JP3037829U - Information provision device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] Considering numerical conditions such as distance and fare,
Provided is an information providing device capable of quickly and accurately searching for and outputting information on facilities that meet desired conditions. SOLUTION: The information providing device is characterized by having the following requirements. Facility information storage means: Information about various facilities (facility information) is stored in accordance with the facilities such as the distance from the predetermined reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or if the facility is a toll facility, the usage fee. Stored in association with one or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically. Numerical condition setting means 19: Sets a predetermined condition for the numerical information.
Facility search means: Searches the facility information storage means for a facility where the contents of the numerical information match the set conditions. Facility list display means: Displays a list (facility list) that lists the searched facility names. Facility selection means 21: Select a desired facility from the facilities displayed in the list. Facility information output means 15: Outputs facility information of the selected facility.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

 The present invention relates to an information providing device, and in particular retrieves information (facility information) on various facilities such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities. It relates to a device for outputting.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 For example, when you want to use the facilities described above, such as lodging facilities such as hotels, in the vicinity of train stations or airports, you often find the accommodation facilities to use after you arrive at the site. In such a case, at a station, for example, look at the information boards provided in the concourse, waiting room, etc., or consult with the staff at the information desk to find the desired accommodation facility, as well as the ticket office, etc. In some cases, the timetables and phonebooks provided in the are used.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 By the way, when searching for accommodations, one of the criteria is often the good access to the station, such as how far from the station or how many minutes it takes. The facility fee is also an important condition for the user to select. However, it is not easy to find accommodations that meet the desired distance or price by using the information boards, timetables, or telephone directories that are provided, and it takes time and labor. In particular, we are often forced to choose facilities that are not always what we want.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information providing device capable of promptly and accurately searching and outputting information on facilities that meet desired conditions in consideration of numerical conditions such as distance and charges. To do.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problem and Action / Effects The information providing apparatus of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized by being configured with the following requirements. Facility information storage means: Preliminarily set information (facility information) regarding various facilities such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically depending on the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility, the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a pay facility. Correlate and store. Numerical value condition setting means: Set a predetermined condition for the numerical value information. Facility search means: Search for a facility in which the content of the numerical value information matches the set condition in the aforementioned facility information storage means. Facility list display means: Displays a list (facility list) listing the retrieved facility names. Facility selecting means: Selects a desired facility from the displayed facilities. Facility information display means: Displays facility information of the selected facility. Facility information printing means: Prints facility information of the selected facility.

According to the above configuration, by inputting a numerical condition such as a distance from the reference position, an arrival time, or a charge, facility information matching the condition is displayed in a list, which is referred to. This makes it possible to quickly and accurately search and output information on facilities under desired conditions. In addition, instead of displaying the list of facility names, the location of the retrieved facility may be displayed on the map.

In this case, the facility list display means can display the facility name of the retrieved facility on the screen of the display device. In this case, the facility selecting means is arranged on the screen of the display device so that the screen can be seen through, and an input unit for performing a predetermined input by bringing a pointing object such as a finger into contact with or approaching the surface of the screen. It can be configured such that the facility is selected by touching or approaching the input object with the pointing object in the area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list. As a result, the operation method of the device can be made intuitive and easy to understand. A touch panel can be used as the input unit as described above.

The numerical condition setting means may include a numerical range input means for inputting a numerical range as a numerical condition so that the numerical range can be changed stepwise or continuously, and the facility search means can set the numerical range within the set numerical range. The facility information storage means may be searched for the facility to which the facility belongs and the facility matching the changed numerical range may be re-searched as the input content of the numerical range is changed. Then, the facility list display means can increase or decrease the number of facility names displayed in the facility list as the input content of the numerical range is changed based on the re-search result. With this configuration, each time the input numerical range is changed, the facilities that match the range are re-searched and the displayed contents of the facility list are updated accordingly, so the user can change the list contents. It is possible to set detailed numerical conditions while referring to the information, and more accurately search for information on facilities that meet the desired conditions.

Specifically, a numerical range display means for visually displaying the numerical range on the screen of the display device is displayed by the size and area of the figure or the relative positional relationship between two or more figures. The display device is configured to include an input unit that is placed on the screen of the display device and is transparent to the screen, and that makes a predetermined input by bringing a pointing object such as a finger into contact with or approaching the surface of the screen. be able to. In this case, at the position corresponding to the above figure, the pointing object is brought into contact with the input unit, and in that state, the pointing object is moved in a predetermined direction to input the change of the numerical range. The visual display contents of the figures in the numerical range are also changed in conjunction with this. In other words, by displaying the numerical range in a visually easy-to-understand form and changing the display state of the graphic in conjunction with the operation on the input section, the numerical range can be entered very intuitively. . As an example thereof, it is possible to exemplify a mode in which a figure indicating a numerical range includes a scale and a pointer that can be moved along the scale and that defines the numerical range by its own relative position with respect to the scale. it can. In this case, the pointing object touches or approaches the position corresponding to the pointer on the input unit, and in that state, the pointing object moves in the direction along the scale. Moved in, and the numerical range is changed.

[0010] Specifically, the numerical information can be a distance from a predetermined reference position to the facility. In this case, the numerical condition setting means can specify the range of the distance as the numerical condition. In addition, the numerical information can be the required arrival time to the facility when moving from a predetermined reference position using a predetermined transportation means such as walking or transportation such as railroad, bus, taxi, etc. . In this case, the numerical condition setting means can specify the range of the required time as a numerical condition. Furthermore, if at least some of the above facilities are pay facilities, the numerical information can be the usage fee for those pay facilities. In this case, the numerical condition setting means can specify the range of the charge as the numerical condition. Note that the numerical condition setting means can also be configured to be able to set a plurality of numerical conditions of different types, and in this case, the facility search means will only search facilities that satisfy all of these numerical conditions. Can be configured.

