JP2011203051A - Device and method for guide facility and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facility guide device, a facility guide method and a computer program for reducing workload of a user for requesting a guide based on facility information for quick guide and improving convenience.SOLUTION: A request genre, which is a genre of a facility a user requests to guide, is selected based on button operation by the user or sound recognition (S11). Whether the selected request genre is set in a shortcut genre is determined (S12). If the request genre is set in the shortcut genre, the nearest facility to the current vehicle position is searched among facilities corresponding to the request genre without allowing the user to select a genre in a lower hierarchy (that is, a lower genre) (S13). The searched nearest facility is set as a destination (S14). A route to the nearest facility is guided based on the set guide route (S15). Such a constitution is provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a facility guidance apparatus, a facility guidance method, and a computer program for guiding a facility located on a map.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device is often mounted on a vehicle that provides vehicle travel guidance so that a driver can easily arrive at a desired destination. Here, the navigation device detects the current position of the vehicle by a GPS receiver or the like, acquires map data corresponding to the current position through a recording medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD or a network, and displays it on a liquid crystal monitor. It is a device that can do. Furthermore, in such a navigation apparatus, facility information relating to facilities in the vicinity of the current position of the host vehicle is also guided. Then, the user sets a destination and a waypoint based on the guided facility information.

  Here, when guiding facility information related to the facility, a facility that matches the user's desired condition is searched based on the current position information of the vehicle and the user's desired condition, and the facility that meets the condition is guided. It is common. Furthermore, as the user's desired conditions, the genre of the facility (for example, Japanese food, gas station, convenience store, etc.) is designated. Moreover, the genre of the facility is hierarchized into a plurality of layers. For example, when the upper genre, the middle genre, and the lower genre have three layers, the middle genre is divided into a plurality of upper genres. The lower genre is divided into a plurality of middle genres. When the genre of the facility that the user wants to guide is specified, the genre is first specified from the higher genres, and then the genre is specified from the middle genres belonging to the specified higher genre. Furthermore, the genre is specified from the lower genres belonging to the specified middle genre. Then, a facility corresponding to the finally selected lower genre is searched, and the searched facility is guided and set as a waypoint of the guide route to the destination. Conventionally, proposals for simplifying the user's genre selection operation when performing facility searches have also been made. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-47192 includes a new facility search means called a peripheral facility search in addition to a normal facility search, and when the peripheral facility search is executed, the user specifies in advance on the genre selection screen. It describes a technique for searching for a facility corresponding to a genre that has been placed and guiding a list of the searched facilities.

JP 2006-47192 A (pages 3 to 5)

  However, although the technique described in Patent Document 1 can simplify the user's genre selection operation when performing a facility search, it corresponds to the genre that the user has specified in advance on the genre selection screen. A list of all facilities is displayed. Therefore, the user needs to select a facility from among the many facilities that have been guided to obtain detailed information or perform an operation of setting the destination.

  Further, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, a genre that has not been designated in advance on the genre selection screen by the user in the peripheral facility search cannot be searched. That is, when searching for a genre that is not designated in advance on the genre selection screen by the user, it is necessary to separately search for facilities by facility searching means other than the peripheral facility search.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems. When the genre of the facility requested by the user is a preset genre, an operation for selecting a lower genre is imposed. Since the guidance is based on the facility information about the facility of the genre closest to the current position, the burden on the user for requesting the guidance based on the facility information is reduced, and the facility for which the user requested the guidance Even if the genre is a genre other than the preset shortcut genre, it is possible to provide guidance based on the facility information related to the facility desired by the user, so that appropriate guidance processing for the user is quickly performed. Providing facility guidance device, facility guidance method and computer program with improved convenience For the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the facility guidance device (1) according to claim 1 of the present application includes facility information acquisition means (13) for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by a genre layered in a plurality of layers, When a shortcut genre setting means (13) for setting a shortcut genre among the genres of facilities and a user request for guidance based on the facility information are received, the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance is set as the requested genre. When the genre acquisition means (13) to be acquired, the genre determination means (13) for determining whether or not the requested genre is the shortcut genre, and the genre determination means determine that the requested genre is the shortcut genre Among the facilities categorized in the requested genre, Guidance is performed based on the facility information about the facility, and when the requested genre is determined not to be the shortcut genre by the genre determining unit, the genre of the facility from which the user requests guidance is subordinate to the requested genre. And facility guidance means (13) for guiding the user to select a genre.
“Guiding based on facility information” includes guiding information about a facility such as a facility name and guiding traveling to the facility.

