JP2002365059A - Navigation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To grasp each kind of function status that has been set to an apparatus and to easily utilize each kind of function that has been set to the apparatus. SOLUTION: A control circuit 2 of the car navigation apparatus 1 stores a usage count as usage count data for each function of a state being divided for each support function every time when a plurality of kinds of support functions related to the navigation operation are used. Then, when a user completes using the car navigation apparatus 1, the stored usage count data for each function is transferred to an external memory 5 for retention. The control circuit 2 lists the stored usage count data for each function on a display device 6 when the user performs data display operation through a group of operation switches 7 or a remote controller 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device configured to selectively execute various support functions set in the navigation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a vehicle navigation system, in addition to basic functions such as a map matching process for locating a current position of a vehicle on a map screen drawn based on map data, a destination set by a user. It has a route calculation function that searches and displays the route to the route, a support function such as a route guidance function that performs various guides by voice and display based on the search result, and further includes a telephone number. Search function, zip code search function, search function using unique code, Japanese syllabary search function, genre search function, nearest facility search function, information display function of facilities and sightseeing spots, display map change function, destination registration Various support functions such as functions and point registration functions are set.

[0003]

In order for a user to make full use of the support functions set in the vehicle navigation device, it is important to refer to the attached user manual. However, in recent years, the multifunctionality of the vehicular navigation device has dramatically increased, and the amount of information described in the user's manual has been greatly enlarged. It is very complicated to pass through. It is also possible to use various support functions by trial and error without relying on the user manual, but there are limitations in the situation where the multifunctionality of the vehicle navigation device has been dramatically increased. For this reason, with respect to the support function set in the vehicle navigation device, a situation in which the user does not notice the existence of any function other than the specific function at all, that is,
A situation has arisen in which the support function set in the vehicle navigation device is not fully utilized, and such a point has been an unsolved problem. Therefore, in the navigation device having the conventional configuration, the support function for the angle is wasted, and the user cannot enjoy the profit corresponding to the investment cost.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a navigation device that can grasp the status of various functions set in the device. It is another object of the present invention to provide a navigation device that can easily use various functions set in the device.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the means described in claim 1 can be adopted. According to this means, according to the execution of various functions such as route guidance, information notification, facility search, and display map change set in the apparatus, the storage means stores the execution frequency of the executed function in the storage means. It is stored separately for each function. In addition, the control unit notifies the execution frequency of each function stored in the storage unit through the notification unit. Therefore, on the user side, based on the information notification by the notification unit, it is possible to reliably grasp the status of various functions, such as the presence or absence of a function that has not been executed by the user and the presence of a function that is not performed frequently. As a result, the existence of various functions can be effectively known to the user, and effective utilization of the functions can be promoted.

[0006] According to the means described in claim 2, the user:
When any information among the information related to the execution frequency by function notified by the notification means is selected through the selection means,
The control means causes the notifying means to notify the contents and / or operation method of the function relating to the selected information. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the contents and operation method of the function related to the selected information, and can easily use various functions.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the execution frequency for each function stored in the storage means is displayed in a list at least in a state of being listed for each function on the screen of the display means. The user can grasp the execution frequency at a glance.

[0008] According to the means described in claim 4, the user can:
When any one of the information related to the execution frequency for each function displayed in the list by the display unit is selected through the selection unit, the control unit may control the content and / or the operation method of the function related to the selected information. Is output.
Therefore, the user can easily grasp the content and operation method of the function selected by himself / herself based on the output from the control means, and can more accurately and easily select the operation of the function based on the list display screen. It is possible to do.

According to the fifth aspect, the contents and / or operation method relating to one function selected based on the list display screen are output as display information from the control means and displayed on the display means. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the contents and the operation method related to the selected one function based on the contents displayed on the screen, and the usability as the device is improved.

[0010] According to the means of claim 6, the user can:
When any one of the functions related to the execution frequency for each function listed by the display unit is selected through the selection unit, the function and / or the operation method of the function related to the selected information is output to the audio output unit. Is output through Therefore, the burden on the user is reduced, for example, the user can grasp the contents and the operation method of the selected function while performing other operations.

According to the means described in claim 7, the control means performs the operation of storing the execution frequency for each function in the storage means only when a predetermined time has elapsed after the power supply to the navigation device is turned on. At the start of use of the device, even if the user executes various functions by trial and error in order to learn how to use the device, the execution frequency for each function does not change regardless of the original purpose during that period. . As a result, the reliability of the information on the execution frequency for each function is improved.

