JP2019074539A - Navigation device, navigation method, and navigation program - Google Patents

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to display information that serves as a guideline for easily comparing and judging how high or low a price posted at an approaching gas station is before passing. Kind Code: A1 When a vehicle V approaches a gas station G, price information posted at the gas station G is acquired as individual price information, and gas stations existing around the current position of the vehicle V at that time are acquired. obtains from the server 4 as average price information the average price posted by , and simultaneously displays the individual price information and the average price information on the display 41 before passing the approaching gas station G. As a result, even while the vehicle V is traveling, it is possible to instantly determine whether the price of fuel posted by the approaching gas station G is higher or lower than the average price in the surrounding area. It is easy to judge whether or not [Selection drawing] Fig. 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus, a navigation method, and a navigation program for displaying information about a fuel supply facility existing around a current position of a mobile body.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for collecting and displaying gasoline price information of gas stations existing around the current position of the mobile unit.

JP, 2008-165652, A

  In the above-mentioned prior art, although it is possible to list price information of a plurality of gas stations existing around the mobile unit, the prices posted on the gas station where the mobile unit is approaching at that time are the plurality of price information It was difficult to instantly judge how high or cheap it was while driving. Therefore, there is a demand for knowing information that serves as a guide for easily comparing and judging how high or low the price posted at the nearest gas station approaching is before passing the gas station. there were.

  The problems to be solved by the present invention include the above-mentioned problems as an example.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a navigation device mounted on a mobile body, which is a display means for displaying various information, and a position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the mobile body. First information acquiring means for acquiring, as individual price information, price information of the fuel posted on the facility when a facility capable of providing fuel to the mobile body is present within a predetermined distance from the current position; And second information acquisition means for acquiring average price information obtained based on price information posted respectively in a plurality of facilities present in a predetermined area including the current position, the display means comprising The individual price information and the average price information of a facility existing within a predetermined distance are simultaneously displayed before the mobile body passes through the facility.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, invention of Claim 7 is a navigation method which a navigation device carried in a mobile performs, and acquires a procedure which displays various information, and a current position of the mobile. Procedure for acquiring the price information of the fuel posted on the facility as individual price information when the facility capable of supplying fuel to the mobile body is present within a predetermined distance from the current position; A procedure for acquiring average price information obtained based on price information posted on each of a plurality of facilities present in a predetermined area including the current position, the individual price information of the facilities existing within the predetermined distance, and And displaying the average price information at the same time before passing through the facility.

  Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 8 is a navigation program to be executed by calculation means provided in a navigation apparatus mounted on a moving body, and a procedure for displaying various information, and the movement The procedure of acquiring the current position of the body, and the price information of the fuel displayed on the facility when the facility capable of supplying the fuel to the mobile body is within a predetermined distance from the current position A procedure for acquiring as, a procedure for acquiring average price information obtained based on price information posted respectively on a plurality of facilities present in a predetermined area including the current position, and a facility of existing within the predetermined distance A step of simultaneously displaying the individual price information and the average price information before passing through the facility;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of the whole navigation system containing the navigation apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing an example of composition of a vehicle carrying a navigation device. It is a block diagram of the example of hardware constitutions in a navigation device. It is a functional block diagram of the software configuration example which a server runs. It is a figure which shows the condition where a navigation system functions, and the aspect of information transmission / reception. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the latest price table classified by gas station which a server memorize | stores and manages. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the average price table classified by area | region which a server stores and manages. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the separate price information and average price information on a display. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the process performed by CPU in the navigation apparatus of a vehicle. It is a flowchart showing about the detailed procedure of the separate price information acquisition process of step S200 in FIG. It is a flowchart showing the control content which CPU of a server performs. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the separate price information and average price information on a display at the time of setting the substantially semicircle-shaped range centering on the present position as an application field.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall system configuration of a navigation system including the navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation system S includes a navigation device 1, a communication network 2, a base station 3 and a server 4. Each of the plurality of vehicles V (corresponding to mobiles) mounts the navigation device 1. The navigation device 1 of each vehicle V can transmit / receive information to / from the base station 3 via wireless communication, and the base station 3 further transmits / receives information to / from a predetermined server 4 via the communication network 2 such as the Internet. It is possible. That is, the navigation device 1 of each vehicle V can exchange information with the server 4 while moving.