The facility information can be stored in the facility information storage means in association with the genres of those facilities. In this case, genre selection means for selecting the genre can be provided, and the facility search means can search for facilities in the selected genre. By doing so, it is possible to more efficiently perform the information search for the facility of the desired genre.

The facility information may include map information indicating the position of the facility. In this case, the facility information printing means prints out a guide map to the facility based on the map information. be able to. In this way, the printed guide map will allow you to easily reach the desired facility.

It should be noted that the program for realizing the processing in the information providing apparatus described above can be stored in a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM card, or the like. Then, it is stored in the storage medium for a computer system including a computer body, a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display connected to the computer body, and a touch panel, a keyboard, or an input unit such as a pointing device such as a mouse. By installing the program, the computer system can be used as the information providing device described above.

[0014]

[Embodiment of the invention]

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall appearance of an information providing device 1 as one embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of terminal devices 3 mounted on the front side of a housing 2 and a large-sized device arranged adjacent to the terminal devices 3 are shown. And a monitor 4. As shown in FIG. 2, each terminal device 3 is connected to a management computer 5 through a communication line 6, and the management computer 5 collectively stores data of facility information described later. A facility information data storage unit (facility information storage means) 38 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 3. The terminal device 3 includes an I / O port 11, which has a CPU 12, a ROM 13, a RAM 14, a printer 15 as a facility information printing unit, a calendar clock 16, a modem 17, a touch panel control unit 18, a monitor control unit 20, a hard disk drive ( A storage device 22 such as a HDD) and a floppy disk drive (FDD) 25 are connected. The terminal device 3 is connected to the aforementioned management computer 5 via a modem 17 and a communication line 6. Further, the touch panel control unit 18 is connected with a touch panel 19 as a numerical condition setting means, a facility selecting means, and a numerical range input means. Further, the monitor control unit 20 is connected to a monitor 21 composed of a CRT, a liquid crystal display or the like as facility information display means.

A program storage unit 23 is formed in the storage device 22, and an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) 23 a of the terminal device 3 and a touch panel driver program 23 b that controls the basic operation of the touch panel 19 are provided therein. , And an application program 23c that operates on the OS and realizes the functions of the information providing apparatus 1 described below. Further, the ROM 13 stores various basic programs for controlling the hardware of the terminal device 3. Further, the RAM 14 is provided with a work area 14a for each program stored in the storage device 22 and the ROM 13, and an information receiving memory 14b for storing facility information data received from the management computer 5.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the touch panel 19 is arranged so as to overlap the screen S of the monitor 21, and the display contents of the screen can be seen through. It functions as a general-purpose input unit for inputting various modes and performing search input (including numerical condition input described later) based on these.

Although the configuration of the touch panel 19 is well known, an outline thereof will be described. Along the plate surface direction of the transparent plate-like body 19a such as transparent plastic or glass, a large number of transparent linear electrodes in vertical and horizontal directions are formed. Groups (or groups of ultrafine metal wire electrodes) X1, X2, ... and Y 1, Y2, ... are arranged in a grid pattern, and alternating current of a constant frequency is applied to each group by shifting for a predetermined time interval. Has been done. Then, when the finger F touches or approaches (typically referred to as “contact” in the following), the finger F touches the touch panel 19 based on the disturbance information of the current or voltage of each electrode caused by the static electricity. The position is specified. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, the finger F contacts the surface of the panel 19 with the contact area A, and the grid points of the electrodes X1, X2 ... And Y1, Y2. The target position of the finger F on the touch panel 19 is calculated by, for example, calculating the barycentric coordinates of the contact area A from the respective coordinates of the lattice points belonging to the contact area A. , Can be represented by the barycentric coordinate G.

For example, the coordinates on the touch panel 19 are matched with the coordinates on the screen S of the monitor 21, and as shown in FIG. 4C, correspond to a predetermined area on the screen S (eg, button image). When the center of gravity G exists in the area B on the touch panel 19, it is determined that the area B has been selected (for example, the button has been pressed), and the result of the determination is used in the subsequent processing. be able to.

Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management computer 5. The management computer 5 has an I / O port 31, to which a CPU 32, a ROM 33, a RAM 34, a calendar clock 36, a modem 37, a monitor controller 40, a storage device 42 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), etc. are connected. There is. The monitor controller 40 is connected to the large monitor 4 described above. The modem 37 is for connecting the computer 5 to each terminal 3. Further, the storage device 42 is provided with the above-mentioned facility information data storage unit 38, and also stores a search program 39 that controls the search processing described later in the management computer 5, and the CPU 32 stores the search program 39 in the search program 39. Based on this, it will function as an information search means. The other programs that control the operation of the management computer 5 are stored in the ROM 33, and these programs are executed using the RAM 34 as a work area.

FIG. 6 shows an example of data contents stored in the facility information data storage unit 38, which is composed of a facility classification name 51, a facility name 52, facility name reading data 53, and a data body 54. Has been done. Of these, the classification name 51 is data of the classification (genre) of facility, and specifically, restaurants, leisure facilities, sports facilities, beauty facilities or barber facilities, service facilities, medical facilities, accommodation facilities (hotels or It includes data on genre names such as inns, educational facilities (eg English conversation schools, cram schools, various vocational schools, etc.), various retail stores, companies, companies, offices, etc. In addition, each of these categories may be subdivided into subclasses that are further subdivided. Fig. 7 shows an example of this. For example, sub-genres of "hotel" include city hotels, business hotels, capsule hotels, and sub-genres of "restaurants" include Japanese food, spicy food, western food, Examples include family restaurants, udon / soba, ramen, Chinese food, Indian food, French food, Italian food, etc.

