JPH1040265A - Information supply device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and accurately retrieve the information on the facility that is accordant with the desired condition by inputting the numerical conditions including the distance from a reference position, the arrival time or the fare, etc., and showing the facility information accordant with those numerical conditions in a list. SOLUTION: A facility information data storage part 24 stores the information on various types of facility such as stores, corporations, offices, overnight accommodations, leisure facility, sports facility and other service supply facility, etc., in response to the numerical information whose contents vary according to the distance between each facility and a prescribed reference position, the arrival time at each facility, the fare of each charged facility, etc. A touch panel 19 sets the prescribed conditions against those numerical information. A CPU 12 retrieves the facility whose contents of the numerical information are coincident with the set condition via a facility information data storage part 24. A monitor 21 displays the retrieved facility names in a list. Then the panel 19 selects the desired one of those facility which are displayed in a list.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus, and more particularly to information related to various facilities such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities. (Facility information)
The present invention relates to a device for searching and outputting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when it is desired to use the above facilities, for example, accommodation facilities such as a hotel in the vicinity of a station or an airport, the accommodation facilities to be used are often searched after arriving there. In such a case, for example, at a station, the user may look at the information board provided at the concourse or the waiting room, or search for a desired accommodation facility by consulting with a staff member at the information desk, or at a ticket counter or the like. In some cases, the user may use a timetable or a telephone directory.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, when searching for accommodation, how long is it from the station?
Alternatively, the ease of access to the station, such as how many minutes can be reached, is often a criterion. For the user, the facility fee is also an important condition for selection. However, using the provided information board, timetable, or telephone directory, it is not easy to quickly and accurately find accommodation facilities that meet the desired distance or price conditions, and it takes time and effort. Often, you are forced to choose a facility that is not always what you want.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus capable of quickly and accurately searching and outputting information on facilities meeting desired conditions in consideration of numerical conditions such as a distance and a fee. It is in.

[0005]

The information providing apparatus of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized by having the following requirements. Facility information storage means: various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities,
And information about various facilities (facility information) such as service provision facilities, such as the distance from the predetermined reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a paid facility, etc. The information is stored in association with one or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility. Numerical condition setting means: sets predetermined conditions for the numerical information. Facility search means: Searches the facility information storage means for facilities whose contents of the numerical information match the set conditions. Facility list display means: Displays a list (facility list) that lists the searched facility names. Facility selection means: Select desired facilities from the facilities displayed in the list. Facility information output means: Outputs facility information of the selected facility.

According to the above configuration, by inputting numerical conditions such as the distance from the reference position, the arrival time, and the fee, facility information meeting the conditions is displayed in a list, which is referred to. As a result, it is possible to quickly and accurately search and output information on facilities under desired conditions.
The location of the searched facility may be displayed on a map instead of displaying the facility name in a list.

In this case, the facility list display means can display the facility name of the searched facility on the screen of the display device. In this case, the facility selection means is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and configured to allow the screen to be seen through, and an input unit for performing a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof. And in the area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list, the facility can be selected by contacting or approaching the pointing object with the input unit. Thereby, the operation method of the device can be made intuitive and easy to understand. Note that a touch panel can be used as the input unit as described above.

The numerical condition setting means may include a numerical value range inputting means for inputting a numerical value range as a numerical condition so that the numerical value range can be changed stepwise or continuously, and the facility search means belongs to the set numerical value range. The facility may be searched in the facility information storage means, and as the input content of the numerical range is changed, a facility that matches the changed numerical range may be searched again. And
The facility list display means may increase or decrease the number of facility names to be displayed in the facility list as the input content of the numerical range is changed based on the re-search result. According to this configuration, each time the numerical range to be input is changed, a facility that matches the range is searched again, and the display contents of the facility list are updated accordingly, so that the user can refer to the list contents. In this way, detailed numerical conditions can be set, and information on facilities meeting desired conditions can be more accurately searched.

Specifically, there is provided a numerical range display means for visually displaying a numerical range on the screen of the display device based on the size and area of the figure or the relative positional relationship between two or more figures.
Numerical range input means is arranged to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and is configured to be able to see through the screen, and an input unit for performing a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof. It can be configured to include. In this case, at the position corresponding to the figure, the pointing object is brought into contact with the input unit, and in this state, the pointing object is moved in a predetermined direction to change the numerical value range. The visual display content of the range by the above figure is also changed in conjunction with this. In other words, the numerical range is displayed in a graphically easy-to-understand form,
By changing the display state of the graphic in conjunction with the operation on the input unit, the input of the numerical range can be performed very intuitively. As an example, a mode in which a figure indicating a numerical range includes a scale and a pointer which is movable along the scale and defines a numerical range based on its own relative position to the scale can be exemplified. In this case, the pointing object is brought into contact with or approaching the position corresponding to the pointer on the input unit, and by moving the pointing object in a direction along the scale in that state, the pointer moves in conjunction with this in the moving direction of the finger. Move and change the value range.

The numerical information can be, specifically, a distance from a predetermined reference position to the facility. In this case, the numerical condition setting means can designate the range of the distance as the numerical condition. In addition, numerical information is obtained from a predetermined reference position on foot or by rail, bus,
It can be the required arrival time to the facility when moving using a predetermined means of transportation such as a taxi. In this case, the numerical condition setting means can specify the range of the required time as the numerical condition. further,
If at least some of the above facilities are toll facilities, the numerical information can be the usage fee of the toll facility. In this case, the numerical condition setting means can specify the range of the fee as the numerical condition. Note that the numerical condition setting means may be configured so that a plurality of numerical conditions of different types can be set. In this case, the facility searching means is configured to search only facilities that satisfy all of the plurality of numerical conditions. can do.

The facility information can be stored in the facility information storage means in association with the genres of the facilities. In this case, a genre selection means for selecting the genre can be provided, and the facility search means can search for a facility in the selected genre. This makes it possible to more efficiently search for information on facilities of a desired genre.

The facility information output means may be a display device for displaying the searched facility information on a screen.
A printer that prints out the facility information can also be used.
For example, the facility information can include map information indicating the location of the facility. In this case, a guide map to the facility can be printed out from the printer based on the map information. In this case, the destination facility can be easily reached by the output guide map.

