Patent Application
20050210021
The present invention relates to a mobile body navigation system (called as a navigation system, hereinafter) which provides an automobile or the like which runs on a road with route guidance information and the like to a destination, and to a destination search method and a destination search program for such a navigation system.
In recent years, it has been increasingly becoming popular to use a navigation system which provides, inside an automobile or the like which runs on a road, route guidance information to a destination based on map information held in a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an HD (Hard Disk), etc.
When using a navigation system, a user directly designates a location on a map which is displayed on a display screen of the navigation system, thereby setting a destination for route guidance. In the event that the user does not know where the destination is located on the map, the user enters a facility which serves as the destination, the name, the address, the telephone number or the like of a facility which is close to the destination, whereby the destination is set. However, the user does not often know the name, the address, the telephone number or the like of a facility which serves as the destination, and therefore, navigation systems now available on the market are equipped with various types of destination search functions.
When a destination is to be set by using a search function of a navigation system, first, on a display screen of the system, an entry blank for entering information regarding a facility which serves as a destination appears. A user enters information regarding a facility which the user intends as a destination in this entry blank. In response, the navigation system searches a destination facility database which stores information on facilities which can serve as destinations, and lists up those facilities which match with the information entered in the entry blank. The user chooses a destination facility from among the facilities thus listed up, and this facility is set as the destination which requires route guidance.
Since a navigation system is not usually equipped with a key board, a method for entry of information during setting of a destination is that a user selects a destination from among those displayed by the system instead of directly inputting characters. For instance, for the selection of a search area, area names such as “Hokkaido,” “Tohoku” and “Kanto” appear first, and as the user chooses “Kanto” for instance among these, prefecture names such as “Gunma,” “Tochigi” and “Ibaraki” appear next and the user chooses “Ibaraki” for example. Depending on the situation, the name of a municipality is further selected. In this manner, the area to run a search is determined.
In a similar fashion, for entering the type of facility, genres of facilities, e.g., genres such as “Reja (leisure),” “Shoppingu (shopping),” “Resutoran (restaurant)” and “Kokyo Shisetsu (public facility)” appear first, and as the user chooses “Reja (leisure)” for instance from among these, sub-genres such as “Yuenchi (recreation ground),” “Koen (park)” and “Eigakan (movie theater)” further appear. When the user chooses “Eigakan (movie theater)” for example, the navigation system searches the destination facility database, extracts movie theaters within Ibaraki Prefecture for instance, and shows the search result. The user designates the movie theater which is to serve as the destination.
Though the destination setting method above seems to be superior in that the method performs easy determination of a destination, a certain aspect of the method is not superior. For example, when a user wishes to search for a movie theater in Mito, the user must know that “Mito” is in “Kanto” and further in “Ibaraki Prefecture” and which genre “Eigakan (movie theater)” belongs to. When making a wrong selection without that knowledge, the user has to go back to making entries for selection, thus ending up spending unexpected time to set the destination. In addition, the user needs to carefully choose information instructed by the navigation system piece by piece in an instructed order. Such an entry method may be cumbersome or agonizing to the user.
The reference 1 describes an example wherein a keyword is entered and a search for a destination is run. According to that example, a search is run in a database storing information regarding destination facilities based on a keyword entered by a user, and information regarding facilities for which hits are displayed. An area, a facility type or the like is further separately entered, to narrow down facilities. By means of this search method, in accordance with a search condition which is an AND operation of a keyword “Eigakan (movie theater)” and a keyword which is the title of a movie such as “ABC no Bouken” (Adventure of ABC) for instance, a destination search is conducted.
Additionally, the reference 2 describes an example wherein during a search using a keyword, the keyword is expanded even to words which are associated with the keyword. The reference 2 further describes that for instance, even ceramic making lessons and flower arrangement lessons can be covered in a search based on a keyword “Karucha Senta (cultural activities center).” This prevents an inaccurate search even when a proper keyword is not available for a destination search.
Reference 1:
Paragraphs 0030 through 0040 and FIGS. 5 and 6, Japanese Laid-Open Application 2001-194162
Reference 2:
Paragraphs 0006 through 0008, Paragraphs 0039 through 0054 and FIGS. 2 and 3, Japanese Laid-Open Application 2002-297028
However, each one of the reference 1 and the reference 2 uses both a search based on a keyword and a search based on selection and designation of a genre. In this case, while a user can freely enter a keyword, the user has to choose an area, a genre and the like in accordance with items displayed by the system when narrowing down search results based on the keyword, which is similar to the conventional technique described earlier. This entry/operation method therefore is merely a conventional method as it additionally includes an operation of entering a keyword.
