JP2004004955A - Method for specifying location and method for displaying map - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply specify location and to specify the location based on a new map soon after only the map is updated. <P>SOLUTION: A national map is divided into a division of 900 square seconds, each division is divided into blocks of 30 square seconds, and each block is divided into respective units of one square second to realize hierarchical designation of a region on a map. A three-digit division code is defined to each division, a three-digit block code is defined to each block according to a relative positional relation in the division and a three-digit unit code is defined to each unit according to a relative positional relation in the block. Thus, concerning a division code constituting a characteristic code corresponding to a prescribed local region, young numbers in the code system is sorted so as to reduce the substantial number of digits as the whole characteristic code. Then, a corresponding unit square division is specified from the region on a displayed map and the characteristic code is specified from the specified unit square division to realize outputting the specified code. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

(4) The present invention relates to a point specifying method and a map display method.

Conventionally, there is known a method of inputting latitude and longitude when a point is to be specified in a car navigation device, for example. Also, as in Patent Document 1, recently, a method of storing correspondences between telephone numbers and addresses and buildings in a map database and specifying a point by inputting a telephone number is also adopted. Have been.

Further, as in Patent Document 2, a method of assigning a registration number to each point on a road (intersection, starting point of a road, an arbitrary point between intersections), and specifying a point by the registration number has also been proposed. .
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-60479 JP-A-6-88735

However, in the method of specifying a point by latitude and longitude, it is necessary to input binary parameters of latitude and longitude, and the input becomes complicated. In addition, since a binary parameter is used, if the input order is incorrect, the position is erroneously specified. Therefore, there is a problem that operability is poor.

In addition, in the method of specifying a point by phone number or address, the relationship between the phone number, the building, etc., and the map must be stored in a database in advance, and if this database is not constantly updated, the latest information will be obtained. There is a problem that it is not possible to specify a point based on the information. The method of specifying a point by a registration number has a similar problem in that a database must be updated when a new road is created.

Therefore, the present invention can easily specify a point, and can immediately specify a point or display a map near the point based on a new map by updating only the map. The purpose is to do.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the unique code is unified, it is not necessary to input the information twice, as in the case of latitude and longitude, and the location is incorrectly specified in the wrong order. Nothing. Here, the term “one element” has the same meaning as the one element in the case of being called a one-element linear equation or a one-element quadratic equation in mathematics, and means that there is one parameter.

According to claim 1 of the present invention, a code is not attached to the map itself, but a code is attached to the unit cell of the mesh. Therefore, once the code is determined, a new road can be created. No additional code or changes are needed. It is desirable that the unit cell set here is set to a cell small enough to specify a point on the map. For example, if an area of several tens of meters square is set as a unit cell, a point can be specified within a range of several tens of meters square, and there is no problem even if it is a point in practical use. In other words, in the present invention, it can be said that it is desirable to define a unit cell having a sufficiently small size so that a point can be specified.

Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, for the unique code of the unit cell corresponding to the predetermined area on the map, the lower digits in the code system of the unique code are assigned, so that the substantial digits as the entire unique code are assigned. The number is defined to be small.

This reduces the number of digits of the unique code itself corresponding to the predetermined area as a whole. In this case, the predetermined area may be, for example, an area having a high demand for specifying a point, for example, an urban area.

定義 If the number of digits is defined to be such a small number, the trouble of inputting the unique code is reduced, which is convenient for the user. For example, in the case of “123456789” and “000456789”, both have the same number of digits in the form of 9 digits, but the latter code can omit the leading “000” when inputting. If the system is configured, the number of digits is substantially different. The substantial number of digits in the present invention has such a meaning, and refers to the number of digits in consideration of trouble in inputting a code.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a corresponding unit cell is specified from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, the unique code is specified from the specified unit cell, and the specified unit cell is specified. Output unique codes.
In this way, the unique code can be used to inform other people of a point that has been visited once, and if the navigation system employing the method of the present invention is used, the destination can be accurately communicated. It is possible to do.

Further, as in the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, if the unit cells have the same size, the map is updated, and a point on the map is specified even if a target building or the like increases. There is an advantage that the size of the unit that can be formed does not change. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-88735, a method is used in which a portion other than a road is specified by assigning a code number to a cell whose size is changed between the county and the city. There is a problem that a point can be specified only in a wide range, and it becomes difficult to specify the point when a plurality of buildings and the like are separated in a large square in the future. On the other hand, according to the method of the present invention, since the unit cells have the same size, such a problem does not occur as long as the cells are defined with a sufficiently small size as described above. Therefore, there is an advantage that an error in the designation of a point can be made uniform.

構成 In addition, it is preferable to configure as in claim 3 of the present invention.

Specifically, the unique code may be defined such that the large cell code is the upper digit and the small cell code is the lower digit. Of course, the unique code may be defined by other combinations such as defining the relationship between the upper digit and the lower digit in reverse. It is to be noted that the number of hierarchies is not limited to two, but may be increased to three, four,..., Such as defining one extra-large square with a plurality of large squares. Also, the small squares and / or large squares may or may not all be of uniform size.

で も In this method, the same operation and effect as those of the method described first can be obtained. In other words, since the location can be specified by the unified unique code, the designation is easy, and the map and the code are separated. Therefore, even if the map is changed, the code does not need to be changed, and the map is always updated. This is the same as the method described first in that the point can be specified for.