Next, the data body 54 includes character data 55 and map data 56. FIG. 8 shows an example of the contents of the character data 55. For example, as data common to all classifications, address data 551 representing a facility address, telephone number data 552, fax number data 553, and distance data are shown. It contains 556 etc. Further, when the facility is a paid facility such as an accommodation facility, the fee data 554 indicating the usage fee is included. Furthermore, when data unique to the classification of each facility is attached, these are included as the option data 555. The option data 555 is, for example, data such as check-in and check-out times, the number of rooms, and facilities in the case of accommodation facilities, and data of a representative menu in the case of restaurants. Further, the map data 56 is, for example, for outputting from the printer 15 (FIG. 3) a guide map showing the route from the installation location of the device 1 (for example, a station or the like, which also serves as a reference position described later) to the facility. This is data (FIG. 20: reference numeral 196).

Next, the distance data 556 is data relating to the distance from a specific reference position, for example, the installation location of the information providing device 1 such as a station to the facility, such as a straight line distance or a predetermined route. In addition to data on the distance itself such as required distance, data 502 on required arrival time when moving from the reference position to the facility by a predetermined means of transportation such as walking, bus, taxi, railway, etc. can be used. . The above-mentioned charge data 554 and these distance data 556 are numerical information that changes numerically for each facility.

The operation of the information providing apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to the flowchart and operation explanatory diagram. That is, when the OS 23a, the touch panel driver program 23b and the application program 23c (above, FIG. 3) are started up in the terminal device 3, the information provision initial screen 101 shown in FIG. While being displayed on the screen S (FIG. 4), the touch panel 19 is set to the operation accepting state according to the initial screen (note that the setting state of the touch panel 19 is adjusted each time the display content of the screen S is changed. However, in the following, description of the setting change on the touch panel 19 side may be omitted).

On the initial screen, a menu selection bar 110, an input / display window 130, and an operation panel 120 are formed and displayed in the layout shown in the figure. In addition to the information providing mode, the information providing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is equipped with a number of functions such as a message display board mode, a tourist information mode, and a traffic information guidance mode. In addition to the "information" button 151 for selecting the information providing mode, various menu selection buttons such as a "message" button 152, a "sightseeing" button 153, and a "traffic information" button 154 for forming each of the above modes are formed. Has been done. Further, the operation panel 120 is provided with a list display window 155 for displaying a list of searched facility names and a “execute” button 156 for executing information output of the facility selected in the list. There is. Further, the input / display window 130 is formed with a genre selection button 157 for selecting the genre of the facility to be searched.

Then, in S2 of FIG. 9, when the area corresponding to the genre selection button 57 of the desired facility on the touch panel 19 is touched (hereinafter, simply referred to as “press the genre selection button 157” or the like), the genre is changed. It is selected and the screen switches to the screen shown in FIG. 13 or 14. In the screen of FIG. 13, an input / display window 130 has a search main window 160, a character search input window 161, and a numerical search input window 162 formed therein. Then, in the search main window 160, when the selected genre has a sub genre, a sub genre selection button 163 for selecting the sub genre is formed. Note that FIG. 13 shows a display example of the sub-genre when “hotel” is selected as the genre and FIG. 14 is similarly selected as “restaurant”.

Now, when a sub-genre is selected in S4 of FIG. 9, the code of the selected sub-genre is transferred to the management computer 5 (FIG. 2). In response to this, the management computer 5 searches the facility information data storage unit 38 for a facility belonging to the sub-genre, and transmits the retrieved facility name data 52 (FIG. 6) to the terminal device 3. As shown in FIG. 13A, in the terminal device 3, the list 165 of searched facilities is displayed in the list display window 155 based on the data 52 of the facility name. If the sub-genre does not exist, when the genre is selected on the screen of FIG. 12, facilities belonging to the genre are searched and a list of the facility names is displayed in the list display window 155 (above, FIG. 9: S3 to S5).

As described above, in the basic processing of the search, when the data or command necessary for the search is input on the terminal device 3 side, this is transferred to the management computer 5, and the search based on the data or command is performed by the management computer 5. The data of the retrieved information is transmitted to the terminal device 3. In the following, in order to avoid a complicated description, the description of the exchange of data or commands at the time of retrieval between the terminal device 3 and the management computer 5 is omitted. Further, the flowchart uses a simplified operation flow of the entire information providing device 1 in which the management computer 5 and the terminal device 3 are integrated.

At this stage, if the facilities are to be further narrowed down, the information search process of S7 is performed. The details are shown in FIG. Information can be narrowed down basically by two methods, one is narrowing down by facility name, and the other is narrowing down by numerical information such as distance, required arrival time, or charge. The narrowing down by both methods can be performed individually, but can also be performed in combination with each other. In the latter case, it does not matter which of the two methods is used first.

First, in the case of narrowing down by facility name, the flow is from S11 to S13, and the name input button 167 of the character search input window 161 shown in FIG. 13A is pressed. Then, the character input window 170 shown in FIG. 7B opens, and the first few characters of the facility name to be searched are input from the touch panel 19 using the soft keyboard 171. The input character is displayed in the character display window 172. To make corrections, use the cursor movement keys 173 to move the cursor 174 to the desired character position and press the delete key 175 to delete the character, or press the backspace key 176 to move to the previous character. You can erase the character and then re-enter the character. Then, when the enter key 178 is pressed after the input, in the facility name reading data 53 (FIG. 6), the facility name in which the character string on the leading side of the facility name matches the input character string is extracted and searched, and the list is displayed. It is displayed in the display window 155.