  Further, the facility guidance device (1) according to claim 2 is a request for storing a user request history when receiving a user request for guidance based on the facility information in the facility guidance device according to claim 1. The shortcut genre setting unit (13) has a history storage unit (13), and sets the shortcut genre from the genres of the facility based on the user request history stored by the request history storage unit. It is characterized by that.

  Further, the facility guidance device (1) according to claim 3 is the facility guidance device according to claim 2, wherein the shortcut genre setting means (13) includes a plurality of genres belonging to the same higher rank within a predetermined period in the past. For the lower genres of types, the ratio of the user requesting guidance based on the facility information is calculated for each genre, and when the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio, the higher genre is selected. The shortcut genre is set.

  Further, the facility guidance device (1) according to claim 4 is the facility guidance device according to claim 3, wherein the guidance based on the facility information of the lower genre includes all lower genres belonging to the same upper genre. It includes a guide based on the facility information.

  A facility guidance device (1) according to claim 5 is the facility guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein destination setting means (13) for setting a destination of the vehicle; Guidance route setting means (13) for setting a guidance route to the destination, and the facility guidance means (13), when the guidance route is set by the guidance route setting means, Even if it is determined that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre by the genre determining means (13), the facility information relating to the facility closest to the current position of the vehicle among the facilities classified into the requested genre The guidance is based on the above.

  The facility guidance method according to claim 6 includes a facility information acquisition step of acquiring facility information related to a facility classified by a plurality of hierarchies, and a shortcut for setting a shortcut genre from the genres of the facility A genre setting step; a genre acquisition step in which a genre of a facility for which the user requests guidance is received as a requested genre when a user request for guidance based on the facility information is received; and whether the requested genre is the shortcut genre If the requested genre is determined to be the shortcut genre by the genre determining step for determining whether or not the genre determining step, the facility closest to the current position among the facilities classified into the requested genre Guidance based on the facility information In addition, if the genre determination step determines that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre, the facility that guides the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre as the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance And a guiding step.

  Furthermore, a computer program according to claim 7 is installed in a computer and has a facility information acquisition function for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by genres hierarchized into a plurality of layers, and a shortcut genre from among the genres of the facilities When the user's request related to the guidance based on the facility information and the shortcut genre setting function for setting the information and storing it in the storage medium (12) is received, the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance is acquired as the requested genre. A genre acquisition function, a genre determination function for determining whether or not the requested genre is the shortcut genre stored in the storage medium, and when the requested genre is determined to be the shortcut genre by the genre determination function Are facilities classified into the required genres The guidance is based on the facility information regarding the facility closest to the current position, and when the requested genre is determined not to be the shortcut genre by the genre determination function, the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance And a facility guidance function for guiding the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre.

  According to the facility guidance device according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, when the genre of the facility for which the user requested guidance is a preset shortcut genre, the task of selecting a lower genre is not imposed. Thus, guidance can be provided based on facility information relating to a facility of the corresponding genre that is closest to the current position, and the genre selection operation by the user can be simplified. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience. Further, even if the genre of the facility for which the user has requested guidance is a genre other than the preset shortcut genre, guidance based on facility information regarding the facility desired by the user can be provided.

  Further, according to the facility guidance device according to claim 2, since the shortcut genre is set based on the user's request history related to the guidance based on the facility information, the genre in which the user is not particular about the lower genre is appropriately identified. Then, the genre can be set as a shortcut genre.

  In addition, according to the facility guidance device of the third aspect, the user can appropriately identify a higher genre that is not particular about the lower genre, and set the higher genre as a shortcut genre.

  Further, according to the facility guidance device of the fourth aspect, the user can appropriately identify a higher genre that is not particular about the lower genre, and set the higher genre as a shortcut genre.

  Further, according to the facility guidance device according to claim 5, when the guidance route to the destination is set, the arrival at the destination is given priority, so that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre. However, it is presumed that the user is not particular about the genre subordinate to the requested genre, and the genre selection work can be simplified as in the case of the shortcut genre. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience.

  According to the facility guidance method described in claim 6, when the genre of the facility for which the user requested guidance is a preset shortcut genre, the current task is not imposed without selecting a lower genre. Guidance can be provided based on the facility information regarding the facility of the corresponding genre closest to the position. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience.

  Furthermore, according to the computer program of claim 7, when the genre of the facility requested by the user for the guidance is a preset shortcut genre, the current position is not imposed without imposing work for selecting a lower genre. Can be guided based on the facility information regarding the facility of the genre that is closest to. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience. Further, even when the genre of the facility requested by the user is a genre other than the preset shortcut genre, it is possible to guide based on the facility information regarding the facility desired by the user.