  In FIG. 2, the structural example of the vehicle V which mounts the navigation apparatus 1 is shown by a perspective view. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle V is equipped with a navigation device body 11 and a camera 21 and a communication antenna 31.

  The camera 21 is provided, for example, on the back surface of the rearview mirror (room mirror) 5 of the vehicle V, and is installed so as to be able to capture an oblique left front of the traveling direction of the vehicle V.

  The communication antenna 31 is provided, for example, on the ceiling roof of the vehicle V, and is installed so as to be capable of wireless communication with the external base station 3.

  FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a hardware configuration example of the navigation device 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the navigation device 1 includes a navigation device body 11, a display 41, a camera 21, a GPS 51, a communication device 61, a speaker 71, and a touch panel 81.

  The navigation device body 11 includes a storage device 12, an arithmetic device 13, a display control circuit 14 and an interface 15 connected via a bus 16. The display 41 described above is connected to the display control circuit 14. The camera 21, the GPS 51, the communication device 61, the speaker 71, and the touch panel 81 are connected to the interface 15. The display 41, the camera 21, the GPS 51, the communication device 61, the speaker 71, and the touch panel 81 may be configured as part of the navigation device main body 11.

  The storage device 12 includes a ROM 12a, a RAM 12b, and a recording medium 12c. The ROM 12a is an information storage medium in which various processing programs described later and other necessary information are previously written. The RAM 12 b is an information storage medium on which writing and reading of information necessary to execute the various programs are performed. The recording medium 12 c is an information storage medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk, for example. The recording medium 12c can store map data and information of various facilities (so-called POI: Point Of Interest) in a non-volatile manner. In the present embodiment, in particular, the installation position information (latitude, longitude) of all the gas stations existing in the country is stored in the recording medium 12c as the information of the various facilities described above.

  The arithmetic unit 13 has a CPU 13a and a graphic controller 13b. The CPU 13a has a function of performing various calculations and controls in accordance with the various programs. The graphic controller 13 b has a function of acquiring image data from a video RAM (not shown) or the like under the control of the CPU 13 a and causing the display control circuit 14 to display an image based on the image data on the display 41. The graphic controller 13b also displays, for example, an electronic map based on the map data on the display 41 under the control of the CPU 13a, and superimposes a mark indicating the position (current position) of the vehicle V on the electronic map. Have a function to The arithmetic device 20 can exchange data with the storage device 12, the interface 15, and the display control circuit 14 by the operation of a predetermined program.

  The display 41 is formed of, for example, an LCD panel, and displays various information images based on the image signal input from the display control circuit.

  The camera 21 includes, for example, a CCD sensor, and has a function of acquiring image data by optical imaging.

  A GPS (Global Positioning System) 51 has a function of receiving radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites, performing calculations, and performing positioning. This GPS 51 generates positioning data of, for example, any one or a combination of latitude, longitude, altitude, and heading.

  The communication device 61 includes the communication antenna 31 shown in FIG. 2 and has a function of controlling transmission and reception of information with the base station 3 via wireless communication.

  The speaker 71 has a function of outputting sound under the control of the CPU 13a.

  The touch panel 81 is, for example, a transparent switch provided along the surface of the display area of the display 41, and has a function of receiving various operation inputs from the operator.

  FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of a software configuration example executed by the server 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the software executed by the server 4 includes functional blocks of a control unit 91, an operation unit 92, a data storage unit 93, an average price storage unit 94, and a communication unit 95.