[0013] A program for realizing the above-described processing in the information providing apparatus can be stored in a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a ROM card. And the computer itself,
By installing a program stored in the storage medium into a computer system having an input unit such as a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display and a touch panel, a keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse connected thereto, The computer system can be used as the information providing device described above.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall appearance of an information providing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a plurality of terminal devices 3 attached to a front side of a housing 2.
And a large monitor 4 arranged adjacent thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, each terminal device 3 is connected to a management computer 5 via a communication line 6, and the management computer 5 collectively stores facility information data to be described later. A facility information data storage section (facility information storage means) 38 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device 3. The terminal device 3 includes an I / O port 11, which includes a CPU 12, a ROM 13, a RAM 14,
5, a calendar clock 16, a modem 17, a touch panel control unit 18, a monitor control unit 20, a storage device 22 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive (FDD) 25, and the like. Terminal device 3
Is connected to the management computer 5 via the modem 17 and the communication line 6. Further, the touch panel control unit 18 is connected to a touch panel 19 as a numerical condition setting unit, a facility selecting unit, and a numerical range input unit.

The storage device 22 has a program storage unit 23
The operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) 23 a of the terminal device 3, a touch panel driver program 23 b for controlling the basic operation of the touch panel 19, and the information providing device 1 operating on the OS An application program 23c for implementing the functions described below is stored. Also,
The ROM 13 stores various basic programs for hardware control of the terminal device 3. further,
The RAM 14 is provided with a work area 14 a for each program stored in the storage device 22 and the ROM 13, and an information receiving memory 14 b for storing facility information data received from the management computer 5.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the touch panel 1
Numeral 9 is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen S of the monitor 21 and is configured to allow the display contents of the screen to be seen through. (Including input).

The configuration of the touch panel 19 is well known, but the outline thereof will be briefly described. A large number of vertical and horizontal transparent linear electrodes are formed along the surface of the transparent plate 19a such as transparent plastic or glass. A set (or a set of extremely fine metal wire electrodes) X1, X2} and Y1, Y2} are arranged in a grid pattern, and alternating current of a constant frequency is applied to each set while being shifted by a predetermined time interval. ing. Then, the contact position of the finger F on the touch panel 19 based on the disturbance information of the current or voltage of each electrode caused by the static electricity due to the contact or approach of the finger F (hereinafter, referred to as “contact”). Is specified. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, the finger F contacts the surface of the panel 19 with the contact area A, and the electrodes X1, X21 and Y1, Y2 ‥ in the contact area A.
Although each grid point of ‥ is specified by the above principle, the coordinate position of the finger F on the touch panel 19 is obtained, for example, by calculating the coordinates of the center of gravity of the contact area A from the coordinates of the grid points belonging to the contact area A. It can be calculated and represented by its barycentric coordinates G.

For example, the coordinates on the touch panel 19 are matched with the coordinates on the screen S of the monitor 21, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the touch panel corresponding to a predetermined area (for example, a button image) on the screen S If the center of gravity G exists in the area B on the area 19, it is determined that the area B has been selected (for example, a button has been pressed), and the result of the determination is used for the subsequent processing. Can be.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management computer 5. The management computer 5
An I / O port 31 is provided.
3, RAM 34, calendar clock 36, modem 37,
Monitor controller 40, hard disk drive (HDD)
And the like are connected. Monitor control unit 4
0 is connected to the large monitor 4 described above. The modem 37 is for connecting the computer 5 to each terminal 3. Further, the storage device 42 is provided with the above-mentioned facility information data storage unit 38, and stores a search program 39 for performing a search process described later in the management computer 5, and the CPU 32 executes the search program 39 based on the search program 39. Function as information retrieval means. Other programs that control the operation of the management computer 5 are stored in the ROM 33, and are stored in the RAM 33.
The programs are executed using the work area 34 as a work area.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the data contents stored in the facility information data storage section 38, which comprises a facility classification name 51, a facility name 52, a facility name read data 53, and a data body 54. Have been. Among them, classification name 51
Is the data of the category (genre) of the facility. Specifically, restaurants, leisure facilities, sports facilities, beauty facilities or barber facilities, service facilities, medical facilities, accommodation facilities (hotels or inns), and educational facilities (for example, English conversation school,
Schools, various technical schools, etc.), various retail stores, companies, companies,
Includes genre name data such as office. Each of these categories may be further divided into sub-categories (sub-genres) which are further subdivided. FIG. 7 shows an example thereof. For example, as a sub-genre of “hotel”, a city hotel, a business hotel, a capsule hotel, etc., and as a sub-genre of “restaurant”, Japanese food, hot spicy food, western food, Examples include family restaurants, udon / soba, ramen, Chinese food, Indian food, French food, Italian food, and the like.

Next, the data body 54 includes character data 55
And map data 56. FIG. 8 shows an example of the contents of the character data 55. For example, address data 55 representing an address of a facility is used as data common to all classifications.
1, telephone number data 552, FAX number data 553,
And distance data 556 and the like. If the facility is a toll facility such as an accommodation facility, fee data 554 indicating the usage fee is included. Further, when data unique to each facility is attached, these data are included as option data 555. Option data 55
Reference numeral 5 denotes data such as check-in and check-out times, the number of rooms, facilities, and the like in the case of an accommodation facility, and representative menu data in the case of a restaurant. The map data 56 is a data for outputting a guide map indicating a route from the installation location of the device 1 (for example, a station or the like: a reference position to be described later) to the facility from the printer 15 (FIG. 3). (FIG. 20: reference numeral 196).

Next, the distance data 556 is data relating to the distance from a specific reference position, for example, an installation location of the information providing apparatus 1 such as a station to the facility, and is, for example, a linear distance or along a predetermined route. In addition to the data of the distance itself such as the required distance, the required arrival time data 502 when the vehicle travels from the reference position to the facility by a predetermined moving means such as walking, bus, taxi, railway, etc.
Then, the aforementioned charge data 554 and these distance data 5
Reference numeral 56 denotes numerical information that changes numerically for each facility.

Hereinafter, the operation of the information providing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to flowcharts and operation explanatory diagrams. That is, in the terminal device 3, when the OS 23a, the touch panel driver program 23b, and the application program 23c (hereinafter, FIG. 3) are started, the information provision initial screen 101 shown in FIG. 4), and the touch panel 19 is set to the operation accepting state according to the initial screen (the setting state of the touch panel 19 is the screen S
Is changed each time the display content is switched, but in the following, description of setting change on the touch panel 19 side may be omitted.)

