Navigation method and computer program

The present invention relates to a navigation method,<u style="single">Navigation device</u>, And computer programs.

Conventionally, map data such as road maps used in navigation devices has been provided on recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. Map data is also provided to vehicle-mounted navigation devices using communication.

<p> However, a mechanism has not been provided that can efficiently update a part of the large-capacity map data provided by a recording medium or the like and use the old and new map data efficiently and consistently.</p><p> The present invention is a navigation method for efficiently updating a part of a large amount of map data provided by a recording medium or the like.<u style="single">Navigation device</u>And so on.</p>

<p><u style="single"> The invention of claim 1 is applied to a navigation method that performs navigation processing using map data, and displays a menu for narrowing down the area to be updated in the map for updating the map data managed in mesh units. , This menu contains items for narrowing down based on the map and items for narrowing down based on the route, and when an item based on the route is selected from the items of this displayed menu, the route and this route are included. Along with displaying a road map, a mesh with data to be updated based on the route is displayed along the route, a display that allows input of data update instructions is displayed, and when a data update instruction is given, the route is displayed. It is characterized in that the update data based on the data is taken in and the navigation process is performed by reflecting the taken-in update data.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the navigation method according to claim 1, it is displayed so as to enable selection of a mesh to be updated from among the meshes displayed along the route. It is a thing.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 3 is applied to a navigation method for a navigation device that stores stored data including map data managed in mesh units in a storage medium and performs navigation processing using the stored data, and is applied to a road map. Is displayed, and when a predetermined menu is selected, multiple items including roads are displayed to narrow down the map data to be updated, and when a road is selected from the displayed items, the displayed road map is displayed. Select multiple roads based on, so that the road names of the selected multiple roads can be distinguished from the road names included in the mesh with the map data to be updated and the road names included in the mesh without the map data to be updated. When the road name included in the mesh with the map data to be updated is selected from the displayed multiple road names, the updated data related to the selected road is imported and the imported data is reflected. It is characterized by performing navigation processing.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 4 is a navigation method used in a navigation device that performs navigation processing by using a mixture of map data stored in a fixed recording medium and updated map data obtained by downloading from a map data management device. It is applied and prompts you to select from the map data update menu prepared in advance, captures the selection input, narrows down the area you want to update and displays it, and at least one selection input from the update genre menu prepared in advance Is displayed so that the area with the updated map data can be identified in the area narrowed down based on the selection input, the display allows the input of the map data update instruction, and the map data update instruction. When is performed, the updated map data of the area where the updated map data is present is taken in, and the imported updated map data is used to perform navigation processing.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 5 is applied to a navigation method used in a navigation device that performs navigation processing using map data, and displays areas and roads as items in order to narrow down the map data to be updated. When a region is selected, multiple administrative division names for narrowing down the area should be displayed, and when a desired administrative division name is selected from multiple administrative division names, the selected administrative division name should be updated. The map data capacity and the time required for updating are displayed, and the map data update instruction can be input. When the map data update instruction is given, the map to be updated for the selected administrative division name is displayed. It is characterized by taking in data and performing navigation processing.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 6 is applied to a navigation program, and is a navigation program that causes a computer to execute any of the navigation methods of claims 1 to 5.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 7 is applied to a navigation device, comprising a control device that performs navigation processing using map data, and the control device wants to update a map for updating map data managed in mesh units. A menu for narrowing down the area is displayed, and this menu includes items for narrowing down based on the map and items for narrowing down based on the route, and items based on the route are selected from the items of this displayed menu. Then, the route and the road map including this route are displayed, the mesh having the data to be updated based on the route is displayed along the route, and the data update instruction can be input, and the data is updated. When the instruction of is given, the update data based on the route is taken in, and the taken-in update data is reflected to perform the navigation process.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 8 is to display the navigation device according to claim 7 so that the control device can further select a mesh to be updated from the meshes displayed along the route. It is characterized by.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 9 is applied to a navigation device, comprising a control device that performs navigation processing using stored data including map data managed in mesh units stored in a storage medium, and the control device is a road. When a map is displayed and a predetermined menu is selected, multiple items including roads are displayed to narrow down the map data to be updated, and when a road is selected from the displayed items, the displayed road map is displayed. Multiple roads are selected based on, and the road names of the selected multiple roads can be distinguished from the road names included in the mesh with the map data to be updated and the road names included in the mesh without the map data to be updated. When the road name included in the mesh with the map data to be updated is selected from the displayed multiple road names, the updated data related to the selected road is imported and the imported data is reflected. It is characterized in that the navigation process is performed.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 10 is applied to a navigation device, and is a control device that performs navigation processing by using a mixture of map data stored in a fixed recording medium and updated map data obtained by downloading from a map data management device. The control device prompts for selection from the map data update menu prepared in advance, captures the selection input, narrows down the area to be updated and displays it, and at least from the update genre menu prepared in advance. Prompts for one selection input, displays the area with updated map data in the area narrowed down based on the selection input so that it can be identified, displays that allows input of map data update instructions, and maps When a data update instruction is given, the update map data of the area where the update map data is present is taken in, and the imported update map data is used to perform navigation processing.</u><u style="single"> The invention of claim 11 is applied to a navigation device, which includes a control device that performs navigation processing using map data, and the control device uses areas and roads as items in order to narrow down the map data to be updated. Is displayed, and when a region is selected, multiple administrative division names for narrowing down the area are displayed, and when a desired administrative division name is selected from multiple administrative division names, the selected administrative division name is displayed. The capacity of the map data to be updated and the time required for the update are displayed, and the map data update instruction can be input. When the map data update instruction is given, the selected administrative division name is displayed. It is characterized by taking in map data to be updated and performing navigation processing.</u></p>

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the transfer of map data having the structure of the map data of the present embodiment. The in-vehicle navigation device 1 reads map data, management information, guidance search data, and the like from a recording medium 2 such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. Removable memory 3 provides updated data such as map data. The removable memory 3 is a replaceable recording medium in which update data and the like are recorded in order to update a part of the map data.

The navigation device 1 can also be connected to a communication device 4 such as a mobile phone. The navigation device 1 can be connected to the Internet 5 via the communication device 4, and further can be connected to the map server 6 via the Internet 5. The map server 6 stores old map data to the latest map data in the map database 7, and also stores old guide search data to the latest guide search data in the guide search database 8. Therefore, the map server 6 can provide the navigation device 1 with updated data for updating a part of the map data via the Internet 5. The guidance search data is data that stores location information such as POI, and attribute information such as type and name.

The navigation device 1 has a control device 11 and a non-volatile memory 12. The control device 11 is composed of a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits. The non-volatile memory 12 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory provided inside the navigation device 1. The non-volatile memory 12 may be any storage device as long as the written data is not erased even when the power of the navigation device 1 is turned off .

Once the recording medium 2 is mounted on the navigation device 1, it remains mounted on the navigation device 1 unless it is replaced with a new recording medium 2. Therefore, the removable memory 3 may be referred to as a fixed medium. The map database 7 and the guidance search database 8 are mother data databases because they have all old and new map data and guidance search data. The map server 6 can use the map database 7 and the guidance search database 8 to prepare a recording medium 2 having initial (pre-update) map data and the like, and a removable memory 3 having update data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle navigation device 1. The navigation device 1 includes a control device 11, a non-volatile memory 12, a current location detection device 13, a DVD drive device 14, a memory 15, a communication interface 16, a removable memory read device 17, a monitor 18, and an input device 19.

The current location detection device 13 is a current location detection device that detects the current location of the vehicle. For example, an orientation sensor that detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed, or a GPS that detects a GPS signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. It consists of sensors and the like. The DVD drive device 14 is a device on which the recording medium 2 is mounted to read map data and the like. In the present embodiment, the recording medium 2 is a DVD-ROM. It may be a CD-ROM or other recording medium.

The memory 15 is a memory that stores vehicle position information and the like detected by the current location detection device 13 and stores node information and link information on the recommended route calculated by the control device 11. Furthermore, it also stores all mesh management information described later. The memory 15 is a working area of the control device 11. The communication interface 16 is an interface for connecting the communication device 4. It is possible to use a mobile phone and connect to the Internet via the communication interface 16. The removable memory reading device 17 is a device capable of loading the removable memory 3 and reading data from the removable memory 3.

The monitor 18 is a display device that displays a map, recommended routes, and various types of information. The monitor 18 may be provided integrally as a part of the navigation device main body, or may be provided separately as a housing. Further, only the monitor 18 may be connected to the navigation device main body by a cable or the like and provided at separate positions. The input device 19 is an input device for inputting the destination of the vehicle or the like at the time of route search. It may be a remote controller, or it may be configured by a touch panel or the like provided on the screen of the monitor 18. The control device 11 uses the current location information of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 13 and the map data stored in the recording medium 2 and the non-volatile memory 12 to display a road map, search for a route, guide the route, and the like. Performs various navigation processes. Various processing programs executed by the control device 11 are incorporated in a ROM (not shown) provided inside the control device 11.