According to the means of the present invention, the operation of storing the execution frequency for each function in the storage means is performed only when a storage permission instruction is issued by the instruction means. For this reason, for example, it is possible to perform the function of storing the execution frequency for each function only for the function executed by the user, and to ignore the function executed by others by lending the navigation device. Therefore, the storage target of the function-specific item frequency can be narrowed down to only the original function executed by the original user, and as a result, the reliability of the information on the function-specific execution frequency for the original user is improved. Become.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the information on the execution frequency for each function stored in the storage means can be initialized through the initialization means. For example, the initialization is changed by the owner of the navigation device. Occasionally, the function execution frequency for a new owner can be correctly stored.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle navigation device will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, which schematically shows the entire electric configuration, a car navigation device 1 has a control circuit 2 (corresponding to control means and initialization means in the present invention) having a function of controlling its navigation operation. , Position detector 3, map data input device 4, external memory 5 (corresponding to storage means), display device 6 (corresponding to notification means, display means), operation switch group 7 (corresponding to selection means, instruction means), voice Output device 8 (corresponding to audio output means), for example, VICS (Ve
hicle Information & Communication System) a transceiver 10 for transmitting and receiving data to and from an infrastructure such as a station 9;
The remote controller 11 is connected to a remote control sensor 12 for detecting a signal from a remote controller 11 (corresponding to a selection unit and an instruction unit).

The control circuit 2 is configured as a microcomputer, and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O
An interface and a bus and the like for connecting them (both not shown) are provided. Of these, the ROM stores a car navigation program and the like, and the RAM
The processing data at the time of executing the program, the road map data acquired from the map data input device 4, and the like are temporarily stored in the.

The position detector 3 includes a geomagnetic sensor 13 for detecting an absolute azimuth, a gyroscope 14 for detecting a yaw angular velocity (yaw rate), a distance sensor 15 for detecting a traveling distance of the vehicle, and a GPS artificial sensor. It is composed of a GPS receiver 16 that receives signals from satellites, and is a part that calculates current position information of the vehicle. The position detector 3 performs high-accuracy position detection while interpolating the detection errors because each component has a detection error having a different property. However, the position detector 3 detects the current position with the required detection accuracy. It is not necessary to provide all components if they can be calculated. Further, the position detector 3 may be configured by combining a rotation sensor of the steering wheel, a wheel sensor for detecting the rotation of each tire, and the like.

The map data input device 4 is, for example, a CD-RO
It is for reading data from a large-capacity information recording medium (not shown) such as an M or a DVD-ROM. In this case, the information recording medium includes, in addition to various types of map drawing data and map matching data, a facility name database in which facility names are arranged in, for example, the order of the Japanese syllabary, and specific information on each facility in the facility name database. Various databases are stored, such as a facility database that covers information (facility names, genre names indicating categories of occupations, etc., facility location data (longitude / latitude data), etc.), and a phone number database showing correspondence between phone numbers and facilities. ing. In addition, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a large-capacity memory card, or the like can be used as the information recording medium.

The external memory 5 is constituted by a flash memory card or the like, and stores, for example, program software for supporting an information recording medium of another standard,
It is provided for storing or recalling specific data. The display device 6 includes, for example, a color liquid crystal display for displaying a map screen, and is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle. The operation switch group 7 includes a mechanical switch disposed around the display device 6 and a touch switch formed on a color liquid crystal display of the display device 6, and controls operation inputs such as various data and setting items by a control circuit. 2 is provided. still,
The remote control sensor 12 is also provided as operation input means, and receives an operation input from the remote control 11 and gives it to the control circuit 2.

The voice output device 8 includes a voice synthesis circuit, an amplifier, a speaker, and the like, and can generate an arbitrary voice output according to voice information from the control circuit 2. The transceiver 10 includes a VICS sensor unit and an FM
A tuner (neither is shown) or the like, for example, a VICS sensor unit controls an information signal by an optical / radio beacon received from the VICS station 9 or an information signal from an FM multiplex broadcast received by the FM tuner. 2, and also has a function of transmitting vehicle information to the outside if necessary.

