the travel prediction screen as described above. In step S200, a travel route along which the vehicle travels is set. At this time, when the recommended route to the destination is set, the recommended route is set as the travel route. When the recommended route is not set, the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is set as the traveling route as described above.

  In step S210, the estimated traffic jam time is calculated for the travel route set in step S200. The calculation of the predicted traffic jam time is performed based on VICS information or statistical traffic information as described above. In step S220, the traffic congestion display bar 34 is displayed on the display monitor 16 based on the traffic congestion prediction time calculated in step S210. Thereby, the traffic congestion prediction time when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route is displayed.

  In step S230, it is determined whether or not the position of the slider 32 has been changed. When the position of the slider 32 is changed, the processes of steps S240 to S270 described below are executed. On the other hand, if the position of the slider 32 has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S280 without executing the processes of steps S240 to S270.

  In step S240, the time for displaying the predicted position of the vehicle is designated according to the changed position of the slider 32. In step S250, the predicted position of the vehicle at the time designated in step S240 is calculated. The calculation of the predicted position is performed based on VICS information or statistical traffic information as described above. In step S260, the map is scrolled so that the predicted position of the vehicle calculated in step S250 is within the map range. In step S270, the predicted position of the vehicle calculated in step S250 is displayed on the map. In this way, the predicted position of the vehicle at the designated future time is displayed on the map. If step S270 is performed, it will progress to step S280.

  In step S280, it is determined whether any facility genre is designated. At this time, if any one of the convenience store button 36, the meal button 37, or the toilet button 38 is selected by the user as described above, the facility genre corresponding to the selected button is designated. When any facility genre is designated in this way, the processes of steps S290 and S300 described below are executed. On the other hand, if none of the buttons are selected and the facility genre is not designated, the process proceeds to step S310 without executing the processes of steps S290 and S300.

  In step S290, for a facility corresponding to the facility genre specified in step S280, a predicted passage time when the vehicle passes through the vicinity of the facility is calculated. The calculation of the predicted passage time is performed based on VICS information or statistical traffic information as described above. In step S300, the facility display bar 39 is displayed on the display monitor 16 based on the predicted passage time calculated in step S290. As a result, when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route, the predicted passing time when the vehicle passes near the facility corresponding to the designated facility genre is displayed. If step S300 is performed, it will progress to step S310.

  In step S310, it is determined whether or not the congestion button 35 has been pressed. If the traffic congestion button 35 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S320, and the facility display bar 39 displayed in step S300 is deleted in step S320. As shown in FIG. 5, when the traffic congestion display bar 34 is displayed large and the facility display bar 39 is not displayed, it can be left as it is. If step S320 is performed, it will progress to step S330. On the other hand, if the congestion button 35 is not pressed in step S310, the process proceeds to step S330 without executing step S320.

  In step S330, it is determined whether or not the end button 33 has been pressed. When the end button 33 is pressed, the flowchart of FIG. 8 ends. At this time, the display of the travel prediction screen is terminated and the display returns to the normal map screen. On the other hand, if the end button 33 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S230 to continue the above processing.

According to 2nd Embodiment described above, there exists the following effect.
(1) A travel route of the vehicle is set (step S200), and a future time is designated according to the position of the slider 32 (step S240). When it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route set in step S200, the predicted position of the vehicle at the time specified in step S240 is calculated (step S250), and the predicted position is displayed on the display monitor 16. It is supposed to be displayed on the map (step S270). Since it did in this way, the position of the vehicle in the time designated by the user can be shown. Thereby, with respect to a future time designated by the user, information related to the vehicle position at that time can be provided to the user.

(2) By displaying the traffic congestion display bar 34 on the display monitor 16, the traffic congestion prediction time when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route is displayed (step S220). Since it did in this way, a user can be notified in advance of the time when traffic jams.

(3) In the traffic jam display bar 34 showing the future time zone, the traffic jam prediction time is displayed by displaying any one of the zones in a display form different from the other zones. Since it did in this way, it can display easily traffic jam prediction time.

(4) When any one of the convenience store button 36, the meal button 37, or the toilet button 38 is selected by the user, the facility genre corresponding to the selected button is designated (step S280). Then, the estimated passage time is calculated (step S290), and the facility display bar 39 is displayed on the display monitor 16 (step S300), so that it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route set in step S200. The predicted passing time when the vehicle passes through the vicinity of the facility corresponding to the facility genre designated in step S280 is displayed. Since it did in this way, a user can be notified in advance of the time which passes the facility which he wants to drop in on the way. Furthermore, by displaying the traffic jam display bar 34 and the facility display bar 39 side by side, the user can easily compare the traffic jam information with the predicted passage time.

(5) In the facility display bar 39 representing the future time zone, the predicted passage time is displayed by displaying one of the sections in a display form different from the other sections. Since it did in this way, it is possible to display the predicted passage time in an easy-to-see manner.

