Car navigation device and car navigation method for three-dimensional display of route information

• US 20060142941A1
• Filed: 12/09/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer Design Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer Design Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Imai, Kazushige, Nomura, Isao
• Application Number:
  US11/297,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20060142941A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05

Abstract

An information display apparatus, which displays a road and a plurality of buildings along the road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, includes: an output-level acquiring unit that acquires a current output level of an audio device installed in the vehicle; and an output-level displaying unit that displays the current output level of the audio device on one of the buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from a user in front of the display screen.

Claims

1. An information display apparatus that displays a road and a plurality of buildings along the road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, wherein the buildings are displayed as if moving toward a user in front of the display screen at a speed corresponding to an actual speed of the vehicle, the information display apparatus comprising:

an output-level acquiring unit that acquires a current output level of an audio device installed in the vehicle; and

an output-level displaying unit that displays the current output level of the audio device on one of the buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from the user.

2. The information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the buildings includes a plurality of first buildings that are displayed on a first side of the road and a plurality of second buildings that are displayed on a second side of the road,

the output-level acquiring unit acquires a current output level of a first channel and a current output level of a second channel, and

the output-level displaying unit displays the current output level of the first channel on one of the first buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from the user, and displays the current output level of the second channel on one of the second buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from the user.

3. The information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein display forms of the buildings are dynamically changed according to the output level displayed on the buildings.

4. The information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information display apparatus displays a vehicle on the road.

5. The information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information display apparatus displays the buildings based on a current position of the vehicle and a map information corresponding to the current position.

6. An information display apparatus that displays a road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, the information display apparatus comprising:

a direction determining unit that determines a direction of a destination from a current position of the vehicle based on latitudes and longitudes of the destination and the current position; and

a direction displaying unit that displays the direction on the display screen.

7. The information display apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising

a route storing unit that stores a route on which the vehicle has traveled before, wherein

the direction displaying unit displays the direction along the route when the vehicle is traveling on the route again.

8. The information display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information display apparatus displays the route as well as the road.

9. The information display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information display apparatus displays a vehicle on the road.

10. An information display apparatus that displays information on a display screen installed in a vehicle, the information display apparatus comprising:

a first-gravity displaying unit that displays a first gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen; and

a second-gravity displaying unit that displays, when the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the first gravity was displayed, a second gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen.

11. The information display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the first-gravity displaying unit displays the first gravity at a current-gravity area of the display screen,

the second-gravity displaying unit displays the second gravity at the current-gravity area in which the first gravity has been displayed, and

the first-gravity displaying unit redisplays the first gravity at a previous-gravity area that is adjacent to the current-gravity area.

12. The information display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first gravity and the second gravity are lateral gravities that are applied towards any one of a left direction and a right direction.

13. The information display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first gravity and the second gravity are traveling direction gravities that are applied any one of forwardly and backwardly with respect to a direction in which the vehicle is traveling.

14. The information display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the information display apparatus displays a map for indicating a current position of the vehicle on the display screen.

15. The information display apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a gravity storing unit that stores the first gravity and the second gravity as a history of gravity; and

a future-gravity displaying unit that displays, when the vehicle is traveling on a route on which the vehicle has traveled before, a future gravity that will be applied to the vehicle based on the history of gravity.

16. A method of displaying a road and a plurality of buildings along the road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, wherein the buildings are displayed as if moving toward a user in front of the display screen at a speed corresponding to an actual speed of the vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring a current output level of an audio device installed in the vehicle; and

displaying the current output level of the audio device on one of the buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from the user.

17. A method of displaying a road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, the method comprising:

determining a direction of a destination from a current position of the vehicle based on latitudes and longitudes of the destination and the current position; and

displaying the direction on the display screen.

18. A method of displaying information on a display screen installed in a vehicle, the method comprising:

displaying a first gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen; and

displaying, when the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the first gravity was displayed, a second gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen.

19. A computer-readable recording medium that stores a computer program for displaying a road and a plurality of buildings along the road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, wherein the buildings are displayed as if moving toward a user in front of the display screen at a speed corresponding to an actual speed of the vehicle, and the computer program causes a computer to execute:

acquiring a current output level of an audio device installed in the vehicle; and

displaying the current output level of the audio device on one of the buildings that is displayed as if being farthest from the user.

20. A computer-readable recording medium that stores a computer program for displaying a road three-dimensionally on a display screen installed in a vehicle, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute:

determining a direction of a destination from a current position of the vehicle based on latitudes and longitudes of the destination and the current position; and

displaying the direction on the display screen.

21. A computer-readable recording medium that stores a computer program for displaying information on a display screen installed in a vehicle, the computer program causes a computer to execute:

displaying a first gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen; and

displaying, when the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the first gravity was displayed, a second gravity that is currently applied to the vehicle on the display screen.