It is the block diagram which showed the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the list of the genres of facilities. It is the figure which showed an example of the facility data memorize | stored in map information DB. It is the figure which showed an example of the storage area of genre request | requirement history DB. It is the figure which showed an example of shortcut genre setting data. It is a flowchart of a shortcut genre setting processing program according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart of the facility guidance processing program according to the present embodiment. It is the figure which showed the genre selection screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed an example of the nearest facility guidance screen displayed on a liquid crystal display in step 15. FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of the lower genre selection screen displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is the figure which showed an example of the facility guidance screen displayed on a liquid crystal display in step.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, a facility guidance apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment in which the navigation apparatus is embodied. First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a current position detection unit 11 that detects a current position of a vehicle on which the navigation device 1 is mounted, a data recording unit 12 that records various data, A navigation ECU 13 that performs various arithmetic processes based on the input information, an operation unit 14 that receives operations from the user, and a liquid crystal display 15 that displays a map around the vehicle and facility information related to the facility to the user. A speaker 16 that outputs voice guidance related to route guidance, a DVD drive 17 that reads a DVD that is a storage medium storing a program, and a communication module 18 that communicates with an information center such as a probe center or a VICS center; It is composed of

Below, each component which comprises the navigation apparatus 1 is demonstrated in order.
The current position detection unit 11 includes a GPS 21, a vehicle speed sensor 22, a steering sensor 23, a gyro sensor 24, and the like, and can detect the current vehicle position, direction, vehicle traveling speed, current time, and the like. . Here, in particular, the vehicle speed sensor 22 is a sensor for detecting a moving distance and a vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the driving wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation ECU 13. And navigation ECU13 calculates the rotational speed and moving distance of a driving wheel by counting the generated pulse. Note that the navigation device 1 does not have to include all of the above five types of sensors, and the navigation device 1 may include only one or more of these types of sensors.

  In addition, the data recording unit 12 reads an external storage device and a hard disk (not shown) as a recording medium, a map information DB 31, a genre request history DB 32, a shortcut genre setting data 33, a predetermined program, and the like recorded on the hard disk. A recording head (not shown) as a driver for writing predetermined data to the hard disk is also provided.

  Here, the map information DB 31 includes, for example, link data 34 relating to roads (links), node data 35 relating to node points, facility data 36 relating to facilities, map display data for displaying maps, intersection data relating to each intersection, and routes. It is a storage means in which search data for searching, search data for searching for points, and the like are stored.

Further, as the facility data 36, information related to a facility that is a departure point, a destination, a guidance target, and the like in the navigation device 1 is stored. For example, accommodation facilities such as hotels and inns, refueling facilities such as gas stations, commercial facilities such as shopping malls, supermarkets, shopping centers, entertainment facilities such as theme parks and game centers, dining facilities such as restaurants, bars and taverns, and public facilities Information on parking facilities such as parking lots, transportation facilities, religious facilities such as temples and churches, public facilities such as museums and museums, and the like.
The facility data 36 includes, for each facility, a facility number that is an identifier of the facility, a facility name that indicates the name of the facility, and a facility genre that indicates the genre of the facility (such as “parking lot”, “post office”, and “restaurant”). It is composed of position coordinates indicating the position of the facility.

The facility genres are hierarchized into a plurality of layers. Specifically, there are an upper genre, an intermediate genre, and a lower genre, and the intermediate genre is divided into a plurality of upper genres. The lower genre is divided into a plurality of middle genres. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a list of upper genres, middle genres, and lower genres defined as facility types in the present embodiment.
Here, the higher genre is a higher concept genre, for example, “meal”, “store”, “car”, “accommodation”, “play”, “public”, “transport”, “culture”, “other”. Etc. On the other hand, the middle genre is a genre in the lower concept of the upper genre. For example, as the middle genre of “meal”, “restaurant”, “family restaurant”, “fast food”, “udon / soba”, etc. There is. In addition, the “general store” category includes “convenience store”, “super discount store”, “department store”, “home center”, and the like. In addition, the lower genre is a genre that is in a lower concept than the middle genre. For example, the lower genres of “fast food” include “all fast food”, “hamburger”, “gyudon”, and the like. As subordinate genres of “convenience store”, there are “all convenience stores”, “convenience store chain”, “convenience store Δ chain”, and the like. Note that “all fast food” is a genre corresponding to all lower genres belonging to “fast food”. Further, “all convenience stores” is a genre corresponding to all lower genres belonging to “convenience store”.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the facility data 36.
For example, in the example of the facility data 36 shown in FIG. 3, a convenience store A store (genre: store / convenience store / convenience store chain) corresponding to the facility number: “10001” is installed at the point of coordinates (x1, y1). It has been shown. Further, it is shown that a parking lot (genre: car / parking lot / coin parking) corresponding to the facility number: “10002” is installed at the point of coordinates (x2, y2). Similarly, information on other facilities is also stored.

