Navigator, navigation system, navigation method, data processing apparatus, data processing method, program thereof, and recording medium thereof

• US 7,308,358 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2003
• Issued: 12/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Increment P Corporation
• Original Assignee: Increment P Corporation
• Inventors: Nozaki, Takashi, Amano, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Behncke, Christine M
• Application Number:
  US10/382,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20030182056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,740 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995.14, 340/995.24, 340/995.27, 340/995.19, 715/700, 715/764, 345/619, 701/209, 701/211
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network

Abstract

A system member of a data processing system 1 operates a terminal 3 to connect a registration-site server 6, and inputs requirements including personal data. The registration-site server 6 creates customer data from the requirements and point data concerning points given, and registers the system member as a point member. The system member clicks an icon of “Side trip” on a point card registration-site at the terminal 3, to transfer the point data and shop code data from the registration-site server 6 to a server 5, so that shop data is automatically made. The terminal 3 is operated to connect the sever 5. Upon a request for shop search, the position of the shop for which the point member is registered is displayed with higher visibility corresponding to use frequency than other shops.

Claims

1. A navigator which navigates a user to a shop, comprising:

a use data attaining portion which attains use data concerning use frequency at which the user used the shop;

a shop data attaining portion which attains shop data specific to the shop, the shop data including position data specifying the position of the shop;

a shop search portion which searches for the shop existing within a predetermined area, based on the position data of the shop data attained by the shop data attaining portion;

a display controller which outputs a signal for making the actual shop display characteristic of the shop searched for by the shop search portion, be displayed in a display mode in which visibility of the actual shop display characteristic is differentiated from display characteristics of other shops based on the use data attained by the use data attaining portion, the visibility of the actual shop display characteristic becoming higher in correspondence with the use frequency; and

a displayable shop number setting portion which sets the number of shops to be displayed by the display controller, to a predetermined number,

wherein the display controller outputs a signal for making the shops to be displayed be displayed at random if the number of shops to be displayed is greater than the predetermined number set by the displayable shop number setting portion.

2. The navigator according to claim 1, wherein

the use data attaining portion attains point data concerning points given to the user from the shop, as the use data concerning the use frequency of the shop.

3. The navigator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a setting input recognition portion which recognizes an input operation for selection of a shop from a user; and

a shop data processing portion which links selection data expressing the selection from the user, to shop data of the shop recognized through the input operation by the setting input recognition portion, wherein

the display controller outputs a signal for making the shop be displayed with visibility which is differentiated based on selection data of the shop data.

4. The navigator according to claim 1, further comprising a map data storage which stores map data, wherein the display controller outputs a signal for making the shop be displayed on the map data.

5. The navigator according to claim 4, further comprising:

a current position data attaining portion which attains current position data concerning a current position; and

a moving route search portion which searches for an estimated route from the current position to the searched shop, based on the map data stored in the map data storage, and estimated from the current position data attained by the current position data attaining portion and the shop data of the searched shop searched for by the shop search portion, wherein

the display controller outputs a signal for making the estimated route searched for by the moving route search portion be displayed with higher visibility than other data of the map data.

6. The navigator according to claim 1, wherein the display controller outputs a signal for making the shop be displayed in form of a list.

7. The navigator according to claim 1, wherein the shop data attaining portion attains shop data including type data of the shop, and the display controller outputs a signal for making shops searched for by the shop search portion be displayed for every type, based on the type data of the shop data.

8. A navigation system comprising:

the navigator according to claim 1; and

a terminal connected to the navigator, being capable of receiving at least the signal outputted from the display controller of the navigator, to display shops in a display mode in which visibility is differentiated in correspondence with use frequencies of the shops, based on the signal from the display controller.

9. The navigator as recited in claim 1, wherein said actual shop display characteristic and said display characteristics of other shops are icons in which the icons representing said actual shop display are made larger than the icons representing the display characteristics of other shops, colored differently, flickered, brighter, or with a sharper profile in correspondence with the use frequency.

10. A navigation method of using a computer to navigate a user to a shop, comprising steps of:

attaining use data concerning a use frequency at which the user used the shop, and attaining shop data specific to the shop, the shop data including position data specifying the position of the shop;

searching for the shop existing within a predetermined area, based on the position data of the attained shop data;

making the actual shop display characteristic of the shop searched to be displayed in a display mode in which visibility of the actual shop display characteristic is differentiated from display characteristics of other shops based on the attained use data, the visibility of the actual shop display characteristic becoming higher in correspondence with the use frequency; and

setting the number of shops to be displayed by a display controller to a predetermined number,

wherein the display controller outputs a signal for making the shops to be displayed be displayed at random if the number of shops to be displayed is greater than the predetermined number that is set.

11. A navigation program stored on a computer readable medium by which a computer is made to execute the navigation method according to claim 10.

12. A computer readable recording medium on which the navigation program according to claim 11 is recorded.

13. The navigation method as recited in claim 10, wherein said actual shop display characteristic and said display characteristics of other shops are icons in which the icons representing said actual shop display are made larger than the icons representing the display characteristics of other shops, colored differently, flickered, brighter, or with a sharper profile in correspondence with the use frequency.