On the initial screen, a menu selection bar 110,
The input / display window 130 and the operation panel 120 are formed and displayed in the layout shown in the figure. In the information providing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, in addition to the information providing mode, a number of functions such as a message display panel mode, a sightseeing guide mode, and a traffic information guide mode are mounted.
10 includes various menus such as an "information" button 151 for selecting an information providing mode, and a "message" button 152, a "sightseeing" button 153, and a "traffic information" button 154 for selecting each of the above modes. A select button is formed. The operation panel 120 has a list display window 155 for displaying a list of searched facility names, and an “execute” button 156 for executing information output of the facility selected from the list. Further, a genre selection button 157 for selecting a genre of the facility to be searched is displayed in the input / display window 130.
Are formed.

In S2 of FIG. 9, when the user touches an area corresponding to genre selection button 57 of the desired facility on touch panel 19 (hereinafter simply referred to as "press genre selection button 157"), the genre is selected. And
The screen is switched to the screen shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. In the screen of FIG. 13, the input / display window 130 has a search main window 160, a character search input window 161 and a numerical value search input window 162, respectively. If the selected genre has a sub-genre, a sub-genre selection button 16 for selecting the sub-genre is displayed in the search main window 160.
3 is formed. Note that FIG. 13 shows a display example of the sub-genre when “hotel” is selected as the genre, and FIG. 14 similarly shows the case where “restaurant” is selected.

When a sub-genre is selected in S4 of FIG. 9, the code of the selected sub-genre is transferred to the management computer 5 (FIG. 2). The management computer 5 receives this, searches the facility information data storage unit 38 for facilities belonging to the sub-genre, and transmits the searched facility name data 52 (FIG. 6) to the terminal device 3. As shown in FIG. 13A, in the terminal device 3,
A list 165 of the searched facilities is displayed in the list display window 155 based on the data 52 of the facility name. If there is no sub-genre, FIG.
At the stage where a genre is selected on the screen, the facility belonging to the genre is searched, and a list of the facility names is displayed in the list display window 155 (the above, FIG. 9: S
3-S5).

As described above, the basic processing of the search is as follows. When data or a command necessary for the search is input on the terminal device 3 side, this is transferred to the management computer 5, and a search based on the data or command is performed by the management computer 5. Further, the search is performed in a format in which the data of the searched information is transmitted to the terminal device 3. In the following, the exchange of data or commands at the time of retrieval between the terminal device 3 and the management computer 5 will be omitted to avoid complicating the description. The flowchart uses a simplified operation flow of the entire information providing apparatus 1 in which the management computer 5 and the terminal device 3 are integrated.

At this stage, when the facilities are to be further narrowed down, the information retrieval process of S7 is performed. Figure 1 shows the details
0 is shown. Basically, information can be narrowed down by two types of methods, one is narrowing down by facility name, and the other is narrowing down by numerical information such as distance, required arrival time or fare. The narrowing-down by both methods can be performed independently, but can also be performed in combination with each other. In the latter case, the order of narrowing down by both methods may be performed first.

First, in the case of narrowing down by facility name, the flow goes to S11 to S13, and the name input button 167 of the character search input window 161 shown in FIG.
push. Then, a character input window 170 shown in FIG. 8B is opened, and the first few characters of the facility name to be searched are input from the touch panel 19 using the soft keyboard 171. Input characters are displayed in the character display window 17
2 is displayed. When making a correction, the cursor 17 is moved to a desired character position using the cursor movement key 173.
The character may be erased by moving 4 and pressing the delete key 175, or by pressing the backspace key 176 to erase the immediately preceding character and then re-entering the character. When the enter key 178 is pressed after the input, the facility name whose leading character string matches the input character string is extracted and searched in the facility name reading data 53 (FIG. 6), and the list display window is displayed. 155 is displayed.

Next, when narrowing down based on numerical information, the flow of S14 to S16 in FIG. 10 is performed. this is,
This is performed using the numerical value search input window 162 in FIG. In the window 162, a scale 179 indicating a numerical range and a pointer 180 movable along the scale 179 and defining the numerical range by its own relative position with respect to the scale 179 are displayed. Then, by touching the position corresponding to the pointer 180 with the finger (pointing object) on the touch panel 19 (FIG. 4), and moving the finger in the direction along the scale 179 in this state, the pointer 180 moves in conjunction with this. The finger moves in the moving direction, and the input numerical range is changed continuously (or stepwise). The input numerical value is displayed in a numerical value display window 181 and the type of the numerical value is displayed in a numerical name display window 182. The pointer 180 cannot move beyond both ends of the scale 179.
The values corresponding to both ends of 9 mean the upper limit and the lower limit of the settable distance. Then, the set value of the numerical information can be regarded as being graphically displayed by the length from the lower end (left side in the figure) of the scale 179 to the pointer position.

For example, by default, the numerical value search input window 162 is in a mode for narrowing down by the distance from the reference position to the facility, and the distance is set according to the position of the pointer 180. Then, by comparing the set distance with the distance data 501 (FIG. 8) of each facility, facilities located within the range of the set distance from the reference position are extracted, and the name of the facility is displayed in the list display window 1.
55 is displayed. Next, move the pointer 180 to scale 1
Moving to the left along 79 will decrease the set value of the distance, while moving it to the right will increase the set value.

Then, with the movement of the pointer 180, the display value of the distance in the numerical value display window 181 is changed accordingly. Then, as the distance is changed, the facility is searched again using the changed distance setting value,
The display content of the facility list 165 is updated based on the search result. Specifically, when the distance range from the reference position is reduced, the name of the facility that is out of the range is the facility list 1
When the distance falls and the distance range expands, the facility name newly entering the range becomes the facility list 16.
5 is displayed in addition.

When the setting is changed in the middle of the search, such as when the pointer 180 is moved, that is, when the setting of the numerical value is rapidly changed, the search is terminated when the setting is changed. The search may be re-executed according to the changed settings. In this case, the display contents of the facility list 165 are maintained as they are until the search result after the change is determined.