  When the navigation device 1 performs the facility search process, the facility device 36 searches the facility corresponding to the genre selected by the user using the facility data 36, and stores the facility information related to the facility that meets the search condition in the map information DB 31. Get from. Then, by displaying a landmark for the corresponding position of the map image displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, or by displaying a list of facility names, distances from the current position, required time, etc. that meet the search conditions. Information on facilities is guided to the user. In addition, when the user performs an operation to set the facility to which the user is guided as a destination or waypoint, a guidance route in which the facility is set as the destination or waypoint is set.

When performing facility search processing, the user basically selects a higher-level genre that the user wants to guide as a search condition, and then requests guidance from among the middle-level genres belonging to the selected higher-level genre. A middle genre is selected, and a lower genre desired to be guided is selected from the lower genres belonging to the selected middle genre. Then, the navigation ECU 13 searches for facilities that fall within the search range (for example, within Japan) and finally fall under the selected lower genre, and information about the searched facilities (facility name, distance from the current position, required Time).
However, in the present embodiment, when a middle genre set as a shortcut genre is selected by the user as described later, the user is not allowed to select a genre of a lower hierarchy (that is, a lower genre). The navigation ECU 13 searches for the facility closest to the current position of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the nearest facility) among the facilities corresponding to the middle genre selected by the user, and sets the searched nearest facility as the destination. Based on the set guidance route, the vehicle travels to the nearest facility. That is, the shortcut genre is a genre for shortcutting the user's genre selection work when performing the facility search process.

Further, the genre request history DB 32 is a user request history when a user request related to guidance based on facility information has been received in the past (that is, a history of a genre selected by the user as a search condition in a past facility search process). Is a DB that accumulates and stores. Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the storage area of the genre request history DB 32.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the genre request history DB 32, the date and time when the user request for guidance based on the facility information is received (that is, the date and time when the facility search process was performed) and the genre of the facility for which the user requested guidance. (That is, the genre selected by the user as a search condition in the facility search process) is stored in association with each other. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, when the user performs a facility search at 11:14 on March 3, 2010, the genre is selected in the order of “Store” → “Convenience store” → “Convenience store chain”. As a search condition, it indicates that the guide based on the facility information of the facility corresponding to the “convenience store XX chain” is requested. Similarly, the past user request history is also stored.
And navigation ECU13 sets a shortcut genre as mentioned later based on a user's demand history memorized by genre demand history DB32.

Further, the shortcut genre setting data 33 is data for specifying a high-order genre or a middle-level genre set as the shortcut genre. Here, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the shortcut genre setting data 33.
As shown in FIG. 5, the shortcut genre setting data 33 stores a genre and a shortcut genre setting flag for identifying whether or not the genre is a shortcut genre. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, “Family Restaurant” and “Convenience Store” are set as shortcut genres, and “Fast Food” and “Super Discount Store” are not set as shortcut genres. The navigation ECU 13 switches the shortcut genre setting flag as will be described later based on the user request history stored in the genre request history DB 32 and the user setting operation.
Then, the navigation ECU 13 performs facility search and guidance based on the setting of the shortcut genre stored in the shortcut genre setting data 33 as described later.

  On the other hand, when the destination is selected, the navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 13 guides the route from the departure point (current position or home) to the destination based on the link data stored in the map information DB 31. Guide route setting processing, facility information acquisition processing for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by genres layered in a plurality of layers, shortcut genre setting processing for setting shortcut genres from facility genres, facility information Genre acquisition processing for acquiring the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance as a requested genre, genre determination processing for determining whether or not the requested genre is a shortcut genre, and the requested genre Is a shortcut genre If the requested genre is determined not to be a shortcut genre, the user is guided based on the facility information regarding the facility closest to the current position among the facilities classified into the requested genre. This is an electronic control unit that performs overall control of the navigation apparatus 1 such as facility guidance processing that guides the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre as the genre of the facility that requests guidance. The CPU 41 as an arithmetic device and a control device, the RAM 41 used as a working memory when the CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes, a RAM 42 for storing route data when a route is searched, and a control program In addition, an internal storage device such as a ROM 43 in which a shortcut genre setting processing program (FIG. 6) and a facility guidance processing program (FIG. 7) are recorded, and a flash memory 44 that stores a program read from the ROM 43 is provided.