  The control unit 91 has a function of controlling the entire server 4 including other units by executing various processing programs (not shown).

  The calculation unit 92 has a function of calculating average price information based on individual price information respectively corresponding to a plurality of gas stations existing in the application area as described later.

  The data storage unit 93 has a function of storing the latest individual price information of each gas station received from the navigation device 1 of each vehicle V as described later, and more specifically, the latest price table for each gas station (described later) (See FIG. 6 described later).

  The average price storage unit 94 has a function of storing average price information corresponding to each application area calculated by the calculation unit 92 as described later, and more specifically, an area-specific average price table (described later) 7) to memorize.

  The communication unit 95 has a function of transmitting and receiving information to and from the navigation device 1 of each vehicle V via the communication network 2 and wireless communication.

  Hereinafter, the operation mode of the navigation system S of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the navigation system S of this embodiment functions and an aspect of information transmission and reception. In FIG. 5, when a vehicle V equipped with the navigation device 1 travels on a road, when approaching a gas station (corresponding to a facility) G capable of providing fuel (in this example, gasoline or light oil), The navigation system S starts its function. At this time, the determination of the approach to the gas station G is based on the comparison between the positioning information of the current position of the vehicle V by the GPS 51 and the installation position information of each gas station G previously recorded in the recording medium 12c. To be done. In addition, the determination standard of having approached presupposes that the vehicle V reached | attained within the predetermined distance which the camera 21 can image | photograph the gas station G clearly. In this example, the predetermined distance is set to 100 m. However, the predetermined distance may be changed in accordance with the photographing performance of the camera 21 or the difference in external brightness due to time or weather. Further, in the example of the present embodiment, the gas stations to be subjected to the approach determination are limited to only the gas stations G located on the lane side of the traveling vehicle V as shown in the drawing.

  When the approach is determined, first, the appearance of the gas station G being approached by the camera 21 mounted on the vehicle V is photographed. Usually, at the gas station G, a signboard 100 is installed at a position easily visible from the roadway, and the signboard 100 corresponds to the type of fuel supplied by the gas station G (regular, high oil, light oil in this example). Unit price information is posted. As described above, the shooting direction of the camera 21 is directed diagonally forward to the left in the traveling direction of the vehicle V, and the sign 100 in which the above-described price information is described can be shot. Then, the arithmetic device of the navigation device 1 analyzes the image captured by the camera 21 and acquires price information described in the sign 100. This image analysis is performed by known so-called image recognition, and recognizes character patterns such as "regular", "high ok", "light oil", etc., and numerical patterns described at corresponding positions such as respective horizontal positions. Recognize and get price information.

  Thus, the price of each type of fuel displayed on the sign 100 of the gas station G is set individually at each gas station, and frequently according to the price of the crude oil price of the day and the policy of the store concerned several times a day It is information that can be changed. Also, the market price may differ depending on the regionality such as between urban areas and regional areas. As a psychology of a driver or a passenger of the vehicle V who is a consumer, of course, I would like to refuel at a gas station that is as cheap as possible. It is possible to obtain price information of nearby gas stations and display them in a list by development and spread of the Internet, mobile communication technology, etc. in recent years. However, whether the price of fuel posted by the on-coming gas station G is higher or cheaper among the gas stations currently existing around the vehicle V at that time, the driving safety It is difficult to visually compare the list display and make a comparison judgment instantly while securing it.

  Therefore, in the navigation system S of this embodiment, an average value of prices posted by each gas station existing around the current position at that time is acquired from the server 4 as the average price information, and the approaching gas station G is obtained. Are displayed on the display 41 together with the individual price information posted (see FIG. 8 described later). This makes it possible to instantly judge whether the price of fuel posted by the approaching gas station G is higher or lower than the average price of the surrounding vehicles even while the vehicle V is traveling, and the vehicle station G must enter the approaching gas station G. It can be easily determined whether it is or not.