When the type of numerical information is changed, the flow of S17 to S19 in FIG. 10 is performed. In this case, FIG.
When the “other search item” button 164 is pressed in 5, the contents of the search main window 160 are changed to those shown in FIG. 16, and the button 1 for selecting the type of numerical information is displayed.
85 to 187 are formed. In this case, when the button 185 is pressed, the required arrival time when walking from the reference position to the facility by foot is displayed as numerical information, and the button 186 is displayed.
When the user presses the same button, the required arrival time when moving by taxi is selected, and when the button 187 is further pressed, the facility usage fee is selected, and the display contents of the numerical value search input window 162 are changed accordingly. For example, FIG.
Indicates a case where “fee” is selected as numerical information, and the upper limit of the fee is set according to the position of the pointer 180. The search process in this case is the charge data 5
It is the same as that described above, except that facilities whose fee indicated by 54 is smaller than the fee set in FIG. 8 are extracted. If the required arrival time by foot or taxi is selected, the data 502 in FIG. 8 is used.

As shown in FIG. 18, the numerical information may be displayed by the area of a figure. That is, in the same figure, the fixed radius portion 202 installed inside the circular area
And a moving radius portion 203 that rotates with the movement of the finger F on the touch panel 19 is displayed on the monitor 21, and the fan-shaped portion 204 sandwiched between the fixed radius portion 202 and the moving radius portion 203 is displayed. The numerical value is visually displayed according to the area. Further, as shown in FIG. 38, for example, a plurality of condition setting buttons 250 and 251 corresponding to mutually different numerical values are formed in the input / display window 130, and the condition is set by pressing a button of a desired numerical value. It may be configured as follows. In this case, a set of condition setting buttons can be provided for each type of numerical condition, and a configuration in which a plurality of numerical conditions are set collectively by button operation is possible.

When the narrowing down of the facilities is completed as described above, the process proceeds to S20 in FIG. 10 to select desired facility information. On the other hand, in S6 of FIG. 9, when information narrowing is not particularly performed, the process proceeds to S10, and selection is similarly performed. That is, in FIG. 15 (or FIG. 13), when the user touches the touch panel 19 at a portion corresponding to a desired facility name in the facility list 165, the facility name is selected, and the selected facility name is changed by color change or display inversion. To instruct. Note that the selection is changed by touching another facility name. If there are many facility names in the facility list 165 and these cannot be displayed in the display window 155, the scroll keys 190 and 191 are displayed.
By pressing, the facility list 165 can be scrolled, and when a desired facility name appears, the facility list 165 may be similarly selected.

Then, when the execution key 156 is pressed in FIG. 15, the selected facility is determined, and the S in FIG.
The information output process proceeds to step 8 (details are shown in FIG. 11). That is, the data of the facility information is read from the facility information data storage unit 38 of the management computer 5 and transferred to the terminal device 3. Then, the transferred data is stored in the information receiving memory 14b (FIG. 3) of the RAM 14, and the facility information 193 as shown in FIG. 19 is input and displayed mainly based on the character data 55 (FIG. 6). 130 is displayed (S21). When the amount of information to be displayed is large, a scroll window 194 for displaying extra information is formed in the input / display window 130, and the scroll is appropriately performed by operating the scroll bar 194a or the like. You can see it.

When the operation is terminated only by looking at the facility information displayed on the screen, an end button 19 shown in FIG.
If the user presses 6, the flow goes from S21 in FIG. 11 to S24, and further, S1 in FIG. 9 (that is, the initial screen in FIG. 12).
Then, the same processing is performed thereafter. On the other hand, when the facility information is printed out, the print button 195 is pressed to
22 to S23, the printer 1 shown in FIGS.
From 5, the facility information is printed out on paper or the like in a format as shown in FIG. 20, for example. The output shown in FIG. 20 includes various character information 198 based on the character data 55 described above and a guide map 197 based on the map data 56. When the printout is completed, an end button 19 is displayed on the screen shown in FIG.
6 to return to S1 in FIG.
1 may be returned).

Next, the information providing device 1 described above includes:
The map-based information search function described below can be added. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the storage device 42 of the management computer 5 is provided with a map data storage unit 601. As shown in FIG. 6, the facility information data storage unit 38 stores, for each facility, position information 57 including a position code for specifying a position on the map.

FIG. 21A shows a map data storage unit 601.
3 shows an example of the data content stored in the storage device. That is, the map data 300 includes the image data of two types of maps covering the same area and having different scales, that is, the small-scale map image data 302 and the large-scale map image data 303. As shown in FIG. 23A, a small-scale map MS is a screen area for map display (map display window:
130 (also used as input / display window)
A plurality of blocks BS having a shape similar to the above are divided vertically and horizontally into a matrix. On the other hand, the large-scale map ML shown in FIG. 3B has a scale (one of three times the small-scale map Ms in this embodiment) in which one block BS of the small-scale map MS becomes the entire map display window 130. Are divided into vertical and horizontal blocks BL by the same number of divisions as the small-scale map MS. As a result, a one-to-one correspondence is established between the blocks BS and BL of the small-scale map MS and the large-scale map ML, and the blocks corresponding to each other in the two maps are the same area (area). It is supposed to cover.

The above-described map image data 302 and 303 are also divided and stored for each block, and the data of the blocks corresponding to each other are set as a set to specify the area covered by the block. An area code 301 is provided. Area code 30
1 can be assigned to each block by a serial number or the like in accordance with a predetermined order on a map, for example. In the present embodiment, a set of coordinate values for specifying the block will be used hereinafter. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
For each of S and ML, the origin (X
0, Y0), and vertical division lines X0, X1, X2 ‥‥ and horizontal division lines Y0, Y1, Y2 ‥‥ are set at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions. Thus, the maps MS and ML are each divided by rectangular blocks BS to BL, and each block BS to BL is
It is specified by the coordinates of the intersection of the vertical and horizontal dividing lines giving the four corners. For example, in FIG. 23 (a), the block BS '4 in the upper left corner of the map display window 130
The coordinates of the corner are as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the area code 301 is represented by coordinates ((X1, Y3) in FIG. 33) giving the upper right corner.

