JP2006275520A - Navigation device, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide guide information enabling a user to return a parking position surely, even when leaving from a vehicle as long as a fixed time after parking the vehicle in a large parking lot of a department store, a shopping mall or the like, or in a geographically unfamiliar place such as a tourist resort. <P>SOLUTION: When parking of the vehicle is detected by a vehicle stop detection part 46, a stop position information acquisition part 47 generates stop position information relative to a vehicle stop position based on present position information of the vehicle. The stop position information includes a 'facility name' of the parking place of the vehicle, a 'detailed position' showing the position in the facility, a latitude and a longitude of the parking position, a map code and a rough map of the parking position periphery. The stop position information is preserved in/transmitted to an external storage device 20 and a portable terminal 21 from a preservation/transmission control part 49 through an external storage device control part 13 or a communication device and a processing part 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  Even if the vehicle is parked in a geographically unguided place such as a large parking lot or a tourist spot such as a department store or a shopping mall and the user is away from the vehicle for a certain time, the present invention does not get lost in the parking position. The present invention relates to a navigation device, a method, and a program for providing guidance information that can be returned.

  In recent years, navigation devices that have rapidly become popular have a database obtained by quantifying roads, place names, buildings, etc. on a map stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and set a destination based on the digital map database. The taxiway is searched and calculated according to the road database stored in the device in advance, and the obtained vehicle and the vehicle position calculated sequentially from navigation data such as GPS, gyroscope, vehicle speed pulse, etc. are displayed on the screen. In addition, the optimum route to the designated destination is also calculated and guided (navigated) by screen display or synthesized voice.

In such a navigation device, it is possible to easily carry data by storing specific data related to navigation in a medium such as a removable small external storage memory such as a flash memory. Data can be read by a system such as a mobile phone. In addition, navigation information can be transmitted from the navigation device to other devices such as a mobile phone via a cable or a wireless communication device.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-181555

  By the way, when a vehicle is parked in a geographically unguided place such as a large parking lot such as a department store or a shopping mall or a sightseeing spot, and the vehicle is separated from the vehicle for a certain period of time, the parking lot is multi-level and all have similar scenery. In some cases, the location of the parked vehicle is uncertain because it is an unfamiliar place, and it may not be possible to return to the vehicle smoothly.

  In such a case, in the above prior art, in order to grasp the position of the parked vehicle, before leaving the vehicle after parking, the passenger intentionally stores the position information stored in the navigation device by the passenger. It was necessary to perform an operation of transferring to a portable storage medium such as a portable terminal such as a telephone or various external memories.

  However, it is troublesome for the user to perform the above operation when the vehicle arrives at the destination and the vehicle is stopped, and the above operation is performed before the navigation device is turned off after the vehicle is stopped. If there were, for example, the operation of making a note of the lot number attached to the pillar of the parking lot or the ground was not substantially changed.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to park a vehicle in a geographically unguided place such as a large parking lot or a sightseeing spot such as a department store or a shopping mall and leave it for a certain time. Even if it is a case, it is providing the navigation apparatus, method, and program which provide the guidance information which a user can return without hesitating to a parking position.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle stop detection means for detecting a stop of the vehicle, and obtains the stop position of the vehicle from the calculated current position of the vehicle when the stop of the vehicle is detected. The vehicle stop position information acquisition means for generating the stop position information based on the stop position, and the storage control means for transmitting the stop position information to the external storage means.

  The invention of claim 6 captures the invention of claim 1 from the viewpoint of a method, and is calculated when a computer or an electronic circuit detects a vehicle stop detection process and a vehicle stop detection. A vehicle stop position information acquisition process for acquiring a stop position of the vehicle from the current position of the vehicle to be generated, and generating stop position information based on the stop position; a storage control process for transmitting the stop position information to an external storage means; It is characterized by performing.

  The invention of claim 8 is a navigation program that captures the inventions of claims 1 and 6 from the viewpoint of a computer program, and causes the external storage means to store or transmit vehicle stop position information by controlling the computer. The program causes the computer to detect the stop of the vehicle, and when the stop of the vehicle is detected, obtains the stop position of the vehicle from the calculated current position of the vehicle, and stops position information based on the stop position. And the stop position information is transmitted to an external storage means.

