MAP DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20090088969A1
• Filed: 10/01/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: OOTA, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,952,494 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3632 Guidance using simplified or iconic instructions, e.g. using arrows G01C21/365 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself

Abstract

A map in a navigation apparatus is displayed on a screen with its orientation aligned with an orientation of a facility map that is distributed in a facility when a vehicle having the navigation apparatus is traveling in a facility area that has pre-memorized guide information. When the vehicle is traveling in a meandering section of a road, a rough direction is oriented upward in the map that is displayed on the screen. Furthermore, the map is displayed with an entrance direction, which is determined as a direction at a time of entering an area outside of the road such as a parking or the like, oriented upward under a circumstance that the vehicle is constantly turning its direction.

Claims

1. A map display apparatus for having a map displayed on a screen together with a current vehicle position, the apparatus comprising:

a situation determination unit for determining a travel situation of a vehicle; and

a map orientation unit for setting a specific orientation of the map that is to be displayed on the screen on a condition that the travel situation of the vehicle is determined to be corresponding to a specific situation by the situation determination unit.

2. The map display apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the situation determination unit is capable of determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a registered area that has a predetermined map orientation, and

the map orientation unit sets the orientation of the map to be aligned with the predetermined map orientation of the registered area when the vehicle is determined to be traveling in the registered area by the situation determination unit.

3. The map display apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the situation determination unit is capable of determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a meandering section that has been registered, and

the map orientation unit sets an upward orientation of the map on the screen to be aligned with a roughly-estimated travel direction of the vehicle when the vehicle is determined to be traveling in the meandering section by the situation determination unit.

4. The map display apparatus of claim 3, wherein

the map orientation unit calculates the roughly-estimated travel direction of the vehicle based on a displayed portion of the meandering section on the screen.

5. The map display apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the situation determination unit is capable of determining whether or not the current vehicle position is map-matched to a road on the map displayed on the screen, and

the map orientation unit sets an upward orientation of the map on the screen to be aligned with one of historical travel directions of the vehicle in a travel history of the vehicle when the vehicle is determined by the situation determination unit to be in a situation that does not have the current vehicle position map-matched to the road.

6. The map display apparatus of claim 5, wherein

the situation determination unit is capable of determining an angular speed of the vehicle, and

the map orientation unit sets the upward orientation of the map on the screen when the vehicle is determined by the situation determination unit to be in a situation that does not have the current vehicle position map-matched to the road and in a situation that at least one of the angular speed and a change amount of the angular speed respectively determined by the situation determination unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

7. A program product stored in a computer-readable medium having instructions for controlling a computer to provide map display functions for displaying a map on a screen, the functions comprising:

providing a situation determination unit for determining a travel situation of a vehicle; and

providing a map orientation unit for setting an orientation of the map that is to be displayed on the screen on a condition that the travel situation of the vehicle is determined to be corresponding to a specific situation by the situation determination unit.