An object of the present invention is to realize a navigation system which permits a user search for a destination based on a keyword freely entered by the user instead of demanding the user make a complicated entry operation in accordance with instruction information.
The reason the conventional technique uses both the two entry methods above is because there are no means which determine whether an entered keyword is a word which limits a search area and the search area therefore cannot be limited. Consequently, a navigation system according to the present invention comprises an area limiting word storing means which stores area limiting words whose meanings limits areas, as the area limiting word storing means is referred to, whether an entered keyword is an area limiting word is determined, and when the entered keyword is an area limiting word, a search area is limited based on the area limiting word.
In short, the navigation system according to the present invention is a navigation system which comprises: location information entry means for entering current location information of a mobile body; a keyword entry means for entering a keyword which is for searching for a destination which the mobile body heads to; area limiting word storing means for storing area limiting words whose meanings limit areas; area limiting word extracting means which extracts area limiting words while referring to the area limiting word storing means as for a keyword entered through the keyword entry means; destination information storing means in which for each destination, geographic information and other attribute information regarding the destination is stored; a destination search condition creating means which creates a search condition to search the destination information storing means based on the current location information entered through the location information entry means, the keyword entered through the keyword entry means and the area limiting words extracted by the area limiting word extracting means; destination searching means which searches the destination information storing means based on the search condition created by the destination search condition creating means; and a destination search result outputting means which displays the result of the search conducted by the destination searching means.
The present invention is directed also to a destination search method according to which area limiting words are extracted with reference to the area limiting word storing means among keywords entered by a user, an area search condition which is in line with the area limiting words is created and a search condition is created based on the keywords entered earlier, and a destination search is run.
By means of the navigation system and the destination search method having such structures above, area limiting words which limit a search target area can be extracted from among keywords entered by a user, and an area search condition can be set based on the area limiting words. The navigation system thus does not need to show area names and other items which are allowed to be chosen by the user, and the user does not have to choose a search area and the like in accordance with displayed instructions.
The present invention is directed also to a navigation system which further comprises similar word storing means which stores in advance similar words to those words which can be entered as keywords and similar word extracting means which extracts similar words to entered keywords while referring to the similar word storing means. The present invention is further directed to a destination search method for use in a navigation system having this structure, according to which the similar word extracting means, while referring to the similar word storing means in relation to an entered keyword, extracts similar words to the keyword and the destination searching means runs a destination search using the entered keyword and the similar words to the keyword.
When using the navigation system and the destination search method having such structures, a user can freely enter keywords as soon as he or she thinks of the keywords regardless of whether the words entered as the keywords are proper or not. For example, as long as the user enters “Mito, Eigakan (movie theater), “the navigation system searches for movie theaters in or adjacent to Mito. The user does not have to know whether “Mito” is in Kanto or Ibaraki Prefecture and the user does not need to be concerned which genre “Eigakan (movie theater)” belongs to. The user is thus under less psychological stress when using the navigation system.
As described above, according to the present invention, a user of the navigation system can freely enter keywords to search for a destination which requires route guidance, independently in the order of entering the keywords and whether the entered words are proper.
A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the related drawings.
((Structure of Navigation System))
As shown in
In
Next, the destination search condition creating part 10 creates a search condition to search the destination information storing part 12, based on the current location information sent from the location information entry part 4, the keywords sent from the keyword entry part 5, the similar words to the keywords extracted by the similar word extracting part 6 and the area limiting words extracted by the area limiting word extracting part 8. The destination searching part 11 searches the destination information storing part 12 in accordance with the search condition created by the destination search condition creating part 10. The destination search result outputting part 13 makes a display apparatus 26 (See
As shown in
In
The programs in the structure above are usually stored in the main storage device 21 and executed by the CPU 20. However, in the event that the main storage device 21 is formed by a volatile semiconductor memory, the programs are usually stored in the disk storage device 22 or a ROM (Read Only Memory) not shown, and when the navigation system 1 is turned on or at the time of execution of the programs, the programs are read from the disk storage device 22 or the ROM to the main storage device 21 and the CPU 20 executes the programs.
((Procedure of Destination Search in Navigation System))
The procedure of a destination search in the navigation system 1 will now be described in detail with reference to
(0. Outline of Procedure)
First,
Next, based on the keyword, the similar words to the keyword, the area limiting words and the current location information entered or extracted in this manner, a destination search condition is created (S35). Based on the thus created destination search condition, a search is run in the destination information storing part 12, information regarding destinations which hits the destination search condition is extracted (S36), and the display apparatus 26 displays the extracted destination information (S37).