  For that purpose, the navigation device 1 transmits the price information of the approaching gas station G acquired by the camera 21 to the server 4 as individual price information. The individual price information includes information on the price itself corresponding to various fuels, information on the position of the approaching gas station G, and information on the time (date and time) of acquiring the individual price information. The transmission of the individual price information to the server 4 is transmitted every time the vehicle V approaches any gas station. Thereby, the server 4 can record and manage the latest price information of each gas station from each vehicle V.

  Moreover, the navigation apparatus 1 transmits the signal which requests | requires average price information with respect to the server 4 after transmission of the individual price information mentioned above. The average price information request signal is transmitted including the current position information of the vehicle V at that time. The server 4 having received the average price information request signal sends back to the vehicle V the average price information of a plurality of gas stations existing in a predetermined area where the vehicle V is located at that time based on the current position information. In addition, about transmission of the average price information request signal from the vehicle V, the driver | operator of the said vehicle V can set the decision | availability of the transmission arbitrarily. That is, it is possible to select and set the transmission of the average price information request signal and the acquisition and display of the average price information only when the fuel remaining amount is close and it is necessary to refuel soon. This setting may be set automatically by detecting the remaining amount of fuel.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of the gas station-specific latest price table stored and managed by the server 4. The gas station-specific latest price table is information stored in the data storage unit of the server 4 and is updated based on the individual price information received from each vehicle V. The latest price table for each gas station has items corresponding to the gas station position (abbreviated as GS position in the figure), price information for each type of fuel, and acquisition time, and the information is recorded for each gas station There is. Each gas station is individually identified by the position information (information consisting of latitude and longitude) included in the individual price information received from the vehicle V, and the price information is recorded according to the type of regular, high ok, and light oil corresponding to each. . Further, when the individual price information is received, the corresponding acquisition time is also updated regardless of the fluctuation of the price information and the presence or absence of the update. By recording and managing the latest price table for each gas station, the server 4 can grasp fluctuations in price information of each gas station in approximately real time.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of the average price table classified by region stored and managed by the server 4. This area-by-area average price table is information stored in the average price storage unit of the server 4, and the operation unit of the server 4 is based on the recorded contents of the gas station-by-station stand latest price table of FIG. Calculate and update. This area-by-area average price table has items corresponding to the application area and the average price information by fuel type, and information is recorded for each application area. In the example of the present embodiment, a so-called mesh area in which latitude and longitude are divided at predetermined intervals is set as an application area (corresponding to a predetermined area) (see FIG. 8 described later). Calculate the average value according to each type of, and update the average price information according to the type of regular, high-octane, and light oil corresponding to each applicable area. The server 4 can quickly return the average price information of the application area where the transmission source of the average price information request signal is located, by recording and managing the average price table classified by area. In addition, the time interval which a calculating part calculates and updates is not restricted to said 10-minute space, For example, you may fluctuate according to the time zone of day and night.

  FIG. 8 shows a display example of the individual price information and the average price information on the display 41. On the display 41, map data of the current position of the vehicle V and its surroundings are displayed, and the position of the gas station existing in this display range is also displayed in a gaze-susceptible manner. In addition, a boundary (refer to a broken line) representing a section corresponding to the above application area is also displayed superimposed.

  In the illustrated example, the average price information is also acquired and displayed by the user, and the individual price information of the gas station approaching the lower right position of the display 41 (denoted as "closest" in the figure) And the average price information (denoted as “average” in the drawing) acquired from the server 4 are displayed in a manner such that the information is displayed above and below. In particular, the approaching gas stations are both displayed surrounded by the same double border so that the correspondence between the corresponding position in the map and the individual price information can be easily confirmed. The average price information is classified by fuel type of individual price information of each of a plurality of gas stations (three in the illustrated example, G1, G2, and G3) existing in the application area including the current position of the vehicle V. It is calculated by the average value of. By displaying the individual price information and the average price information in the arrangement adjacent to each other as described above, the user can compare quickly by minimizing the movement of the viewpoint.