Hereinafter, the method of using the map information retrieval function will be described.
A description will be given using a flowchart and an operation explanatory diagram together with the flow of the internal processing. First, in FIGS. 12 to 14, the “map” button 350 is displayed on the menu selection bar 110.
By pressing this, an input / display window (map display area) 1 is displayed as shown in FIG. 27, for example.
30 displays a map based on the map data 300 described above. In FIG. 9, the selection of the map type information search function (displayed as “switching to the map type” in the flowchart) is performed in the initial screen display state in S1 (FIG. 12) and the list display state after the genre selection in S5 ( This can be performed in any of the states narrowed down by the condition setting in S7 (FIG. 15 and the like) (S1 respectively)
1, S12, S51, S52, and S71, S72).
In this case, by pressing the “map” button 350, FIG.
26 is executed. Hereinafter, the details will be described.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 9, that is, when the process shifts from the initial screen display state (FIG. 12) to the map type search processing (S1
1 → S12), but in S201 of FIG. 24, the initial screen shown in FIG. 27 is displayed on the screen S (FIG. 4) of the monitor 21, and the touch panel 19 is set to the operation accepting state according to the initial screen. Is done. The layout of the initial screen is almost the same as that shown in FIG. The map display window 130 displays an image of the small-scale map MS based on the small-scale map image data 302 transferred from the management computer 5. In this display state, the position of each facility is not displayed on the map MS.

Here, as shown in FIG. 23, the entire size of the map MS is larger than the map display window 130, and only the portion that fits in the map display window 130 is displayed. Specifically, the map display window 130 displays blocks BS of the small-scale map MS in equal numbers of rows and columns, for example, three blocks in length and width, for a total of nine blocks BS. The boundaries between the blocks BS may or may not be displayed. On the other hand, for the large-scale map ML, only one block BL is displayed in the map display window 130.

The touch panel 19 is set in a mode for inputting coordinate values in a displayed portion of the map MS. In the operation panel 120, a scroll button 146 for scrolling the map MS in the map display window 130 is formed. As shown in FIG. 34, the displayed map MS is, for example, one block in the vertical direction by pressing the up and down scroll buttons 146a and 146b, and one block in the left and right direction by pressing the left and right scroll buttons 146c and 146d. Scrolls by one. In this case, the block B newly appearing in the map display window 130 with scrolling
The map image data of S is stored in the management computer 5 each time.
Transferred from the side. Further, with the scrolling, the coordinate setting of the touch panel 19 is changed to one corresponding to the display portion of the map MS after scrolling.

Returning to FIG. 27, on the menu selection bar 110, a “genre” button 351 for shifting to a mode for selecting a genre of the facility to be searched and a “map” button 350 for returning to the map display screen are formed. Have been. When the “genre” button 351 on the touch panel 19 is pressed in S202 of FIG. 24, a plurality of genres for selecting the genre of the facility to be searched are displayed on the map display window 130, as shown in FIG. A selection button 157 is displayed and formed. And those buttons 1
By pressing a desired genre out of 57, the genre is selected. Although not shown, if the selected genre is divided into sub-genres, a sub-genre selection button is displayed on the screen, and the sub-genre is selected using the button.

When a genre is selected, the code of the selected genre is transferred to the management computer 5 (FIG. 2). In response to this, the management computer 5 searches the facility information data storage section 38 for facilities belonging to the genre, and transmits the searched location code 57 and facility name data 52 (FIG. 6) to the terminal device 3. I do. Then, as shown in FIG. 29, in the terminal device 3, the map MS is displayed again in the map display window 130, and based on the received position code 57, the location of the searched facility is indicated by the mark 148 on the map MS. Will be displayed. on the other hand,
A list 165 of the searched facilities is displayed in the list display window 155 based on the facility name data 52 (FIG. 24: S204).

On the other hand, in FIG. 9, in the list display state after the genre selection in S5 (FIG. 15, etc.), the process is shifted to the map type search process (S51 → S52), and when the search is narrowed down by the condition setting in S7 (S71 → In S72), the location of the facility already searched by the genre selection and the condition narrowing down is displayed on the map MS by the mark 148 from the beginning. In this case, S2 in FIG.
Steps 02 and S203 are skipped.

Next, as shown in FIG.
20, an “enlarge” button 121 and an “information selection” button 122 are displayed and formed. Then, when the "enlarge" button 121 is pressed, by touching an arbitrary portion on the map display window 130 thereafter, a process of enlarging and displaying a map portion corresponding to the touched position is performed (FIG. 24: S206). . Specifically, in FIG. 29, a block BS 'corresponding to a portion touched by the finger F is set as an enlargement target area, and a block BL' of the large-scale map ML corresponding to the block BS 'is displayed using the entire map display window 130. Thus, an enlarged display is performed.

FIG. 25 shows the details of the processing. That is, the user marks a portion on the map that he or she wishes to enlarge, and touches it with the finger F, and the coordinates (Xm, Xm, Xm) of the touched position on the small-scale map MS by the above-described processing shown in FIG. Ym) is determined (S221, S22)
2). In addition, as shown in FIG.
The value of the coordinate Xm and the Y coordinate Ym are respectively represented by the X coordinate X0, X1 ‥‥ of the vertical dividing line and the Y coordinate Y0, Y1 の of the horizontal dividing line shown in FIG. ) Are compared in order (S224 to S23)
2). When vertical division lines adjacent to each other across Xm and horizontal division lines adjacent to each other across Ym are found, a block BS (for example, (X1, Y3) in FIG. 31) surrounded by these division lines is extracted. The image data of the block BL of the large scale map ML corresponding to the selection is read (S233), and the image is displayed on the map display window 130 (S234, S235).

FIG. 30 shows a screen display state at this time. In the large-scale map ML, the width of the road R is enlarged and displayed to an appropriate size, and road names (street names) that are not displayed in the small-scale map MS (FIG. 29) are displayed. In addition to the mark 148 indicating the location of the facility, a new facility name 149 is shown adjacent to the mark. Then, the block B deviated from the map display window 130 due to the enlargement
The facility name of S is deleted from the list 165 (FIG. 2).
4: S207, S208). FIG. 33 shows a display example when “restaurant” is selected as the genre of the facility.

On the other hand, the enlarge button 1 on the operation panel 120
Reference numeral 21 denotes a “reduce” button 123 (see FIG.
0). When the user wants to return the enlarged map to the original scale, the "reduce" button 12
3 and further touching the inside of the map display window 130 returns to the state shown in FIG. 29 (S209 to S2).
11).

Next, the flow of processing for selecting a facility and viewing the information is as follows. First, the selection of a facility can be performed in either a state where the small-scale map MS is displayed or a state where the large-scale map is displayed (FIG. 2).
4: S212). The outline of the selection process is as shown in FIG. 26, but there are roughly two types of methods. In the first method, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, in the maps MS to ML displayed on the map display window 130, a predetermined size is set so as to surround the mark 148 (or the facility name 149) representing the facility. By setting the selection area 170 of the touch panel 19 and touching the touch panel 19 at a position corresponding to the selection area 170, the area 1 is selected.
This is a method of selecting a facility corresponding to 70. That is,
If it is determined that the touch position determined by the same method as described above exists in the selection area 170,
It is determined that the facility corresponding to 0 has been selected (S
240-S245).

