JP2004272287A - Spot specifying device and map display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spot specifying device and a map display apparatus capable of easily performing spot specification and, moreover, immediately performing spot specification based on a new map only if the map is updated. <P>SOLUTION: A map of the whole country is divided into divisions of 900 seconds square, the respective divisions are divided into blocks of 30 seconds square and the respective blocks are divided into units of 1 second square. Thus, regions on the map can be hierarchically designated. A division code of three figures is defined for each division, a block code of three figures is defined in accordance with relative positional relation in a division for each block and a unit code of three figures is defined in accordance with the relative positional relation in a block for each unit. Therein, a low number in the code system is distributed with respect to the division code constituting a proper code corresponding to a prescribed region and, thereby, the number of figures as the whole of the proper code is made small. Further, by the code inputting of a user, the corresponding unit measure is specified from the region on a display map, the proper code is specified from the specified unit measure and the specified proper code can be displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a point specifying device and a map display device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a method of inputting latitude and longitude when, for example, a car navigation device attempts to specify a point. 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 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, second and fifth aspects of the present invention, when specifying a point, a unit cell (a cubic mesh cell) is specified from a unique code, and a unit cell (a cubic mesh cell) is specified on a map. The point is specified in such a flow that the area is specified. One of the features of these devices is that a unique code is defined for a unit cell (a cubic mesh cell) defined separately from the map, and a correspondence between the map and the unit cell (a cubic mesh cell) is defined. Therefore, when the map is changed, there is no need to change the unique code.

  In particular, when a unit cell is represented by map coordinates, the correspondence between the map and the unit cell is naturally determined, and there is no need to use a table or the like. Therefore, there is an advantage that the storage capacity load on the device for implementing the present invention is not increased. is there.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since each unique code is defined such that the substantial number of digits as the whole unique code is relatively small, the number of digits as the whole unique code corresponding to a predetermined area is reduced. For example, if an area such as a city center where a specific request for a spot is high is defined to have a small number of digits, the trouble of inputting a unique code can be reduced, which is convenient for the user.

  In addition, the point specifying device according to claims 1, 2, and (5) is a unit cell (third order) based on a screen displaying a map and the contents of the map and the correspondence definition means defined on the screen. A specific cell is specified based on the specified unit cell (a cubic mesh cell) and the definition of the specific code defining means, and the specified specific code is displayed on a screen. The provision of the unique code output means makes it easy to transmit the information on the point from person to person. In this apparatus, the processing is performed in the reverse flow to the case where the point is specified as map → unit cell (cell of the tertiary mesh) → unique code.

  In addition, in the point identification device according to claims 1, 2, and (5), since the unit cells (the cells of the tertiary mesh) have the same size, the map is updated, and the number of target buildings and the like increases. However, the size of the unit that can specify the point on the map does not change. Therefore, for example, in the case where a code number is assigned to a cell whose size has been changed between the county and the city, the target point can be specified only in a wide area in the large cell of the large cell. There is a problem that it is difficult to identify points when multiple buildings are separated from each other, but since it is a unit cell of the same size, there is no such problem as long as the cell is defined with a sufficiently small size . Furthermore, since all points on the map can be specified with the same size, errors in specifying the points can be made uniform.

  Note that the map display devices in claims 3, 4, and 6 of the present application have basically the same configuration as the point identification device in claims 1, 2, and 5 of the present application. Similar effects can be obtained.

  As described above, the present invention has been variously described. However, according to the present invention, when a user inputs a unique code, an area (point) of a map corresponding to the unique code can be directly searched, and a unique code corresponding to a predetermined area can be obtained. Since the number of digits can be reduced as a whole, it is convenient for the user to define a small number of digits, for example, in an area where the location is highly demanded, such as the center of the city. It becomes.

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

[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 a table of code numbers that specify the primary mesh cells. 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.

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.

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 one by one. 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.

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.

  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 (●● ● + 9: 00: 00) and the latitude = (＝ + 8:59) 〜 (◆◆◆ + 9: 00: 00), the target point is specified.

  In the first embodiment, as described above, the section 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 cell code” in the present invention, and the subcode that is the large cell code is assigned a smaller number in the code system of the cell code, so that the actual number of digits is relatively large. 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 6 digits. Also, for the section codes of Osaka, Yokohama, and Nagoya, the leading 0 is omitted from the unique code, so that the section code can be represented by only one digit such as "1," "2," or "3." 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”.

  As described above, the number of digits of the section code corresponding to an area which is considered to be frequently used, such as a large city, is reduced, so that 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 portion 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 so, in areas where the navigation system is frequently used, 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 first embodiment described above (that is, similar to S10 to S80 in FIG. 4), the road on the displayed map is 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).