Next, in the case of performing the narrowing down by the numerical information, the flow is from S14 to S16 of FIG. This is done using the numerical search input window 162 of FIG. In the window 162, a scale 179 indicating a numerical range and a pointer 180 that is movable along the scale 179 and defines the numerical range by its own relative position with respect to the scale 179 are displayed. Then, by touching the position corresponding to the pointer 180 on the touch panel 19 (FIG. 4) with a finger (pointing object) and moving the finger in the direction along the scale 179 in that state, the pointer 180 is linked with this. The finger moves in the moving direction, and the input numerical range is changed continuously (or stepwise). The entered numerical value is displayed in the numerical value display window 181, and the type of numerical value is displayed in the numerical value display window 182, respectively. The pointer 180 cannot move beyond the both ends of the scale 179. In this case, the values corresponding to both ends of the scale 179 mean the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the settable distance. . The set value of the numerical information can be regarded as being graphically displayed depending on the length from the lower limit side end (left side in the figure) of the scale 179 to the pointer position.

For example, by default, the numerical search input window 162 is in a mode for narrowing down according to the distance from the reference position to the facility, and the distance is set according to the position of the pointer 180. Then, by comparing the set distance with the distance data 501 of each facility (Fig. 8), the facility located within the set distance from the reference position is extracted, and the facility name is displayed in the list display window 155. Is displayed. Next, when the pointer 180 is moved to the left along the scale 179, the set value of the distance decreases, and when it is moved to the right, the set value increases.

Then, with the movement of the pointer 180, the display value of the distance in the numerical display window 181 is also changed accordingly. Then, as the distance is changed, the facility is re-searched with the changed distance set value, and the display content of the facility list 165 is updated based on the search result. Specifically, when the distance range from the reference position is reduced, facility names outside the range are dropped / erased from the facility list 165, and conversely, when the distance range is expanded, a new range is added. The entered facility name is added to the facility list 165 and displayed.

When the setting is changed in the middle of the search, for example, when the pointer 180 is moved, that is, when the setting of the numerical value is rapidly changed, the search is stopped when the setting is changed. Then, the search may be re-executed according to the changed setting content. In this case, the display content of the facility list 165 is maintained as it is until the changed search result is confirmed.

Further, when changing the type of numerical information, the flow is from S17 to S19 of FIG. In this case, when the “other search item” button 164 is pressed in FIG. 15, the contents of the search main window 160 are changed to those shown in FIG. 16, and buttons 185 to 187 for selecting the type of numerical information are formed. To be done. In this case, if button 185 is pressed, the required arrival time when walking from the reference position to the facility is shown as numerical information, and if button 186 is pressed, the required arrival time is also shown when moving by taxi. When 187 is pressed, the usage charge of the facility is selected, and the display content of the numerical search input window 162 is also changed accordingly. For example, FIG. 17 shows a case where “charge” is selected as the numerical information, and the upper limit of the charge is set depending on the position of the pointer 180. The search process in this case is the same as that described above, except that the facility whose charge shown by the charge data 554 is smaller than the charge set in FIG. 8 is extracted. When the required arrival time by walking or taxi is selected, the data 502 in FIG. 8 is used.

As shown in FIG. 18, the numerical information may be displayed by the area of the figure. That is, in the figure, the fixed radius portion 202 installed inside the circular region and the moving radius portion 203 that rotates and moves with the movement of the finger F on the touch panel 19 are displayed on the monitor 21. The numerical value is displayed visually by the area of the fan-shaped portion 204 sandwiched between the fixed radius portion 202 and the moving radius portion 203. Further, as shown in FIG. 38, for example, a plurality of condition setting buttons 250 and 251 corresponding to different numerical values are formed in the input / display window 130, and the condition is set by pressing a button having a desired numerical value. It may be configured as follows. In this case, a set of condition setting buttons can be provided for each type of numerical condition, and it is possible to collectively set a plurality of numerical conditions by button operation.

When the narrowing down of the facilities is completed as described above, the process proceeds to S20 of FIG. 10 and the information of the desired facility is selected. On the other hand, in S6 of FIG. 9, when the information is not particularly narrowed down, the process proceeds to S10, and the selection is similarly performed. That is, in FIG. 15 (or FIG. 13), when the touch panel 19 is touched at a portion corresponding to a desired facility name in the facility list 165, the facility name is selected, and the color is changed or the display is reversed to select the facility name. Specify the facility name. In addition, the change of selection is executed by touching the part of other facility name again. If there are many facility names in the facility list 165 and all of them cannot be displayed in the display window 155, the facility list 165 can be scrolled by pressing the scroll keys 190 and 191. When the facility name appears, select it in the same way.

Then, when the execute key 156 is pressed in FIG. 15, the selected facility is confirmed, and the process proceeds to S8 in FIG. 9 for the information output process (details are shown in FIG. 11). That is, the facility information data is read from the facility information data storage unit 38 of the management computer 5 and transferred to the terminal device 3. Then, the transferred data is accumulated in the information receiving memory 14b (FIG. 3) of the RAM 14, and the facility information 193 as shown in FIG. 19 is inputted / displayed mainly based on the character data 55 (FIG. 6). It is displayed on the window 130 (S21). When the amount of information to be displayed is large, a scroll window 194 for displaying extra information is formed in the input / display window 130, and the scroll window 194a or the like is used to appropriately scroll the scroll window 194a. Just look.

Then, in the case of ending only by looking at the facility information displayed on the screen, if the end button 196 is pressed in FIG. 19, the flow goes from S21 to S24 in FIG. That is, returning to the initial screen of FIG. 12, the same processing is performed thereafter. On the other hand, when the facility information is printed out, the print button 195 is pressed to proceed from S22 to S23, and the facility information is output from the printer 15 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in a format as shown in FIG. 20, for example. Is printed out. The output shown in FIG. 20 includes various character information 198 based on the character data 55 and the guide map 197 based on the map data 56. When the print output is completed, the end button 196 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 19 to return to S1 of FIG. 9 (it may be possible to return to S1 upon completion of printing).