  In the above-described aspect, the operation stop of the vehicle is detected, information on the stop position is generated, and the stop position information is automatically transmitted to the external storage unit, so that some operation is performed after the vehicle stops. Even without this, the user can take out the external storage means outside the vehicle and refer to the stored vehicle stop position information when returning to the vehicle. As a result, even when the vehicle is stopped in a large parking lot or geographically unguided place and the user is away from the vehicle for a certain period of time, the user can get lost by referring to the vehicle stop position information through a portable terminal or the like. Without having to go back to the parking position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the vehicle stop detection means determines the stop of the vehicle by cutting off the accessory power supply of the vehicle.
A seventh aspect of the invention captures the second aspect of the invention from the viewpoint of a method. In the sixth aspect of the invention, the vehicle stop detection process determines whether the vehicle is stopped by cutting off the accessory power supply of the vehicle. It is characterized by.
A ninth aspect of the invention is the invention of the second and seventh aspects from the viewpoint of a computer program. In the eighth aspect of the invention, the method for detecting the vehicle stop is performed by disconnecting the accessory power supply of the vehicle. It is characterized by determining whether to stop.

  In the above aspect, since the vehicle stop detection means detects parking in response to the vehicle accessory power being cut off, it does not detect a simple stop such as a temporary stop during traveling, and the vehicle is more accurate. Stop detection is possible.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the external storage means includes a mobile phone.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the external storage means includes an information storage medium that is detachable from the apparatus.

  In these aspects, not only is the user's effort reduced by automatically transmitting the stop position information to the external storage means, but the position away from the vehicle can be easily taken out and returned to the vehicle. Thus, the stop position information of the vehicle can be easily confirmed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the stop position information includes map data around the vehicle stop position.
According to this aspect, by including map data around the vehicle stop position in the stop position information, for example, not only parking lots such as department stores and shopping malls, but geographically unguided places such as sightseeing spots, Even if it is a certain distance away from the parked building or parking lot, the user can check the location of the parking lot by referring to the map. It can be guided relative to the position.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the vehicle is parked in a geographically unguided place such as a large parking lot or a sightseeing spot such as a department store or a shopping mall and separated from the vehicle for a certain time, It is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program that provide guidance information that can return to a parking position without hesitation.

  Next, a navigation device according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present device”), a corresponding navigation method, and a best mode for carrying out the program will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the assumptions common to the prior art already described are not restated.

[1. Constitution]
[1-1. overall structure]
This device is an in-vehicle navigation device and includes the following elements shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. That is, an absolute position / azimuth detector 1 including a GPS antenna and a receiver, a relative azimuth detector 2 using a gyro and the like, and a vehicle speed detector 3 for processing a pulse obtained from a vehicle are used for navigation data for navigation. It is a sensor group to obtain. The disk control unit 12 is a drive such as a hard disk, a DVD-ROM, or a CD-ROM, and plays a role of reading a road map data database using road links, and provides information from a server via a mobile phone (so-called off-state). Board).

  The processing unit 4 is a main CPU that controls the entire system and its peripheral circuits, and performs navigation processing including calculation of the current position based on navigation data obtained from the sensor groups (1 to 3) and map matching. This is a part that uses data.

  Of the memory M, the ROM 5 stores a program for the CPU of the processing unit 4, the DRAM (dynamic RAM) 6 stores data processed by the CPU, and the SRAM (static RAM) 7 Information such as settings is backed up by the battery even when the main power is turned off, and a VRAM (video RAM) 8 is used for writing a bit pattern of an image displayed on the display unit 10.

  The display unit 10 is a part for displaying information such as a map and a menu, and is a TFT liquid crystal panel, for example. The input unit 11 is a part that receives input of various commands and information from the user, and is a switch or a touch panel, for example. The user interface unit 9 is a part that connects the display unit 10 or the input unit 11 and the processing unit 4 to perform signal transmission, conversion, timing control, and the like.

  The external storage device control unit 13 performs storage control of data related to navigation in the processing unit 4 in an external storage device such as a removable flash memory card or a USB memory known in various standards.

  The communication device and processing unit 14 is a part that receives FM broadcast waves and extracts desired data such as VICS, and is equipped with a mobile phone, PDA, or Bluetooth (trademark) via a network device such as a wired or wireless modem. It is a part which communicates with the terminal etc. (henceforth the portable terminal 21) which transmitted, and transmits the data processed with this apparatus to the portable terminal 21. FIG. In addition, when a wireless access point is installed in a building or the like having a parking lot, it is possible to access the wireless access point and read position information of the access point to obtain more accurate own vehicle position information.

