Navigator

• US 20040117109A1
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Tottori Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Tottori Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hiroshi, Takuno, Shinji, Abe, Yuichi, Nakashima, Kazuhiro, Kodani, Kiyoshi, Sugai, Takashi, Taguchi, Tsutomu, Umezawa, Isao, Kadono, Hidenori
• Granted Patent: US 7,054,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3896 Transmission of map data from central databases
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages

Abstract

A navigator receives, through communication with a server, only such map information or locality information as is considered to be necessary, and stores it by overriding with it already used map information and locality information. Thus, the navigator, despite having a small storage capacity, is free from interruption of display. Receiving minimum needed information helps save the communication charge.

Claims

1. A navigator including receiving means for receiving map information through communication, displaying means for displaying the map information received by the receiving means with a current location superimposed thereon, and controlling means for controlling the receiving means and the displaying means,

wherein, through control by the controlling means,

the receiving means receives, out of map information composed of a plurality of maps on different scales, map information on a scale corresponding to type of road currently being traveled, and

the displaying means displays the map information and the current location in a superimposed form.

2. A navigator as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when there is a branch point within a predetermined area ahead of the current location, the receiving means receives map information on a predetermined scale including the branch point, and the displaying means displays the map information and the current location in a superimposed form.

3. A navigator as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when there is a branch point at which a planned route is supposed to turn within a predetermined area ahead of the current location, the receiving means receives map information on a predetermined scale including the branch point, and the displaying means displays the map information and the current location in a superimposed form.

4. A navigator including receiving means for receiving map information and locality information through communication, displaying means for displaying the information received by the receiving means with a current location superimposed thereon, and controlling means for controlling the receiving means and the displaying means,

wherein, through control by the controlling means, the navigator operates in one of:

a first state in which the receiving means receives, out of map information composed of a plurality of maps on different scales, map information on a scale corresponding to type of road currently being traveled, and the displaying means displays the map information and the current location in a superimposed form; and

a second state in which the receiving means further receives locality information corresponding to the map information, and the displaying means displays the map information, the locality information, and the current location in a superimposed form.

5. A navigator as claimed in claim 4, wherein, when there is a branch point within a predetermined area ahead of the current location, the receiving means receives map information or locality information on a predetermined scale including the branch point, and the displaying means either displays the map information and the current location in a superimposed form or displays the map information, the locality information, and the current location in a superimposed form.

6. A navigator as claimed in claim 4, wherein, when there is a branch point at which a planned route is supposed to turn within a predetermined area ahead of the current location, the receiving means receives map information or locality information on a predetermined scale including the branch point, and the displaying means either displays the information and the current location in a superimposed form or displays the map information, the locality information, and the current location in a superimposed form.

7. A navigator including receiving means for receiving map information or locality information through communication and controlling means for controlling the receiving means,

wherein, through control by the controlling means,

when a location at which reception is scheduled to take place next is located in a poor-reception area, the receiving means receives map information or locality information in advance before entry into the poor-reception area.

8. A navigator as claimed in claim 7, wherein the map information or locality information received before entry into the poor-reception area is map information or locality information on such a scale as to cover at least all the poor-reception area.

9. A navigator including communicating means for receiving map information through communication, storing means for storing the map information received by the communicating means, current location detecting means for detecting a current location, and controlling means for controlling the communicating means, the storing means, and the current location detecting means,

wherein, through control by the controlling means, the navigator operates in one of

a state in which the communicating means receives map information of a predetermined area;

a state in which the storing means stores the received map information of the predetermined area; and

a state in which the storing means erases map information other than the map information of the predetermined area, and

wherein, when no planned route over which to navigate is set,

the map information of the predetermined area is, of all map information covering a road having a name of a road currently being traveled, map information covering a continuous area including the current location and an untraveled portion of the road.

10. A navigator including connecting means for connecting to communicating means capable of receiving map information through communication, storing means for storing the map information received by the communicating means, current location detecting means for detecting a current location, and controlling means for controlling the communicating means connected to the connecting means, the storing means, and the current location detecting means,

wherein, through control by the controlling means, the navigator operates in one of:

a state in which the communicating means connected to the connecting means receives map information of a predetermined area;

a state in which the storing means stores the received map information of the predetermined area; and

a state in which the storing means erases map information other than the map information of the predetermined area, and

wherein, when no planned route over which to navigate is set,

the map information of the predetermined area is, of all map information covering a road having a name of a road currently being traveled, map information covering a continuous area including the current location and an untraveled portion of the road.

11. (Canceled)

12. (Canceled)

13. (Canceled)