-Map data structure- The data structure of the map data described above will be described in more detail. Map data is information related to maps, such as background (for map display) data, locator data, network (for route search) data, guidance data (intersection name, road name, direction name, direction guide facility information, etc.). is there. The background data is data for displaying the background of a road or a road map. The locator data is data used for identifying the current location of the vehicle, map matching, and the like. The network data is route search data consisting of branch information that is not directly related to the road shape, and is mainly used when calculating a recommended route (route search). The guidance data is data consisting of the names of intersections and the like, and is used when guiding the recommended route to the driver or the like based on the calculated recommended route.

The map data of this embodiment is managed by the concept of level, block, and mesh. In the present embodiment, the map data is divided into seven levels having different scale ratios, the level of the most detailed scale ratio is set to level 0, and the level of the widest area map is set to level 6. Each level contains map data with different scales, but the target area is the same for each level. That is, if the target is the whole of Japan, each level has map data of the whole of Japan with a different scale ratio. For example, level 0 has a scale ratio of 1/6250, level 3 has a scale ratio of 1/400000, level 4 has a scale ratio of 1/1600000, and level 6 has a scale ratio of 1/128000000. That is, there are seven sets of map data corresponding to levels 0-6.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the relationship between map data levels, blocks, and meshes. Representatively, levels 3 and 4 are shown. Reference numeral 101 indicates a target area of the map data. When dealing with map data of the whole of Japan, the area 101 covers the whole of Japan. Both level 3 and level 4 cover the same area. At level 3, the area 101 is divided into a plurality of blocks 102 of 4 × 4 = 16 and managed. One block 102 is divided into a plurality of meshes 103 and managed. In this embodiment, m × n meshes are used for management. The number of split meshes between each block 102 is the same number m × n at the same level.

At level 4, the area 101 is divided into a plurality of blocks 104 of 2 × 2 = 4 and managed. One block 104 is divided into a plurality of meshes 105 and managed. In this embodiment, it is managed by p × q meshes. The number of split meshes between each block 104 is the same number p × q at the same level.

At level 3 and level 4, the number of blocks that divide the area 101 and the number of meshes that divide each block are different. This is handled by Level 4 which handles a wide area map with a smaller scale (larger denominator value) and Level 3 which handles a more detailed map with a larger scale (smaller denominator value) than Level 4. This is because the amount of data is also different. That is, appropriate division is performed according to the amount of data handled at each level. However, within the same level, the size of one block and the size of one mesh are the same. The number of divided blocks at each level in FIG. 3 is an example, and is not necessarily limited to this number.

The names of the blocks and meshes are those named for convenience in the present embodiment. Therefore, it is not necessarily limited to these names. The mesh may be referred to as a parcel, the block may be referred to as a first partition unit, and the mesh may be referred to as a second partition unit. Moreover, these blocks and meshes can be said to be geographically divided units.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of all mesh management information 181 and mesh data 182 that manage all meshes in the block. The mesh data 182 is map data provided corresponding to the mesh 103 or mesh 105 described above. All mesh management information 181 has management information of all mesh data included in the block, and is provided for each block.

The total number of meshes 183 in the total mesh management information 181 in FIG. 4 is the total number of meshes included in the block. The lower left reference position code 184 contains position information regarding the latitude and longitude of the lower left position of the block. The number of meshes in the longitude direction 185 is the number of meshes arranged in the longitude direction of east and west, and m is entered in the example of level 3 in FIG. The number of meshes in the latitude direction 186 is the number of meshes arranged in the north-south latitude direction, and n is entered in the level 3 example of FIG. Each mesh management information 187 is information for managing each mesh data 182, and is provided for the number of meshes in the block.

Each mesh data 182 is composed of in-mesh management information 111, background (map display) data 112, locator data 113, network (route calculation) data 114, and guidance data 115. The management information 111 in the mesh and the background (map display) data 112 are used as basic data, and the locator data 113, network data 114, and guidance data 115 are used as extended data. Basic data is data that exists at all levels. Extended data is data that exists at a unique level. For example, network data exists at levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, and locator data and guidance data exist at level 0. In addition, as extended data, address calculation data, image data, VICS data, building attribute data, peripheral search data, and the like may be further provided.

In this embodiment, the data size of the basic data is managed by setting an upper limit value. For example, the upper limit data size is 32KB. If the basic data exceeds the upper limit due to the update of the map data, the excess is managed as extended data. For example, suppose that the initial basic data is 20KB and the extended data is 10KB mesh data 182, and only the basic data is updated to 40KB. As the updated data, the basic data is edited so that it fits within 32KB, and the 8KB basic data exceeding 32KB is managed as extended data. Therefore, the extended data is 18KB, and the size of the mesh data 182 is from 30KB to 50KB. Also, suppose that the initial basic data is 20KB and the extended data is 10KB mesh data 182, and only the basic data is updated to 30KB. In this case, the upper limit of 32KB of basic data is not exceeded, so the increasing 10KB of basic data is added as it is as basic data. As a result, the updated basic data will be 30KB, the extended data will be 10KB, and the size of the mesh data 182 will be from 30KB to 40KB. As described above, the upper limit is set for the data size of the basic data for the following reasons.

The navigation device 1 may normally be used for many years without adding memory or the like. For this reason, it is desirable that the map data also have a fixed size according to the performance of the navigation device 1 that will be used for many years. However, it is usually possible that the amount of map data will increase due to the progress of the development of building shape data, the progress of refinement of topographical data, the progress of actual residential land development, and the like. Therefore, in the map data structure of the present embodiment, it is possible to update the map data in mesh units.

On the other hand, when a new navigation device is released, the amount of data that can be handled by the program will increase due to an increase in the amount of memory, processing capacity, etc., and new functions can be added or displayed in detail. And so on can usually occur. In such a case, the updated map data needs to have a structure that can be commonly used by both the old navigation device and the new navigation device.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the basic data size is maintained so that it can be handled by the old navigation device, and the data exceeding this size is edited so as to be recorded in the extended data. In addition, data for new functions that are not used in the old model will be recorded in the extended data.

The same can be said for the contents explained above with the expressions "old model &amp; new model" even when they are replaced with "general purpose &amp; luxury" and "portable device &amp; in-vehicle device". That is, the map data structure of the present embodiment can be commonly used from a device having a low processing capacity to a device having a high processing capacity. Then, the map data that is always used in common by the devices having low processing capacity to the devices having high processing capacity is used as the basic data. The upper limit size of this basic data is set to the data size that matches the memory size of the device with the lowest processing capacity. As a result, the map data of the present embodiment can be commonly used from the device having a low processing capacity to the device having a high processing capacity. As a result, the efficiency of map data management and cost reduction can be achieved.

It should be noted that the basic data prepared from the beginning is commonly used from the device having a low processing capacity to the device having a high processing capacity, so it can be said to be a type of data having a high priority. In addition, the basic data that is updated and increased is background data that displays a more detailed map than the basic data prepared from the beginning, and background data with low priority that does not have to be displayed on older models. I can say. Of course, even if the basic data is updated and increased, it can be said that the basic data has the same priority as the basic data prepared from the beginning as long as the basic data can be managed within the above upper limit.

In the above, the upper limit of the data size of the mesh data 182 is not specified. However, due to the memory in the navigation device 1, the upper limit of the data size may be specified for the mesh data 182 as well. For example, the upper limit of mesh data 182 is 128 KB. The upper limit value 32KB of the above basic data and the upper limit value 128KB of the mesh data 182 may be other values. Appropriate values may be determined in consideration of the performance of the navigation device when the map data is initially specified and the expected improvement in performance in the future.

-Management of map data with navigation device- FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of management of map data in the navigation device 1. The navigation device 1 can read all mesh management information and map data from the recording medium 2, read updated map data from the map server 6 via the removable memory 3 or the Internet 5, and use the latest map data. ..

In the case of a conventional navigation device, the data reading source is only a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. In the navigation device of the present embodiment, the map data in the recording medium 2 and the updated map data are mixed and used. Therefore, it has a non-volatile memory 12 which is a readable / writable medium. The non-volatile memory 12 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory, and data is retained even when the power of the navigation device is turned off. The non-volatile memory 12 may be referred to as a cache media 12.

The non-volatile memory 12 has block management information 124. The block management information 124 has identification information as to whether all mesh management information of the corresponding block is on the recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12. As an initial value, all mesh management information of each block is set as being on the recording medium 2. In response to the update of the map data in mesh units, all mesh management information 125 of the block having the updated mesh is created in the non-volatile memory 12, and in the block management information 124, all the mesh management information of the corresponding block is the non-volatile memory. 12 Set that it is on. The program can first determine whether all mesh management information is on the recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12 by referring to the block management information 124.

Reference numeral 126 is a memory in the memory 15 of the navigation device, and is an area for storing all mesh management information. Hereinafter referred to as memory 126. The program determines whether all mesh management information is on the recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12, then reads all mesh management information from the corresponding media and stores it in the memory 126. All mesh management information 127 read into the memory 126 has mesh management information from mesh 1 to mesh n. The mesh management information 128 has data of position information 129, storage location 130, offset 131, and size 132. The position information 129 is position information represented by the latitude and longitude of the mesh, and the storage location 130 is data indicating whether the data is in the recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12. Offset 131 is data indicating the position on the medium (recording medium 2 or non-volatile memory 12), and size 132 is data indicating the size of map data.

