NAVIGATION SYSTEM

• US 20120173245A1
• Filed: 12/24/2009
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kitano, Toyoaki, Miyazaki, Hideto, Matsubara, Tsutomu, Ieda, Kuniyo, Ozaki, Minoru, Nakagawa, Takashi, Yamazaki, Wataru, Miyahara, Tadashi, Tanaka, Syoji, Shiino, Tomohiro
• Application Number:
  US13/394,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20120173245A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

A navigation system is provided which facilitates discrimination between an icon of a facility associated with a route, along which the user is expected to move from now on, and an ordinary icon. To achieve this, it includes a destination estimating unit for acquiring information about a driving history and for estimating a destination from the information about the driving history acquired; a drawing decision changing unit for drawing a destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit in a form different from an icon of a non-destination candidate; and an information display unit for causing the icon drawn by the drawing decision changing unit to be displayed.

Claims

1. A navigation system comprising:

a destination estimating unit for acquiring information about a driving history and for estimating a destination from the information about the driving history acquired;

a drawing decision changing unit for drawing a destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit in a form different from an icon of a non-destination candidate;

an information display unit for causing the icon drawn by the drawing decision changing unit to be displayed; and

a voice recognition processing unit for recognizing a voice uttered, wherein

the destination estimating unit estimates a destination from the information about the driving history acquired and from a word recognized by the voice recognition processing unit.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit differentiates at least one of size, a state with or without color, color strength and transparency of display of an icon of the destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit from the icon of the non-destination candidate, thereby highlighting the icon of the destination candidate or non-highlighting the icon of the non-destination candidate.

3. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the destination estimating unit estimates the destination using information about the driving history including an everyday driving state of a driver, vehicle information and discrimination decision information.

4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit draws, when the destination estimated by the destination estimating unit has update information, the icon of the destination candidate with a mark indicating that.

5. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit acquires, from outside at regular intervals, weather information, bargain information, price information of a gasoline station, bargain information including coupon information of a restaurant and road information including traffic jam information to the destination candidate, and draws them with the destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit.

6. The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a voice output unit for outputting, when the destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit is displayed, voice guidance for indicating that.

7. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit draws a straight line connecting the destination candidate estimated by the destination estimating unit with the present location.

8. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the destination estimating unit gives priority to the destination candidates estimated in ascending order of a distance or in descending order of a frequency;

and

the drawing decision changing unit draws the straight line while varying at least one of a type, thickness, color and display or not of the straight line in accordance with the priority given by the destination estimating unit.

9. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit, when a plurality of destination candidates are estimated by the destination estimating unit, gives priority to icons of the destination candidates in accordance with a frequency or probability, and draws an icon with higher priority with greater emphasis and draws, when the icons overlap, an icon with higher priority in a manner to come frontward.

11. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the destination estimating unit assigns higher priority to the destination candidate corresponding to the word which is recognized by the voice recognition processing unit by a prescribed number of times or more.

12. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the destination estimating unit, when a word recognized by the voice recognition processing unit varies, eliminates an old destination candidate estimated and adds the newly recognized word as a new destination candidate.

13. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the drawing decision changing unit draws as the icon of the destination candidate an icon of the destination candidate estimated using a word recognized by the voice recognition processing unit or an icon of the destination candidate estimated using the information about the driving history.

10. (canceled)