Information display device, information display method, program, and storage medium

Abstract

This allows users to easily access functions related to their vehicle's position. [Solution] In the information display device, the map display unit displays a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle's position. When the vehicle position mark is operated, the menu display unit displays a quick menu for selecting a function related to the vehicle's position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for displaying functions related to the position of a vehicle itself.

Background Art

[0002] During the driving of a vehicle, a driver may want to use a function related to the position of the vehicle itself. In that case, the driver needs to search for the target function from the main menu and execute it.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Normally, various functions are prepared in a hierarchical structure from the main menu, and it takes time and effort to find and execute the target function. In Patent Document 1, a method of creating a shortcut is described in order to easily read out the target function, but even according to Patent Document 1, a driver cannot always easily use a function related to the position of the vehicle itself during the driving of the vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a main object thereof is to provide an information display device that enables a user to easily use a function related to the position of the vehicle itself.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The invention according to the claims is an information display device, comprising: a map display unit that displays a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the position of the vehicle itself; and a menu display unit that displays a quick menu for selecting a function related to the position of the vehicle itself when the vehicle position mark is operated.

[0007] The invention described in the claims is an information display method performed by an information display device, comprising: a map display step of displaying a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle's position; and a menu display step of displaying a quick menu for selecting a function related to the vehicle's position when the vehicle position mark is operated.

[0008] The invention described in the claims is a program executed by a computer, which causes the computer to function as a map display means that displays a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle's position, and a menu display means that displays a quick menu for selecting a function related to the vehicle's position when the vehicle position mark is operated. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A front view of the terminal device is shown. [Figure 2] The following shows the general configuration of the terminal device. [Figure 3] An example of the quick menu is shown. [Figure 4] Other examples of the quick menu display are shown. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of the quick menu display process. [Figure 6] An example of the system configuration related to the modified version is shown. [Figure 7] This shows the general configuration of the server device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the information display device includes a map display unit that displays a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle's position, and a menu display unit that displays a quick menu for selecting a function related to the vehicle's position when the vehicle position mark is operated.

[0011] The above-mentioned information display device displays a map including a vehicle position marker indicating the vehicle's location, and when the vehicle position marker is operated, it displays a quick menu for selecting functions related to the vehicle's location. This makes it easy for the user to use functions related to the vehicle's location.

[0012] In one embodiment of the information display device described above, the menu display unit displays the quick menu around the vehicle position mark. In this embodiment, the user can easily find the quick menu.

[0013] Another embodiment of the information display device described above is such that the quick menu includes icons corresponding to functions related to the vehicle's position. In this embodiment, the functions related to the vehicle's position can be easily used.

[0014] In another embodiment of the information display device described above, the function related to the vehicle's position is a matching road switching function. In this embodiment, the user can easily use the matching road switching function.

[0015] In another embodiment of the information display device described above, the function related to the vehicle's position is a function that outputs traffic congestion information within a predetermined range from the vehicle's position. In this embodiment, the user can easily use the function that outputs traffic congestion information within a predetermined range.

[0016] In another embodiment of the information display device described above, the function related to the vehicle's position is a search function for facilities located within a predetermined range from the vehicle's position. In this embodiment, the user can easily use the search function for facilities located within the predetermined range.

[0017] In another embodiment of the information display device described above, the menu display unit displays different icons for each type of facility to be searched. In this embodiment, the search function for facilities can be easily used by using different icons for each type of facility to be searched.

[0018] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information display method executed by an information display device includes a map display step of displaying a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the position of the vehicle itself, and a menu display step of displaying a quick menu for selecting functions related to the vehicle position when the vehicle position mark is operated. Thereby, the user can easily use functions related to the vehicle position.

[0019] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a program executed by a computer causes the computer to function as a map display means for displaying a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the position of the vehicle itself, and a menu display means for displaying a quick menu for selecting functions related to the vehicle position when the vehicle position mark is operated. By executing this program on a computer, the above information display device can be realized. This program can be stored and handled in a storage medium.

Example

[0020] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 shows a front view of a terminal device 100 to which an information display device according to the present invention is applied. The terminal device 100 is a portable terminal that can be carried by a user and has a display 110 on which a touch panel 120 is laminated. The terminal device 100 provides route guidance to a designated destination for pedestrians, vehicles, etc.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the terminal device 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 100 includes an output unit 11, an input unit 12, a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, a GPS receiver 16, and a control unit 17. Each element of the terminal device 100 is interconnected via a bus 10 and is configured such that necessary information can be transmitted between the elements.