When the map data for each mesh is updated in the removable memory 3, the map data of the corresponding mesh is read into the non-volatile memory 12 and stored as the map data 133. Therefore, based on the contents of the storage location 130, the unupdated map data can access the recording medium 2, and the updated map data can access the non-volatile memory 12.

-Data structure in recording media- Next, the data of the recording medium 2 will be described. The recording medium 2 has a main data file. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the main data file. The main data file has all management information 151, stored data information 152, level management information 153, block management information 154, all mesh management information 155, and map data 156.

All management information 151 has information on the entire data such as format version revision, data version revision, media identification information, creation date, creator, and coverage area. The stored data information 152 describes the type and storage location of the data stored in the recording medium 2. The level management information 153 has information on the hierarchical structure (level structure) of the map data stored in the recording medium 2, the type of extended data given to each level, and the storage position of the block management information. This level management information 153 is used by copying it to the non-volatile memory 12 in order to change the storage location (recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12) of the block management information when the map data is updated.

The block management information 154 has management information of all mesh management information such as division information of all mesh management information at each level, storage location of all mesh management information, and storage position. When the recording medium 2 is mounted on the DVD drive device 14, it is copied to the non-volatile memory 12 and used. The storage location of all mesh management information is set to the recording medium 2 as an initial value. Block management information 154 is created for the number of levels.

All mesh management information 155 is stored in block units at individual levels. For example, in FIG. 6, at level 0, there are m blocks, and there are m total mesh management information 155. The same applies to levels 1 to 6. All mesh management information 155 has storage location, position, size, and history information of all meshes existing in one block.

Map data 156 corresponds to data in mesh units. The map data 156 is stored for the total number of meshes of all blocks at all levels stored in the recording medium 2. The structure of the map data for each mesh is as shown in Fig. 4. Since the update cycle of the map data for each mesh is different, the management information and the updated data are managed on the non-volatile memory 12, and the data on the recording medium 2 is used for the unupdated data. For example, the background data is frequently updated in shape, characters, etc., but other extended data is not updated so frequently. Therefore, the capacity of the non-volatile memory 12 can be effectively used by storing the updated data in the non-volatile memory 12. Since the basic / extended data on the map data is managed individually, the history information, storage location, storage position, and size of each data are managed in the management information unit in the mesh.

-Data structure in non-volatile memory- As shown in FIG. 5, the non-volatile memory 12 has block management information 124, all mesh management information 125, map data 133, and further has stored data information (not shown) and level management information (not shown). .. The data is stored in a file format, and the stored data information and level management information are stored as a main management file (not shown). The block management information 124 is stored as a block management file, the all mesh management information 125 is stored as an all mesh management information file, and the map data 133 is stored as a map data file.

-Main management file- The main management file (not shown) stores the stored data information copied from the recording medium 2 and the level management information. The stored data information is included in the main data file in the recording medium 2 when data other than the mesh unit data (for example, guidance search data) in the recording medium 2 is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 12. It is created by copying the stored data information of. Every time the update data of the data other than the data in the mesh unit is stored in the non-volatile memory 12, the storage location of the corresponding management information is changed from the recording medium 2 to the non-volatile memory 12.

In addition, the stored data information retains the media identification information, and is designed to correspond with the recording medium 2 which is the source of this cache information. At startup, this information is compared with the media identification information in the recording medium 2, and if they match, there is no problem. However, if this information is different (another recording medium is inserted), the storage location, position, and size managed by each information on the non-volatile memory 12 will be inconsistent with the recording medium 2. The update data on the non-volatile memory 12 cannot be used. When such a situation occurs, navigation is performed only with the data in the recording medium 2.

The level management information is created by copying the level management information in the recording medium 2 when one of the meshes of the map data stored in the recording medium 2 is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 12. To. Every time the map data is stored in the non-volatile memory 12, the storage location of the block management information of the corresponding level is changed from the recording medium 2 to the non-volatile memory 12. At this time, the position information and size of the block management information are also updated to the values in the non-volatile memory 12.

-Block management file- The block management file is created by copying the block management information 154 of each level in the recording medium 2 to the non-volatile memory 12 when the recording medium 2 is mounted on the DVD drive device 14. The storage location of all mesh management information of each block is set as recording medium 2 as an initial value. When the map data is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 12, the block management information at the level corresponding to the map data to be updated is updated. Change the storage location of all mesh management information corresponding to the map data to be updated from the recording medium 2 to the non-volatile memory 12. At this time, the position information and the size are also changed to the values in the non-volatile memory 12. Block management files are created on a level-by-level basis. The file name at this time shall be created with the level as the key. As a result, it is not necessary to describe the block management file name, and the level management information size can be saved.

-All mesh management information file- The all mesh management information file copies all mesh management information of the corresponding block to the map data in the recording medium 2 when the map data of the mesh in the corresponding block is updated for the first time and stored in the non-volatile memory 12. Created. The storage location of the map data is changed from the recording medium 2 to the non-volatile memory 12. At this time, the position information and size of the map data are also updated to the values in the non-volatile memory 12. After that, when the mesh in the corresponding block is further updated, all the mesh management information files of the corresponding block already in the non-volatile memory 12 are updated. All mesh management information files are created in block units. The file name at this time shall be created using the level and block management information as keys. As a result, it is not necessary to describe the names of all mesh management information files, and the block management information size can be saved.

-Map data file- The map data file is created when the map data is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 12. The unit of creation is the mesh unit. All map mesh management information corresponding to the updated map data is created by copying the one in the recording medium 2, and only the storage location, storage position, and size of the actually updated basic / extended data are stored in the non-volatile memory 12. Update to the value of. For basic / extended data that has not been updated, refer to the data in recording medium 2. The map data file is created in mesh units. At this time, the file name shall be created by using the level, block management information, and all-figure mesh management information as keys. As a result, it is not necessary to describe the map data file name, and the size of the figure management information and the block management information can be saved.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of one mesh 103 or mesh 105 of FIG. The mesh data is composed of in-mesh management information 111, background (map display) data 112, locator data 113, network (route calculation) data 114, and guidance data 115. The management information 111 in the mesh and the background (map display) data 112 are used as basic data, and the locator data 113, network data 114, and guidance data 115 are used as extended data. Basic data is data that exists at all levels. Extended data is data that exists only at a unique level. For example, network data exists only at levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, and locator data and guidance data exist only at level 0. In addition, as extended data, address calculation data, image data, VICS data, building attribute data, peripheral search data, and the like may be further provided.

-About basic / extended data of map data- As shown in FIG. 4, the map data is composed of the basic data of the management information 111 in the mesh and the background (map display) data 112, and a plurality of extended data of the locator data 113, the network data 114, and the guidance data 115. Will be done. The individual data (frames) that make up the map data will be described below.

-Management information in mesh- The in-mesh management information 111 describes information unique to the map data divided by the mesh and information such as the storage location, position, and size of the stored background and extended data. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the in-mesh management information 111. The in-mesh management information 111 is composed of mesh information 161, background management information 162, extended data identification information 163, and extended data management information 164.

The mesh information 161 stores basic information such as the size of the management information in the mesh and the actual size information in the vertical and horizontal directions of the mesh. The background management information 162 stores management information related to the background data (map display data) of this mesh. Specifically, history information, storage location, storage position, offset, and size are stored. For example, the management number of the update information is stored in the history information, and the larger the value, the newer the data. In the storage location, an identification flag indicating whether the data is stored in the recording medium 2 or the non-volatile memory 12 is stored. In the storage position, describe the storage position of the background data. In the case of the recording medium 2, the offset is from the beginning of the main data file, and in the case of the non-volatile memory 12, the offset is from the beginning of the map data file. The actual size of the background data is stored in the size.

The background data is managed by further dividing the area of one mesh into n × m. Therefore, there are n × m pieces of this background management information. The background data is updated in units of divided meshes divided into n × m.

As mentioned above, not all types of extended data are added to all levels of extended data. Moreover, even if the information can be given, it is not given to all meshes. For example, a mesh with only water areas does not have network data. Therefore, in the extended data identification information 163, the types of extended data that can be assigned to the mesh and the assigned state thereof are described. Extended data management information 164 is arranged in the order specified in this information for the number of extended data that can be assigned.

Extended data management information 164 stores management information of individual extended data. The management content is the same as the background data. The history information of extended data is managed in units of extended data.

-Background data- The background data (map display data) 112 may be managed in mesh units, but in the present embodiment, the area of one mesh is further divided into n × m and managed. This is because it is possible to handle data even on a small screen or memory such as a mobile phone. The background data 112 is updated for each divided unit (divided mesh). The normalized size of the background data is 256 x 256 (coordinate values are 0 to 255) per divided mesh. One mesh is created by, for example, a 4 × 4 divided mesh. Therefore, the normalized size per mesh is 1021 × 1021. Since the split mesh coordinate 255 = 0 of the adjacent split mesh, 256 × 4-3 = 1021.