  Note that the display of the individual price information and the average price information may be simultaneously displayed only during a time in which the user can easily compare them, and the timing of the start and the end of each display may be shifted. However, it is necessary to start simultaneous display of the individual price information and the average price information before the vehicle V reaches a position where it can enter the nearest gas station G. Further, when the user is set not to permit acquisition and display of the average price information, only the individual price information is displayed, but the individual price information may also be set so as not to be displayed. In this case, the navigation device 1 only transmits the individual price information to the server 4. In addition, the procedure and means which set the decision | availability of each display of separate price information and average price information in this way correspond to the setting means as described in each claim. Moreover, when the navigation apparatus 1 has grasped | ascertained the kind of the used fuel of the said vehicle V, you may write together only the price information of the applicable kind.

  Further, the setting of the application area may be changed in accordance with the scale ratio of the map data displayed on the display 41. For example, when the map display is reduced, a large number of peripheral application areas may be applied correspondingly to obtain a further average of their average price information. When the map display is enlarged, the number of application areas may be reduced accordingly to obtain the average of the average price information. In any case, the application area to be applied is a peripheral area including the current position of the vehicle V and is selected so as not to exceed the display range of the display 41.

  FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing control contents executed by the CPU 13a of the navigation device 1 in order to realize the processing of the navigation system S described above. Note that this flow starts to be executed at the start of traveling of the vehicle V.

  In FIG. 9, first, in step S <b> 105, the CPU 13 a acquires the current position of the vehicle V based on the positioning of the GPS 51.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S110, and the CPU 13a compares the current position acquired in step S105 with the position information of each gas station recorded in the recording medium 12c.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S115, and the CPU 13a determines whether the distance from the nearest gas station G is within a predetermined distance (within 100 m in this example) by the comparison of step S110. If the current position of the vehicle V is at least 100 m away from the nearest gas station G, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S105 to repeat the same procedure.

  On the other hand, if the current position of the vehicle V is located within 100 m from the nearest gas station G, the determination is satisfied, and the process moves to step S200.

  Next, in step S200, the CPU 13a executes individual price information acquisition processing for acquiring price information posted by the gas station G approaching by photographing with the camera 21 (see FIG. 10 described later).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S120, and the CPU 13a performs the individual price information acquired in step S200, position information of the gas station G similarly calculated in step S200 (see step S220 in FIG. 10 described later), and acquired time information. Together and sent to the server 4.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S125, and the CPU 13a determines whether acquisition and display of average price information are set. If the acquisition display of the average price information is set to be disallowed, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S105 and the same procedure is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is set to permit acquisition display of the average price information, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S130. Even in the case where acquisition of the individual price information has failed due to a photographing malfunction of the camera 21 or the like in step S200, if acquisition display of average price information is permitted, the process may move to step S130.

  In step S130, the CPU 13a transmits, to the server 4, an average price information request signal including the current position information acquired in step S105.

  Next, moving to step S135, the CPU 13a receives the average price information returned from the server 4 in response to the average price information request signal.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S140, and the CPU 13a writes the individual price information acquired in step S200 and the average price information acquired in step S135 on the display 41 (see FIG. 8).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S145, and the CPU 13a determines whether a predetermined ending operation is input from the user via the touch panel 81 or the like. If the end operation is not input, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S105 to repeat the same procedure.