(6) In step S240, a future time is designated according to the position of the slider 32 on the traffic jam display bar 34 or the facility display bar 39. Since it did in this way, the time which displays the predicted position of a vehicle can be designated easily, displaying traffic jam information or passage prediction time.

  In the second embodiment described above, instead of the traffic congestion display bar 34 indicating the predicted traffic congestion time or in addition to the traffic congestion display bar 34, the current traffic congestion status in the travel route of the vehicle is displayed in a bar graph shape. It is good as well. In this way, the user can easily know which part of the travel route is currently congested.

-Third embodiment-
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The navigation device according to the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the navigation device 3) displays a range in which the vehicle can be acted on the map within the time when the current time has been designated. The configuration of the navigation device 3 is the same as the configuration of the navigation device 1 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of an action range screen displayed on the display monitor 16 when the navigation apparatus 3 shows a range in which the vehicle can be operated within the time it has. This action range screen is displayed when the user selects a button (time machine button) indicated by reference numeral 41 in FIG. 9 on the map screen normally displayed by the navigation device 3.

  In the action range screen shown in FIG. 9, a map around the current position of the vehicle is displayed in the same manner as the map screen normally displayed on the navigation device 3. A slider 42 and a time bar 43 are also displayed at the bottom of the screen. Hereinafter, these contents will be described. Note that descriptions of display contents other than those listed here are omitted because they are not necessary for the description of the present invention.

  The slider 42 is an operation button for designating the current time from the present time. The slider 42 moves left and right on the time bar 43 in accordance with the operation of the input device 17 and the touch panel performed by the user. The time bar 43 is set with time scales such as “0”, “1 hour”, and “2 hours”, and from the current time according to the position of the slider 42 moved with respect to the time bar 43. Is specified. At the time when the time machine button 41 is selected and the action range screen is displayed, the slider 42 is at the position “0” as shown in FIG. Therefore, the possible action range of the vehicle is not displayed on the map. By moving the slider 42 to the right from here, the holding time is specified, and the possible range of action of the vehicle is displayed on the map.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the action range screen displayed when the slider 42 is moved rightward and the holding time is designated. Here, since the slider 42 is at the position of the scale written as “1 hour” in the time bar 43, the holding time from the present time is designated as 1 hour. As a result, the one-way time required for the vehicle to reach the destination or the round trip time until the vehicle stops at the destination and returns to the current position is designated as the time. It should be noted that which one of the one-way time and the round trip time is designated as the possession time may be selected by the user in advance, or may be selected by the user each time the possession time is designated. An actionable range 44 indicating a range in which the vehicle can be operated within the time for the specified time is displayed on the map. At this time, the scale of the map is automatically set according to the size of the actionable range 44.

  The actionable range 44 shown in FIG. 10 can be obtained, for example, as follows. First, for all the roads connected from the current position of the vehicle, each point on the road where the vehicle can reach is determined according to the designated time. At this time, if the one-way time to the destination is designated as the time, the points on the road that can be reached by the total time are obtained. That is, when the holding time is specified as one hour as described above, each point on the road that can be reached in that one hour is obtained. On the other hand, when the round trip time to the destination is specified as the time, the points on the road that can be reached in half the time are obtained. That is, when the holding time is designated as 1 hour as described above, each point on the road that can be reached in 30 minutes is obtained. In addition, you may use the traffic condition obtained by VICS information and statistical traffic information at this time. Next, a curve that smoothly connects the determined points on the road is obtained, and this curve is set as the outer edge of the actionable range 44. Alternatively, the outer edge of the actionable range 44 may be obtained by directly connecting the obtained points on the road as they are. In this way, the actionable range 44 is obtained.

  Furthermore, when the round trip time to the destination is designated as the time to go, the actionable range 44 may be determined in consideration of the stay time at the destination. For example, if the stay time is 10 minutes, find each point on the road that can be reached in half of the remaining time obtained by subtracting 10 minutes of the stay time from 1 hour of the specified time, that is, 25 minutes. An actionable range 44 is obtained by connecting the two. At this time, it is preferable that the user can arbitrarily set the stay time at the destination. In this way, by specifying the time for which the stay time at the destination is included in the round trip time, the actionable range can be obtained more accurately.

  FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of processing executed in the control circuit 11 when displaying the action range screen as described above. In step S400, it is determined whether or not the position of the slider 42 has been changed. If the position of the slider 42 is changed, the process proceeds to the next step S410, and if not changed, the process stays at step S400.

  In step S410, the time for displaying the possible action range of the vehicle on the map is designated according to the changed position of the slider 42. At this time, as described above, the one-way time required for the vehicle to reach the destination or the round-trip time until the vehicle stops at the destination and returns to the current position is designated as the time. Further, when the round trip time is used, the stay time may be specified by including the stay time at the destination in the round trip time.

  In step S420, the possible action range of the vehicle within the holding time is calculated as described above for the holding time specified in step S410. In step S430, a map scale suitable for displaying the possible action range on the map is set according to the possible action range of the vehicle calculated in step S420.