Further, in the above-described method, since the number of digits of the unique code corresponding to the predetermined area can be reduced, for example, an area having a high request for specifying a point such as a city center is defined to have a small number of digits. Although the trouble of inputting the unique code is eased and it is convenient for the user, it has been described that in the case of this method, the unique code is configured by combining the small square code and the large square code. By assigning the younger numbers in the code system of the large cell code constituting the large cell code, the actual number of digits as the whole unique code is reduced. As described above, since the number of digits of the large cell code is reduced, the number of digits of the entire unique code corresponding to the predetermined area can be reduced as in the above-described method. If the number is defined so as to have a small number of digits, the trouble of inputting the unique code is reduced, which is convenient for the user.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a corresponding unit cell is specified from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, the unique code is specified from the specified unit cell, and the specified code is specified. Output unique codes.

In this way, the unique code can be used to inform other people of a point that has been visited once, and if the navigation system employing the method of the present invention is used, the destination can be accurately communicated. It is possible to do.

(3) The third aspect of the present invention provides an advantage over the first-described method. In the method that also employs the large cells, it is preferable that the small cell codes be defined according to a common rule between the large cells. In this case, it is desirable that the large squares have the same size. In this way, a code is regularly attached to a large number of small cells, and it is possible to make a mathematical expression.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the output unique code can be transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line.
When these methods of the present invention are applied to map display, they can be configured as in claim 6.

In the map display method according to the sixth aspect, when a large square is specified by the large square code as in the seventh aspect, a map including an area covered by the specified large square is displayed. It is a good idea to do so. As a result, hierarchical map display can be easily performed, and furthermore, since all of them can be specified by codes, there is an advantage that no complicated or erroneous specification such as latitude and longitude occurs.

(5) According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the sixth or seventh aspect, the output unique code can be transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line.

Similarly, in the point specifying method according to the ninth aspect, the map display method according to the eleventh aspect, and the point specifying method according to the thirteenth aspect, the output unique code is transmitted to a communication line. And send it to the outside.

Regarding the point identification method described in claim 3 and the specific mesh size in the map display method described in claim 6, those described in claims 9 and 11 can be considered.

１３ Further, with regard to the definition of the unique code in the point identification method described in claim 1, the one described in claim 13 can be considered.

The "predetermined area" in the above-described method for specifying a point and the method for displaying a map may be an area having a high request for specifying a point, such as a city center, as described in claims 15 and 16.

Regarding the distribution of the numbers in the code system of the unique codes, it is conceivable to determine the areas with higher priority so that the frequently used areas have smaller numbers, as described in claims 17 and 18.

As described above, the present invention has been described in various ways. According to the present invention, when a unique code is input, an area (point) of a map corresponding to the unique code can be directly searched, and the entire unique code corresponding to a predetermined area can be obtained. Since the number of digits can be reduced, for example, if an area where a location is highly required such as a city center is defined to have a small number of digits, the trouble of inputting a unique code is reduced, which is convenient for the user.

Next, several examples of a car navigation device will be described in order to clarify an embodiment of the present invention.

[First embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the car navigation device 10 of the first embodiment includes a GPS receiver 11 for receiving signals from GPS satellites, a wheel speed sensor 13, and a direction sensor including a yaw rate sensor or a geomagnetic sensor. 15, a CD-ROM drive unit 17 for driving a CD-ROM storing a map database, and a data setting / display device 19 are connected. Here, the data setting / display device 19 includes a screen for displaying a map, a speaker for making an announcement by voice, and an operation panel for inputting various commands, numerical values, and the like.

The car navigation device 10 is composed of a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a modem, and the like. The car navigation device 10 calculates the absolute position of a vehicle based on a radio wave received by a GPS receiver 11, and a wheel speed sensor 13. And autonomous navigation which calculates the moving direction and the moving amount of the vehicle based on the detection signal of the direction sensor 15. Then, the current position of the vehicle is calculated by the GPS navigation while the radio wave from the GPS satellite can be received, and by the autonomous navigation while the radio wave cannot be received, and the driving route is guided by superimposing the current position on the map database in the CD-ROM. It has become.

The CD-ROM stores a database of a nationwide map represented according to latitude and longitude coordinates. In the first embodiment, the above-mentioned map database is constructed so that this nationwide map can be specified in units of a primary mesh composed of grids of latitude × longitude = 900 seconds × 900 seconds. The database is constructed so that the area in each cell of the primary mesh can be specified in units of a secondary mesh composed of cells of latitude × longitude = 30 seconds × 30 seconds. It is also constructed so that the area in the cell can be further specified as a tertiary mesh composed of cells of latitude × longitude = 1 second × 1 second. When this relationship is shown in a schematic diagram, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 2 is obtained.

In the first embodiment, as shown in Table 1 below, the hard disk of the car navigation device 10 stores, in a table, code numbers for specifying the cells of the primary mesh. The primary mesh is composed of a maximum of 1000 squares, and the code number is such that three-digit numbers from “000” to “999” are associated with each square of the primary mesh on a one-to-one basis. I have. Hereinafter, the three-digit number is referred to as a section code, the primary mesh cell is referred to as a section, and Table 1 is referred to as a section code table. This section code table is expressed in the same latitude and longitude coordinate system as the map database.