Next, the information providing apparatus 1 described above can be added with a map-type information search function described below. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the storage device 42 of the management computer 5 is provided with a map data storage unit 601. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the facility information data storage unit 38 stores position information 57 including a position code for identifying the position on the map, corresponding to each facility.

FIG. 21A shows an example of the data content stored in the map data storage unit 601. That is, the map data 300 is configured to include image data of two types of maps that cover the same area and have different scales, that is, small scale map image data 302 and large scale map image data 303. ing. As shown in FIG. 23A, the small-scale map MS has a screen area (map display window: also used as the input / display window described above) 130 for map display formed on the screen of the monitor 21. A plurality of blocks BS having similar shapes are vertically and horizontally divided into a matrix. On the other hand, the large-scale map ML shown in FIG. 7B has a scale (three times as large as the small-scale map Ms in this embodiment) in which one block BS of the small-scale map MS covers the entire map display window 130. , The vertical and horizontal blocks BL are divided by the same number of divisions as the small scale map MS. As a result, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the blocks BS and BL of the small scale map MS and the large scale map ML, and the blocks corresponding to each other in the two maps are in the same area ( Area).

The map image data 302 and 303 described above are also divided and stored for each block, and in order to specify the area covered by the block, the data of the blocks corresponding to each other are set as a set. Area code 301 is assigned. The area code 301 can be given to each block by a serial number or the like according to a predetermined order on the map, for example, but in the present embodiment, a set of coordinate values for specifying a block will be used instead. To do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, the origin (X0, Y0) is set at the lower left corner of each of the ground maps MS and ML, and the vertical division lines are equally spaced vertically and horizontally with reference to this. Set X0, X1, X2, ... And horizontal dividing lines Y0, Y1, Y2. As a result, the maps MS and ML are divided by the rectangular blocks BS to BL, respectively, and each block B S to BL is specified by the coordinates of the intersections of the vertical and horizontal dividing lines that give its four corners. Becomes For example, in FIG. 23A, the coordinates of the four corners of the block BS 'in the upper left corner of the map display window 130 are as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the area code 301 is represented by the coordinates ((X1, Y3) in FIG. 33) which gives the upper right corner.

Hereinafter, a method of using the map-type information search function will be described with reference to a flow chart and an operation explanatory diagram together with the flow of its internal processing. First, in FIGS. 12 to 14, a “map” button 350 is formed on the menu selection bar 110. By pressing this, for example, as shown in FIG. 27, an input / display window (map display area) is displayed. A map based on the above-mentioned map data 300 is displayed on 130. Then, in FIG. 9, the selection of the map-type information search function (displayed as “switching to the map system” in the flowchart) is performed in the initial screen display state of S1 (FIG. 12) and the list display after selecting the genre of S5. It can be performed both in the state (FIG. 15 etc.) and in the state where the condition is narrowed down by setting the condition of S7 (S11, S12, S51, S52, and S71, S72, respectively). In this case, by pressing the “map” button 350, the map type search process shown in FIGS. 24 to 26 is executed. The details will be described below.

First, in S1 of FIG. 9, that is, when the map type search processing is shifted from the initial screen display state (FIG. 12) (S11 → S12), in S201 of FIG. 24, the initial screen shown in FIG. While being displayed on the screen S (FIG. 4) of the monitor 21, the touch panel 19 is set to the operation acceptance state according to the initial screen. The layout of the initial screen is almost the same as that shown in FIG. Then, in the map display window 130, an image of the small scale map MS is displayed based on the above-mentioned small scale map image data 302 transferred from the management computer 5. In this display state, the position of each facility is not displayed on the map MS.

Here, as shown in FIG. 23, the entire size of the map MS is larger than that of the map display window 130, and only the portion that fits in the map display window 130 is displayed. Specifically, in the map display window 130, a total of nine blocks BS of the small scale map MS are displayed in equal numbers in the vertical and horizontal directions, for example, three in the vertical and horizontal directions. The boundary between the blocks BS may be displayed or not displayed. On the other hand, for the large scale map ML, only one block BL is displayed in the map display window 130.

Further, the touch panel 19 is set to a mode for inputting coordinate values in the displayed portion of the map MS. A scroll button 146 for scrolling the map MS in the map display window 130 is formed in the operation panel 120. As shown in FIG. 34, the displayed map MS is, for example, one block in the vertical direction by pressing the up / down scroll buttons 146a, 146b, and 1 block in the left / right direction by pressing the left / right scroll buttons 146c, 146d. Scrolls block by block. In this case, the map image data of the block BS newly appearing in the map display window 130 due to the scroll is transferred from the management computer 5 side each time. Along with the scrolling, the coordinate setting on the touch panel 19 is changed to correspond to the display portion of the map MS after scrolling.

Returning to FIG. 27, the menu selection bar 110 has a “genre” button 351 for moving to a mode for selecting the genre of the facility to be searched and a “map” button 350 for returning to the map display screen. Has been formed. Then, in S202 of FIG. 24, when the “genre” button 351 on the touch panel 19 is pressed, the genre of the facility to be searched is selected in the map display window 130 as shown in FIG. 28. A plurality of genre selection buttons 157 are displayed / formed. Then, by pressing the desired genre of the buttons 157, the genre is selected. Although not shown, when the selected genre is divided into sub-genres, a selection button for the sub-genre is displayed on the screen and the sub-genre is selected using the button.