  FIG. 6 schematically illustrates this state. 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.

  Thereafter, similarly to the first embodiment, a general optimum route calculation process is executed to determine an optimum 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 functions 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 obtained (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, when an optimum location for cherry-blossom viewing is found during driving, a code output mode is activated and a unique code is stored together 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.

Here, An: section code.

  Bn: block code.

  Un: Unit code.

  A: Partition definition table.

  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: The 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 obtained by dividing Bn 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.

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 that. 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, a 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.

  By limiting the number of predetermined facilities to which the facility-specific code is to be applied, the number of digits of the facility-specific 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 that are the targets of 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.

  In addition, 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.

  That is, for example, in the case where the facility-specific code is set as a serial number within the whole of Japan, it is troublesome for the user to find the facility-specific code itself 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 a facility that is likely to be commonly present in an 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.

  In this way, if only the facility-specific code is memorized, the area code indicating the area can be specified thereafter, so that 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.

  It should be noted that which facility-specific code is 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.

  As described above, the three embodiments and the modified examples of the embodiment of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and can be implemented in various 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 possible. 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.

  In addition, for example, the division code may not be a fixed method 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 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.

  Further, in the case where the vehicle is broken 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, by using the unique code, it is possible 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

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Car navigation device, 11 ... GPS receiver, 13 ... Wheel speed sensor, 15 ... Direction sensor, 17 ... CD-ROM drive unit, 19 ... Data setting / display device.

Claims (6)