[1-2. Role of main CPU and its peripheral circuits]
The main CPU and its peripheral circuit 4 are configured to realize the roles of the following parts shown in FIG. 1 by the operation of the program as described above. That is, the current position calculation unit 40 is means for sequentially calculating the own vehicle position, and specifically, is configured to calculate the own vehicle position by combining GPS navigation positioning and autonomous navigation positioning. . Here, in GPS navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained by the absolute position / orientation detection unit 1 based on radio waves from an artificial satellite. In the autonomous navigation positioning, the current position is calculated using information obtained from the relative bearing detection unit 2 and the vehicle speed detection unit 3 based on the geomagnetism and the speed of the host vehicle.

  The destination receiving unit 42 is a means for receiving a destination designation, that is, an input by searching for a facility from a database in which the road map data is recorded or by specifying a cursor on the map. The route setting unit 43 calculates a route from the current position detected by the current position calculation unit 40 to the destination specified by the destination reception unit 42 based on the road map data, and obtains the result. It is a means for setting a given route.

  The vehicle stop detection unit 46 is a part that detects that the vehicle has stopped, more precisely, that the vehicle has been parked. Since the vehicle stop detection unit 46 detects parking in response to the vehicle accessory power being cut off or engine stop, a simple stop such as a temporary stop during traveling is not detected.

  The stop position information acquisition unit 47 generates information such as a vehicle stop position based on the own vehicle position data calculated by the current position calculation unit 41 when parking of the vehicle is detected, and acquires the information as stop position information. It is means to do. As shown in FIG. 3, the stop position information is obtained by dividing the “facility name” of the parking position of the vehicle, the “detailed position” indicating the position in the facility, the latitude and longitude of the parking position, and the nation, and dividing each mesh. And a map code (here, a high-accuracy map code) that uniformly expresses relative positions in the mesh and a schematic map around the parking position. Note that the “detailed position” is not limited to the vehicle position provided by the current position calculation unit 41, but, for example, by accessing a wireless access point installed in a parking lot or the like through the communication device and the processing unit 14. It is generated by acquiring position information possessed by the access point.

  The setting confirmation unit 48 determines whether or not to transmit stop position information to the mobile terminal 21 and the external storage device 20 generated by the stop position information acquisition unit 47 when parking of the vehicle is detected. is there. As this condition, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, there is whether or not to store stop position information in the external storage means, and whether the storage destination device is the portable terminal 21 or the external storage device 20. The setting confirmation unit 48 determines how this condition is set.

  The storage / transmission control unit 49 is means for storing or transmitting the stop position information transmitted from the setting confirmation unit 48 to the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21 through the external storage device control unit 13 or the communication device and processing unit 14. is there.

[2. Action]
Details of the processing according to the present embodiment as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As for navigation of the host vehicle, the destination is set by the destination receiving unit 42, the guidance route from the current position to the destination is calculated by the route setting unit 43, and guided by the guide unit 44 and the map display unit 45. Since the guidance is the same as that of a normal navigation device, the description is omitted, and in the following, processing for providing stop position information for the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21 will be described.

  The apparatus always monitors whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state, more precisely, in a parked state, in the vehicle stop detecting unit 46 (S201). Here, as described above, the vehicle stop detection unit 46 detects the parking state of the vehicle in response to disconnection of the accessory power supply of the vehicle or the stop of the engine. A simple stop is not detected.

  When the parking state of the vehicle is detected (“YES” in S201), the stop position information acquisition unit 47 uses the vehicle position data calculated by the current position calculation unit 41, the communication device, and the processing unit 14. Based on the detailed host vehicle position information obtained by accessing the nearest wireless access point, it is generated as stop position information related to the vehicle stop position (S202). As shown in FIG. 3, the stop position information includes a “facility name” of the parking position of the vehicle, a “detailed position” indicating the position in the facility, a latitude and longitude of the parking position, a map code, and a schematic map around the parking position. Each information about is included.

  Next, the setting confirmation unit 48 determines two conditions: whether the generated stop position information is to be stored or transmitted and whether to be stored or transmitted to the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21. (S203). As described above, this condition is set in advance in the present apparatus, and the setting condition is set, for example, on the screen shown in FIG.

  Here, if the setting is “do not store” or transmit (“NO” in S203), the process ends (END). On the other hand, when the setting is “always perform” for storage or transmission (“YES” in S203), the storage / transmission control unit 49 subsequently stores or transmits to either the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21. It is confirmed whether to do (S204). Specifically, based on the setting shown in FIG. 4, when the setting is set to the external storage device 20 (“YES” in S204), the flash memory is passed through the external storage device control unit 13. A process of saving to the external storage device 20 such as a card is performed (S205), and the process ends (END). On the other hand, when the setting is a setting for the mobile terminal 21 (“NO” in S204), a process of transmitting to the mobile terminal 21 is performed through the communication device and the processing unit 14 (S206), and the process is terminated. (END).

