Navigation system

• US 20040111215A1
• Filed: 11/04/2003
• Published: 06/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 6,882,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries

Abstract

A map data reading and processing section acquires map information belonging to a hierarchical structure classified depending on coverage of a road map, a remote controller specifies a bypass region to bypass traffic of a vehicle in response to an input operation, and the route search processing section of a navigating function section searches for a route that detours the bypass region when the bypass region is included within the coverage of the map information belonging to a hierarchy acquired by the map data reading and processing section.

Claims

1. A navigation system comprising:

map information acquiring means for acquiring map information arranged in a hierarchical structure classified depending on coverage of a road map;

input means for specifying a bypass region to bypass traffic of a vehicle in response to an input operation; and

detour searching means for searching a route that detours the bypass region when the bypass region input by the input means is included within the coverage of the map information belonging to a hierarchy acquired by the map information acquiring means.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the input means specifies the type of a route to be detoured in response to the input operation.

3. The navigation system according to claim 2, wherein the detour searching means changes a search starting point depending on what kind of route is specified when making an automatic search for a detour.

4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein further comprises display control means for highlighting the bypass region specified by the input means on a predetermined display unit.

5. The navigation system according to claim 4, wherein the display control means highlights the bypass route specified together with a detour searched by the detour searching means.