  The operation unit 14 is operated when inputting a departure point as a travel start point and a destination as a travel end point, and includes a plurality of operation switches (not shown) such as various keys and buttons. Then, the navigation ECU 13 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on switch signals output by pressing the switches. It is also used when the user selects a genre for which guidance is desired when performing a facility search. The operation unit 14 can also be configured by a touch panel provided on the front surface of the liquid crystal display 15. Moreover, it can also be comprised with a microphone and a speech recognition apparatus.

  The liquid crystal display 15 also includes a map image including a road, traffic information, operation guidance, operation menu, key guidance, a planned travel route from the departure point to the destination, guidance information along the planned travel route, news, weather Forecast, time, mail, TV program, etc. are displayed. Moreover, it is used also when displaying the information regarding the searched facility when a facility search is performed.

  Further, the speaker 16 outputs voice guidance for guiding traveling along the planned traveling route and traffic information guidance based on an instruction from the navigation ECU 13. It is also used when outputting information related to the found facility when the facility search is performed.

  The DVD drive 17 is a drive that can read data recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD. Then, the map information DB 31 is updated based on the read data.

  In addition, the communication module 18 is traffic information composed of information such as traffic jam information, regulation information, and traffic accident information transmitted from a traffic information center such as a VICS (registered trademark: Vehicle Information and Communication System) center or a probe center. For example, a mobile phone or DCM.

  Next, a shortcut genre setting processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the shortcut genre setting processing program according to the present embodiment. Here, the shortcut genre setting process program is a program that is executed after the vehicle ACC is turned on, and sets a shortcut genre for shortcutting the user's genre selection work when performing facility search processing. 6 and 7 are stored in the RAM 42 and the ROM 43 provided in the navigation device 1 and executed by the CPU 41.

  First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1 in the shortcut genre setting processing program, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the user has permitted to change the setting of the shortcut genre. Specifically, a guidance message “Are you sure you want to change the shortcut genre setting?” Is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, and the user performs an operation of selecting permission by the operation unit 14. It is determined that the user has permitted to change the shortcut genre setting.

  If it is determined that the user has permitted to change the shortcut genre setting (S1: YES), the process proceeds to S2. On the other hand, when it is determined that the user is not permitted to change the shortcut genre setting (S1: NO), the shortcut genre setting processing program is terminated.

  In S <b> 2, the CPU 41 reads a user request history when a user request related to guidance based on facility information has been received in the past from the genre request history DB 32 (FIG. 4).

  Subsequently, in S3, the CPU 41 determines whether the shortcut genre setting condition or cancellation condition is satisfied based on the user request history read in S2.

The shortcut genre setting conditions are as follows.
(1) Multiple types of lower genres belonging to the same middle genre within a predetermined period in the past (for example, within one week) (“all convenience stores” and “family restaurants” corresponding to all lower genres belonging to the middle genre) ”, Etc.) for each genre, the ratio of the guidance requested by the user is calculated. When the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 40% or less), Presumes that there is no particular attention to the lower genre, and determines that the middle genre satisfies the conditions of the shortcut genre.

The shortcut genre cancellation condition is as follows.
(2) For the same sub-genre (not including “all convenience stores”, “all family restaurants”, etc. corresponding to all sub-genres belonging to the middle-level genre) within the past predetermined period (for example, within one week), For each genre, the ratio for which guidance is requested by the user is calculated, and when the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio (for example, 50% or more), the user is particular about the lower genre. It is determined that the intermediate genre to which the lower genre belongs satisfies the shortcut genre release condition.

  When it is determined in S3 that the shortcut genre setting condition or cancellation condition is satisfied (S3: YES), the process proceeds to S4. On the other hand, if it is determined that neither the shortcut genre setting condition or the cancellation condition is satisfied (S3: NO), the shortcut genre setting process program is terminated.

  In S4, the CPU 41 changes the shortcut genre setting. Specifically, if it is determined in S3 that the shortcut genre setting condition is satisfied, the shortcut genre setting data 33 (FIG. 5) is read, and the shortcut genre setting flag associated with the corresponding genre is turned ON. On the other hand, when it is determined that the shortcut genre release condition is satisfied, the shortcut genre setting data 33 (FIG. 5) is read, and the shortcut genre setting flag associated with the corresponding genre is turned OFF. Thereafter, the shortcut genre setting processing program is terminated.

  Next, a facility guidance processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the facility guidance processing program according to this embodiment. Here, the facility guidance processing program is a program that is executed after the ACC of the vehicle is turned on, searches for facilities corresponding to the genre desired by the user, and performs guidance based on the retrieved facilities.