The normalized size is smaller than other map data, but assuming drawing of the background, there is no problem in practical use because only one division mesh is displayed in the area of about 320 x 260 at the maximum. Moreover, since the number of bits used for one coordinate can be reduced, the size of the entire data can be reduced.

The background shape is managed by a maximum of 256 layers and drawn with the drawing attributes of each layer. In the existing navigation data, the background data is divided into about 16 classes and drawing attributes are assigned. However, if there are many types of backgrounds such as city maps, the classes are insufficient and color coding cannot be performed well. Therefore, the number of layers corresponding to the existing class is expanded to 256. The drawing order is the data storage order. In the existing navigation data, all shapes of the same type are continuously stored. For this reason, even if they are of the same type, shapes with different drawing orders (such as roads under highways and roads that straddle highways) cannot be displayed correctly, or unnecessary classes have been generated. By setting the drawing order of the shapes as the data storage order, it is possible to suppress the increase of layers.

In the case of existing navigation data, some road shapes for display and road shapes for map matching networks are shared. This is because the amount of data can be reduced by using the road shape for display and search. In the present embodiment, the storage of the road shape is switched for each level as the background data. The merit of storing the road shape as the background shape is that the map can be drawn with one access without accessing a plurality of data groups such as the background, the road, and the characters when drawing the map. In addition, since the road can be used as the background, it is possible to drastically deform and connect the data, which can be expected to reduce the amount of display data and improve the display speed.

-Data for locator- In locator data, roads are represented by the concept of links, nodes, and link columns. A node is a point specifically designated on an intersection or road. A link corresponds to a road between nodes, and a link column represents one road with multiple links. The locator road data exists at the lowest level 0 of the road map, and is used for confirming the position of the own vehicle, acquiring the route coordinates of the search result, searching for a narrow street, and the like. The structure of road data as locator data retains the same information as existing navigation data. That is, roads with the same attributes are managed as a set of road data managed in the form of a link sequence. Road attributes are roughly classified into those given to link columns and those given to links or nodes.

Examples of the attributes given to the link sequence include road type, toll / free classification, infrastructure target attribute, route calculation target flag, and the like. Examples of the attributes given to the link or node include the link type, width, intersection link information, regulation information, and interpolated rolling coordinate information. The normalized coordinates of the locator data are 2048 x 2048. Since the coordinate accuracy is required for the locator data, the normalized size data is different from the background data (1021 × 1021).

This section describes how to connect the road to the adjacent mesh when the locator data is updated for each mesh.

The link column data of the locator data is a sequence of data related to the nodes existing in the link column. The data related to the node includes data such as the position coordinates of the node and the link number connected to the node. Normalized coordinate values are used for the position coordinates of the nodes.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a case where one road exists across adjacent meshes. The mesh 171 and the mesh 172 are adjacent to each other, and one road represented by the link 173 and the link 175 exists across the mesh 171 and the mesh 172. A connection point is provided on the road located at the boundary of the mesh, and this is used as a node. The mesh 171 is provided with a node 174 as a connection point node, and the mesh 172 is provided with a node 176 as a connection point node.

The data related to the node stores the position coordinates of the node and the link number connected in either direction. For example, node 174 stores the position coordinates of node 174 and the link number of link 175 that connects to the right. The node 176 stores the position coordinates of the node 176 and the link number of the link 173 connecting to the left.

If the mesh 171 and the mesh 172 have the same history, the connection destination can be specified by the link number to be connected. However, the data of mesh 172 may be updated and the link number of link 175 may change. In such a case, the connection destination at the mesh boundary cannot be specified by the link number.

In the present embodiment, when the data is updated, the connection destination is specified by searching whether or not there is a connection point having the same position coordinates in the adjacent mesh. That is, the meshes are connected using the normalized coordinate values of the connection points. The adjacent mesh itself is specified by using the position information of the mesh as before.

In addition, when a new road is added in the field, if only a part of the mesh is updated, there may be no road connecting to the mesh side that has not been updated. In such a case, even if the connection destination actually exists, the data is treated as a dead end. In such a case, it is desirable that the location data for the adjacent mesh is also updated. Therefore, if the map server 6 can be connected via the Internet, an update request for map data of the adjacent mesh may be automatically transmitted. Alternatively, a display or the like that prompts the user to send a map data update request may be displayed.

-Network (for route calculation) data- The network data is stored as extended data in a plurality of higher levels with the reference level 1 (scale ratio 1/25000) as the lowest layer. Network data is represented using the concept of links, nodes, and link columns, similar to locator data. The network data represents the connection information of the node representing the intersection. Each node has adjacent node information connected to its own node information. The local node information stores the position coordinates of the local node, and the adjacent node information stores information of all the nodes connected to the local node. The node information of the connected node stores the node number of the node and the link number to connect to the node.

The area of one network data shall be the same as the area of the corresponding map data, and the normalized size of one mesh shall be 2048 x 2048.

The major difference in the structure of network data from existing navigation data is the association of nodes and links between adjacent meshes and levels. In the case of existing navigation data, the association of the same node between adjacent levels is directly referenced using index numbers and offsets. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the data is updated in mesh units, and the old and new data are mixed and used. Therefore, it is not possible to directly refer to the conventional index number or offset.

When the history information of the network data of the adjacent and upper and lower meshes is the same, the reference using the index number or the like can be performed as in the conventional case. However, if the history information is different, it is not possible to refer to it using the index number or the like. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the coordinate value of the connection point of the mesh boundary is used as a key as in the locator data. The connection points for associating the levels are not necessarily at the mesh boundary, and nodes existing at both the upper level and the lower level are selected.

When simply searching for the same node in the adjacent figure using the coordinate values as a key, there is no duplication of coordinate values except for the roads that intersect on the mesh boundary at the lowest (most detailed) level. This is because the node coordinates are defined at the lowest level normalized coordinate resolution. Therefore, if the search time is ignored, the search can always be performed. However, in the case of higher-level network data, since there may be multiple nodes at the same coordinates, it is not possible to search by using only simple coordinate values as keys. That is, two adjacent nodes defined with different coordinate values at the lower level may be rounded to the same coordinate value as they go to the upper level. In such a case, it is not possible to identify which node it is, and it is not possible to search correctly.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the coordinate key, the coordinate value at the lowest layer level is also used as the key. As a result, even if the nodes are duplicated at the upper level, the coordinate keys at the lowest level of the secondary key are different, so that the other party can be searched correctly. In addition, since overlapping nodes may occur even at the lowest layer level, extended coordinates of 4 bits (value range is 0 to 15) are added to the coordinate values of the lowest layer.

Therefore, if the upper level node normalization coordinates are (Xh, Yh), the lower level node normalization coordinates are (Xl, Yl), and the extension coordinates are α, the normalization coordinates of a certain upper level node are (Xh). , Yh) and (Xl, Yl) can be defined as a combination of (α).

As described above, even if old and new data are mixed, not only the connection between adjacent meshes but also the connection between levels can be surely performed. The corresponding mesh between levels is specified by providing an inter-level correspondence table for each level. The inter-level correspondence table contains information on which node of which mesh of the lower level corresponds to the node of the relevant level. Therefore, the connection points between the levels are associated with each other by using this inter-level correspondence table and the above-mentioned definition of the normalized coordinates. By using this inter-level correspondence table and the above-mentioned normalized coordinates, even if only a part of the lower level mesh is updated, the road that has not changed after the update can be connected to the unupdated upper level data. Can be maintained. In addition, new roads and roads whose shape has changed in the updated mesh cannot be connected to unupdated higher-level data, but erroneous connections can be avoided.

The position of the mesh is usually represented by the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the mesh. That is, the position information 129 of all mesh management information stores the position information corresponding to the latitude and longitude of the lower left corner of the mesh. The origin of the normalized coordinates of the mesh is the lower left corner of the mesh. Therefore, the above-mentioned normalized coordinates represent the position in the map as a two-dimensional coordinate value corresponding to the latitude and longitude, considering the position information of the mesh due to the mild latitude. Since this two-dimensional coordinate value corresponds to latitude and longitude, it can be said that it is a universal value that is not affected by the type of navigation device or the type of standard. That is, the connection between adjacent meshes and the upper and lower meshes is made using a universal key.

The normalized coordinates of the upper level node are not limited to the above definition, but are defined as a combination of (Xh, Yh) and (Xl, Yl) or a combination of (Xh, Yh) and (α). You may.

Further, it is not always necessary to use the coordinates of the lowest level for the node normalization coordinates (Xl, Yl) of the lower level. Moderately lower level coordinates may be used. The extended coordinates α are parameters other than the normalized coordinates, and are, for example, the height data of the node. It may also be time data (information) related to data generation and update. Further, it may be both height data and time data. The size of the data of α may be 4 bits or more.

In addition to the two-dimensional coordinates (Xh, Yh) at the relevant level, the above-mentioned definition of normalized coordinates uses parameters such as coordinates (Xl, Yl) or height data (α) at other levels. .. Since this parameter is a method of adding additional information to the two-dimensional coordinates to describe the connection status between levels, it is called an inter-level correspondence key in this embodiment. It may also be called a 2.5-dimensional space key.