  On the other hand, when the end operation is input, the determination is satisfied and this flow is ended.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the individual price information acquisition process of step S200 in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, first, in step S205, the CPU 13a activates the camera 21 mounted on the vehicle V.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S210, and the CPU 13a uses the camera 21 to capture an image of the diagonally left front of the vehicle traveling direction. That is, the appearance of the approaching gas station G is photographed.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S215, and the CPU 13a stores the image data captured in step S210 in the recording medium 12c.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S220, and the CPU 13a recognizes the image of the signboard 100 whose price is displayed from the character pattern and the number pattern recorded in the stored image data, and estimates the installation position of the signboard 100 Calculate the position of the gas station to be

  Next, the process proceeds to step S225, and the CPU 13a acquires price information of each fuel type from the character pattern and the number pattern further described on the sign 100 recognized in the step S220 by image recognition.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S230, and the CPU 13a determines whether the vehicle V has reached the vicinity of the entry available position of the nearest gas station G. If it has not reached the vicinity of the entry possible position, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S210 and repeats the same procedure. As a result, photographing and image recognition of the camera 21 can be repeated as many times as possible, and the recognition accuracy of the individual price information can be improved.

  On the other hand, when reaching the vicinity of the entry possible position, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step s235.

  In step S235, the CPU 13a stops the operation of the camera 21 and ends this flow.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing control contents executed by the CPU (not shown) of the server 4 in order to realize the processing of the navigation system S. Note that this flow starts to be executed when the server 4 is powered on.

  In FIG. 11, first, in step S305, the CPU determines whether or not individual price information has been received from any of the vehicles V. If the individual price information has been received, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S310.

  In step S310, the CPU refers to the latest price table for each gas station, and is there any change in the price information corresponding to any fuel type at the gas station specified by the individual price information received in step S305? In other words, it is determined whether or not the corresponding price information is different. If there is a change in any of the price information, the determination is satisfied, and the process moves to step S315.

  In step S315, the CPU updates the price information of the gas station latest price table with the fuel type of the gas station whose fluctuation has been recognized, and proceeds to step S320.

  On the other hand, if there is no change in any of the price information in the determination of step S310, the determination is not satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S320.

  In step S320, the CPU also updates the corresponding acquisition time in the gas station-specific latest price table with the acquisition time information included in the individual price information acquired in step S305. Then, the process proceeds to step S340.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S305 that the individual price information has not been received, the determination is not satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S325.

  In step S325, the CPU determines whether an average price information request signal has been received from any of the vehicles V. If the average price information request signal has not been received, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S305 and repeats the same procedure.

  On the other hand, if the average price information request signal has been received, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S330.

  In step S330, the CPU refers to the average price table classified by area and includes the current position of the vehicle V of the transmission source based on the current position information included in the average price information request signal received in step S325. The average price information of each fuel type corresponding to the application area is acquired.

  Next, the process moves to step S335, and the CPU returns the average price information acquired in step S330 to the vehicle V of the transmission source. Then, the process proceeds to step S340.

  In step S340, the CPU determines whether a predetermined time (10 minutes in this example) has elapsed since the last update of the average price table by area. If the predetermined time has not passed yet, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S305 and the same procedure is repeated.

  On the other hand, if the predetermined time has elapsed, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S345.

  In step S345, the CPU calculates an average price for each applicable area as a minimum unit. At this time, the calculation unit refers to the latest price table for each gas station and the average price table for each area, extracts the gas stations present in each application area, and calculates the average value of each price information corresponding to them. Calculate for each.

  Next, the process moves to step S350, and the CPU updates the average value calculated in step S345 as new average price information of each applicable region and each fuel type.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S355, where the CPU determines whether a predetermined ending operation has been input. If the end operation is not input, the determination is not satisfied, and the process returns to step S305 and repeats the same procedure.

  On the other hand, when the end operation is input, the determination is satisfied and this flow is ended.

  In the above, the procedure of step S140 in the flow of FIG. 9 corresponds to the procedure of displaying the display means described in each claim, the procedure of displaying various information, and the procedure of simultaneously displaying the individual price information and the average price information. Also, the procedure of step S105 corresponds to the procedure of acquiring the current position of the mobile object and the position acquisition unit described in each claim. The individual price information acquisition process of step S200 corresponds to the first information acquisition unit described in each claim and the procedure for acquiring the individual price information. Moreover, the procedure of step S135 corresponds to the procedure of acquiring the second information acquisition unit described in each claim and the average price information. Further, the procedure of step S120 corresponds to transmission means described in each claim.