　なお、区画コードは、使用頻度に合わせて付番するものとし、東京、大阪、横浜、名古屋といった使用頻度の高い大都市は小さな数字となるように地域を優先して決定しておく。また、区画コードは、基本を９００×９００秒四方（８１万秒四方）の領域とするが、地形に合わせるため、最大９０万秒四方まで延伸拡張可能、または横長の１３５０×６００秒四方の領域、縦長の４５０×１８００秒四方の領域の設定も可能とする。すなわち、区画は最大１０００ブロックで構成される。

The division codes are numbered in accordance with the frequency of use, and large cities with a high frequency of use, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya, are determined with priority given to the area so that the numbers are small. The section code is basically 900 × 900 seconds square (810,000 seconds square), but it can be extended up to 900,000 seconds square to fit the terrain, or it is a horizontally long 1350 × 600 seconds square area. It is also possible to set a vertically long area of 450 × 1800 seconds square. That is, the partition is constituted by a maximum of 1000 blocks.

On the hard disk of the car navigation device 10, code numbers of "000" to "899" are preferentially arranged in the horizontal direction from the lower left to the upper right in accordance with the positional relationship in each section for the secondary mesh cells. The table shown in Table 2 below is also stored so that the cells of the secondary mesh can be specified for each section on a one-to-one basis.

Specifically, a code number “000” is defined in the lower left corner of the block as a code number, and code numbers “001”, “002”,... Subsequently, the second row from the bottom is defined as “030”, “031”,..., “059” in order from the left, and similarly, the code numbers are defined in a one-to-one manner up to “899” in the upper right corner. It is being done.

Hereinafter, this code number is called a block code, each cell of the secondary mesh is called a block, and Table 2 is called a block code table.

　カーナビゲーション装置１０のハードディスクにはさらに、３次メッシュの升目について、各ブロック内の位置関係に応じて、ブロックコードと同様のルールで「０００」〜「８９９」のコード番号が、ブロック毎に３次メッシュの升目を１対１で特定できるように下記表３の様なテーブルも記憶されている。以下、このコード番号をユニットコードと呼び、３次メッシュの各升目をユニットと呼び、表３のテーブルをユニットコードテーブルと呼ぶ。なお、この３次メッシュの升目は全て同一サイズでなくてもよい。

The hard disk of the car navigation device 10 further stores code numbers “000” to “899” for each cubic mesh according to the same positional relationship as the block code in accordance with the positional relationship in each block. A table as shown in Table 3 below is also stored so that the next mesh cell can be specified on a one-to-one basis. Hereinafter, this code number is called a unit code, each cell of the tertiary mesh is called a unit, and the table in Table 3 is called a unit code table. Note that all the cells of the tertiary mesh need not be the same size.

　ここで、区画コードについては全てが異なった番号となっているが、ブロックコードについては区画が異なる場合には同一のコード番号が存在し、ユニットコードについてもブロックが異なる場合には同一のコード番号が存在することとなる。従って、３桁のユニットコードだけでは１個のユニットコードを特定することができない。しかし、図３に示す様に、区画コード、ブロックコード及びユニットコードの３つのコードをつなげて９桁で表現することにより、各ユニット毎に１対１で対応するコード番号が形成される。この９桁のコード番号を、以下、固有コードと呼ぶ。

Here, all the section codes have different numbers, but the block codes have the same code numbers when the sections are different, and the unit codes have the same code numbers when the blocks are different. Will exist. Therefore, one unit code cannot be specified only by a three-digit unit code. However, as shown in FIG. 3, by connecting three codes of the section code, the block code, and the unit code and expressing them by 9 digits, a corresponding code number is formed for each unit on a one-to-one basis. The nine-digit code number is hereinafter referred to as a unique code.

最小 The minimum unit of the unique code is a rectangle of 1 second each for latitude and longitude, and a maximum of 9 digits is used to specify the land on Japan. The unique code is composed of a three-digit portion for each of the section, block, and unit from the top. Also, the leading 0 is omitted from the unique code. This unique code has 1,000 × 900 × 900 = 810,000,000 different numbers from “00000,000,000” to “999,899,899” from the above relationship. However, it is not necessary to store all of the 810 million different unique codes, and the block code is only 900 data in the XY coordinate system whose origin is the lower left latitude and longitude of each section. In the same manner, the unit codes need to be tabulated only as 900 data in the XY coordinate system whose origin is the latitude and longitude at the lower left of each block. Therefore, in this embodiment, a total of 1000 + 900 + 900 = If a table representing 2800 data is stored, 810 million unique code numbers can be represented.

Then, from the relations in Tables 1 to 3, for example, the absolute position of the unit with the unique code = “000,899,899” is longitude = (○○ + 8 minutes 30 seconds + 29 seconds) to (●●● + 8 minutes) 30 seconds + 30 seconds) and latitude = (□□□ + 8 minutes 30 seconds + 29 seconds) to (■■■ + 8 minutes 30 seconds + 30 seconds). Therefore, a map corresponding to longitude = (○○ + 8 minutes 59 seconds) to (●●● + 9: 00 minutes) and latitude = (□□□ + 8 minutes 59 seconds) to (■■■ + 9: 00 minutes) By reading from the database, the point corresponding to the unique code = “000,899,899” can be displayed on the screen.

Since the map database itself is made into a database according to the latitude and longitude coordinates, the unique code = “000,899,899” is specified, and the longitude = (○○ + 8 minutes 59 seconds) to (●●● + 9 minutes) as an area 00 seconds) and latitude = (□□□ + 8 minutes 59 seconds) to (■■■ + 9: 00 minutes), the corresponding map can be immediately read from the database and displayed on the screen.

Also, if a unique code = “000,899,899” is input in a destination input when searching for a route instead of displaying it on the screen, for example, longitude = (○○○ + 8 minutes and 59 seconds) to (●● The target point is specified in an area of (+9: 00 minutes) and latitude = (□□□ + 8 minutes 59 seconds) to (■■■ + 9: 00 minutes).