In this embodiment, an inter-level correspondence table is provided for each level to correspond nodes between levels. Therefore, the inter-level correspondence key for each level does not necessarily have to include all the normalized coordinates of the lower levels. For example, only the lowest level normalized coordinates need to be included. Level 0 node normalization coordinates (X0, Y0), level 1 node normalization coordinates (X1, Y1), level 2 node normalization coordinates (X2, Y2), level 3 node normalization coordinates If (X3, Y3), the inter-level correspondence key of each level node is expressed as follows. The level 0 inter-level correspondence key is (X0, Y0), the level 1 inter-level correspondence key is a combination of (X1, Y1) and (X0, Y0), and the level 2 inter-level correspondence key is (X2, Y2). The combination of (X0, Y0) and the level 3 inter-level correspondence key is the combination of (X3, Y3) &amp; (X0, Y0).

-Induction data- The guidance data exists only in the map data of the lowest layer level 0, and is used when guiding the route as a route search result. The guidance data stores information on intersection names, information on road names, information on direction names, information on direction guides, information on spot guides, information on surrounding targets, information on road structures, and the like.

-Update data with removable memory- FIG. 9 is a flowchart in which the map data is updated by the removable memory 3, the data in the vicinity of the destination is read out, and the route is searched. Update data is provided in removable memory 3. The control of the flowchart of FIG. 9 is executed by the control device 11.

When the power of the navigation device 1 is turned on, the program according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is started. In step S1, it is determined whether or not there is updated data. The determination of the presence / absence of the update data determines whether or not the removable memory 3 in which the update data is stored is installed. If it is determined that there is updated data, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the update data in the removable media 3 is referred to, and all mesh management information of the data that needs to be updated with respect to the data of the recording medium 2 is read from the recording medium 2 and written to the non-volatile memory 12. In step S3, all mesh management information recorded in the non-volatile memory 12 is rewritten according to the update data. In step S4, the data near the destination is read out based on all the mesh management information recorded in the non-volatile memory 12. It was mentioned above that the update data is written to the non-volatile memory 12. However, here, the removable memory 3 is installed as it is, and the update data is read from the removable memory 3. The map data that has not been updated is read from the recording medium 2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that there is no update data, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, it is determined whether or not there is a history of updates. Whether or not there is an update history is determined by accessing the block management information 124 of the non-volatile memory 12. If it is determined in step S5 that there is an update history, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, all mesh management information that has been sequentially rewritten so far is read from the non-volatile memory 12 with reference to the block management information 124. In step S7, all other mesh management information that is not on the non-volatile memory 12 is read from the recording medium 2 with reference to the block management information 124. In step S8, data near the destination is read out in the same manner as in step S4, based on all the mesh management information read from the non-volatile memory 12 and the recording medium 2.

If it is determined in step S5 that there is no update history, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, all mesh management information is read from the recording medium 2. Next, in step S10, data near the destination is read from the recording medium 2 based on all the mesh management information read from the recording medium 2.

In step S11, a route search is performed based on the read map data. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, only the data near the destination is read, but the data near the current location is also read in sequence to search the route.

-Data update using communication with map server- FIG. 10 is a flowchart in which the data near the destination is read from the map server 6 via the Internet 5 and updated, the data near the current location and the vicinity of the destination are read, and the route is searched. The update data is provided by the removable memory 3 and the map server 6. The control of the flowchart of FIG. 10 is executed by the control device 11.

When the power of the navigation device 1 is turned on, the program according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started. In step S21, initialization processing such as reading all mesh management information is performed. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of this initialization process.

In step S101 of FIG. 11, it is determined whether or not there is an update history. Whether or not there is an update history is determined by accessing the block management information 124 of the non-volatile memory 12. If it is determined in step S101 that there is an update history, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, all mesh management information that has been sequentially rewritten so far is read from the non-volatile memory 12 with reference to the block management information 124. In step S103, all other mesh management information that is not on the non-volatile memory 12 is read from the recording medium 2 with reference to the block management information 124. In step S104, data near the current location is read out based on all mesh management information read from the non-volatile memory 12 and the recording medium 2. Next, the process proceeds to step S22 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S101 that there is no update history, the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, all mesh management information is read from the recording medium 2. In step S106, the data near the current location is read from the recording medium 2 based on all the mesh management information read from the recording medium 2. Next, the process proceeds to step S22 in FIG.

Returning to FIG. 10, the data near the destination is read in step S22 and thereafter. In step S22, new data is requested from the map server 6, and if new data exists, updated data (near the destination) is downloaded by communication. In step S23, it is determined whether or not there is updated data. The determination of the presence / absence of the update data determines whether or not the update data has been sent from the map server 6. If it is determined that there is update data, the process proceeds to step S24 and the update process is performed.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of this update process. In step S111 of FIG. 12, it is determined that the update history of the data near the destination, that is, whether or not the data near the destination has been updated so far. If it is determined that there is an update, the process proceeds to step S112. In step S112, all mesh management information already existing in the non-volatile memory 12 is rewritten according to the update data transmitted from the map server 6. Then, the process proceeds to step S115.

On the other hand, in step S111, if it is determined that the data near the destination has not been updated so far, the process proceeds to step S113. In step S113, the update data transmitted from the map server 6 is referred to, and all mesh management information of the data that needs to be updated with respect to the data of the recording medium 2 is read from the recording medium 2 and written to the non-volatile memory 12. In step S114, all mesh management information recorded in the non-volatile memory 12 is rewritten according to the update data. Then, the process proceeds to step S115.

In step S115, all the rewritten mesh management information is read from the non-volatile memory 12 to the memory 126. In step S116, data near the destination is read out based on all mesh management information read from the non-volatile memory 12. Next, the process proceeds to step S26 in FIG.

If it is determined in step S23 of FIG. 10 that there is no update data transmitted from the map server 6, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the data near the destination is read from the existing data. That is, it is read from the recording medium 2 or, in the case of previously updated data, from the non-volatile memory 12. In step S26, a route search is performed based on the read map data.

-Data update by menu screen- Next, in the update using the communication with the map server, the state of updating the map data using the menu screen will be described. Figure<u style="single">13</u>Is a block diagram showing the functions of the control device 11 of the navigation device 1 in an expanded manner. When the control device 11 reads and executes the program recorded in the ROM (not shown), the function of the block is realized. The control device 11 is a GUI (Graphics / User / Interface) control unit.<u style="single">2</u>2 and the map data management department<u style="single">2</u>3 and the route information display section<u style="single">2</u>Consists of 4.

The GUI control unit 22 has a function of prompting a selection from a map data update menu prepared in advance, capturing the selection input, narrowing down the area to be updated, and displaying the selection.

In addition, the map data management unit 23 has a function of prompting at least one selection input from the update genre menu prepared in advance and reflecting the update map data in the narrowed area based on the selection input. Have. The map data management unit 23 also prompts for at least one selection input from the update genre menu prepared in advance after the route information is confirmed by the route search, and is displayed on the map based on the selection input. It also has a function to reflect the updated map data in the route information.

Here, the "updated genre menu" refers to any one of the elements constituting the map data, such as background, road, network, guidance, and guidance search, or a combination thereof.

The map data management unit 23 includes a highlighting unit 231, a map data updating unit 232, and an information transfer control unit 233.

The highlighting unit 231 has a function of displaying the area to which the updated map data belongs in the area map displayed by the GUI control unit 22 based on the selected update genre menu, and updates the map data. Department 232 has a function of displaying the update status of the updated map data, prompting an intention display as to whether or not to update the map data, and incorporating the intention display to reflect the map update data. ..

In addition, the information transfer control unit 233 requests the map server 6 which is a map data management device to search the route, obtains the route information and the update history information, and compares it with the update history information of the map data owned by the map server. It has a function to take in map data including the latest route information from 6 and reflect it in the route information.

On the other hand, the route information display unit 24 has a function of performing a route search and displaying route information from the current position or the departure point to the destination on a map.

Figure<u style="single">14</u>Is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the map data management device of the present embodiment, specifically, the map server 6 shown in FIG. 1, with its functions expanded. The CPU (not shown) of the map server 6 reads and executes the program recorded in the memory (not shown) to realize the function of the block. The map server 6 includes a communication interface unit 61, a map data management unit 62, and an update data providing unit 63.

The map data management unit 62 has a function of managing map data in mesh units, and the update data providing unit 63 searches the area to which the corresponding map data belongs in mesh units based on the data update request obtained from the navigation device 1. However, it has a function to provide update data together with history information.

Figure<u style="single">15</u>, Figure<u style="single">16</u>Is a flowchart showing the operation of the navigation device 1 side. Figure<u style="single">17</u>Is a flowchart showing the operation of the map server 6 side.

18 to 24 are diagrams showing screen transitions in the usage state of the navigation device 1. Below, the figure<u style="single">18</u>~ With reference to Fig. 24, we will explain how to update using the menu screen. In the following embodiment, when it is explained that the update is based on the new information, the data stored in the navigation device 1 may be replaced with the new information, but as described above, the new data is added to the conventional information. It may be supported by holding and operating so as to use new information when the navigation device performs a processing operation. In the latter case, even if the basic data is a non-rewritable storage medium, the navigation system can achieve the intended purpose of updating the data. In addition, if the update results in an unfavorable result, it has the effect of being able to be restored.