When the genre is selected, the code of the selected genre is transferred to the management computer 5 (FIG. 2). In response to this, the management computer 5 searches the facility information data storage unit 38 for a facility belonging to that genre, and sends the location code 57 and facility name data 52 (FIG. 6) of the retrieved facility to the terminal device 3. Send. Then, as shown in FIG. 29, in the terminal device 3, the map MS is displayed again in the map display window 130, and based on the received position code 57, the position of the searched facility is indicated by the mark 148. Displayed above. On the other hand, a list 165 of searched facilities is displayed in the list display window 155 based on the facility name data 52 (above, FIG. 24: S204).

On the other hand, in FIG. 9, in the list display state after selecting the genre in S5 (FIG. 15 and the like), the map type search process is performed (S51 → S52) and the condition is narrowed down in S7. In (S71 → S72), the position of the facility already searched by the genre selection and the condition narrowing down is displayed on the map MS by the mark 148 from the beginning. In this case, steps S202 and S203 in FIG. 24 are skipped.

Next, as shown in FIG. 29, an “enlargement” button 121 and an “information selection” button 122 are displayed / formed on the operation panel 120. Then, when the "enlarge" button 121 is pressed, an arbitrary portion on the map display window 130 is touched thereafter, so that the map portion corresponding to the touched position is enlarged and displayed (FIG. 24: S206). ). Specifically, in FIG. 29, the block BS ′ corresponding to the portion touched with the finger F is set as the enlargement target area, and the block BL ′ of the large scale map ML corresponding to this is displayed using the entire map display window 130. By doing so, enlarged display is performed.

The details of the processing are shown in FIG. That is, when the user marks a portion on the map that he / she wants to enlarge and touches it with his / her finger F, the coordinate (Xm on the small scale map MS of the touched position by the above-described processing shown in FIG. , Ym) is determined (S221, S222). Further, as shown in FIG. 31, the value of the X coordinate Xm and the Y coordinate Ym at the touch position are respectively the X coordinate X0, X1 ... Of the vertical dividing line and the Y coordinate Y0 of the horizontal dividing line shown in FIG. Y1 ... And those having smaller coordinate values (or those having larger coordinate values) are compared in order (S224 to S232). Then, when vertical dividing lines that are adjacent to each other with Xm sandwiched between them and horizontal dividing lines that are adjacent to each other with Ym sandwiched between them are found, the block BS (eg, (X1, Y3) in FIG. 31) surrounded by these dividing lines is found. It is selected (S233), the image data of the block BL of the large scale map ML corresponding thereto is read, and the image is displayed on the map display window 130 (S234, S235).

FIG. 30 shows the screen display state at this time. In the large scale map ML, the width of the road R is enlarged and displayed in an appropriate size, and the road name (street name) which is not displayed in the small scale map MS (FIG. 29) is displayed. Further, in addition to the mark 148 indicating the position of the facility, a facility name 149 is newly shown in the vicinity thereof. Then, the facility name of the block BS that has deviated from the map display window 130 due to the expansion is deleted from the list 165 (FIG. 24: S207, S208). Note that FIG. 33 shows a display example when “restaurant” is selected as the genre of the facility.

On the other hand, the enlargement button 121 in the operation panel 120 is replaced with the “reduction” button 123 (FIG. 30) in the enlarged display state. When it is desired to return the enlarged map to the original scale, by pressing the "reduce" button 123 and touching the map display window 130 again, the state shown in FIG. 29 is restored (S209 to S209). 211).

Next, the flow of processing when selecting a facility and viewing its information is as follows. First, the facility can be selected either with the small scale map MS displayed or with the large scale map displayed (FIG. 24: S212). The outline of the selection process is as shown in FIG. 26. There are roughly two types of methods. As the first method, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, in the maps MS to ML displayed in the map display window 130, a predetermined size is set so as to surround the mark 148 (or the facility name 149) representing the facility. This is a method in which a facility corresponding to the area 170 is selected by setting a selection area 170 and touching the touch panel 19 at a position corresponding to the selection area 170. That is, when it is determined that the touch position determined by the same method as described above exists in the selection area 170, it is determined that the facility corresponding to the area 170 has been selected (S240 to S245).

In this case, in order to distinguish it from the touch operation for enlarging or reducing the map, in this embodiment, the “information selection” button 122 is pressed to switch to the mode for facility selection. There is. In this mode, the map is not enlarged or reduced regardless of where on the map display window 130 is touched. On the other hand, as described above, when the “enlarge” button 121 or the “reduce” button 123 is pressed, the map is enlarged or reduced even if a touch operation is performed in the selection area 170, and the facility is not displayed. Not selected.

On the other hand, instead of the above method, the following method can be adopted. That is, in the display state of the small scale map MS, the processing is performed as described above. In the display state of the large scale map ML, the display state of the small scale map MS is immediately displayed by pressing the "Reduce" button 123. On the other hand, when the touch operation in the map display window 130 is performed, only the facility selection process is executed and the map is not enlarged / reduced. As yet another method, facility selection processing is performed when a touch operation is performed in the selection area 170 in the map display window 130 in both the small scale map MS and large scale map ML display states. It is also possible to enlarge or reduce the map when a touch operation is performed on other areas. In this case, the “enlarge” button 121 or the “reduce” button 123 can be omitted.

Next, a second method of selecting a facility is a method of touching the touch panel 19 at a portion corresponding to a desired facility name in the facility list 165 to select the facility name. In this case, when the touch operation is performed as shown in FIG. 29, the name of the selected facility is indicated by changing the color or the display is reversed, and the position of the selected facility is displayed on the map MS with the mark 148. Blinking (or changing the display color, changing the display size, etc.). Then, in that state, either by pressing the "execute" button 156 or by touching in the selection area 170 corresponding to the facility position on the map, the selection of the facility is confirmed. It should be noted that the selection change is executed by retouching the other facility name portion in the list 165. If there are many facility names in the facility list 165 and all of them cannot be displayed in the list display window 155, you can scroll the facility list 165 by pressing the scroll keys 190 and 191. When the facility name appears, select it in the same way.