Unique code definition means for defining a unique multi-digit unique code in each unit cell of a mesh in which unit cells of the same size are arranged vertically and horizontally;
Correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between each unit cell constituting the mesh and the area on the map,
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When a unique code is input by the code input means, a unit cell is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code definition means, and the specified unit cell and the definition of the correspondence definition means are defined. And a point specifying means for specifying a region on the map based on the content and specifying a point based on the specified region.
The unique code definition means, in the code system of the unique code, giving priority to the area so that the area having a high frequency of use becomes a small number for the multi-digit unique code of the unit cell corresponding to the predetermined area in the map. Each unique code is defined so that the young number is assigned and the number of digits as the whole unique code is reduced by omitting a leading 0,
A screen for displaying the map,
The unit cell is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition unit, and a unique code is specified based on the specified unit cell and the definition content of the unique code definition unit. And a unique code output means for displaying the identified unique code on the screen. Unique code defining means for defining a unique multi-digit unique code for each unit cell of the same size represented by map coordinates;
Correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the unit cell and the area on the map via map coordinates,
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When a unique code is input by the code input means, a unit cell is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code definition means, and the specified unit cell and the definition of the correspondence definition means are defined. And a point specifying means for specifying a region on the map based on the content and specifying a point based on the specified region.
The unique code definition means, in the code system of the unique code, giving priority to the area so that the area having a high frequency of use becomes a small number for the multi-digit unique code of the unit cell corresponding to the predetermined area in the map. Each unique code is defined so that the young number is assigned and the number of digits as the whole unique code is reduced by omitting a leading 0,
A screen for displaying the map,
The unit cell is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition unit, and a unique code is specified based on the specified unit cell and the definition content of the unique code definition unit. And a unique code output means for displaying the identified unique code on the screen. A screen for displaying the map,
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 squares that are unit squares of the same size, and the unit squares are separated from each other. Unique code defining means for defining a unique multi-digit unique code that combines a small square code for distinguishing a large square and a large square code for distinguishing each large square from each other,
Correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the unit cell and the area on the map via map coordinates,
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When a unique code is input by the code input means, a unit cell is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code definition means, and the specified unit cell and the definition of the correspondence definition means are defined. Display means for specifying an area on the map based on the content, reading a map including the specified area from a map database, and displaying the map on the screen,
The unique code definition means, in the code system of the unique code, giving priority to the area so that the area having a high frequency of use becomes a small number for the multi-digit unique code of the unit cell corresponding to the predetermined area in the map. Each unique code is defined so that the young number is assigned and the number of digits as the whole unique code is reduced by omitting a leading 0,
The unit cell is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition unit, and a unique code is defined based on the specified unit cell and the definition content of the unique code definition unit. A map display device comprising: a unique code output unit that identifies and displays the identified unique code on the screen. A screen for displaying the map,
A large grid code defining means for defining a large grid arranged vertically and horizontally so as to cover the target map, and defining a large grid code for distinguishing the large grids from each other,
Along with dividing the inside of each large square into small squares that become unit squares of the same size, a small square code for distinguishing each unit square from each other within one large square is combined with the large square code. Unique code defining means for defining a unique multi-digit unique code,
First correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the large squares and the area on the map via map coordinates;
Second correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the unit cell and the area on the map via map coordinates;
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When a unique code is input by the code input means, a unit cell is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code definition means, and the specified unit cell and the second correspondence definition are defined. When an area on the map is specified based on the definition of the means, a map including the specified area is read from the map database and displayed on the screen, and only the large square code is input by the code input means. Specifying a large cell based on the large cell code and the definition contents of the large cell code definition means, and based on the specified large cell and the definition contents of the first correspondence definition means. Display means for specifying an area on the map, reading a map including the specified area from the map database, and displaying the map on the screen,
The unique code definition means, in the code system of the unique code, giving priority to the area so that the area having a high frequency of use becomes a small number for the multi-digit unique code of the unit cell corresponding to the predetermined area in the map. Each unique code is defined so that young numbers are allocated and the number of digits in the entire unique code is reduced by omitting leading 0s.
The unit cell is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition unit, and a unique code is defined based on the specified unit cell and the definition content of the unique code definition unit. A map display device comprising: a unique code output unit that identifies and displays the identified unique code on the screen. In addition to defining a primary mesh in which large squares of 900 lat. × 900 lat. Are arranged so as to cover the target map, a secondary mesh of 30 lat. × 30 lat. In each of the large squares is defined. , And the inside of the secondary mesh cell is further divided into tertiary mesh cells of 1 second latitude × 1 second longitude. The code numbers of “000” to “899” are defined preferentially so that the cells of the secondary mesh can be specified one by one for each of the large cells, and the cells of the tertiary mesh are selected from the lower left to the upper right. The code number of “000” to “899” is defined so that the tertiary mesh cells can be specified on a one-to-one basis for each of the secondary mesh cells. To distinguish one from another In addition to defining a unique multi-digit code that is a combination of a cell code, a code number in the cell of the secondary mesh, and a code number in the cell of the tertiary mesh, the code corresponding to a predetermined area in the map is defined. For a multi-digit unique code, the younger numbers in the code system of the large square code are assigned with priority on the area so that the area frequently used for the large square code constituting the unique code is a small number, and A unique code defining means in which each unique code is defined so as to reduce a substantial number of digits as the entire unique code by omitting the appended 0;
Correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the cells of each tertiary mesh constituting the mesh and the area on the map;
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When the unique code is input by the code input means, the tertiary mesh cell is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code definition means, and the specified tertiary mesh cell and the specified Point specifying means for specifying an area on a map based on the definition content of the correspondence definition means, and specifying a point using the specified area;
A screen for displaying the map,
The cubic mesh of the tertiary mesh is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition means, and the specified cubic mesh and the definition content of the unique code defining means are defined. And a unique code output means for enabling the identified unique code to be displayed on the screen. A screen for displaying the map,
In addition to defining a primary mesh in which large squares of 900 lat. × 900 lat. Are arranged so as to cover the target map, a secondary mesh of 30 lat. × 30 lat. In each of the large squares is defined. , And the inside of the secondary mesh cell is further divided into tertiary mesh cells of 1 second latitude × 1 second longitude. The code numbers of “000” to “899” are defined preferentially so that the cells of the secondary mesh can be specified one by one for each of the large cells, and the cells of the tertiary mesh are selected from the lower left to the upper right. The code number of “000” to “899” is defined so that the tertiary mesh cells can be specified on a one-to-one basis for each of the secondary mesh cells. To distinguish one from another In addition to defining a unique multi-digit code that is a combination of a cell code, a code number in the cell of the secondary mesh, and a code number in the cell of the tertiary mesh, the code corresponding to a predetermined area in the map is defined. For a multi-digit unique code, the younger numbers in the code system of the large square code are assigned with priority on the area so that the area frequently used for the large square code constituting the unique code is a small number, and A unique code defining means in which each unique code is defined so as to reduce a substantial number of digits as the entire unique code by omitting the appended 0;
Correspondence definition means for defining the correspondence between the cells of the tertiary mesh and the area on the map via map coordinates;
Code input means for allowing a user to input a code number,
When the unique code is input by the code input means, the cell of the tertiary mesh is specified based on the unique code and the definition content of the unique code defining means, and the specified cubic mesh and Display means for specifying an area on a map based on the definition content of the correspondence definition means, reading a map including the specified area from a map database, and displaying the map on the screen;
The tertiary mesh cell is specified based on the map displayed on the screen and the definition content of the correspondence definition means, and the specified tertiary mesh cell and the definition content of the unique code definition means are specified. And a unique code output means for enabling the identified unique code to be displayed on the screen.