Navigation apparatus and method

• US 20060064235A1
• Filed: 09/02/2005
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Hiroki, Zaitsu, Tomoyuki, Kawai, Masao
• Granted Patent: US 7,739,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096866 where the complete route is shown to the driver

Abstract

A navigation apparatus and method store traffic information and searches for a guidance route to a specified destination. The apparatus and method calculate congestion degrees for the guidance route based on a factor by time period and the stored traffic information and display the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores traffic information; and

a controller that;

searches for a guidance route to a specified destination;

calculates congestion degrees for the guidance route based on a factor by time period and the stored traffic information; and

displays the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period.

2. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, comprising:

a controller that;

determines the factor by time period;

calculates a congestion degree for each point on the guidance route according to the factor by time period based on the traffic information; and

displays the congestion degree for each point on the guidance route with the guidance route.

3. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, comprising:

a controller that;

determines the factor by time period;

predicts required time to reach the destination according to the factor by time period based on the traffic information; and

displays the predicted required time with the guidance route.

4. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the factor by time period is determined by a selection of a display point, the display point displayed with the guidance route.

5. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the factor by time period is as least one of time, date, and a day of week.

6. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the congestion degrees based on the factor by time period are displayed along a predetermined time axis to show the congestion degrees on the guidance route.

7. The navigation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller:

calculates the congestion degrees at an increasingly smaller time interval; and

updates, every time the calculation of the congestion degrees at a certain time interval is complete, the display to show the new congestion degrees with the factor by the certain time interval.

8. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the congestion degrees are displayed corresponding to a plurality of times disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.

9. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the congestion degrees are displayed corresponding to a plurality of dates or days of week disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.

10. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the congestion degrees are displayed corresponding to times on a plurality of dates or days of week disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.

11. A navigation method, comprising:

storing traffic information;

searching for a guidance route to a specified destination;

calculating congestion degrees for the guidance route based on a factor by time period and the stored traffic information; and

displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period.

12. The navigation method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the factor by time period;

wherein;

calculating the congestion degrees based on the factor by time period comprises calculating a congestion degree for each point on the guidance route according to the factor by time period based on the traffic information; and

displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period comprises displaying the congestion degree for each point on the guidance route with the guidance route.

13. The navigation method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the factor by time period;

predicting required time to reach the destination according to the factor by time period based on the traffic information; and

displaying the predicted required time with the guidance route.

14. The navigation method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the factor by time period by a selection of a display point, the display point displayed with the guidance route.

15. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein the factor by time period is as least one of time, date, and a day of week.

16. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period comprises displaying the congestion degrees based on the factor by time period along a predetermined time axis to show the congestion degrees on the guidance route.

17. The navigation method of claim 16, wherein calculating the congestion degrees comprises calculating the congestion degrees at an increasingly smaller time interval, the method further comprising:

updating, every time the calculation of the congestion degrees at a certain time interval is complete, the display to show the new congestion degrees with the factor by the certain time interval.

18. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period comprises displaying the congestion degrees corresponding to a plurality of times disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.

19. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period comprises displaying the congestion degrees corresponding to a plurality of dates or days of week disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.

20. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein displaying the guidance route and the congestion degrees by time period comprises displaying the congestion degrees corresponding to times on a plurality of dates or days of week disposed along a predetermined rule to show the congestion degrees for the guidance route.