On-vehicle information terminal

• US 20070005241A1
• Filed: 08/25/2004
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Minagawa, Hiroshi, Oikubo, Wataru, Sumizawa, Akio
• Granted Patent: US 7,636,634 B2
• 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: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B

Abstract

An on-vehicle information terminal includes a current position detection unit that detects the current position of the subject vehicle, a route setting unit that sets a route from the current position of the subject vehicle detected by the current position detection unit to a destination and a display control unit that displays at a display device an enlarged map around the next guidance-requiring intersection on the route having been set by the route setting unit. The display control unit displays the enlarged map by displaying the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection in a single screen at the display device and rendering the route between the two points as a straight line.

Claims

1. An on-vehicle information terminal, comprising:

a current position detection unit that detects a current position of a subject vehicle;

a route setting unit that sets a route from the current position of the subject vehicle detected by the current position detection unit to a destination; and

a display control unit that displays at a display device an enlarged map around a next guidance-requiring intersection on the route having been set by the route setting unit, wherein;

the display control unit displays the enlarged map by displaying the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection in a single screen at the display device and rendering the route extending between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection as a straight line.

2. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, wherein:

the display control unit displays a road intersecting the route between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection as a straight line intersecting the route rendered as a straight line.

3. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, wherein:

the display control unit displays a road by selecting one of a plurality of roads intersecting the route between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection based upon road type classification.

4. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 3, wherein:

the display control unit extracts a road classified as a road type with a highest rank among the plurality of roads intersecting the route between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection; and

the display control unit selects and displays only one road closest to the current position if a plurality of roads are extracted.

5. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, wherein:

the display control unit displays a river or a railway track crossing the route between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection as a line intersecting the route rendered as a straight line.

6. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, wherein:

the display control unit indicates a distance from the current position to the road, the river or the railway track which are displayed.

7. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, wherein:

when displaying the road, the river or the railway track as the line intersecting the route rendered as the straight line, the display control unit adjusts a display position of an intersecting point at which the road, the river or the railway track intersects the route in conformance to a ratio of the distance from the current position to the next guidance-requiring intersection and the distance between the current position and the intersecting point.

14. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 3, wherein:

the display control unit indicates a distance from the current position to the road, the river or the railway track which are displayed.

15. An on-vehicle information terminal according claim 4, wherein:

the display control unit indicates a distance from the current position to the road, the river or the railway track which are displayed.

16. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 3, wherein:

when displaying the road, the river or the railway track as the line intersecting the route rendered as the straight line, the display control unit adjusts a display position of an intersecting point at which the road, the river or the railway track intersects the route in conformance to a ratio of the distance from the current position to the next guidance-requiring intersection and the distance between the current position and the intersecting point.

17. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 4, wherein:

when displaying the road, the river or the railway track as the line intersecting the route rendered as the straight line, the display control unit adjusts a display position of an intersecting point at which the road, the river or the railway track intersects the route in conformance to a ratio of the distance from the current position to the next guidance-requiring intersection and the distance between the current position and the intersecting point.

8. An on-vehicle information terminal, comprising:

a current position detection unit that detects a current position of a subject vehicle;

a route setting unit that sets a route from the current position of the subject vehicle detected by the current position detection unit to a destination; and

a display control unit that displays at a display device an enlarged map around the next guidance-requiring intersection on the route having been set by the route setting unit, wherein;

a plurality of display modes are available for displaying the enlarged map; and

the display control unit displays the enlarged map by switching to one of the plurality of display modes.

9. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 8, wherein:

three different display modes, including a mode for displaying a simple enlarged map by displaying a map at a predetermined scaling factor over a specific range around the next guidance-requiring intersection, a mode for displaying a linear enlarged map in which the route between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection is rendered as a straight line, and a mode for displaying an alternative enlarged map by displaying an abridged map generated by abridging a map over a range containing the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection, are available for displaying the enlarged map; and

the display control unit displays one of the simple enlarged map, the linear enlarged map or the alternative enlarged map.

10. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 8, wherein:

the display control unit switches to one of the plurality of display modes for displaying the enlarged map in correspondence to the distance between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection.

11. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 8, wherein:

the display control unit switches to one of the plurality of display modes for displaying the enlarged map in conformance to results of a selection made by a user.

12. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 9, wherein:

the display control unit displays the simple enlarged map if the distance between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection is smaller than a first threshold value, displays the linear enlarged map if the distance between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and is also smaller than a second threshold value, and displays the alternative enlarged map if the distance between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection is equal to or greater than the second threshold value.

13. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 9, wherein:

when displaying the linear enlarged map, the display control unit indicates the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection at a first position and a second position respectively with fixed on the screen and renders the route extending between the first position and the second position as a straight line; and

when displaying the alternative enlarged map, the display control unit creates the abridged map by linearizing and orthogonalizing the shapes of roads on the map.

18. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 9, wherein:

the display control unit switches to one of the plurality of display modes for displaying the enlarged map in correspondence to the distance between the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection.

19. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 9, wherein:

the display control unit switches to one of the plurality of display modes for displaying the enlarged map in conformance to results of a selection made by a user.

20. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 12, wherein:

when displaying the linear enlarged map, the display control unit indicates the current position and the next guidance-requiring intersection at a first position and a second position respectively with fixed on the screen and renders the route extending between the first position and the second position as a straight line; and

when displaying the alternative enlarged map, the display control unit creates the abridged map by linearizing and orthogonalizing the shapes of roads on the map.