FIG. 18 shows a summary of screen transitions of the navigation system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 18A is a map display screen displayed on the display monitor 18. Here, when the menu switch of the input device 19 is pressed, the screen of FIG. 18B is displayed, and the "update data" menu is selected by default. In the "Update data" menu, a menu showing the update method is displayed on the display monitor 18. FIG. 18 (b) shows how the update method appears as a menu in a pull-down method. When "From map" is selected and clicked from the pull-down menu (Fig. 18 (c)), the process proceeds to the process shown in Fig. 19 (select update data from the displayed map).

If "From region" is selected and clicked (Fig. 18 (d)), the process shifts to the process shown in Fig. 20 (select update data from region). When "From route" is selected and clicked (Fig. 18 (e)), the process proceeds to the process shown in Fig. 21 (update data is selected from around the route). If "From the route to the destination" is selected and clicked (Fig. 18 (f)), the process proceeds to the process shown in Fig. 22 (update data is selected from around the search route). When "guidance search information" is selected and clicked (Fig. 18 (g)), the process proceeds to the process shown in Fig. 23 (update data is selected from the guidance search information). If "From genre" is selected and clicked (Fig. 18 (h)), the process proceeds to the process shown in Fig. 24 (select update data from genre). In this way, the update method is displayed in response to the instruction to update the map data, so even a person who does not know the technical contents can use it without hesitation. In addition, since several update methods are prepared, it is possible to update according to the situation and it is easy to use.

FIG. 19 shows the screen transition when selecting update data from the displayed map, and FIG. 15 shows the processing procedure of the map management program installed in the navigation device 1 for that purpose.

Here, as shown in FIG. 19 (a), "Update data" is selected from the menu bar at the top of the screen of the display monitor 18, and "From map" is selected from the pull-down menu that appears. Suppose (S801 ~ S803). As a result, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 19 (b), and the scale is changed or scrolled repeatedly from the currently displayed map or the map of Japan nationwide to display the map of the area to be updated (S804).

As described above, it is a GUI to prompt selection from a menu of multiple map data update methods prepared in advance, capture the selection input, narrow down the area to be updated, and display it on the display monitor 18. Control unit<u style="single">2</u>2 does.

Here, when "From the current map" is selected to narrow down the update area, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 19 (c). On this screen, map update items, such as a menu for selecting the update genre displayed on the right side of the screen, are displayed by, for example, a pull-down method (S805). Five update genres are prepared, for example, background, road, network, guidance, and guidance search (S806). Here, if one or more genres of data to be updated are selected and the OK button is clicked, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 19 (d).

After that, control is transferred to the map data management unit 13, and the map data management unit 13 obtains the background update data when the background is selected (S807), and obtains the road update data when the road is selected. Do (S808) and get network update data if a network is selected (S809).

In addition, although not shown here, guidance update data is obtained when guidance is selected, and guidance search update data is obtained when guidance search is selected. The source of obtaining these updated data is not limited to the navigation system itself or the type of map data management device, but here, the latest map data transferred from the map server 6 which is the map data management device is used. Described as an acquisition source.

As a result, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 19 (d), and a map display that reflects the update status of the data that is the result of the search by the map server 6 in mesh units is performed (S810).

Here, the area where the new data exists in consideration of the map displayed in advance and the selected update genre is displayed visually different from the others by the highlighting unit 131, for example, in a different color display, or It is highlighted by blinking or the like. A grid line indicating the mesh unit is also displayed. In addition, the data capacity and transfer time for updating are also displayed, providing convenience when the user performs a confirmation operation (S811: whether or not to update the data). In addition to these displays, the user is displayed with an operation button as to whether or not to update the map.

Here, when the map update instruction is given, that is, when the operation button "Yes" is selected, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 19 (e), and the progress status of the data update is displayed in real time by the elevator icon. At the same time, the map data update unit 132 updates the actual map data (S812). As described above, all mesh management information is rewritten with the update.

The screen shown in FIG. 19 (d) displays the area where the map has been changed (updated data exists) in mesh units. In this example, it is shown that 6 of the displayed meshes can be updated. It is also possible to select whether to update all of these or only the selected mesh. For example, if it takes a long time to update, it is possible to select a mesh that is particularly necessary from the six updatable meshes and update only this selected mesh. When a mesh is selected, the display format of the selected mesh changes to a visually different display, and the display contents of the data capacity and update time also change. When the update mesh is selected in this way and the operation button "Yes", which is an update instruction, is selected, the selected mesh is updated.

Further, although not described in this embodiment, when the map is scrolled or paged, the mesh of the displayed map is changed. Along with that, a new updatable mesh display appears. Therefore, it is possible to select whether to update the displayed updatable mesh or the selected mesh, or to update the mesh including the mesh off the display screen by scrolling or page turning.

FIG. 20 is a screen transition when "Region" is selected from the pull-down menu, and shows a method in which the map is narrowed down from the viewpoint of items related to the region, for example, prefectures, cities, towns and villages and tourist spots. In Fig. 20 (a), when the item "From area" is selected from the operation items of the operation menu displayed on the left side of the figure, the operation items related to the area, for example, the item of "prefecture, city" or the item of "sightseeing spot", Etc. are output. In Fig. 20 (b), items such as "prefecture, city" and "sightseeing spot" are output in the form of display.

When the "prefecture, city" item is selected, the "prefecture name", which is the lower layer data of this item, is output as shown in Fig. 20 (c). In this case, the output may be performed in order from the north or the south, but in many cases, the destination area can be output quickly by outputting from the prefecture name of the current position and its vicinity, or from the prefecture name of the destination and its vicinity. There is a merit that you can choose.

When, for example, "Kanagawa Prefecture" is selected from the output prefecture name, the lower layer data of the selected prefecture "Kanagawa Prefecture", for example, "city" is output as shown in FIG. 20 (d). When the output "city", for example, "Yokohama city" is selected, the area including the facilities related to the selected "city" can be specified. Then, a list of update target items is output for the map data related to this specified area, and the update of the specified target item is promoted by selecting this.

In this embodiment, "genre" is output as an item to be updated. This "genre" includes, for example, "background", "road", "network", "guidance", and "guidance search".

The data to be updated when the genre item "background" is selected here is data for displaying roads, rivers, railways, place names, and the like. To describe the background data in the case of a road in more detail, it is the data necessary for displaying the road and does not include the data used for the route calculation. This data corresponds to the case where you want to display a road map without searching the route. The data to be updated when the genre item "road" is selected is road information for map matching and route calculation. If the navigation device is set so that it does not have the map matching function, or if an area where map matching is not possible is specified, the navigation device may automatically display the genre item "road" that cannot be selected. Possible. In this case, the device is easy to use for people who do not know navigation-related technology.

When the genre item "network" is selected, the update target data becomes node information and information on the connection relationship between nodes and can be used for route search. The data to be updated when the genre item "guidance" is selected is display information for guiding the vehicle along the route, that is, information to be output to the driver to assist driving. For example, it is a mark when turning right at an intersection, and a display of a building or a building as a mark. When using the navigation route guide function, it is desirable to update the data of "background", "road", "network", and "guidance".

When the genre item "guidance search" is selected, the data to be updated is information such as facilities, for example, information such as restaurants, department stores, shops, various other events, and information on each school.

After selecting the genre in Fig. 20 (e), if you select "OK", which means that the selection is complete, the locator data and route search data used to display the roads in the selected area "Yokohama City" In addition, guidance data for driving guidance and other facilities will be updated. The screen of FIG. 20 (f) is displayed to instruct whether to update the data related to the genre as described above. In FIG. 20 (f), the selected area "Yokohama City", the update data capacity and update time, and the operation screen for instructing whether or not to update are displayed. "Yes" on the operation screen indicates an instruction to update, and "No" indicates an instruction not to update. When "Yes" is selected, as shown in FIG. 20 (g), a display indicating that the update operation is in progress and the progress of the update operation, and an operation screen "Cancel" for interrupting the update operation are displayed.

As mentioned above, to specify "prefecture" or "city" is to specify an administrative division. Administrative divisions differ from country to country, but it suffices to be able to specify administrative divisions for each country.

FIG. 21 is a screen transition related to the operation when "From route" is selected from the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 18 (b).

When "From Route" is selected, as shown in Fig. 21 (b), the main road names related to this map are output based on the map already selected and displayed. From the output road name list shown in Fig. 21 (b), select the road you want to update. Outputs an item of data used to display the selected road. Here, data items are displayed by genre, for example, "background", "road", "network", "guidance", and "guidance search" (Fig. 21 (c)). Here, it is desirable that the item of the genre is an item related to the road. However, there is a concern that users will be confused if various items are changed. In the present embodiment, the items of the genre are the same as the contents of FIG. 20 (e) described above. The detailed description of these genre items is the same as described above, and will be omitted.