  As described above, the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment is the navigation device 1 mounted on the vehicle V (corresponding to a moving object), and the procedure of step S140 (corresponding to display means) for displaying various information The procedure of step S105 for acquiring the current position of the vehicle V (corresponding to position acquisition means) and the gas station G (corresponding to a facility) capable of providing fuel to the vehicle V are 100 m (example of this embodiment) from the current position. Individual price information acquisition processing (corresponding to the first information acquisition means) of step S200 of acquiring price information of the fuel posted on the gas station G as individual price information when the fuel is present within the predetermined distance) And an average determined based on price information posted respectively at a plurality of gas stations existing in an application area (corresponding to a predetermined area) including the current position Step S135 of acquiring case information (second information acquisition means), and in the procedure of step S140, the individual price information and the average price information of the approaching gas station G existing within 100 m Before the vehicle V passes the gas station G, it displays simultaneously.

  Further, the navigation method executed by the navigation device 1 includes a procedure of step S140 for displaying various information, a procedure of step S105 for acquiring the current position of the vehicle V, and a gas station G capable of providing fuel to the vehicle V. When (corresponding to a facility) exists within 100 m (corresponding to a predetermined distance) in the example of the present embodiment from the current position, the price information of the fuel displayed on the gas station G is acquired as individual price information The average price information obtained on the basis of the procedure of the individual price information acquisition process of step S200 and the price information posted respectively at a plurality of gas stations existing in the application area (corresponding to the predetermined area) including the current position The procedure of step S135 and the individual price information and average price information of the approaching gas station G existing within 100 m Preparative executes the procedure of step S140 of displaying simultaneously before passing through the gas station G.

  Thereby, the user who is on board the vehicle V may have the individual price information posted by the gas station G approaching within 100 m higher than the average price information at a plurality of gas stations around the vehicle V Since it is easy to compare cheap ones, it is easy to determine whether to enter and refuel before passing through the approaching gas station G.

  Further, in the navigation device 1, in the procedure of step S135, average price information is acquired from the external server 4 via wireless communication.

  As a result, since the average price information can be acquired based on the individual price information collectively managed by the server 4, the reliability of the average price information is improved. The individual price information managed by the server 4 is not limited to that acquired by each vehicle V, and may be acquired with reference to another database, for example.

  Further, in the navigation device 1, the navigation device 1 transmits the individual price information acquired in the individual price information acquisition process of step S200 to the server 4 via wireless communication (corresponding to the transmitting means). The server 4 calculates the average price information based on the latest individual price information received corresponding to each of the plurality of gas stations existing in the application area including the current position of the vehicle V.

  As a result, the latest individual price information acquired from the navigation devices 1 of a plurality of vehicles V can be centrally and collectively managed by the server 4 in substantially real time, and the server 4 averages price information based on the latest individual price information. Since the calculation is possible, the accuracy of the average price information is improved.

  Moreover, in the said navigation apparatus 1, you may have the procedure (equivalent to a setting means) which can set the decision | availability of display of the separate price information in the procedure of step S140, and average price information.

  In this way, it is possible to select and set the acquisition and display of the individual price information and the average price information only when the fuel remaining amount is close and it is necessary to refuel soon. In other words, when there is a surplus of fuel and there is no need to refuel for a while, unnecessary display can be avoided on the display 41, and map data etc. can be widely displayed by that amount. At least the passenger of the vehicle V can visually recognize the individual price information posted at the approaching gas station G, so comparison and examination are possible as long as even average price information can be acquired and displayed.

  Further, in the navigation device 1, the application area is a mesh area at a constant interval of latitude and longitude (corresponding to an area divided in a predetermined manner) including the current position of the vehicle V.

