NAVIGATION DEVICE AND IMAGE MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20100138153A1
• Filed: 07/28/2008
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SANYO Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SANYO Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakai, Tadashi, Irie, Toshiyuki, Yamane, Kazuhiro, Maeta, Tomoaki, Murakami, Kazuya, Yoshimura, Tomoyuki, Abe, Yuichi, Watanabe, Ryo
• Granted Patent: US 8,374,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B

Abstract

A navigation device which stores a captured image of an area ahead of user in a moving direction after turning at an intersection and displays the captured image before turning at the intersection, includes: a first storage unit (HDD recording/playback unit 14) storing a map; a display unit (display unit 18); and a control unit (control unit 10) displaying the map on the display unit, and the navigation device further includes a second storage unit (HDD recording/playback unit 14) storing a captured image of an area to be entered after a turn is made at an intersection, and the control unit displays the captured image stored in the second storage unit on the display unit before a mobile body reaches the intersection.

Claims

1. A navigation device comprising:

a first storage unit storing a map;

a display unit; and

a control unit displaying the map on the display unit, wherein

the navigation device further comprising a second storage unit storing a captured image of an area to be entered after a turn is made at an intersection, and

the control unit displays the captured image stored in the second storage unit on the display unit before a mobile body reaches the intersection.

2. The navigation device of claim 1 further comprising a first image capturing unit capturing an image of area ahead of the mobile body in the traveling direction of the mobile body, wherein

when the mobile body has made a turn at the intersection, the control unit captures, by the first image capturing unit, an image of area ahead of the mobile body in the moving direction of the mobile body after the turn to obtain a captured image of the area, and

the control unit stores the captured image captured by the first image capturing unit in the second storage unit.

3. The navigation device of claim 2 further comprising a direction sensor detecting a moving direction of the mobile body, wherein

the control unit detects, according to detection result of the direction sensor, timing for capturing the image.

4. The navigation device of claim 1 further comprising a second image capturing unit capturing an image of area behind the mobile body in the moving direction of the mobile body, wherein

the control unit captures, by the second image capturing unit, an image of area behind the mobile body in the moving direction of the mobile body before the mobile body reaches the intersection to obtain a captured image of the area, and

the control unit stores the captured image captured by the second image capturing unit in the second storage unit.

5. The navigation device of claim 4 further comprising a detecting unit detecting ON/OFF states of a direction indicator provided in the mobile body, wherein

the control unit detects, according to detection result of the detecting unit, timing for capturing the image of an area behind the mobile body in the moving direction of the mobile body before the mobile body reaches the intersection.

6. The navigation device of claim 4 wherein,

when the mobile body has not made a turn at the intersection but gone straight therethrough, the control unit deletes the captured image of the area behind the mobile body in the moving direction of the mobile body captured by the second image capturing unit and stored in the second storage unit.

7. The navigation device of claim 4 wherein the control unit switches between ON and OFF modes to activate or deactivate image capturing operation performed by the second capturing unit, and in the ON mode is captured an image of area behind the mobile body in a moving direction of the mobile body.

8. The navigation device of claim 1 wherein,

when the mobile body has made a turn at the intersection, the control unit continues to play on the display unit the captured image stored in the second storage unit until the mobile body reaches a predetermined point after making the turn at the intersection.

9. The navigation device of claim 1 further comprising a play key, wherein

the control unit displays, on the display unit, the captured image stored in the second storage unit in response to the play key being operated.

10. The navigation device of claim 2 wherein,

when the mobile body has made a turn at the intersection, the control unit stores, in the second storage unit, a direction of the turn made at the intersection in association with the captured image, and

the control unit displays, on the display unit, the direction of the turn made at the intersection together with the captured image.

11. The navigation device of claim 4 wherein, when the mobile body has made a turn at the intersection, the control unit stores, in the second storage unit, in association with the captured image, a direction that is directly opposite to a moving direction in which the mobile body travels after making the turn at the intersection, and the control unit displays, on the display unit, together with the captured image, the direction that is directly opposite to the moving direction in which the mobile body travels after making the turn at the intersection.

12. A navigation device for a mobile body, comprising:

a current position detecting unit detecting a current position;

an image capturing unit;

an image file storage unit storing data of an image captured by the image capturing unit;

a map storage unit storing map information; and

a display unit displaying a map image, wherein

the navigation device further comprising;

a moving state detecting unit detecting whether the mobile body is in a moving state or in a stopping state;

a character string extraction unit extracting, from the map information, at least one of character strings representing a name of a place, a facility, a road, and an intersection at or near a current position; and

a file name determination unit determining a file name of data of an image captured by the image capturing unit, wherein

when the image capturing unit captures an image, a file name of data of the captured image is determined by combining a moving state detected by the moving state detecting unit, a character string extracted by the character string extraction unit, and a predetermined character string that is provided beforehand in the file name determination unit.

13. The navigation device of claim 12 wherein the predetermined character string contains either a character string indicating that the mobile body is stopping or a character string indicating that the mobile body is moving.

14. The navigation device of claim 13 wherein the predetermined character string contains a predetermined character string indicating that the character string extracted by the character string extraction unit from the map information is a character string related to a predetermined area near a current position.

15. An image management method comprising steps of:

generating a captured image of an area near a mobile body by an image capturing unit;

detecting a moving state of the mobile body whether the mobile body is in a moving state or in a stopping state;

obtaining current position information by extracting, from map information, at least one of character strings representing a name of a place, a facility, a road, and an intersection at or near the current position; and

determining a name of the captured image by combining a predetermined character string that is prepared beforehand, the moving state, and the current position information.