Navigation Apparatus

• US 20090157295A1
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Abe, Noriyuki, Kobayashi, Yuta, Asahara, Akinori, Shimada, Shigeru, Maruyama, Kishiko, Asada, Katsuya
• Application Number:
  US12/332,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157295A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map

Abstract

A navigation apparatus comprises a route setting unit that sets a route, a route characteristic point setting unit that sets a plurality of route characteristic points to the route set by the route setting unit, a priority setting unit that sets priority to each of the route characteristic points set by the route characteristic point setting unit, a selecting unit that selects any of the route characteristic points based upon the priority set by the priority setting unit, and a display control unit that displays the route and the route characteristic point selected by the selecting unit on a display monitor.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a route setting unit that sets a route;

a route characteristic point setting unit that sets a plurality of route characteristic points to the route set by the route setting unit;

a priority setting unit that sets priority to each of the route characteristic points set by the route characteristic point setting unit;

a selecting unit that selects any of the route characteristic points based upon the priority set by the priority setting unit; and

a display control unit that displays the route and the route characteristic point selected by the selecting unit on a display monitor.

2. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the selecting unit selects a route characteristic point to which priority with a predetermined threshold or higher is set.

3. A navigation apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a changing unit that changes the threshold according to an operation by a user.

4. A navigation apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

an operation member that can be operated in a rotating or a sliding manner;

wherein

the changing unit changes the threshold according to an operation amount of the operation member by the user.

5. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the selecting unit selects route characteristic points in descending order of priority as long as the total number of selected route characteristic points is within a predetermined display limit number.

6. A navigation apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a changing unit that changes the display limit number according to an operation by a user.

7. A navigation apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

an operation member that can be operated in a rotating or a sliding manner;

wherein

the changing unit changes the display limit number according to an operation amount of the operation member by the user.

8. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the route characteristic point setting unit sets points upon the route or points along the route as the route characteristic points.

9. A navigation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:

the route setting unit sets a plurality of routes; and

the route characteristic point setting unit sets, among the points upon the routes, at least one of a branch point at which a road branches into a plurality of the routes, a confluence point at which a plurality of the routes merge into one road, a road category change point at which a road category of the route changes, an intersection on the route, and an interchange on the route, as the route characteristic point.

10. A navigation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:

the route characteristic point setting unit sets, among the points along the route, a facility located along the route as the route characteristic point.

11. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the priority setting unit sets the priority based upon a road category of the route at the route characteristic point or based upon a positional relationship between a start point or an end point of the route and the route characteristic point.

12. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the display control unit displays an abridged map in which a shape of the route is simplified on the display monitor.

13. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a route setting unit that sets a route;

a route characteristic point setting unit that sets a facility located along the route as a route characteristic point to the route; and

a display control unit that displays the route and the route characteristic point on a display monitor.