In the procedure above, the step S32, the step S33 and the step S34 may be executed in an altered order.
(1. Processing in Keyword Entry Part 5)
In
Next, the user 3 presses the determine key 28 and the navigation system 1 reads the character. In other words, in accordance with the keyword entry program, when the determine key 28 is pressed, the character selected at the cursor is entered (S42), and the thus entered character is displayed in the keyword display area 51. During this entry processing, a search button is chosen at the cursor and whether the determine key 28 is pressed is judged (S43), and when the judgment is negative (“No” at S43), entry of a character (S42) is repeated.
On the contrary, when the search button is selected and it is determined that the determine key 28 is pressed (“Yes” at S43), assuming that entry of a keyword is complete, a string of characters entered as a keyword is decided (S44). The string of the entered characters is divided into N pieces of words (W1, W2, . . . , WN) (S45), and the words (W1, W2, . . . , WN) are stored in entered word areas 61 (See
(2. Processing in Similar Word Extracting Part 6)
A similar word extracting program which forms the similar word extracting part 6 will now be described with reference to
The entered word areas 61 and the similar word areas 62 in
The similar word storing part 7 shown in
The similar word extracting program shown in
In
(3. Processing in Area Limiting Word Extracting Part 8)
An area search condition extracting program which forms the area limiting word extracting part 8 will now be described with reference to
In
In this embodiment, in the event that place names or region names are area limiting words, the names of prefectures or municipalities directly appear in the area search condition fields 92. For instance, when one area limiting word field 91 is “Boso,” as area search conditions, the names of municipalities on the Boso peninsula are described as “Tateyama, Katsuura, . . . ” on the area search condition fields 92. Additionally, in the event that area limiting words are the words which limit areas in a relative manner, as conditions regarding the ranges of search areas are described as “an area at or within 10 Km from the current location” for “adjacent to” and “an area at or within 20 Km from the current location” for “day trip,” for example, in the area search condition fields 92.
The area limiting words and the area search conditions to be stored in the area limiting word storing part 9 are determined in advance and stored in the disk storage device 22 (See
The area search condition extracting program shown in
In
In
(4. Processing in Destination Search Condition Creating Part 10)
A destination search condition creating program which forms the destination search condition creating part 10 will now be described. By means of the keyword entry program, the similar word extracting program and the area search condition extracting program described respectively in relation to
Hence, the destination search conditions shown in
It is assumed, for example, that W1=“Shinema (cinema),” W2=“Ginza” and W3=“Tokyo” are entered as keywords, as for “Shinema (cinema),” its similar words S11=“Eiga (movies)” and S12=“Firumu (film)” are extracted and further A2=“Tokyoto Chuoku Ibaraki Prefecture |x-shi, Chiba Prefecture |-shi” and A3=“Tokyo” are extracted as area search conditions. In this example, since AND (A2▪A3) of the area search conditions with respect to area search conditions, “Ibaraki Prefecture |x-shi and Chiba Prefecture HH-shi” are excluded from the area search conditions, leaving only “Chuo-ku in Tokyo.” Hence, the overall search condition is to search for a destination (facility) which is located in Chuo-ku, Tokyo and regarding which destination information storing part 12 contains “Shinema (cinema),” “Eiga (movies)” or “Firumu (film)” and contains “Ginza” and “Tokyo.”
In the event that an area search condition is expressed referring to a relative distance, reading “at or within 200 km from the current location” for instance, according to the destination search condition creating program of the destination search condition creating part 10, current location information entered via the location information entry part 4 is read, the names of municipalities at or within 200 km from the current location, for example, are identified based on the current location information and map data (not shown) stored in the disk storage device 22, and these are defined as area search conditions.
(5. Processing in Destination Search Part 11)
A destination search program which forms the destination search part 11 will now be described.
In
Next, the counter n for a keyword count is initialized to n=1 (S132). The destination information records 121 in the hit facility ID {Ri} are then searched, and whether there is a hit with a word Wn entered as a keyword or its similar words (Sn1, Sn2, . . . , SnMn) in the destination information records 121 is determined (S133). When it is a result that there is no hit (“No” at S134), the facility IDs of the destination information records 121 which are hit are deleted from the hit facility ID {Ri} (S135). When a keyword is “Shinema (cinema)” and its similar words are “Eiga (movies)” and “Firumu (film)” for instance, the facility IDs of the destination information records 121 which do not contain “Shinema (cinema), ” “Eiga (movies)” or “Firumu (film)” within the destination information records 121 are deleted from the hit facility ID {Ri}. On the contrary, in the event that hits are found as a result of the judgment made at step S133 (“Yes” at S134), the processing at step S135 is skipped.