In this case, in order to distinguish from the touch operation for enlarging or reducing the map, in this embodiment, the mode is switched to the facility selection mode by pressing the "information selection" button 122. In this mode, no matter where in the map display window 130 is touched, the map is not enlarged or reduced. On the other hand, as mentioned above,
When the “enlarge” button 121 or the “reduce” button 123 is pressed, even if a touch operation is performed in the selection area 170, the map is enlarged or reduced, and the facility is not selected.

On the other hand, the following method can be adopted instead of the above method. That is, the small scale map M
In the display state of S, the processing is performed as described above. In the display state of the large-scale map ML, the “reduce” button 123
Is pressed to immediately return to the display state of the small-scale map MS, and when a touch operation is performed in the map display window 130, only the facility selection process is executed, and the map is not enlarged / reduced. To do. Further, as still another method, the map display window 13 can be used in both the small-scale map MS and the large-scale map ML.
When the touch operation is performed in the selection area 170 at 0, the facility selection processing is performed, and when the touch operation is performed in other areas, the map is enlarged or reduced. is there. In this case, "expand"
The button 121 or the “reduce” button 123 can be omitted.

Next, a second method for selecting a facility is a method in which a touch on the touch panel 19 in a portion corresponding to a desired facility name in the facility list 165 selects that facility name. In this case, when the touch operation is performed as shown in FIG. 29, the name of the selected facility is indicated by changing the color or inverting the display, and the position of the selected facility is indicated on the map MS by the display of the mark 148. (Or change of display color, change of display size, etc.).
Then, the “execute” button 156 is pressed in that state, or the selection area 17 corresponding to the facility position on the map is displayed.
By either touching within 0, the selection of the facility is determined. In addition, the change of the selection, list 1
At 65, it is executed by touching the other facility name part again. If there are many facility names in the facility list 165 that cannot be displayed in the list display window 155, the facility list 165 can be scrolled by pressing the scroll keys 190 and 191 and the desired facility can be scrolled. When the name appears, you can select it in the same way.

When the selection of the facility is completed as described above, the flow proceeds to S213 in FIG. 24, where the data of the facility information is read from the facility information data storage section 38 of the management computer 5 and transferred to the terminal device 3. Then, the process proceeds to S8 in FIG. 9 to perform the above-described information output process.

In the example described above, the map is enlarged / reduced only between the two types of scales. However, three or more types of map data having different scales are prepared and 3 The map may be configured to be able to be enlarged / reduced between the above scales. In this case, by repeatedly performing a touch operation on a desired position of the displayed map, the map can be sequentially enlarged. On the other hand,
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which reduction is not particularly performed.

In the above embodiment, the map is divided into blocks in advance, and each block is set as the enlargement target area. However, the enlargement target area having a predetermined shape and size is touched. It is also possible to set each time so as to satisfy a certain positional relationship with the position (designated enlargement position). FIG. 35 shows an example thereof. That is, the horizontal lines AB and CD are set at positions above and below the coordinate of the touch position by an equal distance k, respectively, and the vertical lines AC and BD are respectively set at the positions equally left and right at the same distance j.
Is set, and the area ABCD surrounded by these lines is set as the enlargement target area. The shape of the area ABCD can be a rectangular shape similar to the map display window 130. In this case, as shown in FIG. 21B, the map data is not divided into blocks.

Then, as shown in FIG.
The image data of the large scale map corresponding to the BCD is selectively read out, and the map display window
A map of the area ABCD enlarged in 0 is displayed. As a result, the enlarged view is displayed such that the portion corresponding to the touch position is always located near the center of the map display window 130. In this embodiment, the map can be scrolled not in blocks but continuously.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, different map data is prepared for each scale. However, it is also possible to store only one type of map data of the reference scale. In this case, the map data for enlarged display is generated by reading map data belonging to the enlargement target area (or block) and performing enlargement conversion at a predetermined magnification on the map data.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 22A, character data on the map is separately prepared as character data 304, and character information is pasted and synthesized on the enlarged map based on the data 304. A method can be adopted. In this way, even when the map is enlarged / reduced, characters can always be displayed in a legible size. On the other hand, as a simple method, as shown in FIG. 22B, character data is also incorporated in the map image data, and as shown in FIG. It is also possible to reduce the size.

In response to the addition of the map search function, the following contents can be added to the information search apparatus of the present invention. Map data storage means: Stores map data. Facility information storage means: various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities,
And information (facility information) about various facilities such as service providing facilities and the like, in association with positional information on a map. Map display means: The map image is displayed based on the map data, together with the location of the facility based on the location information. Facility selection means: an input unit which is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the map display means and is capable of seeing through the screen, and performs a predetermined input by touching or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof. At the position corresponding to the facility position on the screen, the facility is selected by touching or approaching the pointing object to the surface of the input unit. Note that the input unit can be configured with, for example, a touch panel. Facility information output means: Outputs facility information of the selected facility.

According to the above arrangement, the location of the facility is displayed on the map by the map display means, and at the corresponding position, the finger or the like is directly input to the input unit overlaid on the screen of the map display means. The desired facility can be selected by touching (or approaching the finger, etc.)
The detailed information of the selected facility is output from the facility information output means. As a result, for example, information on a facility that matches the desire in both the location and the content can be obtained accurately and quickly by an extremely intuitive operation. The map display means may be configured to display the position of the facility searched by the facility search means. In this case, the location of the searched facility can be easily confirmed on the map.

In the above configuration, the selection area can be set so as to surround the location of each facility on the map displayed on the screen. Then, the facility selecting means determines whether or not the input position of the pointing object with respect to the input unit is located within a selection area set on the screen below the pointing object,
When it is determined that the input position is located in the selection area, the facility can be selected. In other words, by properly defining the selection area, even if there is an individual difference in the contact position with the displayed facility position,
Facility selection can be made reliably.

Further, on the map, a mark indicating the facility location and the facility name of the facility can be displayed at a position close to the mark. In this case, the selection determination area can be set so as to include the mark and the displayed facility name. This makes it easier to search for facilities on the map.