[0022] The output unit 11 includes a display 110 and a speaker 111 that outputs sound, and outputs information to respond to user operations on the terminal device 100 based on the control of the control unit 17. The input unit 12 includes a touch panel 120 and is an interface that accepts the input of necessary commands and information, i.e., operations, performed by the terminal user on the terminal device 100. For example, the input unit 12 accepts input to specify a destination or input to specify conditions for route searching. In addition to the touch panel 120, the input unit 12 may also have keys, switches, buttons, voice input devices, etc., for inputting various commands and data.

[0023] The storage unit 13 stores programs for controlling the operation of the terminal device 100 and holds information necessary for the operation of the terminal device 100. For example, the storage unit 13 stores various data used for navigation processing, such as map data. The map data includes road data represented by links corresponding to roads and nodes corresponding to road connections (intersections), as well as facility information about each facility.

[0024] The communication unit 14 transmits and receives data with other devices according to a predetermined protocol. For example, based on the control of the control unit 17, the communication unit 14 receives screen information to be displayed on the display 110 from a server device via a network such as the Internet. The GPS receiver 16 receives radio waves carrying downlink data including positioning data from multiple GPS satellites, generates information on the current location of the terminal device 100, and transmits it to the control unit 17.

[0025] The control unit 17 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and performs various controls on each component within the terminal device 100.

[0026] For example, the control unit 17 receives input specifying a destination from the input unit 12 and sets a route to the specified destination (also called the "guidance route"). Then, the control unit 17 displays a map based on the current location and provides route guidance based on the guidance route. The control unit 17 is an example of a route acquisition unit, a display control unit, and a computer.

[0027] In addition to the components shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 100 may also be equipped with various autonomous positioning devices such as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a distance sensor.

[0028] (Example display) Next, an embodiment of the quick menu display according to the present invention will be described. In the following embodiment, the terminal device 100 displays a quick menu in response to user operation. The terminal device 100 also performs processing related to the function selected by the user from the quick menu and displays the result.

[0029] Figure 3(A) shows an example of the display on the terminal device 100 during route guidance. In Figure 3(A), map information 31 and guidance plates 32 are displayed on the display screen of the display 110.

[0030] Map information 31 is map information of the area around the vehicle's current location and includes a vehicle position mark 31x indicating the vehicle's current location. The guidance plate 32 is displayed during route guidance and includes guidance information for the next guidance point. In the example in Figure 3(A), the guidance plate 32 includes the distance to the next guidance point, the name of the next guidance point, and guidance information for the guidance point after that. Note that the guidance plate 32 is not displayed when route guidance is not in progress.

[0031] Here, if the user wants to use a function related to the vehicle's current location (hereinafter also referred to as "vehicle location"), they tap the vehicle location mark 31x. This displays a quick menu on the vehicle location mark 31x, as shown in Figure 3(B). The quick menu contains icons associated with functions related to the vehicle location. Here, as examples of icons, the matching road switching icon 33 and the traffic congestion information icon 34 are displayed.

[0032] The matching road switching icon 33 is used to correct the vehicle's position to the appropriate road when a general road and a highway run parallel to each other. For example, if the vehicle is traveling on a general road, but the terminal device 100 incorrectly displays that it is traveling on a highway, the user taps the matching road switching icon 33. When the matching road switching icon 33 is tapped, the terminal device 100 displays a message screen 35, as shown in Figure 3(C), and switches the vehicle's position from the highway to the general road. Note that the matching road switching icon 33 is not displayed if there are no roads where a general road and a highway run parallel to each other near the vehicle's position.

[0033] Furthermore, the traffic congestion information icon 34 is used to check traffic congestion information around the vehicle's current location. When the traffic congestion information icon 34 is tapped, the terminal device 100 outputs traffic congestion information occurring within a predetermined range from the vehicle's current location via voice or other means. In addition, if traffic congestion is occurring within the range of the displayed map information 31, the terminal device 100 displays the congested section on the map information 31.

[0034] Figure 4 shows another example of the quick menu display. In Figure 4(A), the facility search icon 36 is displayed as an icon associated with a function related to the vehicle's location. The facility search icon 36 is used when you want to obtain facility information around your vehicle's location. When the facility search icon 36 is tapped, the terminal device 100 displays facility information such as parking lots and gas stations within a predetermined range from the vehicle's location. The user may also pre-set the type of facility to search when the facility search icon 36 is tapped.

