Navigation apparatus and display method

• US 20050143914A1
• Filed: 11/24/2004
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Satoshi, Yamada, Kunihiro
• Application Number:
  US10/995,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20050143914A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• 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 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A navigation apparatus, including a controller that reads out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names and outputs the map data including a current position on a guidance screen. The controller monitors a drawing area for each link name and monitors a display area for the guidance screen. If a part of a link name becomes out of the display area due to scrolling, the controller moves that link name related to an amount of scrolling in a drawing direction of the link and/or displays the link name using an abbreviated link name

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a controller that;

reads out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputs the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitors a drawing area for each link name;

monitors a display area of the guidance screen; and

moves a link name related to an amount of scrolling in a drawing direction of a corresponding link if a part of the link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling.

2. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein if a part of a full link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling, the controller displays the link name using an abbreviated link name.

3. The navigation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller places a movement limit for the moved link name at a position where an end point of the moved link name substantially corresponds with an end point of the corresponding link.

4. The navigation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller places a movement limit for the moved link name at a position where an end point of the moved link name overlaps with any other link names.

5. A display method, comprising:

reading out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputting the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitoring a drawing area for each link name;

monitoring a display area of the guidance screen; and

moving, if a part of a link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling, the link name related to an amount of scrolling in a drawing direction of a corresponding link.

6. The display method of claim 5, further comprising:

displaying, if a part of a full link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling, the link name using an abbreviated link name.

7. The display method of claim 6, wherein moving the link name related to an amount of scrolling comprises placing a movement limit for the moved link name at a position where an end point of the moved link name substantially corresponds with an end point of the corresponding link.

8. The display method of claim 6, wherein moving the link name related to an amount of scrolling comprises placing a movement limit for the moved link name at a position where an end point of the moved link name overlaps with other link names.

9. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and usable for performing the method recited in claim 5.

10. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a controller that;

reads out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputs the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitors a drawing area for each link name;

monitors a display area of the guidance screen; and

displays a link name using an abbreviated link name if a part of the link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling.

11. A display method, comprising:

reading out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputting the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitoring a drawing area for each link name;

monitoring a display area for the guidance screen; and

displaying, if a part of a link name moves out of the display area due to scrolling, the link name using an abbreviated link name.

12. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and usable for performing the method recited in claim 11.

13. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a controller that;

reads out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputs the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitors a drawing area for each link name;

monitors a display area of the guidance screen; and

displays at least a portion of a link name using an abbreviated link name if a part of the link name moves within the display area due to scrolling.

14. The navigation apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the controller displays the link name using a full link name if the full link name can be drawn completely.

15. A display method, comprising:

reading out map data from a memory to display a road map with link names;

outputting the map data including a current position on a guidance screen;

monitoring a drawing area for each link name;

monitoring a display area of the guidance screen; and

displaying, if a part of a link name moves within the display area due to scrolling, at least a portion of the link name using an abbreviated link name.

16. The display method of claim 15, wherein displaying at least a portion of the link name using an abbreviated link name comprises displaying, if a full link name can be drawn completely, the link name using the full link name.

17. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and usable for performing the method recited in claim 15.