  First, in S11, in the facility guidance processing program, the CPU 41 determines a middle genre (hereinafter referred to as a requested genre) of facilities requested by the user (that is, selected as a search condition) when performing facility search processing. select. The selection of the requested genre in S11 is performed by displaying a genre selection screen on the liquid crystal display 15, causing the user to select a genre on the displayed genre selection screen, and selecting the genre selected by the user as the requested genre. . Alternatively, the genre name is uttered by the user according to the voice guide, and the uttered genre name is recognized by the voice recognition device, and the CPU 41 selects the genre of the recognized genre name as the requested genre. Note that when the user selects a genre using the genre selection screen, basically the upper genre is selected in the order of the middle genre. However, when the user selects a genre by voice input, the middle genre is selected. Direct selection is also possible.

Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the genre selection screen 51 displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. As shown in FIG. 8, the genre selection screen 51 displays a list 52 of genres that can be selected by the user. In particular, FIG. 8 shows a genre selection screen 51 that is displayed after the upper genre is selected as “meal”, and the genre list 52 displays a list of intermediate genres belonging to “meal”.
When the genre name displayed in the genre list 52 is selected by the user, the CPU 41 selects the genre of the selected genre name in the facility for which the user requested guidance (that is, selected as a search condition). Select as the place genre (request genre).
Also, on the left side of the genre list 52, a genre name 53 of a higher genre corresponding to the currently displayed middle genre is displayed.
Further, various scroll buttons 54 are arranged on the left side of the genre name 53 of the upper genre. When the user operates the scroll button 54, the CPU 41 changes the genre name displayed in the genre list 52 to another genre name according to the operation content.
Further, an upper genre selection button 55 is arranged on the right side of the genre list. When one of the upper genre selection buttons 55 is selected by the user, the CPU 41 corresponds to the selected upper genre selection button 55 (for example, “car” when a car button is operated). In the display target area 52, the medium-level genres that are classified into two are displayed.
In the genre selection screen, the user can select not only one type of genre but also a plurality of types of genres at the same time.

  Next, in S12, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the requested genre selected in S11 is set as a shortcut genre. Specifically, with reference to the shortcut genre setting data 33 (FIG. 5), it is determined whether the shortcut genre setting flag corresponding to the corresponding genre is ON.

  If it is determined that the requested genre is set as the shortcut genre (S12: YES), it is estimated that the user is not particular about the lower genre of the requested genre, and the process proceeds to S13. On the other hand, if it is determined that the requested genre is not set as the shortcut genre (S12: NO), it is estimated that the user is particular about the lower genre of the requested genre, and the process proceeds to S16.

In S13, the CPU 41 executes a facility search process on the condition that the facility is of a genre corresponding to the requested genre selected in S11 and is closest to the current position of the vehicle. Specifically, first, the facility data 36 (see FIG. 3) is read from the map information DB 31, and the facility data of the facility associated with the requested genre and the same genre are extracted. Next, by comparing the position coordinates of each extracted facility data with the current position of the vehicle, the facility data of the nearest facility associated with the position coordinates closest to the current position of the vehicle is further extracted to meet the search condition. Extract as facility data.
As a result of the search process, the facility data of the facility determined to meet the search condition is stored in the RAM 42 or the like.

  Next, in S14, the CPU 41 sets the facility searched in S13 as a destination. Further, a guide route to the facility set as the destination is searched and a guide route is set. A known Dijkstra method is used for searching for a guidance route.

  Next, in S15, the CPU 41 provides guidance for traveling to the facility based on the guidance route to the facility set as the destination in S14.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the nearest facility guidance screen 61 displayed on the liquid crystal display 15 in S15. As shown in FIG. 9, the nearest facility guide screen 61 is a facility of a genre corresponding to the requested genre selected in S11 (convenience store in the example shown in FIG. 9) and closest to the current position of the vehicle. Guide that is set as the destination. In addition, by displaying a guide route to the nearest facility set as the destination, traveling guidance to the nearest facility is performed.

  On the other hand, in S16, the CPU 41 determines whether or not a destination is set in the navigation device 1 and a guidance route to the destination is set.

  If it is determined that the guidance route to the destination is set in the navigation device 1 (S16: YES), the arrival at the destination is given priority, so the requested genre is not a shortcut genre. However, for this search, it is presumed that the user is not particular about the lower genre of the requested genre, and the process proceeds to S13. Then, as described above, the nearest facility is set as the destination (S13 to S15). On the other hand, when it is determined in the navigation device 1 that the guide route to the destination is not set (S16: NO), the process proceeds to S17.