In the first embodiment, as described above, the division codes are numbered according to the frequency of use, and large cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya that are frequently used have small numbers. . This is because the section code corresponds to the “large square code” in the present invention, and the substantial number of digits is relatively determined by sorting the large section code, which is the large square code, to the younger number in the code system of the square code. This is intended to be set to be smaller. Specifically, the section code of Tokyo is "000", and the section codes of Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya are "001", "002", and "003", respectively. Since the leading 0 is omitted from the unique code as described above, in the case of Tokyo, all three digits of the division code can be omitted, and the three-digit block code and the three-digit unit code can be omitted. It can be expressed with only six digits in total. Also, for the section codes of Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya, it is possible to express the section code with only one digit of “1,” “2,” and “3” by omitting the leading 0 from the unique code. it can. Therefore, the specific code of each point is as follows.

For example, as for (latitude, longitude) for a section indicating the area of the Tokyo area, the lower left corner in the section is (139 degrees 37 minutes 30 seconds, 35 degrees 35:00 seconds) and the upper right corner is (139 degrees 52 minutes 30 seconds). , 35 degrees 50 minutes 00 seconds). The unique code of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (139 degrees 41 minutes 41 seconds, 35 degrees 39 minutes 56 seconds) is "000279791" because the section code is "000", the block code is "279", and the unit code is "791". By omitting the leading zero as described above, it becomes practically 6 digits “2797971”. Similarly, the unique code of Tokyo Station (139 degrees 46 minutes 13 seconds, 35 degrees 39 minutes 26 seconds) is “257793”.

For the section indicating the area of the Nagoya area, the lower left corner in the section is (136 degrees 52 minutes 30 seconds, 35 degrees 00 minutes 00 seconds), and the upper right corner is (137 degrees 07 minutes 30 seconds, 35 degrees 15 Minutes 00 seconds). The unique code of Nagoya City Hall (136 degrees 54 minutes 33 seconds, 35 degrees 09 minutes 28 seconds) is "003544843" because the section code is "003", the block code is "544", and the unit code is "843". By omitting the leading zeros as described above, it becomes substantially 7 digits “3544483”. Similarly, the unique code of Nagoya Station (136 degrees 53 minutes 04 seconds, 35 degrees 07 minutes 37 seconds) is assumed to be “34521414”.

(4) Since the number of digits of the division code corresponding to an area which is considered to be frequently used, such as a large city, is reduced, the number of digits of the entire unique code can be reduced. Therefore, for the user, the trouble of inputting the unique code into the area which is considered to be frequently used is reduced, which is convenient.

By the way, one second of longitude is equivalent to about 20 meters in Hokkaido, about 25 meters in Honshu, and about 30 meters in Okinawa. Therefore, with this unique code, a point can be specified with an area of about 30 meters square. Become. In such an area, a function is sufficiently achieved as a target point in a route search or the like.

Next, an example of the optimal route guidance processing in the first embodiment will be described. This process is started by designating the optimum route guidance mode from the operation panel in the data setting / display device 19, and is executed according to the procedure shown in FIG. First, the current position is specified by the GPS navigation and the autonomous navigation, and set as a starting point (S10). Next, the unique code of the target point input from the operation panel is read (S20), and the section code table is referred to based on the upper 3 digits of the 9-digit unique code to determine the latitude and longitude ranges of the section. Obtain (S30).

Then, referring to the block code table based on the fourth to sixth digits of the three digits, the relative latitude and longitude ranges of the blocks in the block are determined (S40), and this is the latitude determined in S30. Then, the block range is converted from the relative latitude and longitude to the absolute latitude and longitude by adding the range to the absolute latitude and longitude (S50).

Next, the relative latitude and longitude ranges of the units in the block are obtained by referring to the unit code table based on the three digits after the seventh digit (S60). By adding to the range of the latitude and longitude, the range of the unit obtained in S60 is converted from the relative latitude and longitude to the absolute latitude and longitude (S70). This means that the target point has been specified as an area of about 30 meters square.

Next, the map data of the portion covered by this unit is read from the map database, and this map is displayed on the display screen (S80). The driver moves the cursor on the display screen to formally determine the destination. In response to the determination of the arrival point by the driver (S90), a general optimum route calculation process is executed to determine the optimum route (S100). Thereafter, the display is returned to the map of the departure point, and route guidance is executed according to the optimal route determined in S100 (S110).

As described above, in the first embodiment, a point is specified by an area of latitude × longitude = 1 second × 1 second by a unique code defined for a unit capable of covering a nationwide map. Even in the case where the map database is updated by being newly provided, this area can be specified by the same unique code. In addition, since the unique code defined for each unit is a unitary parameter of 9 digits, the input order is not mistaken as in the case of specifying a point from both latitude and longitude, and the input itself is simple. It is.

In the first embodiment, when the unique code is input, the input of "0", "00", or "000" at the beginning of the section code may be omitted. That is, if there is only a six-digit input, it is regarded that the leading “000” has been omitted, and in the process of S30 shown in FIG. 4, the section code table is referred to based on “000”, Find the latitude and longitude range of a parcel. In this case, as described above, the Tokyo area corresponds. If only seven digits are input, it is regarded that the leading “00” is omitted, and in the process of S30 shown in FIG. 4, the one with “00” added to the upper one digit is used as the section code. . As described above, when the upper one digit is “1”, “001” added with “00” becomes the partition code, and in this case, the Osaka area corresponds. Similarly, if there is only an 8-digit input, it is regarded that the leading “0” has been omitted, and in the process of S30 shown in FIG. I do.