When the facility selection is completed as described above, the process proceeds to S213 in FIG. 24, and the facility information data is read from the facility information data storage unit 38 of the management computer 5 and transferred to the terminal device 3. Then, the process proceeds to S8 in FIG. 9 and the above-described information output process is performed.

In the example described above, the map is enlarged / reduced only between two types of scales, but three or more types of map data having different scales should be prepared. The map may be enlarged / reduced between the above scales. In this case, the map can be sequentially enlarged by repeatedly touching a desired position on the displayed map. On the other hand, it is possible that the map is not enlarged or reduced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the map is divided into blocks in advance, and each block is set as the enlargement target area. However, the enlargement target area having a predetermined shape and size is set as follows. It is also possible to set each time so as to satisfy a certain positional relationship with the touch position (designated position for enlargement). FIG. 35 shows an example thereof. That is, with respect to the coordinates of the touch position, horizontal lines AB and CD are set at positions vertically spaced by equal distance k, and vertical lines AC and BD are also set at positions equally spaced left and right by j. Then, the area ABCD surrounded by these lines is set as the enlargement target area. The shape of the area ABCD can be a rectangular shape similar to the map display window 130. In this case, the map data is not divided into blocks as shown in FIG. 21 (b).

Then, as shown in FIG. 36, the image data of the large scale map of the portion corresponding to the area ABCD is selectively read out, and the enlarged map of the area ABCD is displayed in the map display window 130 based on the image data. indicate. As a result, the enlarged view is displayed such that the portion corresponding to the touch position is always located near the center of the map display window 130. It should be noted that, in this aspect, the map can be scrolled continuously, not in block units.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, different map data is prepared for each scale, but it is also possible to have a configuration in which only one type of map data of a reference scale is stored. In this case, the map data for enlargement display is generated by reading out the map data belonging to the enlargement target area (or block) and performing enlargement conversion of a predetermined magnification on it. In this case, as shown in FIG. 22A, character data on the map is prepared separately as character data 304, and character information is pasted / combined on the enlarged map based on the data 304. Can be adopted. In this way, the characters can always be displayed in an easy-to-read size even when the map is enlarged / reduced. On the other hand, as a simple method, as shown in FIG. 22 (b), character data is also incorporated in the map image data, and as shown in FIG. 37, the character L is enlarged as the map M is enlarged / reduced. It is also possible to reduce the size.

In the configuration described above, the management computer 5 collectively manages the facility information data, and the search process is also performed on the management computer 5 side, but the hardware is almost the same as the terminal device 3. It is also possible to configure the information providing device of the present invention by a computer system having a hardware configuration alone. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, a facility information data storage unit 24 may be provided in the storage device 22.

Each function of the information providing device 1 is essentially realized by each program stored in the storage device 22. Therefore, if these programs are stored in a floppy disk, the above-mentioned programs can be installed in the storage device 22 from the floppy disk drive 25 in a computer system having a hardware configuration similar to that shown in FIG. Then, the function of the information providing apparatus 1 can be ported to the computer system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of an embodiment of an information providing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a perspective view showing an arrangement mode of a touch panel and an explanatory view of an operation principle of the touch panel.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management computer.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a facility information data storage unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a sub-genre.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a content example of character data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of the operation of the information providing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the information search process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the information output process.

FIG. 12 is a process explanatory view showing the operation of the information providing apparatus together with its screen display state.

FIG. 13 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is another process explanatory view following FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of a method of displaying numerical information in a graphic form.

FIG. 19 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 13, FIG. 15 or FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of printout of facility information.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of map data together with its modified example.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing another modification of the contents of map data.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a small-scale map and a large-scale map.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of a map-based search process.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing details of the enlargement designation process.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of the facility selection process.

FIG. 27 is a process explanatory view showing the operation of the apparatus when the map-based search process is selected, by the screen display state thereof.

28 is an explanatory view of the process following FIG. 27. FIG.

FIG. 29 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 28;

30 is a process explanatory view following FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a conceptual diagram of a block selection process.

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of blocks of a large-scale map.

FIG. 33 is a schematic view showing another example.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of a process of a map scrolling process.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing another setting method of the enlargement target area.

FIG. 36 is a view showing the concept of map enlargement based on the map.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram of a method of performing enlargement conversion on map data to generate enlarged display data.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which numerical conditions are performed by operating a condition setting button.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Information Providing Device 15 Printer (Facility Information Printing Means) 19 Touch Panel (Numerical Condition Setting Means, Facility Selecting Means, Numerical Range Input Means) 21 Monitor (Display, Facility Information Displaying Means, Facility List Displaying Means) 32 CPU (Facility Searching) Means) 38 facility information data storage unit (facility information storage means) 179 scale 180 pointer

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 20, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Name of device

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Title of device] Information providing device

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims for utility model registration

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Utility model registration claims]

Claims (17)

