NAVIGATION APPARATUS

• US 20150025802A1
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Published: 01/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: KATO, Seiji
• Granted Patent: US 9,222,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/532
• 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 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3819 Road shape data, e.g. outline of a route

Abstract

A navigation apparatus includes a control unit for determining whether an approach route to a branch point, which is a route guidance object, and an exit route from the branch point correspond to a learned road link of a learned road data. The control unit provides a normal guidance, instructing a progress direction guidance for the branch point, when none of the approach and exit routes is determined to correspond to a learned road link. Alternatively, the control unit provides a learned road guidance, which is different from the normal guidance, when at least one of the approach route and the exit route is determined to correspond to a learned road link, where the learned road guidance reflects the learned road link in the route guidance.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus using ready-made map data and learned road data for providing route guidance during a travel of a subject vehicle, the learned road data including information regarding a learned road link, the learned road link being a road that is not included as an existing road link stored in the ready-made map data and being detected by a learned road detector, the navigation apparatus comprising:

a branch classification unit determining whether an approach route to a branch point and an exit route from the branch point respectively correspond to a learned road link in the learned road data; and

a route guide unit providing one of an existing road branch guidance and a learned road branch guidance being different from the existing road branch guidance, wherein

the existing road branch guidance provides a progress direction at the branch point by using only the existing road link of the ready-made map data when the branch classification unit determines that both the approach route to the branch point and the exit route from the branch point do not correspond to a learned road link, and

the learned road branch guidance provides guidance information reflecting the learned road link of the learned road data, when the branch classification unit determines that at least one of the approach route to the branch point and the exit route from the branch point corresponds to the learned road link.

2. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the route guide unit provides the learned road branch guidance in a first mode or a second mode when the branch classification unit determines that the approach route corresponds to the learned road link of the learned road data and the exit route does not correspond to the learned road link, the first mode does not provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point, and the second mode provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point and an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link.

3. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the route guide unit provides the learned road branch guidance in a first mode or a second mode when the branch classification unit determines that the approach route does not correspond to the learned road link and the exit route corresponds to the learned road link, the first mode provides an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link, and the second mode provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point and the attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link.

4. The navigation apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a return unit determining whether a return point of the subject vehicle returning to a guidance route corresponds to the learned road link of the learned road data, when the subject vehicle returns from an off-route position of the guidance route to an on-route position of the guidance route, wherein

the route guide unit provides guidance that presents an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link, when the return unit determines that the return point corresponds to the learned road link of the learned road data.

5. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the route guide unit provides the learned road branch guidance in a first mode or a second mode when the branch classification unit determines that the approach route and the exit route respectively correspond to learned road links of the learned road data, the first mode does not provide the progress direction instruction for the branch point, and the second mode provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point and an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link.

6. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the learned road detector generates a supplemental link as a new link extending along a base existing road link from one end of the learned road link to each of both ends of the base existing road link, and

the route guide unit provides the learned road branch guidance in a first mode or a second mode when the branch classification unit determines that the approach route corresponds to the supplement link and the exit route corresponds to the learned road link, the first mode provides an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link, and the second mode provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point and the attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link.

7. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the learned road detector generates as a supplemental link a new link that extends along a base link from one end of the learned road link to each of both ends of the base link, the one end of the learned road link existing on a base link side of the learned road link and the base link being the existing road link, and

the route guide unit provides the learned road branch guidance in a first mode or a second mode when the branch classification unit determines that the approach route corresponds to the supplement link and the exit route does not correspond to the learned road link, the first mode does not provide the progress direction instruction for the branch point, and the second mode provides the progress direction instruction for the branch point and an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link.

8. The navigation apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a successive branch guidance unit determining whether a distance from a first branch point of a route guidance object to a second branch point of a subsequent route guidance object is within a predetermined distance, and whether the exit route from the second branch point corresponds to the learned road link of the learned road data, wherein

the route guide unit presents an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link that is the exit route from the second branch point with a provision of the branch guidance for the first branch point when the successive branch guidance unit determines that the second branch point is within the predetermined distance from the first branch point and the exit route from the second branch point corresponds to the learned road link.

9. The navigation apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a guide request unit receiving an instruction for providing at a user-specified timing a route guidance for a route guidance object, the route guidance object being on the guidance route and in proximity to a current position of the subject vehicle, wherein

the route guide unit provides the route guidance for the branch point on the guidance route that is closest to the current position of the subject vehicle based on a determination result by the branch classification unit, when the guide request unit receives the instruction for providing the route guidance.

10. The navigation apparatus of claim 9, wherein

the route guide unit provides an attention calling message regarding travel along the learned road link when the guide request unit receives the instruction for providing the route guidance and the current position of the subject vehicle is on the learned road link.

11. The navigation apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a message consolidation unit determining whether additional route guidance information should be provided at a presentation timing, the presentation time being the time at which an attention calling message regarding travel along a learned road link is to be provided, wherein

the route guide unit provides the additional route guidance information after providing the attention calling message, when the message consolidation unit determines that additional route guidance information should be provided at the presentation timing.