  In S17, the CPU 41 guides the user to select a genre (ie, a lower genre) at a level below the requested genre selected in S11. Further, in S18, the CPU 41 selects a lower genre of the requested genre that the user wants to guide based on the user's selection made in accordance with the guidance in S17. Specifically, the lower genre selection screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display 15, the user is made to select the lower genre on the displayed lower genre selection screen, and the user selects the genre selected as the lower genre of the requested genre. . Alternatively, voice guidance that prompts the user to utter a lower genre (for example, voice guidance “Where is a convenience store? When a convenience store is selected as the requested genre) is output from the speaker 16. Then, according to the voice guidance, the user utters the genre name of the lower genre, recognizes the uttered genre name by the voice recognition device, and the CPU 41 selects the genre of the recognized genre name as the lower genre of the requested genre.

Here, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the lower genre selection screen 62 displayed on the liquid crystal display 15. As shown in FIG. 10, the lower genre selection screen 62 displays a list 63 of lower genres that can be selected by the user. In particular, FIG. 10 shows a lower genre selection screen 62 displayed after the requested genre is selected as “family restaurant”, and the genre list 63 displays a list of lower genres belonging to “family restaurant”.
When the genre name displayed in the genre list 63 is selected by the user, the CPU 41 selects the genre of the selected genre name as a lower genre of the requested genre requested by the user for guidance.

Thereafter, in S19, the CPU 41 executes a facility search process for a genre corresponding to the lower genre selected in S18. Specifically, first, the facility data 36 (see FIG. 3) is read from the map information DB 31, and the facility data of the facility associated with the same genre as the lower genre selected in S19 is extracted.
As a result of the search process, the facility data of the facility determined to meet the search condition is stored in the RAM 42 or the like.

  Next, in S20, the CPU 41 displays a list of facility information related to the facility searched in S19 on the liquid crystal display 15. When an operation for setting a destination is performed from the displayed facility information list, a guide route to the facility set as the destination is searched and a guide route is set.

  Here, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the facility guidance screen 71 displayed on the liquid crystal display 15 in S20. As shown in FIG. 11, in the facility guidance screen 71, information on facilities of a genre corresponding to the lower genre selected in S18 (in the example shown in FIG. 11, the family restaurant XX chain) is information in order from the current position of the vehicle. It is displayed in the window 72. In addition, as information on the facility, a facility name, a distance from the current position, a required time, and the like are displayed. And the user can acquire the information regarding the facility of the desired genre by visually recognizing the facility guidance screen 71. Further, by selecting the information window 72, it is possible to set the corresponding facility as the destination.

As described above in detail, in the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment, the facility guidance method using the navigation device 1 and the computer program executed by the navigation device 1, the user requests the requested genre, which is the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance. Is selected based on the button operation or voice recognition (S11), it is determined whether or not the selected requested genre is set as a shortcut genre (S12), and when the requested genre is set as a shortcut genre. The nearest facility closest to the current position of the vehicle is searched from the facilities corresponding to the requested genre without causing the user to select a genre (ie, lower genre) in the lower hierarchy (S13). Set the nearest facility as the destination (S14), based on the set guidance route Since the travel to the nearest facility is guided (S15), if the genre of the facility requested by the user is a preset shortcut genre, the current position is not imposed without imposing work for selecting a lower genre. Can be guided based on the facility information regarding the facility of the nearest genre, and the genre selection work by the user can be simplified. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience.
In addition, based on the user's request history related to guidance based on facility information, a plurality of types of lower genres belonging to the same middle genre in the past predetermined period (“conveniences corresponding to all lower genres belonging to the middle genre” For all “stores”, “all family restaurants”, etc.), the ratio for which guidance is requested by the user is calculated for each genre, and the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 40% In the case of the following), the intermediate genre is set as the shortcut genre (S4), so that the user can appropriately identify the genre that is not particular about the lower genre and set the genre as the shortcut genre. Become.
When a guide route to the destination is set, arrival at the destination is prioritized, so even if the requested genre is not a shortcut genre, there is no user preference for a genre below the requested genre. Estimated. Accordingly, the genre selection operation can be simplified as in the case of the shortcut genre. As a result, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user for requesting guidance based on facility information, to quickly perform guidance processing, and to improve convenience.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the genre hierarchized into three layers of upper genre, middle genre, and lower genre has been described as an example, but the genre may be hierarchized into two layers or four layers or more.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate genre is set as the shortcut genre, but the upper genre as well as the intermediate genre may be set as the shortcut genre.
In this case, the shortcut genre setting conditions determined in S3 are as follows.
(1) A plurality of types of intermediate genres belonging to the same upper genre within a predetermined period in the past (for example, within one week) (“all meals” and “all shops” corresponding to all intermediate genres belonging to the upper genre) For each genre, the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 40% or less). It is determined that the shortcut genre setting condition is satisfied.
The shortcut genre cancellation condition is as follows.
(2) Genres for the same middle genre (not including “all meals” and “all shops” that fall under all middle genres belonging to the higher genre) within the past predetermined period (for example, within one week) The ratio for which guidance is requested by the user is calculated every time, and when the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is a predetermined ratio or more (for example, 50% or more), the upper genre to which the intermediate genre belongs is a shortcut. It is determined that the genre cancellation condition is satisfied.
Further, when the upper genre is set as the shortcut genre, and the upper genre set as the shortcut genre is selected as the requested genre in S11, the nearest facility corresponding to the upper genre is selected. It will be set to the ground (S14).

