MOBILE VEHICLE NAVIGATION METHOD AND APPARATUS THEREOF

• US 20100082232A1
• Filed: 05/01/2009
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Jin-Sang
• Granted Patent: US 8,751,155 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635

Abstract

A method of controlling a vehicle navigation apparatus included in a vehicle, and which includes displaying road guidance information on a touch screen display of the vehicle navigation apparatus and including a set travel route from a current position of a vehicle to a destination, determining, via a controller, whether a particular road displayed on the road guidance information has been drawn on, said particular road corresponding to a road that is different than a road included in the set travel route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and setting, via the controller, a road matched to the particular road that has been drawn on as a detour.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a vehicle navigation apparatus included in a vehicle, the method comprising:

displaying road guidance information on a touch screen display of the vehicle navigation apparatus and including a set travel route from a current position of a vehicle to a destination;

determining, via a controller, whether a particular road displayed on the road guidance information has been drawn on, said particular road corresponding to a road that is different than a road included in the set travel route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination; and

setting, via the controller, a road matched to the particular road that has been drawn on as a detour.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting the road as the detour further comprises:

searching a memory including the displayed road guidance information for a road that matches or corresponds with the particular road that has been drawn on; and

distinctively displaying the road that matches the particular road that has been drawn on as the detour.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the searching step further comprises:

finding a plurality of roads that match or correspond with the particular road that has been drawn on;

displaying the found plurality of roads that match or correspond with the particular road that has been drawn on;

receiving a selection signal corresponding to a selection of one of the displayed plurality of found roads; and

setting the selected one of the plurality of found roads as the detour.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the distinctively displaying step distinctively displays the road that matches the particular road that has been drawn on with at least one of a predetermined color, a solid line, a dotted line and a blinking or flashing line.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step determines the particular road has been drawn on when a line is drawn along the particular road, a loop or partial loop is drawn around at least a portion of the particular road, the particular road is touched twice in a double touch manner, or a beginning and ending portion of the particular road is touched simultaneously or in a successive manner.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input corresponding to a request for beginning a detour operation; and

fixing a map displayed in the road guidance information upon receiving the input corresponding to the received request for beginning the detour operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the input corresponding to the request for beginning the detour operation comprises one of a selection of a soft touch key displayed with the road guidance information, a selection of a physical key, a voice command and a proximity touching operation.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining step is performed only after the fixing step fixes the map displayed on the road guidance information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input corresponding to a request for magnifying or reducing a map displayed in the road guidance information; and

magnifying or reducing the map upon receiving the input magnification or reduction of the map, respectively.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal, and generating first location data of the vehicle based on the received GPS signal;

generating second location data based on a travel direction and speed of the vehicle;

generating a vehicle estimated location based on the first and second location data;

matching the vehicle estimated location with a map matching link;

generating the road guidance information based on results of the matching step;

displaying the road guidance information; and

determining a current speed of the vehicle,

wherein the setting step sets the road matched to the particular road that has been drawn on as a detour when the determined speed is less than a predetermined speed.

11. A vehicle navigation apparatus, comprising:

a touch screen display unit configured to display road guidance information including a set travel route from a current position of a vehicle to a destination; and

a controller configured to determine whether a particular road displayed on the road guidance information has been drawn on, said particular road corresponding to a road that is different than a road included in the set travel route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and to set a road matched to the particular road that has been drawn on as a detour.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to search a memory including the displayed road guidance information for a road that matches or corresponds with the particular road that has been drawn on, and to control the display unit to distinctively display the road that matches the particular road that has been drawn on as the detour.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein when the controller finds a plurality of roads that match or correspond with the particular road that has been drawn on, the controller is further configured to control the display unit to display the found plurality of roads that match or correspond with the particular road that has been drawn on, to receiving a selection signal corresponding to a selection of one of the displayed plurality of found roads, and to set the selected one of the plurality of found roads as the detour.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to control the display unit to distinctively display the road that matches the particular road that has been drawn on with at least one of a predetermined color, a solid line, a dotted line and a blinking or flashing line.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the particular road has been drawn on when a line is drawn along the particular road, a loop or partial loop is drawn around at least a portion of the particular road, the particular road is touched twice in a double touch manner, or a beginning and ending portion of the particular road is touched simultaneously or in a successive manner.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

an input unit configured to receive an input corresponding to a request for beginning a detour operation,

wherein the controller is further configured to fix a map displayed in the road guidance information upon receiving the input corresponding to the received input.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the input corresponding to the request for beginning the detour operation comprises one of a selection of a soft touch key displayed with the road guidance information, a selection of a physical key, a voice command or a proximity touch.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the particular road displayed on the road guidance information has been drawn on only after the fixing the map displayed on the road guidance information.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

an input unit configured to receive an input corresponding to a request for magnifying or reducing a map displayed in the road guidance information,

wherein the controller is further configured to magnify or reduce the map upon receiving the input magnification or reduction of the map, respectively.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

a Global Position System (GPS) module configured to receive a GPS signal, and to generate first location data of the vehicle based on the received GPS signal,

wherein the controller is further configured to determine a current speed of the vehicle, to generate second location data based on a travel direction and speed of the vehicle, to generate a vehicle estimated location based on the first and second location data, to match the vehicle estimated location with a map matching link, to generate the road guidance information based on results of the matching step, to control the display unit to display the road guidance information, and to set the road matched to the particular road that has been drawn on as a detour when the determined speed is less than a predetermined speed.