Destination display apparatus and destination display method

• US 7,885,761 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2008
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tajima, Takashi, Kudoh, Takahiro, Ozawa, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu; Yonel
• Application Number:
  US12/521,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20100042317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 701200-202, 701/208, 701/211, 701213-215, 701117-119, 340/988, 340/995.1
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/322 Trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods

Abstract

A destination display apparatus includes: a position obtaining unit (114) which obtains a current position of a mobile terminal; a situation obtaining unit (100) which obtains a current situation of the mobile terminal; a history accumulating unit (101) which obtains the current situation and a destination history; a destination predicting unit (102) which predicts destinations; a destination obtaining unit (103) which obtains the predicted destinations; a label accumulating unit (104) which accumulates a name label as a hierarchical structure including parent-child relationships between name labels; a number-to-be-displayed obtaining unit (105) which obtains the number of the name labels to be displayed on the mobile terminal; a label selecting unit (106) which selects a label to be displayed; an information obtaining unit (111) which obtains information from an external network medium (200); and a display unit (113) which displays the selected label and calculated information.

Claims

1. A destination display apparatus which displays a name of a destination of a mobile terminal and information regarding the destination, said destination display apparatus comprising:

a destination obtaining unit configured to obtain a plurality of destinations of the mobile terminal;

a label obtaining unit configured to obtain labels indicating display names of the plurality of destinations as a hierarchical structure based on degrees of detail of display patterns each regarding a position;

a number-to-be-displayed determining unit configured to determine the number of the labels to be displayed on a display screen;

a label selecting unit configured to select, from the labels including the plurality of the destinations obtained by said destination obtaining unit, one or more labels using the hierarchical structure obtained by said label obtaining unit so that the number of labels becomes equal to or below the number of the labels to be displayed, the number of the labels to be displayed being obtained by said number-to-be-displayed determining unit;

an information obtaining unit configured to obtain information regarding each of the plurality of destinations; and

a display unit configured to display the information regarding each of the plurality of destinations, together with the one or more labels selected by said label selecting unit, the information being obtained by said information obtaining unit.

2. The destination display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said label selecting unit is configured to select one or more labels having a high degree of detail and including all of the plurality of destinations included in the selected one or more labels in number equal to or below the number to be displayed.

3. The destination display apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein said label selecting unit is configured to select one or more low-rank labels having a highest degree of detail and including the plurality of destinations, and select the one or more low-rank labels having the highest degree of detail when the number of destinations included in one or more high-ra-nk labels for which a degree of detail is lowered does not increase in the case where a degree of detail is lowered for the selected one or more low-ra-nk labels.

4. The destination display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position obtaining unit configured to obtain a current position of the mobile terminal;

a map accumulating unit configured to accumulate map information;

a route calculating unit configured to calculate information regarding each of routes from the current position to a corresponding one of the plurality of destinations, using the map information; and

an availability determining unit configured to determine that the labels obtained as the hierarchical structure by said label obtaining unit are unavailable when pieces of information are not similar to each other, the pieces of information each regarding the route to the corresponding one of the plurality of destinations, and the plurality of destinations being included in descendant labels of the labels, which are located at a low ra-nk in the hierarchy structure of the labels,

wherein said label selecting unit is configured to select one or more labels from labels other than the labels determined as unavailable by said availability determining unit.

5. The destination display apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising

an information calculating unit configured to calculate, from the information obtained by said information obtaining unit, information regarding each route to the corresponding one of the plurality of destinations,

wherein said availability determining unit is configured to determine the one or more labels as unavailable when a difference between the pieces of information regarding the route to the corresponding one of the plurality of destinations included in the descendant labels of the labels is large, and

said display unit is configured to display the information regarding each route, together with the one or more labels selected by said label selecting unit.

6. The destination display apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the information regarding each route to the corresponding one of the plurality of destinations is an arrival time at one of the plurality of destinations,

said availability unit is configured to determine the one or more labels as unavailable when a difference between arrival times at the plurality of destinations included in the descendant labels of the labels is greater than a predetermined value, and

said display unit is configured to display the arrival time, together with the one or more labels selected by said label selecting unit.

7. The destination display apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the predetermined value increases as a distance of each route to the corresponding one of the plurality of destinations increases.

8. The destination display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a label generating unit configured to generate one or more labels to be common parent labels ranking higher in the hierarchical structure for the labels that are obtained as the hierarchical structure by said label obtaining unit and that indicate positions within a predetermined range,

wherein said label selecting unit is configured to select one or more labels from the labels that are obtained as the hierarchical structure by said label obtaining unit or the one or more labels generated by said label generating unit.

9. The destination display apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein said destination obtaining unit is configured to obtain a ranking indicating certainty of each of the plurality of destinations, and

said label generating unit is configured to generate, for the labels that indicate the positions within the predetermined range, one or more labels each having a name including a portion of a name of or an entire name of a label which includes, in the label itself or in a low rank, a destination having a highest ranking

12. The destination display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said number-to-be-displayed determining unit is configured to determine the number of the labels to be displayed, based on the number of labels that can be displayed on the display screen.

10. A destination display method which is performed by a destination display apparatus that displays a name of a destination of a mobile terminal and information regarding the destination,

wherein the destination display apparatus includes:

a history accumulating unit configured to accumulate destination histories; and

a label accumulating unit configured to accumulate name labels in a hierarchical structure including parent-child relationships between labels indicating display names of a plurality of destinations of the mobile terminal,

said destination display method comprises;

obtaining the plurality of destinations of the mobile terminal from the destination histories accumulated in the history accumulating unit, said obtaining of the plurality of destinations being performed by a destination obtaining unit;

obtaining the labels indicating the display names of the plurality of destinations as a hierarchical structure based on degrees of detail of display patterns each regarding a position, from the hierarchical structure accumulated in the label accumulating unit, said obtaining of the labels being performed by a label obtaining unit;

determining the number of the labels to be display on a display screen, said determining being performed by a number-to-be-displayed determining unit;

selecting, from the labels including the plurality of the destinations obtained in said obtaining of the plurality of destinations, one or more labels using the hierarchical structure obtained in said obtaining of the labels so that the number of labels becomes equal to or below the number of the labels to be displayed, the number of the labels to be displayed being determined in said determining, and said selecting being performed by a label selecting unit;

obtaining information regarding each of the plurality of destinations, said obtaining of information being performed by an information obtaining unit; and

displaying the information regarding each of the plurality of destinations, together with the one or more labels selected in said selecting, the information being obtained in said obtaining of information, and said displaying being performed by a display unit.

11. A program for displaying a name of a destination of a mobile terminal and information regarding the destination, said program being recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium and causing a computer to execute:

obtaining a plurality of destinations of the mobile terminal;

obtaining labels indicating display names of the plurality of destinations as a hierarchical structure based on degrees of detail of display patterns each regarding a position;

determining the number of the labels to be display on a display screen;

selecting, from the labels including the plurality of the destinations obtained in said obtaining of a plurality of destinations, one or more labels using the hierarchical structure obtained in said obtaining of labels so that the number of labels becomes equal to or below the number of the labels to be displayed, the number of the labels to be displayed being determined in said determining;

obtaining information regarding each of the plurality of destinations; and

displaying the information regarding each of the plurality of destinations, together with the one or more labels selected in said selecting, the information being obtained in said obtaining of information.