  By performing the above processing, the “facility name” of the vehicle parking position shown in FIG. 3, the “detailed position” indicating the position in the facility, the latitude and longitude of the parking position, the map code, and the vicinity of the parking position Stop position information including a schematic map is stored or transmitted to the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21. Then, the user takes out the external storage device 20 or the portable terminal 21 outside the vehicle, and refers to the stop position information stored in these media when returning to the vehicle again.

[3. effect]
According to the present embodiment as described above, information on the stop position is generated by detecting the operation stop of the vehicle, and the stop position information is automatically saved in the external storage device such as an external storage device or a portable terminal. Alternatively, by transmitting, the user can obtain information on the stop position of the vehicle with a portable terminal or the like without performing any operation after the vehicle stops. As a result, even when the vehicle is stopped at a large parking lot or geographically unguided place and the user is away from the vehicle for a certain period of time, the user can refer to the vehicle stop position information through the mobile terminal or the like. You can return to the parking position without hesitation. In particular, not only is the user's operation reduced by automatically transmitting stop position information to the external storage means, but this is easily taken out and the vehicle is stopped at a position away from the vehicle when returning to the vehicle. The position information can be easily confirmed.

  Since the vehicle stop detection unit detects parking in response to the vehicle accessory power being cut off or the engine stopped, it does not detect a simple stop such as a temporary stop during traveling, but a more accurate vehicle stop Can be detected.

  Moreover, by including map data around the vehicle stop position in the stop position information, for example, it is not limited to a parking lot such as a department store or a shopping mall, but is a geographically unguided place such as a sightseeing spot, and a parked building Or even if it is a case where it is a certain distance away from the parking lot, the user can also check the position of the parking lot by referring to the map. Can be guided.

[4. Other Embodiments]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Other embodiments which are illustrated next are included. For example, the stop position information shown in FIG. 3 includes a map around the vehicle stop position. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the map code in the stop position information is used as a map database on the network. It is also possible to access and download the map from the database.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process of embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the stop position information in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a screen of the stop position information preservation | save condition setting in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Absolute position and direction detection part 2 ... Relative direction detection part 3 ... Vehicle speed detection part 4 ... Processing part (Main CPU and its peripheral circuit)
5 ... ROM
6. Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
7. Static RAM (SRAM)
8 ... Video RAM (VRAM)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... User interface part 10 ... Display part 11 ... Input part 12 ... Disk control part 13 ... External storage device control part 14 ... Communication apparatus and processing part 20 ... External storage device 21 ... Portable terminal 40 ... Current position calculation part 41 ... Current Position calculation unit 42 ... destination reception unit 43 ... route setting unit 44 ... guide unit 45 ... map display unit 46 ... vehicle stop detection unit 47 ... stop position information acquisition unit 48 ... setting confirmation unit 49 ... storage / transmission control unit

Claims (9)

Vehicle stop detection means for detecting stop of the vehicle;
Vehicle stop position information acquisition means for acquiring the stop position of the vehicle from the calculated current position of the vehicle and detecting stop position information based on the stop position when detecting the stop of the vehicle;
A navigation device comprising storage control means for transmitting the stop position information to an external storage means.   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle stop detection means determines the stop of the vehicle by cutting off the accessory power supply of the vehicle.   3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the external storage means includes a mobile phone.   The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the external storage means includes an information storage medium that is detachable from the device.   The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the stop position information includes map data around a vehicle stop position. A computer or electronic circuit
A vehicle stop detection process for detecting a vehicle stop;
A vehicle stop position information acquisition process for acquiring a stop position of the vehicle from the calculated current position of the vehicle and detecting stop position information based on the stop position when a stop of the vehicle is detected;
And a storage control process for transmitting the stop position information to an external storage means.   The navigation method according to claim 6, wherein in the vehicle stop detection process, the vehicle stop is determined by cutting off the accessory power supply of the vehicle. In a navigation program for storing or transmitting vehicle stop position information to an external storage means by controlling a computer,
This program is stored in the computer
Detecting the stop of the vehicle,
When a stop of the vehicle is detected, the stop position of the vehicle is obtained from the calculated current position of the vehicle, and stop position information is generated based on the stop position.
A navigation program for transmitting the stop position information to an external storage means.   The navigation program according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle stop detection method causes the vehicle stop to be determined by cutting off the accessory power supply of the vehicle.

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