The facility information can be stored in the facility information storage means in association with the genres of the facilities. In this case, a genre selection means for selecting the genre can be provided, and the map display means can be configured to display the location of the facility of the selected genre on a map. Thereby, facilities of a desired genre can be easily found on the map.

Further, the following requirements can be added. Enlarged designated position setting means: an input unit which is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the map display means and is capable of seeing through the screen, and performs a predetermined input by touching or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof. At the position corresponding to the portion of the displayed map to be enlarged, the designated designated position is set on the map by contacting or approaching the pointing object to the surface of the input unit. Note that the input unit can be configured with, for example, a touch panel. Enlargement target area setting means: Corresponds to the specified enlargement designation position, and sets a predetermined enlargement target area on the map so as to include the enlargement designation position. Enlarged display map data generating means: Generates enlarged display map data of the set enlargement target area. Display control means: Based on the generated map data for enlarged display, the map of the area to be enlarged is enlarged and displayed on the map display means.

According to the above configuration, a desired portion of the displayed map is directly touched by a finger or the like (or the finger or the like is approached) with respect to an input unit (for example, a touch panel) superimposed on the map display screen. As a result, the touched position is set as the enlargement designated position, an appropriate enlargement target area including the position is set, and the map of the enlargement target area is enlarged and displayed. That is, it is possible to easily enlarge a desired place on the map by an extremely intuitive operation of directly touching the place with a finger. Note that, with the enlargement of the map, the display position of the facility and the set position of the selected area are changed to those corresponding to the enlarged map.

The input section of the facility selecting section and the input section of the enlarged designated position setting section can use the same input section. In this case, mode selection means for selecting one of a facility selection mode for selecting a facility and an enlarged designated position setting mode for setting an enlarged designated position,
Input section setting switching means for switching the setting of the input section between the two modes based on the selection result can be provided. That is, by appropriately switching between the two modes, the operation of selecting a facility on the map and the operation of enlarging a desired portion of the map can be clearly distinguished, and both processes can be performed smoothly.

The map data storage means can store map data of a plurality of maps having different scales. In this case, the map data generating means for enlarged display, when the enlargement target area is set on the map being displayed, converts the map data of the predetermined map having a larger scale to the data corresponding to the enlargement target area. Is read out, and this is used as map data for enlarged display. According to this, since the map data dedicated to the enlarged display is prepared, it is possible to perform a precise and high-quality enlarged display.

On the other hand, the map data storage means may be configured to store only map data of a reference scale map. In this case, the enlarged display map data generating means reads out the map data corresponding to the enlargement target area, performs enlargement conversion of the map data at a predetermined magnification, and uses the converted map data as the enlarged display map data. Thus, the size of the map data can be reduced, and the capacity of the storage means can be saved.

The map can be divided into a plurality of predetermined blocks arranged in a predetermined number of rows and columns.
In this case, the enlargement target area setting means determines and selects the block to which the designated enlargement designation position belongs from among the plurality of blocks, and sets this as the enlargement target area. According to this, the setting processing of the enlargement target area can be simplified. For example, in the map display means, the screen area on which the map is displayed can be divided into the same number of vertical and horizontal matrices by blocks of the same size having a shape similar to the screen area. Then, the map display control means enlarges the block selected by the enlargement target area setting means at a magnification equal to the number of arrangements of the blocks, and displays this using the entire screen area. be able to. This makes it easier to see the enlarged view.

On the other hand, the enlargement target area setting means can be configured to set an enlargement target area having a fixed shape and size each time so as to satisfy a fixed positional relationship with a designated enlargement designated position. According to this, the enlargement target area is set so as to satisfy a fixed positional relationship with the designated enlargement position, for example, the designated enlargement position is set to be the center of the enlargement target area. It is also possible to always enlarge and display the part without excess or shortage.

Further, on the screen of the map display means, a scroll means for scrolling the displayed map can be provided. According to this, a map of a wide area can be covered, and a map area that protrudes from the screen can be referred to at any time by scrolling the map area. In this case, the map can be divided into a plurality of predetermined blocks arranged in a predetermined number of vertical and horizontal directions, and the scroll means can be configured to scroll the map in two vertical and horizontal directions in block units. Thereby, the image processing at the time of scrolling can be simplified.

The above-mentioned configuration includes a facility list display means for displaying a list of facility names on the map displayed on the map display means in a list, and a facility name of a facility which is out of the screen of the map display means as the map is enlarged. Can be added to the list display control means for deleting from the facility list display means. That is, since the facility names displayed on the map are displayed in a list, the facility can be more easily searched. And
Facilities that are out of the screen with the enlargement of the map are automatically deleted from the list, so that it is possible to intuitively narrow down the facilities by specifying an area on the map.

Further, a facility name selecting means for selecting a facility name in the list, and a facility position display for changing a display state of the location of the facility displayed on the map as the facility name is selected in the list. Control means can be provided. In this case, the display state can be changed, for example, by changing the display color, changing the display size, blinking the display, and the like. Thereby, the position of the desired facility on the map can be easily confirmed. The facility name selecting means is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the display device constituting the facility list displaying means and is configured to be able to see through the screen, and makes a pointing object such as a finger or the like contact or approach the surface thereof. Thus, an input unit (for example, a touch panel) for performing a predetermined input can be provided. In this case, in the area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list, the facility is selected by touching or approaching the pointing object to the input unit. Thereby, the selection of the facility can be performed by a more intuitive operation.

In the configuration described above, the facility information data is collectively managed by the management computer 5 and the search processing is also performed on the management computer 5 side. The information providing apparatus of the present invention can be configured by a computer system having a hardware configuration alone. In this case, as shown in FIG.
The facility information data storage unit 24 may be provided in the storage device 22.

Each function of the information providing device 1 is essentially realized by each program stored in the storage device 22. Therefore, if these programs are stored in a floppy disk, the above programs can be installed in the storage device 22 from the floppy disk drive 25 in a computer system having substantially the same hardware configuration as that shown in FIG. The function of the information providing device 1 can be ported to the computer system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of an information providing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a perspective view showing an arrangement mode of a touch panel and an explanatory view of an operation principle of the touch panel.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management computer.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a facility information data storage unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a sub-genre.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of character data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of the operation of the information providing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the information search process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the information output process.

FIG. 12 is a process explanatory view showing the operation of the information providing apparatus together with its screen display state.

FIG. 13 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is another process explanatory view following FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of a method of displaying numerical information in a graphic form.