  As a result, it is possible to easily and functionally extract a gas station to be a target when the navigation device 1 or the server 4 acquires the average price information. The setting unit of the application area is not limited to the mesh area divided at constant intervals of latitude and longitude as described above, and predetermined areas such as administrative divisions such as municipalities and divisions according to road arrangement such as trunk roads You may set in the area divided by the style.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the application area may be set within an area within 1 km (corresponding to a fixed distance) from the current position of the vehicle V, for example. The distance serving as the reference of this range is not limited to 1 km, and may be set to a distance that does not greatly exceed the display range according to the scale of the map display on the display 41. In addition, the safe reachable distance may be automatically calculated and set according to the remaining amount of fuel at that time. In this case, the average price information request signal transmitted by the navigation device 1 is transmitted including the above distance.

  Further, in this case, although it depends on the arrangement of the current position of the vehicle V in the display area of the display 41, the application area is a substantially semicircular area centered on the current position. Moreover, the gas station used as the object at the time of acquiring average price information is limited to what exists in the said substantially semicircular area | region. Then, the arrangement and size of the application area vary depending on the movement of the vehicle V and the setting of the radial distance, so the extraction target gas station is also different accordingly. Therefore, when the average price information is acquired in the application area centered on the current position, the average price information is acquired instead of recording the average price information in advance in the area-by-area average price table shown in FIG. Each time the gas stations existing in the application area at that time are extracted, and the average price information is calculated from the individual price information.

  Further, although not particularly illustrated, the application area may be set in a geographical section corresponding to the display range of the display 41. In this case, the average price information request signal transmitted by the navigation device 1 is transmitted including the latitude and longitude point information respectively corresponding to the two diagonal points of the display range instead of the current position information. Also in this case, since the arrangement and size of the application area vary depending on the movement of the vehicle V and the setting of the display scale, every time the average price information is acquired, the gas stations existing in the application area at that time are extracted Average price information is calculated from the individual price information.

  Further, although not shown in the drawings, the application area may be set corresponding to the traveling route separately searched by the navigation device 1. For example, the entire belt-like area with a constant width centering on the traveling route in the width direction may be used as the application area. In this case, since the application area is fixed, average price information is calculated beforehand by the server 4 or the like. be able to.

  In addition, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where it was a vehicle V of the internal combustion engine drive which used fuels, such as gasoline and diesel oil, as a mobile body, this invention is not limited to this. In addition, the present invention is also applicable to a case where an electric vehicle using power as an energy source is a mobile body, and in this case, the electricity cost price posted by the power supply station instead of the gas station corresponds to the individual price information.

  In the above embodiment, when the average price information request signal is transmitted from the navigation device 1 to the server 4, the average price information is transmitted and received as a reply, but the present invention is not limited to this. Besides, the average price information may be broadcasted to each vehicle V from the server 4 at fixed time intervals without transmitting and receiving the average price information request signal. In this case, for example, the average price information corresponding to each base station 3 may be transmitted by using the wireless communication range of the base station 3 as it is as the application area.

  The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated procedure, but may add, delete, or change the order of procedures without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the invention. .

  Also, other than those described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiment and each modification may be combined as appropriate for use.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is to be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

Reference Signs List 1 navigation device 2 communication network 3 base station 4 server 11 navigation device main body 12 storage device 13 arithmetic device 14 display control circuit 15 interface 16 bus 21 camera 31 communication antenna 41 display 51 GPS
61 communication apparatus 71 speaker 81 touch panel 91 control unit 92 calculation unit 93 data storage unit 94 average price storage unit 95 communication unit G gasoline station (corresponding to facility)
S Navigation system V Vehicle (equivalent to mobile)

Claims (1)

First information acquisition means for acquiring price information of the energy source posted on a facility capable of providing the energy source to the mobile body as individual price information;
A second information acquisition unit that acquires average price information based on price information of a plurality of facilities existing in a predetermined area;
Display means for displaying the individual price information and the average price information before the moving object passes through the facility;
A navigation device characterized by having.

Images