  In step S440, the actionable range of the vehicle calculated in step S420 is displayed on the map. At this time, the map is displayed at the map scale set in step S430, and the possible range of the vehicle is displayed on the map. Thereby, an action range screen as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. If step S440 is performed, it will return to step S400 and will continue the above processes.

According to the third embodiment described above, the following operational effects are obtained.
(1) Designation of the current time (step S410), calculation of a range in which the vehicle can act within the designated time (step S420), and display the calculated possible range on the display monitor 16 Displayed on the map (step S440). Since it did in this way, when a user's time has been decided, the range which a vehicle can act can be shown. Thereby, with respect to a future time designated by the user, information related to the vehicle position at that time can be provided to the user.

(2) When specifying the holding time in step S410, specifying the one-way time required for the vehicle to reach the destination or the round-trip time until the vehicle stops at the destination and returns to the current position as the holding time. did. Since it did in this way, the action possible range of a vehicle can be computed appropriately so that it can return to the present position within time.

(3) Furthermore, when the time is specified in step S410, the time can be specified by including the stay time at the destination in the round trip time. In this way, the actionable range can be determined more accurately in consideration of the stay time at the destination.

  When specifying the holding time in step S410, both the one-way time to the destination and the round trip time may be specified as the holding time. That is, in step S410, at least one of the one-way time required for the vehicle to reach the destination and the round-trip time until the vehicle stops at the destination and returns to the current position can be designated as the time. When both the one-way time and the round-trip time are specified as the holding time in this way, two types of possible action ranges are calculated for the holding time. Therefore, when the two types of calculated actionable ranges are displayed on the map at the same time, it is preferable that they are displayed in different forms so that the user can distinguish them. Or you may enable it to distinguish a user by switching a display for every predetermined time.

  Each embodiment and various modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired.

  In each of the above embodiments, the history storage means is realized by the ROM 12, and the other means described in the claims are realized by the processing of the control circuit 11. For example, in the first embodiment, the period specifying means and the facility genre specifying means are realized by step S10, and the place display means is realized by step S30. In the second embodiment, the time designation means is step S240, the travel route setting means is step S200, the predicted position display means is step S270, the traffic jam prediction time display means is step S220, and the facility genre designation means is step S280. The predicted passage time display means is realized by step S300. Further, in the third embodiment, the time keeping designation means is realized by step S410, and the action range display means is realized by step S440. However, these are merely examples, and when interpreting the invention, the correspondence between the items described in the above embodiments and the items described in the claims is not limited or restricted.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the travel history screen displayed in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart performed when displaying a travel history screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the navigation system by the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the driving | running | working prediction screen displayed in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the driving | running | working prediction screen displayed when the meal button is selected in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the driving | running | working prediction screen displayed when the slider is moved and future time is designated in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart performed when displaying a driving | running | working prediction screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the action range screen displayed in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the action range screen displayed when a slider is moved and the lasting time is designated in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart performed when displaying the action range screen in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Navigation device 11 Control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 17 Input device 18 Disk drive 19 DVD-ROM

Claims (6)

Map display means for displaying the map on a display monitor;
A time designation means for designating a future time;
Travel route setting means for setting the travel route of the vehicle;
Predicted position display means for displaying the predicted position of the vehicle on the map at the time specified by the time specifying means when it is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the travel route set by the travel route setting means. ,
Facility genre specifying means for specifying the facility genre;
Passing prediction that displays on the display monitor the predicted passing time when the vehicle passes near the facility corresponding to the facility genre specified by the facility genre specifying means when the vehicle travels on the travel route. A time display means ,
The predicted passage time display means displays any section of the facility display bar representing a future time zone on the display monitor in a display form different from other sections, and corresponds to the designated facility genre. In accordance with the number of facilities that the vehicle passes in the vicinity at the estimated passage time, the width of the section displayed in a display form different from the other sections is changed on the facility display bar and displayed on the display monitor. navigation device according to claim to Rukoto. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein
The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the time designation means designates the future time according to a position of a slider on the facility display bar . The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 2 ,
A navigation device , further comprising: a predicted traffic jam time display means for displaying a predicted traffic jam time when the vehicle has traveled on the travel route on the display monitor . The navigation device according to claim 3 ,
The traffic jam prediction time display means displays the traffic jam prediction time by displaying any section of a traffic jam display bar representing a future time zone on the display monitor in a display form different from other sections. A navigation device characterized by the above. The navigation device according to claim 4 , wherein
The predicted passage time display means displays or erases the facility display bar according to a user operation,
When the facility display bar is displayed, the traffic jam prediction time display means displays the traffic jam display bar smaller than the facility display bar side by side on the facility display bar,
When the facility display bar is not displayed, the traffic jam prediction time display means displays the traffic congestion display bar larger than when the facility display bar is displayed . The navigation device according to claim 5, wherein
When the facility display bar is displayed, the time designating unit designates the future time according to the position of the slider on the facility display bar,
When the facility display bar is not displayed, the time designating unit designates the future time according to the position of a slider on the traffic jam display bar .

Images