FIG. 19 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 13, FIG. 15 or FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of printout of facility information.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of map data together with its modified example.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing another modification of the contents of map data.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a small-scale map and a large-scale map.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of a map-based search process.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of the enlargement designation process.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of the facility selection process.

FIG. 27 is a process explanatory view showing the operation of the apparatus when the map-based search process is selected, by the screen display state thereof.

FIG. 28 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 28;

30 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a conceptual diagram of a block selection process.

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of blocks of a large-scale map.

FIG. 33 is a schematic view showing another example.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of a process of a map scrolling process.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing another setting method of the enlargement target area.

FIG. 36 is a view showing the concept of map enlargement based on the map.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram of a method of performing enlargement conversion on map data to generate enlarged display data.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which numerical conditions are performed by operating a condition setting button.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information provision apparatus 19 Touch panel (numerical condition setting means, facility selection means, numerical range input means) 21 Monitor (display device, information output means, facility list display means) 32 CPU (facility search means) 38 facility information data storage section ( Facility information storage means) 179 scale 180 pointer

Claims (16)

[Claims] Claims 1. Information about various facilities (hereinafter, facility information) such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Facility information storage means for storing in association with the numerical information, numerical condition setting means for setting a predetermined condition for the numerical information, and a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition is the facility information A facility search means for searching in the storage means, a facility display means for displaying a facility name of the searched facility in a facility list, and a desired facility among the facilities displayed in the list. Information providing apparatus characterized by comprising: a facility selection means for selecting from a facility information output means for outputting the facility information of the selected facility, the. 2. Information about facilities (hereinafter, facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, etc., from a predetermined reference position to each of the above facilities. Facility information stored in association with one or more types of numerical information whose contents vary numerically according to the facility, such as the distance or required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Storage means; numerical condition setting means for setting predetermined conditions for the numerical information; and facility searching means for searching the facility information storing means for facilities whose contents of the numerical information match the set conditions. Facility list display means for displaying the facility name of the searched facility on a screen of a display device; and superimposing and disposing the screen on the screen of the display device. An input unit configured to be visible and having a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof, and an input unit in an area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list. An information providing device, comprising: a facility selecting means for selecting the facility by contacting or approaching the pointing object with the facility; and a facility information output means for outputting facility information of the selected facility. . 3. The numerical value condition setting means includes numerical value range input means for inputting a numerical value range as the numerical value condition so that the numerical value range can be changed in a stepwise or continuous manner. In the facility information storage means, the facility information storage means is searched, and as the input content of the numerical value range is changed, facilities that match the changed numerical value range are searched again. 2. The number of facility names displayed on the facility list is increased or decreased as the input content of the numerical range is changed based on a re-search result.
Or the information providing device according to any one of 2. 4. A numerical range display means for visually displaying the numerical range on a screen of a display device based on the size and area of a figure or a relative positional relationship between two or more figures, is provided. The means is arranged to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and is configured to be able to see through the screen, and has an input unit for performing a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof, At the position corresponding to the figure, the pointing object comes into contact with or approaches the input unit, and in this state, the pointing object is moved in a predetermined direction, thereby changing the numerical value range, and the numerical value is changed. 4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the visual display content of the range in the figure is also changed in conjunction with the graphic display. 5. The graphic representing the numerical range is a scale,
A pointer that is movable along the scale, and defines the numerical range by its own relative position to the scale, and touches or approaches the pointing object to a position corresponding to the pointer on the input unit; The moving of the pointing object in the direction along the scale in this state causes the pointer to move in the moving direction of the pointing object in conjunction therewith, thereby changing the numerical range. Information providing device. 6. The numerical value information is a distance from a predetermined reference position to the facility, and the numerical value condition setting means specifies a range of the distance as the numerical value condition. 5. The information providing device according to any one of 5. 7. The time required to reach the facility when moving from a predetermined reference position by walking or by using a predetermined means of transportation such as a railway, bus, taxi or the like from a predetermined reference position. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the numerical condition setting means specifies a range of a required time as the numerical condition. 8. The facility is at least a part of a toll facility, the numerical information is a fee for use of the toll facility, and the numerical condition setting means includes a range of the fee as the numerical condition. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the information providing device specifies: 9. The facility information is stored in the facility information storage means in association with the genre of the facility, and a genre selection means for selecting the genre is provided. 9. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facility is searched for in a selected genre. 10. Information on various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents vary numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Facility information storage means for storing in association with the numerical information, numerical condition setting means for setting a predetermined condition for the numerical information, and a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition is the facility information Facility searching means for searching in the storage means, facility displaying means for displaying the location of the searched facility on a map, and selecting a desired one of the displayed facilities That a facility selection means, the information providing apparatus for a facility information output means for outputting the facility information of the selected facility, comprising the. 11. The facility according to claim 10, further comprising: facility list display means for displaying a facility name of the searched facility in a facility list; and facility selecting means for selecting a desired one of the facilities displayed in the list. Information providing device. 12. The numerical condition setting means is capable of setting a plurality of numerical conditions of different types, and the facility searching means searches only facilities that satisfy all of the plurality of numerical conditions. Claims 1 to 11
The information providing device according to any one of the above. 13. Information about various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility A predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage unit searches for a facility whose content matches the set condition in the numerical information. A list (hereinafter referred to as a facility list) displaying a list of searched facility names is displayed on the facility list display means, and a desired one of the listed facilities is displayed. Selected, the storage medium, characterized in that the facility information of the selected facility for storing a program for performing processing of outputting the facility information output means. 14. Information on various facilities (hereinafter, facility information) such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility A predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage unit searches for a facility whose content matches the set condition in the numerical information. The facility name of the searched facility is displayed on a screen of a display device, and is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and configured to allow the screen to be seen through. An input unit for performing a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger is provided, and in a region corresponding to each facility name in the facility list, the pointing object is brought into contact with or approaching the input unit. A storage medium storing a program for performing a process of selecting the facility and outputting facility information of the selected facility to facility information output means. 15. Information about various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility A predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage unit searches for a facility whose content matches the set condition in the numerical information. The searched facility name is displayed on the map by the facility display means, a desired one of the displayed facilities is selected, and the facility information of the selected facility is displayed as the facility information. Storage medium characterized by storing a program for performing the process of outputting to the output unit. 16. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
13. A storage medium storing a program for realizing the processing according to any one of 12.