By doing this, in areas where the navigation system is used frequently, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya, it becomes possible to input a code with a smaller number of digits, and the input operation is further simplified. Setting such a section code also has the advantage that the metropolitan code itself can be easily remembered.

In the first embodiment, the final arrival point requires manual input by the driver. However, the final arrival point may be configured as follows. That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, after executing S10 to S80 in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment (that is, similar to S10 to S80 of FIG. 4), the roads on the displayed map are displayed. Node points such as intersections are extracted (S92), and the node having the shortest linear distance from the departure point is automatically set as the arrival point (S94).

様 子 This situation is schematically illustrated in FIG. In this example, the nodes N1 to N3 are extracted from the map corresponding to the unit U, the linear distances L1 to L3 to the departure point SP are calculated, and the shortest node N3 is set as the arrival point. As can be seen from this figure, there is not much difference even if any of N1 to N3 is selected as the arrival point.

After that, similar to the first embodiment, a general optimal route calculation process is executed to determine an optimal route, and route guidance is executed (S100, S110). In this modification, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are represented by the same step numbers, and description thereof is omitted.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The second embodiment has exactly the same configuration and function as the first embodiment, and is configured to execute the following processing. This process is started by designating the code output mode from the operation panel, and is executed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

First, the latitude and longitude of the current position of the vehicle are determined (S210). Then, based on the latitude and longitude of the current position, the section is specified by referring to the section code table, and the section code is obtained (S220). Subsequently, the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the section specified in S220 are subtracted from each of the latitude and longitude of the current position of the vehicle, and converted into relative latitude and longitude within the section (S230). Then, based on the relative latitude and longitude in this section, the block is specified by referring to the block code table, and the block code is obtained (S240).

Subsequently, the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the block specified in S240 are subtracted from each of the relative latitude and longitude in the block obtained in S230 to obtain the relative latitude and longitude in the block. Conversion is performed (S250). Then, based on the relative latitude and longitude in the block, the unit is specified by referring to the unit code table, and the unit code is obtained (S260).

When the section code, block code, and unit code are obtained in this way, a nine-digit unique code arranged in the order of the section code, block code, and unit code from the first digit is determined (S270), and this code number is displayed on the display at the current vehicle position. Is output to the outside by displaying it immediately (S280).

When the driver specifies the memo function (S290 = YES), the comment information input from the operation panel by the driver is loaded into the RAM (S300), and the comment information and the unique code determined in S270 are stored. The relation is written to the hard disk (S310). The content thus written can be read out later by inputting comment information from the operation panel.

For example, if you find the most suitable place for cherry-blossom viewing while driving, you can activate the code output mode and store the unique code along with comment information such as “optimum for cherry-blossom viewing”. Then, if you want to go to cherry blossom viewing, enter the comment “Optimal cherry blossom viewing”, read out the unique code, specify this as the target point, and execute route guidance, so you can easily go to the place you found earlier Can be. Also, just telling friends who have the same system this unique code can make it easy for everyone to get together.

In addition, even if it is not stored together with the comment information, for example, when the current position is notified to a third party from a car phone or the like, even if the place name is not known, the unique code is displayed on the screen by this code output mode, and this is displayed. The information may be read aloud, or the unique code may be transmitted to the third party via a communication line instead of being displayed on the screen. In this case, it is convenient to send this unique code directly to a car navigation device owned by a third party so that the third party does not need to manually input the unique code.

In such a case, it is necessary for the car navigation device to which the unique code is sent to obtain position information from the unique code, and therefore it is necessary to store a conversion formula of the unique code used for that purpose. In this case, the conversion formula of the longitude and the latitude defined from the unique code is as shown in Expression 1 below.

　ここで、Ａｎ：区画コード。

Here, An: section code.

Bn: block code.

$ Un: Unit code.

{A}: Partition definition table.

構成 さ れ る It is composed of the following three elements A_b, A_k and A_i.

A_b: the number of blocks in the horizontal direction in the section.

A_k: lower left longitude of the section (designated in degrees, minutes, and seconds).

A_i: lower left latitude of the section (specified in degrees, minutes, and seconds).

A_k [An]: A_K value given in a table for section code An.

{Bn} mod} A_b [An]: Too much when Bn is divided by A_b [An].

INT (Bn ÷ A_b [An]): Integer part of the value obtained by dividing Bn by A_b.
It is.

The unique code NC is as shown in Expression 2.

　これにより、固有コードを記憶していない装置に対して、位置情報が送信できる。このように、他の装置に位置情報を互換的に送信する場合に固有コードから緯度経度への上記換算式が役立つ。

Thereby, position information can be transmitted to a device that does not store the unique code. As described above, when the position information is transmitted to another device in a compatible manner, the above conversion formula from the unique code to the latitude and longitude is useful.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

The third embodiment is based on the premise that the configuration and functions described in the first embodiment are provided. In addition, the third embodiment also has the following characteristic configurations and functions to further improve convenience. Is what you do. That is, in the above-described first embodiment, the point is specified using the unique code defined to specify the unit cell such as the primary to tertiary mesh shown in FIG. In the example, it has a point specifying function using a unique code defined by another code system on the premise of this. In other words, the “facility specific code” individually corresponding to the target predetermined facility on the map is defined by a code system different from the above specific code, and the predetermined facility is defined by the specific facility code. Can be specified directly.