When the genre to be updated is selected from the output contents of FIG. 21 (c), as shown in FIG. 21 (d), the capacity of the update data, the time required for the update, and the operation screen for whether or not to update are displayed. "Yes" is the display of the operation screen, that is, the operation button, instructing to perform the update, and "No" is the display of the operation screen, that is, the operation button instructing not to perform the update.

Perform the update Select "Yes" to start the update and display Figure 21 (e). On this screen, the name of the road to be updated, a graph showing that the update is in progress, and the operation screen "Cancel" for interrupting the operation are displayed. The graph indicating that the update is in progress indicates the progress of the update.

The road name displayed in FIG. 21 (b) described above should be visually distinguished from, for example, a road having new data to be updated and a road having been updated or having no data to be updated. Easy to use. Therefore, these may be visually distinguished and displayed. Also, only roads with new data to be updated may be output. In such a display format, after the update is completed, the operation shown in FIG. 18 is moved to the operation shown in FIG. 21 again to confirm the completion of the update. This time, since the update is completed in the first example, the previous road. The name is not displayed. Alternatively, in the second example, the road name is displayed, but the content that has been updated and no unupdated data can be visually determined, that is, is displayed in a display format different from the previous time. If there is no road to be updated, there is a risk of misunderstanding that the road name is not displayed at all, and "There is no road to be updated" may be displayed.

FIG. 22 shows the screen transition when the update data is selected from the result of the route search. 16 and 17 show the processing procedure of the map management program for that purpose. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of the navigation device 1 side, and FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the operation of the map server 6 side.

Here, as shown in FIG. 22 (a), from the menu bar at the top of the screen of the display monitor 18, "Update data", and from the pull-down menu that appears, "From the route to the destination" Is selected, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 22 (b). In the screen shown in Fig. 22 (b), in order to narrow down the area to be updated, "From the current route", "Route search", "Destination setting", "Departure location setting", or "..." Is prepared as a pull-down menu. Here, when "route search" is selected to update an arbitrary area of the searched route (S901), the route search to the destination is performed and displayed. The route search result by the route information display unit 14 is shown in FIG. 22 (c).

The operation of the route search differs between the case where the navigation device 1 is used and the case where the map server 6 is used (S902). That is, when the map server 6 is used, in order to retain the latest maintained map data, only the route information search result output by the map server 6 is received based on the route search request requested by the navigation device 1. However, when performing a route search with the navigation device 1, it is necessary to check the history information of the map data possessed by the navigation device 1.

Specifically, the navigation device 1 receives route information and history information from the map server 6 (S903), and checks the version of the map data possessed by the navigation device 1 (S904). Here, as a result of checking the version with the history of the map data possessed by the navigation device 1 as α and the history of the received route information as β, it is found that the version is not the latest (α &lt;β). It is necessary to download and receive the latest version of the surrounding map related to the route information from the map server 6 (S905). In this case, the existence of new data, that is, the existence of new version data is displayed, and the display on the right side of FIG. 22 (e) for inputting whether to update is displayed.

Then, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 22 (c), the result of the route search is displayed, and the operation shifts to the step of specifying the route for updating the data. If the displayed route is acceptable, select an operation that means specifying the route, for example, the display content "Yes". When "Yes" is selected, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 22 (d), and the search result to be updated is confirmed.

If "No" is selected, other candidate routes are displayed, and the confirmation operation is repeated until the search route is confirmed (S906). Of course, by displaying the cancel operation button and selecting this operation button, a series of operations or at least the operation starting from FIG. 22A may be canceled. In this case, it becomes possible to quickly move to the operation of finding the desired road from another viewpoint, such as when the route that passes through the desired road cannot be found by the route search, which increases convenience.

In Fig. 22 (d), the data is updated along the specified route. In this state, the updatable area along the route may be displayed, the update of the area may be instructed, and the update may be performed. In this case, the operation is easy and the burden on the user is small. On the other hand, in order to respond to detailed user requests, a menu for genre selection is displayed in the same manner as in the operations shown in FIGS. 19 (c), 20 (e), and 21 (c) (S907). Here, as in Fig. 19 (c), Fig. 20 (e), and Fig. 21 (c), if you select one or more genres of data to be updated and click the OK button, the screen shown in Fig. 22 (e). Transition to (S908).

Here, when the background is selected, the background update data is obtained (S909), when the road is selected, the road update data is obtained (S910), and when the network is selected, the network update is performed. Data is obtained (S911). It is also possible to display the mesh of the map with the data to be updated in FIG. 22 (d) and select the genre while looking at it. In this case, it can be determined whether the mesh is important to the user.

Next, as shown in FIG. 22 (e), the mesh to be updated related to the selected genre is displayed on the screen. That is, a road map display that reflects the data update status, which is the result of the search in mesh units, is performed. In addition, the map server 6 is requested to search the route to obtain the route information and the update history information, and the map data including the latest route information is obtained from the map server 6 by comparing with the update history information of the map data possessed by the navigation device 1. The information transfer control unit 233 performs the acquisition and reflection in the route information.

In addition, the highlighting unit 231 displays the area where the new data (road) exists in consideration of the map displayed as a result of the route search and the selected update genre, for example, in a display different from the others. Is highlighted by a different color display or blinking. It also displays the data capacity and transfer time for updating, and provides convenience when the user performs a confirmation operation (S912: whether to update the data). In addition to these displays, the user is displayed with an operation button as to whether or not to update the map.

Here, when an instruction to update the map display is given, that is, when the operation button "Yes" is selected, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 22 (f), and the progress of data update is displayed in real time with the elevator icon. The actual map data is updated by the map cheetah update unit 132 (S913).

FIG. 17 shows the processing procedure of the map data management program installed on the map server 6.

In FIG. 17, when the map server 6 receives the data update request by clicking the OK button from the navigation device 1 (S101), the map server 6 further examines the selected update genre menu (S102), and in the case of the background, the map data. Refer to DB7 and search the update data related to the background in mesh units (S103), in the case of roads, search the road update data in mesh units (S104), and in the case of networks, search the network update data in mesh units. It searches (S105) and transfers each via the update data providing unit 63 (S106).

Further, although not shown here, in the case of the guidance search, the update data related to the guidance search is searched for each mesh by referring to the guidance search data DB8 and transferred via the update data providing unit 63.

That is, the map data management unit 62 manages the map data in mesh units, and based on the data update request from the navigation device 1, searches the area to which the corresponding map data belongs via the update data providing unit 63 in mesh units. , Provide update data along with history information.

FIG. 23 shows the screen transition when "guidance search information" is selected from the pull-down menu. When "guidance search information" is selected from the menu in FIG. 23 (a), the item list of guidance search information (golf course, Leisure lands, restaurants, hotels, etc.) are displayed as shown in Fig. 23 (b). If, for example, "restaurant" is selected from the guide list items, the screen shown in FIG. 23 (c) is displayed. In FIG. 23 (c), the guide list item "restaurant" is highlighted, and a menu showing the same update method (update area) as in FIG. 18 is displayed on the right side of the screen. Select a category (from the map, from the area, from the route ...) from the categories and narrow down from the map, area, etc. in the same way as explained in Fig. 18 to Fig. 22, and in Fig. 23 (d). Move to the screen. In FIG. 23 (d), the presence or absence of new data for the selected category of the guide item Restaurant is displayed. FIG. 23 (d) shows the state when there is new data in the selected category. When "Yes" indicating the update instruction is selected on the data update screen in FIG. 23 (d), the update is executed as shown in FIG. 23 (e). In addition, in FIG. 23 (b), based on the displayed area, if the area is not particularly narrowed down or the area is not changed, the list may be selected in FIG. 23 (b) and moved to FIG. 23 (d).

Further, FIG. 24 shows a screen transition when "From genre" is selected from the pull-down menu. When "From genre" is selected in FIG. 24 (a), a list of genres is displayed as shown in FIG. 24 (b). When the update target is selected from the list of genres, the screen shown in Fig. 24 (c) is displayed. In FIG. 24 (c), the area is narrowed down from the map or from the area, as in FIG. 18 (FIG. 24 (c)). The narrowing method is the same as in FIGS. 18 to 22. Figure 24 (d) shows whether there is new data in the selected area in the selected genre. Alternatively, the update screen may be displayed only when there is new data in the selected area in the selected genre.

When the update instruction is given in FIG. 24 (d), that is, there is an indication that there is update data regarding the "background", and when this update instruction is given by selecting "Yes", the update is given in FIG. 24 (e). Is done. The display at this time is a display indicating the update target, an operation in progress of the update, and a display of the progress status of the update, which are the same as the contents described above. Further, when the area displayed in FIG. 24 (b) is targeted or the target area is not changed, the process may be moved from FIG. 24 (b) to FIG. 24 (d).

