Navigation apparatus for vehicle

• US 20050049779A1
• Filed: 07/20/2004
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabhshiki Kaisha Aishin AW Company Limited
• Inventors: Yasuda, Takashi, Takeuchi, Kensuke, Suzuki, Hidenobu, Inayoshi, Hiromichi, Mikame, Masami
• Granted Patent: US 7,457,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance

Abstract

A vehicle navigation apparatus displays an expressway guide diagram indicating the names of plural exits at which a travelling vehicle can exit an expressway and the distance and estimated arrival time to each of the exits. The expressway guide diagram includes a map display for indicating a display of a surrounding-area map of an exit. When the map display is operated, the display scale of the surrounding-area map is determined so as to contain a predetermined number of representative facilities, and the surrounding-area map is displayed on a display device according to the display scale. Therefore, with respect to each exit at which the vehicle can get off the expressway, a map based on the proper display scale corresponding to the positional relationship between each exit and facilities can be displayed.

Claims

1. A vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a current position detecting unit for detecting the current position of a vehicle;

a storage unit for storing map data of surrounding areas of exits from a travel route and information on the exits of the travel route;

an exit information display controller for obtaining, from the storage unit, information regarding an exit at which the vehicle can get off a travel route on which the vehicle is traveling, on the basis of the current position detected by the current position detecting unit, and displaying the information thus achieved on the display device;

an instruction operating unit for instructing a display of a map around the exit displayed on the display device and at which the vehicle can get off; and

a surrounding-area map display controller for determining a display scale of a surrounding-area map so as to include a predetermined number of facilities and displaying the surrounding-area map on the display device according to the display scale when the surrounding-area map is instructed to be displayed by the instruction operating unit.

2. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding-area map display controller displays the surrounding-area map so that the exit at which the vehicle can get off the expressway is located substantially at the center of the display device.

3. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the exit at which the vehicle gets off the travel route includes plural exit points, the surrounding-area map display controller displays the surrounding map so that the center-of-gravity position of the plural exit points is located substantially at the center of the display device.

4. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding-area map display control er sets plural display scales as the display scale for a surrounding-area map in advance, and displays the surrounding-area map in the minimum display scale so as to include a predetermined number of facilities by judging whether the surrounding-area map of each display scale includes the predetermined number of facilities while successively changing the display scale of the surrounding-area map in increasing order of display scale.

5. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the surrounding-area map display controller sets the maximum display scale of the surrounding-area map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range, and displays the surrounding-area map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

6. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when no facility is included in the surrounding-area map of the maximum display scale, the surrounding-area map display controller displays a surrounding-area map of a larger display scale.

7. The above vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exit information display controller displays the names of plural exits and the distance/time needed for the vehicle to arrive at each exit as information on possible exit choices defined as exits at which the vehicle can get off the travel route.

8. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a selecting unit for selecting the name of one exit from the names of plural exits, wherein the exit information display controller further displays, as the information concerning the possible exit choices, the types of facilities existing around the exit selected by the selecting unit.

9. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of facilities to be contained in the surrounding-area map can be set.

10. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the types of facilities to be contained in the surrounding-area map can be set.

11. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the surrounding-area map display controller sets plural display scales as the display scale for a surrounding-area map in advance, and displays the surrounding-area map in the minimum display scale so as to include a predetermined number of facilities by judging whether the surrounding-area map of each display scale includes the predetermined number of facilities while successively changing the display scale of the surrounding-area map in increasing order of display scale.

12. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the surrounding-area map display controller sets the maximum display scale of the surrounding-area map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range, and displays the surrounding-area map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

13. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein when no facility is included in the surrounding-area map of the maximum display scale, the surrounding-area map display controller displays a surrounding-area map of a larger display scale.