For example, the facility-specific code corresponding to a predetermined facility is set as follows.

Tokyo Station = Facility-specific code "1"
Shinjuku Station = Facility-specific code "2"
Tokyo Dome = Facility-specific code "3"
Tokyo Metropolitan Government = facility-specific code "6"
Nagoya Station = Facility-specific code "31"
Nagoya Dome = Facility-specific code "33"
Nagoya City Hall = Facility-specific code "36"
In this case, facility-specific codes that individually correspond to major facilities that are considered to be highly necessary for point-of-sale for users such as public facilities and large-scale companies and factories shall be separated from the unique codes. Is defined by the following code system. By doing so, a desired point (for example, the facility itself or its vicinity) can be directly specified by the facility-specific code, so that convenience of use is improved.

{Circle around (2)} By limiting the predetermined number of facilities to which the facility unique code is to be applied, the number of digits of the facility unique code itself can be reduced. For example, in the specific example described above, since the facility-specific codes are set in order from 1, the destination and the like can be specified with at least one digit. In particular, considering the application to car navigation systems, it is considered that there are many situations where it is desired to specify destinations and transit points on a facility basis, so reducing the number of code digits for point identification in this case is a reality. It is also very effective.

Of course, as described above, in order to reduce the number of digits of the facility unique code, it is necessary to limit the predetermined number of facilities to be covered by the facility unique code. Therefore, it can be said that it is preferable to use the point specifying method using the unique code described in the above-described first or second embodiment for specifying other points. When such a combination is used, it is natural that it is necessary to devise a unique code and a facility unique code so as not to overlap.

The measures for preventing duplication are roughly divided into a method of setting the number of digits itself so that the facility-specific code is smaller than the specific code, and a group of codes (numbers, symbols, etc.) not used in the specific code. Is used to represent the facility-specific code.

First, a method of setting the number of digits itself so that the facility unique code is smaller than the unique code will be described. For example, if the block code of the unique code is set from “001”, the assumed minimum number is “1000” even if a method of omitting the leading 0 is adopted. This means that if the section code, block code, and unit code are "000", "001", and "000", respectively, and the unique code is "000001000", the leading five-digit zero is omitted. is there. Therefore, in this case, since the entire unique code does not become three digits or less, for example, 1 to 999 can be used as a facility unique code without overlapping with the unique code, and appropriate processing can be performed without confusion. It is.

When the facility unique code is represented using a group of codes (numbers, symbols, etc.) not used in the unique code, for example, it is assumed that the block code and the unit code are set up to 899, and 900 It is conceivable to use a series, that is, 900 to 999. Of course, the number is not limited to 900 to 999, but means that the last three digits use the 900s. Therefore, even if the numbers are further increased by one digit, such as 1900 to 1999 or 2900 to 2999, or even further increased by one digit, and are 10900 to 10999, they do not overlap with the unique codes, and can be used as facility unique codes. These are examples to avoid duplication with the unique code.Besides, if the code systems on both the unique code side and the facility unique code side are devised, various settings that do not overlap with each other are possible. is there.

考慮 Also, in consideration of the assumption that the unique code is defined by three types of codes, the section code, the block code, and the unit code, the facility unique code can be used instead of the block code and the unit code. In other words, the area identification by the section code, which is a large area division range, is used as it is, and a predetermined facility in the area is identified by the facility unique code. By doing so, the range can be roughly narrowed down by the section code, and this is effective, for example, in consideration of the operation of the user when applied to a navigation system.

For example, the section code corresponding to the Tokyo area is “001”, the section code corresponding to the Nagoya area is “003”, and 900 to 999, which is not used for either the block code or the unit code, is used as the facility-specific code. An example is as follows.

Tokyo Station = Block code "001" + facility-specific code "901"
Shinjuku Station = Block code "001" + Facility-specific code "902"
Tokyo Dome = Section code "001" + facility-specific code "903"
Tokyo Metropolitan Government = Block code "001" + facility-specific code "906"
Nagoya Station = Block code "003" + facility-specific code "901"
Nagoya Dome = Section code “003” + facility-specific code “903”
Nagoya City Hall = Block code "003" + facility-specific code "906"
In this case as well, if it is configured that the leading 0 may be omitted when inputting the code, for example, "1901" for Tokyo Station, "1903" for Tokyo Dome, and 1903 for Nagoya Station For example, four digits such as "3901" is sufficient.

In other words, for example, in the case where the facility-specific code is set as a serial number within the whole of Japan, it takes much time for the user to find the facility-specific code corresponding to the desired facility. On the other hand, in the case of roughly narrowing down the area by the division code, for example, after specifying the area with the division code corresponding to the Tokyo area, the facility-specific code can be set considering only the area of Tokyo area, Naturally, the number of facility-specific codes is smaller than in the case of covering the entire range, and therefore the number of code digits can be reduced. As can be seen from the above specific example, since the section codes are different, even if the same “901” is used as the facility-specific code, Tokyo Station (1901) and Nagoya Station (3901) can be distinguished by the section code.

In addition, the facility-specific code in this case may be set to the same code for facilities that are likely to be commonly present in the area divided by the section code. For example, railway stations, municipal offices, police stations, hospitals, post offices, and the like. If there are a plurality of facilities of the same type, it is preferable to set one that is considered to be more important. For example, if there is a post office in charge of the district and a central post office, the central post office with higher importance is set.