As described above, when the map data structure and the map data processing method of the present embodiment are used, the following effects are obtained. (1) Since the map data can be updated in mesh units, when updating only a part of the map data, it is not necessary to update the entire recording medium such as a DVD-ROM containing the map data. The minimum unit of update can be a mesh unit, that is, a basic / extended data unit, and the amount of communication (cost) required for unnecessary data update can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to make the update cycle of each basic and extended data different. (2) Since the updated data is also provided by communication via the Internet, the latest updated data can be provided quickly and at a low cost. (3) Since the mesh data is separated into basic data and extended data, common map data can be used even if there is a navigation device that only requires map display or a navigation device that performs route search or guidance processing. It is possible to use. Further, the extended data is also separated according to the type of data. As a result, even if some extended data is required but other extended data is not required, it can be handled by providing updated data with the same mechanism. In addition, background data and other locator data and network data are managed separately. Therefore, when drawing a map, the map can be drawn with a single access without accessing a plurality of data groups such as backgrounds, roads, and characters. Furthermore, since the road as the background is sufficient, it is possible to drastically deform and connect, and it is expected that the amount of display data will be reduced and the display speed will be improved. (4) Since the mesh data is separated into basic data and extended data, map data can be provided to simple devices such as mobile phones and high-end devices such as in-vehicle navigation devices using the same map database. be able to. For example, in map display and navigation on a mobile phone, only basic data is provided. Basic data and extended data are provided for the in-vehicle navigation device. (5) Since the two-dimensional coordinate values corresponding to latitude and longitude are used to connect the data between adjacent meshes and between the upper and lower levels, the data update method depends on the model or the standard. It can be prevented from doing so. That is, since the two-dimensional coordinates corresponding to latitude and longitude can be said to be universal data, the data update method can be standardized by using these data. (6) Since the parameter of 2D coordinate value plus alpha is used, it is possible to reliably identify between nodes. For example, if the height data is used as a plus alpha parameter, even a connection point where roads are elevated and intersect can be reliably distinguished. In addition, if the coordinate value of the lower layer level is used as a plus alpha parameter, the node or the like can be identified by the resolution of the lower layer level. That is, data can be reliably connected even between upper and lower levels having different scale ratios. (7) Since the map data is managed while storing all mesh management information in the non-volatile memory, the update data can be managed easily and surely. This facilitates program development of the navigation device. (8) In order to obtain the connection destination of each boundary node, the method of searching the boundary node with the same coordinate value from the adjacent mesh is not performed for all meshes, but only for the updated mesh, and for the mesh without update, the conventional method is performed. The search method of the pointer reference expression is used. As a result, the decrease in data processing speed can be minimized. (9) Since the update data for the whole country is not distributed in a batch, but only in the area selected by the user, the reception time can be minimized. Further, since not all map data is recorded in a large-capacity storage device that can read and write, a storage capacity capable of recording only the update data requested by the user is sufficient. (10) Further, in the above embodiment, the extended coordinate α is provided as a part of the inter-level correspondence key, and this parameter is used as, for example, the height data of the node or the time data (information) related to the generation and update of the data. I explained that it is also good. Such extended coordinates α need not be provided to all boundary nodes at the mesh boundary, and may be provided only to some special nodes. For example, it may be provided only to boundary nodes that intersect on the mesh boundary and have the same coordinates. As a result, an increase in the amount of data and a decrease in the data processing speed can be minimized. (11) When updating the map data, the menu screen is displayed and the area to be updated is narrowed down, so the area to be updated can be easily specified. In addition, since the update data is not updated for all the data, but only the necessary area is updated, the update time can be shortened and the update cost can be reduced. (12) Since only the mesh related to the map displayed on the monitor 18 can be updated, the map display is up-to-date and the update can be done in a short time and at low cost. (13) From the area, for example, the administrative division name of the prefecture or municipality can be specified to specify the mesh to be updated. As a result, the map data of the desired area can be easily updated at low cost. (14) Since the line name and road name can be specified and the mesh to be updated can be specified, it is convenient when the line name and road name to be updated are known. In this case, not only the route names and road names in the displayed map but also the route names and road names nationwide may be targeted. For example, the genre of the expressway may be selected to display a list of expressways nationwide, and the Tomei Expressway may be selected to update all the meshes through which the Tomei Expressway passes. The line name and road name are not limited to official names such as National Highway No. 1, and may be other names. It may be a highway name such as Ome Kaido. (15) The route from the departure point (current location) to the destination can be specified, and the map data of the mesh related to the route can be updated. As a result, the map can be displayed and guided with the latest map data. Further, if the route search is further performed with the updated data, the route search can be performed with the latest map data. When updating map data on the route, only meshes with updated data on the route can be highlighted. This makes it easy to check which range is updated. You can also select only the highlighted meshes that need further updates. This makes it possible to acquire the minimum required latest map data in the minimum required time and cost. Further selection of the highlighted mesh can be applied both when updating in the map view and when updating from the area. Further different highlighting is applied to these meshes so that the selected meshes can be distinguished. (16) When updating, the amount of updated data and the update time are also displayed, so it is possible to determine whether or not to update at that time. For example, when the update time is long and the update data is not needed in a hurry, it can be easily decided to update later when there is time. (17) Since it is also possible to select and update genres (updated data types) such as background, road, network, guidance, and guidance search of map data, only the minimum required updated data can be selected. .. The genre may be selected after the area is narrowed down, but the genre may be selected before the area is narrowed down.

In the above embodiment, the control program executed by the control device 11 of the navigation device has been described with an example of being stored in the ROM, but the content is not limited to this. The control program and its installation program may be provided on a recording medium such as a DVD. The recording medium is not limited to DVD, and a CD-ROM, magnetic tape, or any other recording medium may be used.

Further, it is also possible to provide those programs via a transmission medium such as a communication line represented by the Internet or the like. That is, it is also possible to convert the program into a signal on the carrier wave that carries the transmission medium and transmit it. When the program is provided on a recording medium or the Internet, it may be provided with the same configuration as in Fig. 1. For example, the recording medium 2 may be used as the recording medium provided by the program, and the map server 6 may be used as the server provided with the application program. As described above, the program can be supplied as a computer-readable computer program product in various forms such as a recording medium and a carrier wave.

Further, the car navigation device may be realized by executing the above-mentioned control program on a personal computer. In that case, the current location detection device 13 and the input device 19 may be connected to a predetermined I / O port of the personal computer.

In the above embodiment, an example of providing update data from the removable memory 3 has been described, but it is not necessary to limit the contents to this content. The update data may be written to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like, and the recording medium 2 may be temporarily replaced and provided.

In the above embodiment, an example of reading the initial map data from the recording medium 2 has been described, but it is not necessary to limit the contents to this content. The initial map data may be received via the Internet 5 and stored in the non-volatile memory 12, and then updated and managed by the method described above. Further, necessary map data may be received each time via the Internet 5, stored in the non-volatile memory 12 each time, and if there is an update thereafter, update management may be performed by the method described above.

In the above embodiment, an example of route search has been described as a navigation process, but it is not necessary to limit the contents to this content. Various navigation processes such as map display and route guidance can be performed using the above map data.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the non-volatile memory 12 is provided inside the navigation device 1 has been described, but it is not necessary to limit the contents. It may be an external storage device connected by a cable or the like.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the background (for map display) data is used as the basic data and the network data is used as the extended data has been described, but it is not necessary to limit the contents. For example, network data may be used as basic data. This is the case when map data (network data, etc.) is used for an application that does not display a map. Specifically, it is used for an application that searches a route and guides the traveling direction of the vehicle only with an arrow or the like. This is because background (for map display) data is not required for such a navigation device. At this time, the network data becomes the highest priority data, and only the network data may be updated in mesh units. That is, the basic data may be, for example, the map data of the highest priority type commonly used for a plurality of predetermined models in each application.

Although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention.

<figref num="1">It is a figure explaining the transfer of the map data which has the structure of the map data of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is a block diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device.</figref><figref num="3">It is a conceptual diagram explaining the relationship between the level of map data, a block, and a mesh.</figref><figref num="4">It is a figure which shows the data structure of one mesh of FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a figure explaining the state of management of map data in a navigation device.</figref><figref num="6">It is a figure explaining the structure of the main data file.</figref><figref num="7">It is a figure which shows the structure of the management information in a mesh.</figref><figref num="8">It is a figure explaining the case where one road exists across adjacent meshes.</figref><figref num="9">It is a flowchart which updates map data with removable memory, reads data near a destination, and performs route search.</figref><figref num="10">It is a flowchart which reads and updates the data near a destination from a map server via the Internet, reads the data near the current location and near the destination, and searches for a route.</figref><figref num="11">It is a flowchart of the initialization process of step S21 of FIG.</figref><figref num="12">It is a flowchart of the update process of step S24 of FIG.</figref><figref num="13">It is a block diagram which showed the internal structure of a navigation device by expanding the function.</figref><figref num="14">It is a block diagram which showed the internal configuration of a map server by expanding the function.</figref><figref num="15">It is a flowchart explaining operation of this Embodiment.</figref><figref num="16">It is a flowchart explaining operation of this Embodiment.</figref><figref num="17">It is a flowchart explaining operation of this Embodiment.</figref><figref num="18">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment.</figref><figref num="19">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (select update data from a display map).</figref><figref num="20">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (update data is selected from the area).</figref><figref num="21">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (update data is selected from the circumference of a route).</figref><figref num="22">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (update data is selected from around the search path).</figref><figref num="23">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (update data is selected from guidance search information).</figref><figref num="24">It is a screen transition diagram explaining the operation of this embodiment (update data is selected from a genre).</figref>