[Utility model registration claims] Claims 1. Information about various facilities (hereinafter, facility information) such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Facility information storage means for storing in association with the numerical information, numerical condition setting means for setting a predetermined condition for the numerical information, and a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition is the facility information A facility search means for searching in the storage means, a facility display means for displaying a facility name of the searched facility in a facility list, and a desired facility among the facilities displayed in the list. And a facility information display unit for displaying the facility information of the selected facility, and a facility information printing unit for printing the facility information of the selected facility. Information providing device. 2. Information about facilities (hereinafter, facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, etc., from a predetermined reference position to each of the above facilities. Facility information stored in association with one or more types of numerical information whose contents vary numerically according to the facility, such as the distance or required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Storage means; numerical condition setting means for setting predetermined conditions for the numerical information; and facility searching means for searching the facility information storing means for facilities whose contents of the numerical information match the set conditions. Facility list display means for displaying the facility name of the searched facility on a screen of a display device; and superimposing and disposing the screen on the screen of the display device. The input unit is configured to be visible and has a predetermined input by touching or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface, and the input unit is provided in an area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list. By touching or approaching the pointing object to the facility, facility selecting means for selecting the facility, facility information displaying means for displaying facility information of the selected facility, and facility information for the selected facility are printed. An information providing device comprising: facility information printing means. 3. The numerical value condition setting means includes numerical value range input means for inputting a numerical value range as the numerical value condition so that the numerical value range can be changed in a stepwise or continuous manner. In the facility information storage means, the facility information storage means is searched, and as the input content of the numerical value range is changed, facilities that match the changed numerical value range are searched again. 2. The number of facility names displayed on the facility list is increased or decreased as the input content of the numerical range is changed based on a re-search result.
Or the information providing device according to any one of 2. 4. A numerical range display means for visually displaying the numerical range on a screen of a display device based on the size and area of a figure or a relative positional relationship between two or more figures, is provided. The means is arranged to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and is configured to be able to see through the screen, and has an input unit for performing a predetermined input by contacting or approaching a pointing object such as a finger on the surface thereof, At the position corresponding to the figure, the pointing object comes into contact with or approaches the input unit, and in this state, the pointing object is moved in a predetermined direction, thereby changing the numerical value range, and the numerical value is changed. 4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the visual display content of the range in the figure is also changed in conjunction with the graphic display. 5. The graphic representing the numerical range is a scale,
A pointer that is movable along the scale, and defines the numerical range by its own relative position to the scale, and touches or approaches the pointing object to a position corresponding to the pointer on the input unit; The moving of the pointing object in the direction along the scale in this state causes the pointer to move in the moving direction of the pointing object in conjunction therewith, thereby changing the numerical range. Information providing device. 6. The numerical value information is a distance from a predetermined reference position to the facility, and the numerical value condition setting means specifies a range of the distance as the numerical value condition. 5. The information providing device according to any one of 5. 7. The time required to reach the facility when moving from a predetermined reference position by walking or by using a predetermined means of transportation such as a railway, bus, taxi or the like from a predetermined reference position. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the numerical condition setting means specifies a range of a required time as the numerical condition. 8. The facility is at least a part of a toll facility, the numerical information is a fee for use of the toll facility, and the numerical condition setting means includes a range of the fee as the numerical condition. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the information providing device specifies: 9. The facility information is stored in the facility information storage means in association with the genre of the facility, and a genre selection means for selecting the genre is provided. 9. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facility is searched for in a selected genre. 10. Information on various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents vary numerically according to the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility or the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a toll facility Facility information storage means for storing in association with the numerical information, numerical condition setting means for setting a predetermined condition for the numerical information, and a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition is the facility information Facility searching means for searching in the storage means, facility displaying means for displaying the location of the searched facility on a map, and selecting a desired one of the displayed facilities Providing information, including facility selection means for displaying the facility information, facility information displaying means for displaying the facility information of the selected facility, and facility information printing means for printing the facility information of the selected facility. apparatus. 11. The facility according to claim 10, further comprising: facility list display means for displaying a facility name of the searched facility in a facility list; and facility selecting means for selecting a desired one of the facilities displayed in the list. Information providing device. 12. The numerical condition setting means is capable of setting a plurality of numerical conditions of different types, and the facility searching means searches only facilities that satisfy all of the plurality of numerical conditions. Claims 1 to 11
The information providing device according to any one of 1. 13. The facility information includes map information indicating the position of the facility, and the facility information printing means prints out a guide map to the facility based on the map information. 1
13. The information providing device according to any one of 1 to 12. 14. Information relating to various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically depending on the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility, the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a pay facility. It is stored in the facility information storage means in association with, and a predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage means searches for a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition. , A list (hereinafter referred to as a facility list) listing the searched facility names is displayed on the facility list display means, and the desired one of the listed facilities is displayed. Storage medium selected, the facility information of the selected facility is displayed on the facility information display means, and characterized by storing a program for performing processing to be printed by the facility information printing means. 15. Information on various facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) such as various stores or stores, companies, companies, offices, accommodation facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities is predetermined. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically depending on the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility, the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a pay facility. It is stored in the facility information storage means in association with, and a predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage means searches for a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition. , The facility name of the searched facility is displayed on the screen of the display device, and the facility name is arranged so as to be superimposed on the screen of the display device and the screen can be seen through. By providing an input unit for performing a predetermined input by touching or approaching a pointing object such as a finger, in the area corresponding to each facility name in the facility list, by touching or approaching the pointing object to the input unit A storage medium that stores a program for selecting the facility, displaying the facility information of the selected facility on the facility information display means, and causing the facility information printing means to print the facility information. 16. Information relating to various facilities such as various shops or stores, companies, companies, offices, lodging facilities, leisure facilities, sports facilities, and other service providing facilities (hereinafter referred to as facility information) is set in advance. One or more types of numerical information whose contents change numerically depending on the facility, such as the distance from the reference position to each facility, the required arrival time, or the usage fee if the facility is a pay facility. It is stored in the facility information storage means in association with, and a predetermined condition is set for the numerical information, and the facility information storage means searches for a facility in which the content of the numerical information matches the set condition. , The searched facility name is displayed on the map by the facility display means, a desired one is selected from the displayed facilities, and the facility information of the selected facility is displayed. Storage medium characterized by storing a program for performing processing that is displayed on the display means, and is printed on the facility information printing means. 17. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
A storage medium storing a program for implementing the process according to any one of 13 above.