け In this way, if only the facility-specific code is memorized, by specifying the section code indicating the area thereafter, it can be used universally in any area and the convenience is improved. For example, in the specific example described above, if the user remembers “901” as the facility-specific code, the Tokyo station can be designated by using the Tokyo area section code “001”, and the Nagoya area section code “003” can be specified. If used, Nagoya Station can be specified. Similarly, if the user remembers that the facility-specific code of the dome stadium is “903”, the Tokyo Dome, Nagoya Dome, Osaka Dome, and Fukuoka Dome can be easily specified by the section code.

ど の Which facility-specific code should be assigned to which facility may be appropriately determined according to various situations. For example, a code such as “110” may be assigned to a police station and “119” may be assigned to a hospital. For example, when applied to a car navigation system, this is a code that can be instantly conceived for police stations and emergency hospitals that carry injured persons involved in the event of an accident due to the nature of mounting on vehicles. (Number) is appropriate. In this case, it is necessary to devise a setting so that “110” or “119” does not exist in the code string composed of the block code of the unique code and the unit code.

Though three embodiments and modified examples have been described above for the embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these, and can be implemented in various other modes. In the first embodiment, the section of the primary mesh has a uniform size of 900 seconds × 900 seconds, but may be, for example, 1350 seconds × 600 seconds horizontally or 450 seconds × 1800 seconds vertically. Absent. The same applies to the secondary mesh and the tertiary mesh.

In the third embodiment, the combined use of the unique code and the facility unique code is described, and the necessity of devising each code system so that the two do not overlap is described. The input may be switched by a switch or the like. In this way, the input mode can be distinguished, so that the unique code and the facility unique code can be duplicated, so that the degree of freedom in setting each code system is increased.

In addition, when a unique code is used in each embodiment, in addition to the unique code of the unit, the system is configured to be able to specify a location by a telephone number, and switching between the unique code of the unit and the telephone number is performed by a switch or the like. May be made available. Also, in this case, when the location is specified by the unique code, the phone number of the building in the unit specified by the unique code is output to the screen, and the final arrival point of the route guidance is determined by this phone number. You may make it possible to specify. In this case, there is an advantage that operations such as cursor movement are eliminated, and the operation can be performed only by inputting numbers.

Further, although not particularly mentioned in the above embodiment, when only the section code is input, a map with a small scale of 900 seconds × 900 seconds is displayed, and when not only the section code but also the block code is input, 30 seconds is displayed. A map in a range of 30 seconds may be displayed, and a map of 1 second x 1 second may be displayed when a unique code is input.

Additionally, for example, the section code may not be of a fixed type but may be arbitrarily rewritten. This is because the area code frequently used can be set as a small number according to the user's address and the like, which may increase convenience.

In the above embodiment, the section code table and the like are stored in the car navigation device 10 side, but the section code table and the like may be stored in the CD-ROM side together with the map database. As an application range, for example, in a publication such as a travel guide book or a magazine, a fixed code may be additionally written for guiding a restaurant or a museum. According to this, there is an advantage that it is possible to provide route guidance to a restaurant that has just been made, which cannot be handled by the conventional method of specifying a telephone number.

In the case where the vehicle breaks down, the function of the second embodiment may be used to transmit a unique code of the current position of the vehicle to the rescue squad to provide route guidance. In this case, the driver of the failed vehicle can correctly call the rescue squad even if the failure location is on a land where geography is not known. Also, even if the map held by the rescue squad is different from the map held by the failed car, the unique code is the same, so that the rescue work can also be supported reliably in this regard. Can be expected.

In addition, in the delivery business of mail and parcels, the unique code can be used to go to the delivery destination without hesitation, especially in this case, regardless of whether the map is old or new, It becomes very convenient.

It is a block diagram showing the whole device composition as an embodiment of the invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hierarchical structure of the map in 1st Example. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a unique code according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the driving route guidance in 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the driving route guidance in a modification. It is explanatory drawing which shows the point of a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process in the code output mode in 2nd Example.

Explanation of reference numerals

10 ... car navigation device,
11 ... GPS receiver,
13 ... wheel speed sensor,
15 ... azimuth sensor,
17 ... CD-ROM drive unit,
19: Data setting / display device.

Claims (18)