Here, in addition to the basic function of executing a map matching process for locating the current position on the map, the control circuit 2 also transmits point data such as a destination and a waypoint via the operation switch group 7 and the remote controller 11. Is input, a route search operation from the current position to the destination is performed based on the point data using, for example, the Dijkstra method, and a guide route corresponding to the route search result is displayed on a map screen. and calculation function (including so-called reroute search function), the route guidance function for performing various guide by voice or display, etc., based on the guide route obtained by this function, and a well-known assistance functions. In the control circuit 2,
In addition, as support functions that require user input operations through the operation switch group 7 and the remote controller 11, well-known telephone number search functions, postal code search functions, search functions using unique codes, and Japanese syllabary search functions , Genre search function,
Nearest facility search function, destination registration function, boarding / exiting interchange designation function, screen display state by display device 6 (2D
Display, 3D display, screen division display, etc.), a display map change switching function for switching, an information display function for displaying a sightseeing area or a recommended driving course, a point registration function, etc.
A wide variety of support functions are set.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a processing routine related to the gist of the present invention among the control contents of the control circuit 2, which will be described below along with the related operation. 2 and 3 are simplified as long as the gist of the present invention can be grasped.
Actually, the control contents are more complicated or different from those shown in the figure. In this embodiment, the processing routines shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are described as being executed in the background of the main program. However, the processing routines can be incorporated in the foreground processing.

FIG. 2 is a functional usage count data (function execution frequency as referred to in the present invention) in a state where the number of times the plurality of types of support functions are executed (the number of times used) is classified for each support function. 2) shows the contents of a data storage routine for storing the information as information shown in FIG. The use frequency data for each function includes, for example, each name data of all the support functions set in the car navigation device 1 and the number of times the support function indicated by the name data has been activated (hereinafter, referred to as “the number of times the support function has been performed”).
The data is referred to as the number of times of use.

The data storage routine is executed each time the use of the car navigation apparatus 1 is started (every time power is turned on). First, a start flag is set to "1" (step A1), and thereafter, Then, it is determined whether or not the user has permitted the operation of storing the number of times of use for each function (step A2). Such a storage permission instruction displays, for example, a dialog box on the display device 6 asking the user to confirm whether or not to store the number of times of use by function, and based on the display, the operation switch group 7 or This is performed by operating the remote controller 11. If the storage operation of the number of times of use by function is not permitted, “NO” is determined in the step A2, and the process is ended as it is. If the operation of storing the number of times of use by function is once permitted by the user, the dialog box is not displayed while the use of the car navigation device 1 continues thereafter.

On the other hand, when the storage operation of the number of times of use for each function is permitted, “YE
S ", for example, it is determined whether or not the user is permitted to take in the function-specific use count data stored in the data storage area set in the external memory 5 until the previous operation (step A3). Such a permission instruction for capturing function-specific use count data may also be given, for example, by a dialog box asking the user to confirm on the display device 6 whether to capture function-specific use count data up to the previous operation. Is displayed, and the operation is performed by operating the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11 based on the display. If the capture is not permitted, “NO” is determined in step A3, and until the user uses the support function set in the car navigation device 1, or until the user finishes using the car navigation device 1. Loop to wait (step A
7, A9) are formed. If the user once permits the use of the function-specific use count data up to the previous operation, the dialog box is not displayed while the use of the car navigation device 1 is continued thereafter.

If the use count data for each function up to the previous operation is permitted, "YES" is determined in step A3, and it is determined whether or not the start flag is "1" (step A4). Here, if step A4 is executed for the first time after the start of use of the car navigation device 1, the start flag is set to "1", so that "YES" is determined in step A4. In this case, the data of the number of times of use for each function up to the previous operation is fetched from the data storage area of the external memory 5 and stored in the work area set in the RAM of the control circuit 2 (step A5). After executing step A6 of resetting the start flag to "0" later, the process proceeds to a standby loop (steps A7 and A9). or,
If “NO” is determined in step A4, that is, if the usage count data for each function has been captured after the start of use of the car navigation device 1,
Steps A5 and A6 are jumped to the standby loop (steps A7 and A9).

In the state where the standby loop of steps A7 and A9 is formed, the user executes the support function set in the car navigation device 1 ("YE" in step A7).
S)), the number of times of use corresponding to the name data of the used support function among the number of times of use for each function stored in the work area in the RAM is incremented by “1” (step A8). Thereafter, the flow shifts to step A9.
Therefore, every time the support function is activated, the number of times is updated and stored as function-specific use count data (data in which support function name data and use counts are associated with each other) in a state of being classified for each support function. .