Following this, the counter n is incremented to n=n+1 (S136). Whether the counter n for a keyword count has reached the number N of the entered keywords, that is, whether n=N holds is determined (S137). When n=N does not hold yet (“No” at S137), the processing at step S133 through step S137 is executed repeatedly. When n=N has been satisfied (“Yes” at S137), the processing according to the destination search program ends. The hit facility ID {Ri} at the end of the destination search program is nothing other than a result of a search of the destination information storing part 12 in accordance with the destination search conditions shown in FIG.
(6. Processing in Destination Search Result Outputting Part 13)
A destination search result outputting program which forms the destination search result outputting part 13 will now be described. The destination search result outputting program is displayed on the display apparatus 26 (See
For instance,
Various formats may be set for a method of displaying a search result: For instance, the map adjacent to the selected facility and the detailed information on the right-hand side of the screen shown in
As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, area limiting words are extracted from among keywords freely entered by the user 3 with reference to the area limiting word storing part 9 which stores area limiting words in advance, and based on these area limiting words, an area search condition can be set. Further, with respect to the entered keywords, since similar words to the keywords are also covered by a search by means of OR, it is not necessary to enter many keywords. The user can therefore enter any keyword freely and naturally as he or she thinks of the keyword when searching for a destination.
A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to
A major difference of the second embodiment from the first embodiment is that the navigation system 1 is separated into a terminal apparatus 16 and a server apparatus 17 according to the second embodiment. The terminal apparatus 16 is mounted to a mobile body such as an automobile, while the server apparatus 17 is disposed in a fixed ground building. The terminal apparatus 16 comprises a terminal telecommunication part 14 which serves as telecommunication means, and the server apparatus 17 comprises a server telecommunication part 15 which serves as telecommunication means. The terminal telecommunication part 14 and the server telecommunication part 15 communicate with each other on a network including wireless telecommunication and the information is transferred between the terminal apparatus 16 and the server apparatus 17.
In
Current location information output from the GPS receiver apparatus 2 is entered via the location information entry part 4, while the keyword entry part 5 accepts a keyword keyed in or otherwise entered by the user 3. The terminal telecommunication part 14 sends the current location information and the information such as the keyword to the server apparatus 17. The terminal telecommunication part 14 also receives the information indicative of a destination search result sent from the server apparatus 17. The destination search result outputting part 13 constructs the display apparatus 26 and displays the result of a destination search received by the terminal telecommunication part 14.
In
First, the server telecommunication part 15 receives the current location information and the information such as the keyword sent from the terminal apparatus 16. The similar word extracting part 6 searches the similar word storing part 7 based on the keywords received by the server telecommunication part 15, and extracts the similar words for each keyword. The area limiting word extracting part 8 searches the area limiting word storing part 9 similarly based on the received keywords, and extracts area limiting words for each keyword. The destination search condition creating part 10 then creates a search condition to search the destination information storing part 12, based on the current location information and the keyword received by the server telecommunication part 15, the similar words to the keyword extracted by the similar word extracting part 6 and the area limiting words extracted by the area limiting word extracting part 8. The destination search part 11 searches the destination information storing part 12 in accordance with the destination search condition created by the destination search condition creating part 10. The server telecommunication part 15 sends information indicative of the result of the search thus run to the terminal apparatus 16.
Although hardware structures of the terminal apparatus 16 and the server apparatus 17 are not shown in particular, as in the navigation system 1 according to the first embodiment shown in
Since the terminal apparatus 16 of the navigation system 1 according to the second embodiment does not have to store similar words, area limiting words, destination information, etc., the terminal apparatus 16 does not have to comprise any hardware which corresponds to the disk storage device 22. This permits a reduction in cost regarding the terminal apparatus 16. Additionally, the server apparatus 17 comprises the similar word storing part 7, the area limiting word storing part 9 and the destination information storing part 12, these pieces of information can be managed all together and may be changed in accordance with information at that time. For example, information indicative of how crowded a parking lot facility is, how much it has snowed at a ski resort, etc., may be stored as detailed information regarding the facilities. As the detailed information is shown to the user 3 who ran the search, the user 3 can obtain the most recent information.
The invention described above is not limited to the embodiments above but may be widely modified and implemented. For instance, in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-080312 | Mar 2004 | JP | national |