  In the present embodiment, when a shortcut genre is set as a requested genre, the nearest facility corresponding to the requested genre is set as a destination and the travel to the destination is guided. It is good also as a structure which guides the information (for example, a facility name, the distance from the present position, required time, etc.) regarding the nearest facility applicable to a request | requirement genre, without setting to a ground.

  In this embodiment, the shortcut genre is set based on the user's request history, but the shortcut genre may be set based on the user's operation. For example, when an operation for newly adding a shortcut genre is accepted on the menu screen of the navigation device 1, the shortcut genre setting data 33 (FIG. 5) is read and the shortcut genre setting flag associated with the corresponding genre is set. Turn on. On the other hand, when an operation for canceling the shortcut genre is accepted, the shortcut genre setting data 33 (FIG. 5) is read, and the shortcut genre setting flag associated with the corresponding genre is turned OFF.

1 Navigation device 13 Navigation ECU
15 Liquid crystal display 16 Speaker 32 Genre request history DB
33 Shortcut genre setting data 36 Facility data 41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM

Claims (7)

Facility information acquisition means for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by genres layered in multiple layers;
Shortcut genre setting means for setting a shortcut genre from the genres of the facility;
When receiving a user request for guidance based on the facility information, a genre acquisition unit that acquires a genre of a facility for which the user requests guidance as a requested genre;
Genre determining means for determining whether the requested genre is the shortcut genre;
When it is determined by the genre determination means that the requested genre is the shortcut genre, guidance is provided based on the facility information regarding the facility closest to the current position among the facilities classified into the requested genre. If the genre determination unit determines that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre, the facility guidance unit guides the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre as the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance. And a facility guidance device. Request history storage means for storing a user request history when receiving a user request for guidance based on the facility information,
2. The facility guidance according to claim 1, wherein the shortcut genre setting unit sets a shortcut genre from among the genres of the facility based on the user request history stored by the request history storage unit. apparatus. The shortcut genre setting means includes:
For a plurality of types of lower genres belonging to the same upper genre within a predetermined period in the past, a ratio of guidance requested based on facility information by the user for each genre is calculated,
The facility guidance device according to claim 2, wherein when the ratio of the genre for which the highest ratio is calculated is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio, the higher-level genre is set as a shortcut genre.   The facility guidance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the guidance based on the facility information of the lower genre includes guidance based on facility information of all the lower genres belonging to the same upper genre. Destination setting means for setting the destination of the vehicle;
Guidance route setting means for setting a guidance route to the destination,
The facility guidance means, when the guidance route is set by the guidance route setting means, even when the requested genre is determined not to be the shortcut genre by the genre determination means. The facility guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein guidance is provided based on the facility information regarding a facility closest to the current position of the vehicle among the facilities classified into the categories. A facility information acquisition step for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by genres layered in multiple layers;
A shortcut genre setting step for setting a shortcut genre from the genres of the facility;
A genre acquisition step of acquiring, as a requested genre, a genre of a facility for which the user requests guidance when receiving a user request for guidance based on the facility information;
A genre determination step for determining whether the requested genre is the shortcut genre;
When it is determined in the genre determination step that the requested genre is the shortcut genre, guidance is provided based on the facility information regarding the facility closest to the current position among the facilities classified into the requested genre. If the genre determination step determines that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre, the facility guidance step for guiding the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre as the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance The facility guidance method characterized by having. On the computer,
A facility information acquisition function for acquiring facility information related to facilities classified by genres layered in multiple layers;
A shortcut genre setting function for setting a shortcut genre from the genres of the facility and storing it in a storage medium;
A genre acquisition function for acquiring, as a requested genre, a genre of a facility for which the user requests guidance when receiving a user request for guidance based on the facility information;
A genre determination function for determining whether the requested genre is the shortcut genre stored in the storage medium;
When it is determined by the genre determination function that the requested genre is the shortcut genre, guidance is provided based on the facility information regarding the facility closest to the current position among the facilities classified into the requested genre. If the genre determination function determines that the requested genre is not the shortcut genre, the facility guidance function for guiding the user to select a lower genre of the requested genre as the genre of the facility for which the user requests guidance When,
A computer program for executing

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