If the user has finished using the car navigation system 1 in a state where the standby loop of steps A7 and A9 has been formed ("YES" in step A9),
The function usage count data stored in the work area in the RAM is transferred to and stored in the external memory 5 (step A1).
0), after which the data storage routine ends. Note that R
Configuration that can always back up AM power supply,
In other words, when the configuration is such that the storage contents of the work area of the RAM can be securely held, there is no need to provide a system for storing the usage count data for each function in the external memory 5.
Further, although not shown in FIG. 2, the usage count data for each function stored in the external memory 5 is stored in the operation switch group 7.
Alternatively, it can be initialized by performing a predetermined operation through the remote controller 11.

Next, the use frequency data for each function is displayed on the display device 6.
Will be described with reference to FIG. The data display routine shown in FIG. 3 is executed, for example, when the user performs a data display operation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11. First, an operation of displaying the usage frequency data for each function stored in the work area in the RAM of the control circuit 2 as a list screen on the display device 6 (information notification of the execution frequency for each function referred to in the present invention to at least the notification means). (Corresponding to the operation to perform) (step B1).
As a display form of the list screen, for example, a list of the number of use times by function, by support function name indicated by the name data included therein, and a state in which records corresponding to the number of use times corresponding thereto are simply listed. There is a possible configuration. Further, the records may be arranged in a state where the records are sorted in the order of the number of uses or in the reverse order.

After execution of step B1, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a "function explanation operation" (step B).
2). Such “function explanation operation” is performed by, for example, performing a designation operation and a function explanation request operation for one of the support function names displayed on the display device 6 through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11. Is achieved. When the “function explanation operation” is performed (“YES” in step B2), a description of the contents of the support function designated by the operation is displayed on the display device 6 (step B2).
3) Then, the process proceeds to step B4. If the "function explanation operation" has not been performed, step B3 is jumped to step B4. Note that the content description of the support function may be output in a state recognizable by the user side. Therefore, the description is not limited to the display by the display device 6 but is output by a voice guide through the voice output device 8. Is also good.

In step B4, it is determined whether or not the user has performed an "operation method explanation operation". Such an “operation method explanation operation” is realized by, for example, performing a designation operation of a support function name displayed on the display device 6 and an operation method explanation request operation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11. Then, “Operation method explanation operation”
Is performed ("YES" in step B4), an operation method description of the support function designated by the operation is displayed on the display device 6 (step B5), and thereafter, the process proceeds to step B6. If the “operation method explanation operation” is not performed, step B5 is jumped to step B6. It is sufficient that the description of the operation method of the support function is output in a state that can be recognized by the user.
May be output by a voice guide through the Internet.

In step B6, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a display end operation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11. If the display end operation has not been performed, the process returns to step B1. When the display end operation is performed, the data display routine ends.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following operations and effects can be obtained. The control circuit 2 of the car navigation device 1 determines which of the plurality of types of support functions has been set in a state where a storage permission instruction has been given by an operation on the user side (a state in which the user has permitted the operation of storing the number of times of use by function). Each time a call is executed,
That is, the number of times of use is stored as the number of times of use of each function in a state of being classified for each support function. In addition, the control circuit 2 uses the function-by-function use count data stored in this manner,
When the user performs a data display operation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11, the data is displayed on the display device 6 as a list screen. Therefore, on the user side, based on such display contents, it is possible to reliably grasp the presence / absence of a support function that has not been executed by the user or the presence of a support function whose execution frequency is low. As a result, the existence of a plurality of types of support functions can be effectively known to the user, and effective utilization of the support functions can be promoted.

Further, from the state in which the number-of-uses data for each function is displayed on the display device 6 as a list screen as described above, the user specifies the support function name displayed on the list screen and requests the function explanation. Is performed through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11, the content description of the support function is displayed on the display device 6 in a state recognizable by the user. It will be very useful to inform
It is convenient on the user side. Also, in this case, when the user performs an operation of designating the support function name displayed on the display device 6 and requesting an operation method explanation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11, the operation method of the support function is changed by the user. Will be displayed in a state that can be recognized by the user.

Therefore, the user can easily grasp the contents and operation method of the support function selected by the user based on the contents displayed on the display device 6 on the screen, and perform the operation of selecting the support function to be displayed. Can be performed accurately and easily based on the list screen displayed on the display device 6, and the usability as the car navigation device 1 is improved. Further, when the content description and the operation method description of the support function are configured to be performed by voice guidance through the voice output device 8, the user can determine the content and the operation method of the function related to the information selected by the user, for example, by another method. The burden is reduced, such as being able to grasp while performing the work.

