NAVIGATION DEVICE, PROGRAM, AND DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20120209506A1
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishii, Takaaki, Tamayama, Shotaro, Okoshi, Kyoko, Harada, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,831,873 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/410
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

Provided is a navigation technique for aiding a user to develop a plan for traveling around a plurality of destinations. The navigation device causes a display unit to display a first display area and a second display area. The first display area displays icon information for specifying a facility and positional information thereof. The second display area displays a time line of a predetermined period. When the user disposes a plurality of pieces of icon information on the time line, the navigation device retrieves a route for traveling around the disposed facilities in order. As to icon information of a facility at which the user cannot arrive at the time corresponding to a position where the icon information is disposed, the navigation device indicates that the icon information is inappropriate.

Claims

1. A navigation device, comprising:

display unit;

storage unit adapted to store facility information for identifying a facility, location information of the facility, and icon information of the facility; and

event processing unit adapted to configure a display screen in a manner that causes the display unit to display a first display area for displaying the icon information and a second display area for displaying a time line of a given period,

wherein the event processing unit is configured to;

when a plurality of pieces of the icon information displayed in the first display area are placed on the time line displayed in the second display area, use the location information of facilities that are associated with the plurality of pieces of the icon information to search for a route for visiting the facilities in order of the placement of the facilities, and identify a required time necessary to travel through the facilities; and

when one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information placed on the time line is of a facility that cannot be reached at a date/time corresponding to a point on the time line where the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information is placed, display the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information as “

incompatible”

.

2. A navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising:

facility designation receiving unit adapted to receive a designation of a facility; and

travel date receiving unit adapted to receive a designation of a travel date,

wherein the event processing unit displays, in the first display area, the icon information that is associated with a facility received by the facility designation receiving unit and displays, in the second display area, a time line of a period equivalent to the travel date received by the travel date receiving unit.

3. A navigation device according to claim 1,

wherein the second display area comprises a free area, and

wherein, in processing of displaying the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information as “

incompatible”

when the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information is of a facility that cannot be reached at a date/time corresponding to a point on the time line of the second display area where the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information is placed, the event processing unit avoids displaying the icon information that is placed in the free area as “

incompatible”

.

4. A navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the event processing unit is configured to:

receive a designation of an arrival date/time and a staying period for each of the plurality of pieces of the icon information placed on the time line of the second display area; and

in processing of using the location information of facilities that are associated with the plurality of pieces of the icon information to search for a route for visiting the facilities in order of the placement of the facilities, and identifying a required time necessary to travel through the facilities, add the staying period to the required time.

5. A navigation device according to claim 1, wherein, when one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information displayed in the first display area is moved to the second display area, the event processing unit displays the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information in a reduced size.

6. A navigation device according to claim 1, wherein, when one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information displayed in the first display area is moved to the second display area, the event processing unit displays the time line of the second display area in an enlarged size.

7. A navigation device according to claim 1, wherein, in processing of searching for the route, the event processing unit obtains, for each of the plurality of pieces of the icon information placed on the time line, traffic information appropriate for a departure time of the each of the plurality of pieces of the icon information, and uses the traffic information to search for the route.

8. A navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising communication unit adapted to transmit and receives information to and from an external device,

wherein, when displaying in the first display area the icon information that is associated with a facility received from the facility designation receiving unit, the event processing unit obtains the icon information from the external device via the communication unit.

11. A navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising:

current location obtaining unit adapted to obtain a current location;

unit adapted to predicate, from the current location an arrival time for each of a predetermined passing point and a predetermined destination; and

editing unit adapted to receive editing on information of the time line if the predicted arrival time is changed by a given amount.

12. A navigation device according to claim 11, wherein, when the change of the predicted arrival time is a delay of a given degree or more, the editing unit deletes a passing point to be visited next from the information of the time line.

13. A navigation device according to claim 11, wherein, when the change of the predicted arrival time is a delay of a given degree or more, the editing unit replaces a passing point to be visited next with another passing point in the information of the time line.

14. A navigation device according to claim 11, wherein the another passing point that the editing unit uses as a replacement for the passing point to be visited next is a facility belonging to the same genre as a genre of the replaced passing point.

15. A navigation device according to claim 11, wherein, when the predicted arrival time is earlier by a given amount or more, the editing unit adds a passing point to be visited before the passing point that comes up next in the information of the time line.

16. A navigation device according to claim 15, wherein the added passing point is a facility belonging to a genre different from a genre of the passing point that comes up next.

9. A program for a navigation device, the navigation device comprising:

control unit;

display unit; and

storage unit adapted to store facility information for identifying a facility, location information of the facility, and icon information of the facility,

the program causing the control unit to execute;

a screen configuring step of configuring a display screen in a manner that causes the display unit to display a first display area for displaying the icon information and a second display area for displaying a time line of a given period;

a required time identifying step of, when a plurality of pieces of the icon information displayed in the first display area are placed on the time line displayed in the second display area, using the location information of facilities that are associated with the plurality of pieces of the icon information to search for a route for visiting the facilities in order of the placement of the facilities, and identifying a required time necessary to travel through the facilities; and

a compatibility displaying step of, when one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information placed on the time line is of a facility that cannot be reached at a date/time corresponding to a point on the time line where the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information is placed, displaying the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information as “

incompatible”

.

10. A display method for a navigation device, the navigation device comprising:

display unit;

storage unit adapted to store facility information for identifying a facility, location information of the facility, and icon information of the facility; and

event processing unit adapted to configure a display screen in a manner that causes the display unit to display a first display area for displaying the icon information and a second display area for displaying a time line of a given period,

the display method comprising;

when a plurality of pieces of the icon information displayed in the first display area are placed on the time line displayed in the second display area, using, by the event processing unit, the location information of facilities that are associated with the plurality of pieces of the icon information to search for a route for visiting the facilities in order of the placement of the facilities, and identifying a required time necessary to travel through the facilities; and

when one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information placed on the time line is of a facility that cannot be reached at a date/time corresponding to a point on the time line where the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information is placed, displaying, by the event processing unit, the one of the plurality of pieces of the icon information as “

incompatible”

.