In addition to defining a mesh in which unit cells are arranged vertically and horizontally so as to cover the target map, a unitary unique code is defined in each of the unit cells, and a unit cell is identified by the unique code, and the identification is performed. Is a method for specifying a point with an area covered by the unit square,
The unique code of the unit cell corresponding to a predetermined area in the map is defined such that a substantial number of digits as the entire unique code is reduced by sorting young numbers in the code system of the unique code. A step of specifying a unit cell by the unique code and specifying a point with an area covered by the specified unit cell;
Identifying a corresponding unit cell from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, identifying the unique code from the identified unit cell, and outputting the identified unique code. A spot identification method characterized by the following. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A spot specifying method, wherein the unit cells have the same size. In addition to defining a mesh in which large squares are arranged vertically and horizontally so as to cover the target map, the inside of each large square is divided into small unit squares, and each unit square is divided into one large square. A unitary unique code is defined by combining a small cell code for discriminating within and a large cell code for discriminating each large cell, and a unit cell is identified by the unique code. Is a method for identifying a point with an area covered by the unit square,
The unique code of the unit cell corresponding to a predetermined area in the map is assigned to the large cell code constituting the unique code. The unit code is specified by the unique code defined such that the number of digits is reduced, and a step of specifying a point with an area covered by the specified unit cell,
Identifying a corresponding unit cell from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, identifying the unique code from the identified unit cell, and outputting the identified unique code. A spot identification method characterized by the following. The method according to claim 3, wherein
The small area code is defined according to a common rule between large cells. In the spot specifying method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A spot specifying method, wherein the output unique code is transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line. In addition to defining a mesh in which large squares are arranged vertically and horizontally so as to cover the target map, the inside of each large square is divided into small unit squares, and each unit square is divided into one large square. A unitary unique code is defined by combining a small cell code for discriminating within and a large cell code for discriminating each large cell, and a unit cell is identified by the unique code. A map display method of specifying a point with an area covered by the specified unit cell, reading a map including the specified point from a map database and displaying the map on a screen,
The unique code of the unit cell corresponding to a predetermined area in the map is assigned to the large cell code constituting the unique code. The unit cell is specified by the unique code defined such that the number of digits is reduced, a point is specified by an area covered by the specified unit cell, and a map including the specified point is stored in a map database. Reading from the screen and displaying it on the screen;
Identifying a corresponding unit cell from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, identifying the unique code from the identified unit cell, and outputting the identified unique code. A map display method characterized by the following. The map display method according to claim 6,
When a large cell is specified by the large cell code, a map including an area covered by the specified large cell is displayed. The map display method according to claim 6 or 7,
A map display method, characterized in that the output unique code is transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line. A primary mesh in which large squares of 900 seconds latitude x 900 seconds longitude are arranged to cover the target map is defined, and a secondary mesh of 30 seconds latitude x 30 seconds longitude is defined in each of the large squares. The cell is divided into mesh cells, and the inside of the cell of the secondary mesh is further divided into cells of a tertiary mesh of 1 second latitude × 1 second longitude. Priority is defined so that the code numbers of “000” to “899” can be specified for each of the large cells in a one-to-one correspondence with the cells of the secondary mesh, and for the cells of the tertiary mesh, The code numbers of “000” to “899” are defined such that the cubic mesh of the tertiary mesh can be specified one by one for each square of the secondary mesh, with priority given to the horizontal direction toward the upper right. Distinguish squares A unique unique code is defined by combining a large grid code, a code number in the grid of the secondary mesh, and a code number in the grid of the tertiary mesh, and corresponds to a predetermined area in the map. The unique code defined such that the substantial number of digits as the entire unique code is reduced by sorting the large numbers of the large codes constituting the unique code in the code system of the large codes. A code for identifying a tertiary mesh cell and providing a procedure for specifying a point with an area covered by the specified tertiary mesh cell;
A corresponding unit cell is specified from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, the unique code is specified from the specified unit cell, and the specified unique code can be output. How to identify the location. The method according to claim 9, wherein:
A spot specifying method, wherein the output unique code is transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line. A primary mesh in which large squares of 900 seconds latitude x 900 seconds longitude are arranged to cover the target map is defined, and a secondary mesh of 30 seconds latitude x 30 seconds longitude is defined in each of the large squares. The cell is divided into mesh cells, and the inside of the cell of the secondary mesh is further divided into cells of a tertiary mesh of 1 second latitude × 1 second longitude. Priority is defined so that the code numbers of “000” to “899” can be specified for each of the large cells in a one-to-one correspondence with the cells of the secondary mesh, and for the cells of the tertiary mesh, The code numbers of “000” to “899” are defined such that the cubic mesh of the tertiary mesh can be specified one by one for each square of the secondary mesh, with priority given to the horizontal direction toward the upper right. Distinguish squares A unique unique code is defined by combining a large grid code, a code number in the grid of the secondary mesh, and a code number in the grid of the tertiary mesh, and corresponds to a predetermined area in the map. The unique code defined such that the substantial number of digits as the entire unique code is reduced by sorting the large numbers of the large codes constituting the unique code in the code system of the large codes. Identify the tertiary mesh cell by code, specify the point with the area covered by the specified tertiary mesh cell, read the map containing the specified point from the map database and display it on the screen Procedure
A corresponding unit cell is specified from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, the unique code is specified from the specified unit cell, and the specified unique code can be output. Map display method. The map display method according to claim 11,
A map display method, characterized in that the output unique code is transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line. In addition to defining a mesh in which unit cells are arranged vertically and horizontally so as to cover the target map, a unitary unique code is defined in each of the unit cells, and a unit cell is identified by the unique code, and the identification is performed. Is a method for specifying a point with an area covered by the unit square,
The area defined as such that the number of significant digits as the entire unique code is reduced by sorting out the young numbers in the code system of the unique code by giving priority to the area so that the frequently used area becomes a small number. By a unique code, a unit cell is specified, and a procedure is provided that enables a point to be specified with an area covered by the specified unit cell,
A corresponding unit cell is specified from an area on the map displayed on the map display screen, the unique code is specified from the specified unit cell, and the specified unique code can be output. How to identify the location. 14. The point specifying method according to claim 13,
A spot specifying method, wherein the output unique code is transmitted to the outside by being mounted on a communication line. In the spot specifying method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 9, and 10,
A method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is an area such as a city center where there is a high demand for point identification. The map display method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, 11, and 12,
The map display method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is an area such as a city center where there is a high demand for point identification. In the spot specifying method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 9, and 10,
The method of assigning a number in the code system of the unique code is determined by giving priority to an area so that an area having a high frequency of use has a small number. The map display method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, 11, and 12,
A map display method according to claim 1, wherein the assignment of the numbers in the code system of the unique codes is determined by giving priority to the area so that the frequently used area has a small number.

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