The usage count data for each function is displayed in a list in a state where it is listed by support function name indicated by the name data included in the data, so that the user can grasp at a glance the execution count for each function. Become like

Further, the operation of storing the data on the number of times of use for each function is performed only when the storage permission instruction is given by the user's operation. Perform storage operation. In this case, it is possible to ignore a support function used by another person, for example, by lending the car navigation device 1. Therefore, it is possible to narrow down the storage target of the function-specific use count data to only the original support functions used by the original user, and as a result, the reliability of the function-specific use count data for the original user is improved. .

The function-specific use count data stored in the external memory 5 can be initialized according to an external operation through the operation switch group 7 or the remote controller 11. Navigation device 1
If the owner of the new owner is changed, the function-specific use count data of the new owner can be correctly stored, which is practically convenient.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications or extensions are possible.
The control circuit 2 may be provided with a control function of starting the operation of storing the function-specific use count data only after a predetermined period has elapsed from the start of use of the car navigation device 1. In the case of such a configuration, for example, at the start of use of the car navigation device 1,
Even if the user operates various support functions by trial and error in order to learn how to use the function, the usage count data for each function is not incremented irrespective of the original purpose during that period, and as a result the function The reliability of the separate use count data is improved.

Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration which can cope with the owner change by adding a function that allows the user to arbitrarily edit the usage frequency data by function stored in the external memory 5. Each time the use of the car navigation device 1 is started, either an operation of permitting input or a non-permitting input of the storage operation is performed, but the input operation is compared with, for example, one week or one month. It may be performed in a long cycle. Furthermore,
It is good also as a structure which can store the use frequency data according to function with respect to several users in the state arranged individually. In addition, the example in which the number of times each support function is used is displayed on the display device 6 and the example in which the number of times each support function is output by the voice guide through the voice output device 8 has been described. The configuration may be such that the calculation is performed and the calculation result is displayed or output as audio. The example in which both the contents of the support function and the operation method are displayed on the display device 6 and the example in which the audio is output through the audio output device 8 have been described. The present invention can be applied not only to a navigation device for a vehicle but also to a navigation device of a type carried by an individual.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall electrical configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of control by a control circuit;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents by a control circuit, part 2

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a car navigation device, 2 is a control circuit (control means, initialization means), 3 is a position detector, 4 is a map data input device, 5 is an external memory (storage means), and 6 is a display device (notification means, display). Means, 7 are operation switches (selection means,
Instruction means), 8 is an audio output device (audio output means), 11
Denotes a remote control (selection means, instruction means), and 12 denotes a remote control sensor.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB08 HB22 HB23 HB24 HC08 HC15 HC23 HC31 HD03 HD16 HD30 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC02 AC04 AC13 AC14 AC18 AC20 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 BB12 BB13 FF18 FF13 FF14FF 05FFFFFF FF33

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device capable of executing various functions such as route guidance, information notification, facility search, display map change, etc., wherein, among the various functions, the executed frequency of the executed functions is divided for each function. A navigation device comprising: storage means for storing; notification means for notifying information; and control means for causing the notification means to notify at least the execution frequency for each function stored in the storage means. 2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit configured to select the information notified by the notification unit, wherein the control unit determines the content and / or operation method of the function related to the information selected by the selection unit. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is notified. 3. The notifying unit is configured as a display unit having a screen. The control unit lists at least the function-specific execution frequencies stored in the storage unit by function and displays the execution frequency on the display unit. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the navigation device is displayed in a list. 4. A display device comprising: a selection unit capable of selecting information related to one function from information displayed in a list on the display unit; and the control unit controls contents and / or operation related to the one function selected by the selection unit. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the navigation device outputs a method. 5. The navigation device according to claim 4, wherein the content and / or operation method relating to the one function is output to the display unit as display information. 6. The navigation device according to claim 4, further comprising a voice output unit, wherein the content and / or operation method relating to the one function is output to the voice output unit as voice information. 7. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs an operation of storing the execution frequency for each function in the storage unit after a lapse of a predetermined time after turning on the power to the navigation device. 8. An instructing unit for instructing storage permission of the execution frequency for each function, and in response to a storage permission instruction from the instruction unit, the control unit performs an operation of storing the execution frequency for each function in the storage unit. The navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which performs the navigation. 9. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising initialization means for initializing information on the execution frequency for each function stored in said storage means.