[0035] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4(B), icons may be displayed for each type of facility, as icons associated with functions related to the vehicle's location. Here, as an example, a P icon 36x representing a parking lot and a GS icon 36y representing a gas station are displayed. This allows the user to narrow down their search to facilities within a predetermined range from their vehicle's location.

[0036] As described above, the terminal device 100 according to this embodiment displays a quick menu when the vehicle position mark is tapped. The quick menu in this embodiment includes only icons associated with functions related to the vehicle position. This allows the user to use functions related to the vehicle position with intuitive operation.

[0037] (Processing flow) Figure 5 is a flowchart of the quick menu display process. This process is achieved by the control unit 17 shown in Figure 2 executing a pre-prepared program.

[0038] First, the control unit 17 determines whether the vehicle position mark has been tapped by the user via touch panel operation (step S11). If the vehicle position mark has not been tapped (step S11: No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the vehicle position mark has been tapped (step S11: Yes), the control unit 17 displays a quick menu (step S12). This results in displays as shown in Figures 3(B), 4(A), and 4(B).

[0039] Next, the control unit 17 determines whether the user has tapped an icon in the quick menu. If the icon is not tapped (step S13: No), the process ends after a predetermined time has elapsed. On the other hand, if the icon is tapped (step S13: Yes), the control unit 17 performs processing related to the function corresponding to the tapped icon and displays the result (step S14). This results in a display of the result, for example, as shown in Figure 3(C).

[0040] The method for ending the quick menu display process is not limited to the above. You can also end the process by tapping anywhere on the quick menu other than the icons, or you can add a close button, such as an "x" button, on the quick menu and end the process by tapping the close button.

[0041] [Differentiation] The following describes various modifications suitable for the above-described embodiments. These modifications can be arbitrarily combined and applied to the above-described embodiments.

[0042] (Variation 1) Instead of the terminal device 100, a server device connected via the network may perform part of the processing of the control unit 17.

[0043] Figure 6 shows an example of the system configuration related to a modified example. As shown in Figure 6, the terminal device 100 is connected to the server device 200 via the network 150. The terminal device 100 then provides route guidance by receiving the necessary information for route guidance from the server device 200.

[0044] Figure 7 shows a schematic configuration of the server device 200. As shown in Figure 7, the server device 200 includes a communication unit 202, a storage unit 203, and a control unit 204. The communication unit 202, the storage unit 203, and the control unit 204 are interconnected via a bus line 201.

[0045] The communication unit 202 transmits and receives various types of data via the network 150 based on the control of the control unit 204. The storage unit 203 is composed of, for example, an HDD and stores data necessary for route searching, such as map data. The control unit 204 has a CPU and memory such as ROM and RAM, and performs overall control of the server device 200 by executing programs stored in memory.

[0046] In this case, when the communication unit 202 receives information indicating route search conditions from the terminal device 100, including destination information and departure location information such as the current location, the control unit 204 determines the guidance route and transmits the guidance route information to the terminal device 100. The control unit 17 of the terminal device 100 performs route guidance based on the guidance route information received from the server device 200. The control unit 204 also receives the vehicle's current location information and user instructions to call functions related to the vehicle's location from the terminal device 100, performs quick menu processing to generate the information necessary for the display exemplified in Figure 3, and transmits the generated information to the terminal device 100 via the communication unit 202. In this case, the control unit 17 displays a display screen exemplified in Figure 3 on the display 110 based on the information necessary for the display received from the server device 200.

[0047] Thus, even if the server device 200 executes a portion of the processing of the control unit 17, the terminal device 100 can still control the display of the quick menu described above. Note that the processing of the server device 200 may be performed by a server system consisting of multiple server devices. In this modified example, the server device 200 is an example of an "information display device" in the present invention, and the control unit 204 is an example of a "computer" in the present invention.

[0048] (Modification 2) The terminal device 100 is not limited to a portable terminal such as a smartphone as shown in Figure 1, but may also be a stationary navigation device installed in a vehicle. In this case, the control unit of the navigation device performs the same display control on the navigation device's display as the control unit 17. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0049] 10 buses 11 Output section 12 Input section 13 Storage section 14 Communications Department 16 GPS receivers 17 Control Unit 100 terminal devices 110 displays 120 Touch Panel 150 Networks 200 Server Devices

Claims

[Claim 1] A map display unit that displays a map including a vehicle position mark indicating the vehicle's position, A menu display unit that displays a quick menu for selecting a function related to the vehicle's position when the vehicle's position mark is operated, An information display device equipped with the following features.

Images