Guiding spot display apparatus

• US 4,761,742 A
• Filed: 04/25/1986
• Issued: 08/02/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd. (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd. (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamagishi, Nobutoshi, Ito, Kenzo, Hanabusa, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US06/856,157
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 364/424, 364/443, 364/449, 364/460, 364/521, 364/522, 73/178 R, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 342/450-452
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence

Abstract

A guiding spot display apparatus displays a number of guiding spots for providing various guiding information on a road map. The apparatus includes a storage medium for storing a plurality of guiding spot data each being assigned a plurality of priorities and corresponding to one of a plurality of guiding classifications, a display selecting device for generating a display signal indicative of the classification of the guiding spots to be displayed, a control unit responsive to the selection signal to successively input from the storage medium the corresponding guiding spot data starting from the one having the highest priority and generate a display signal for displaying the data, and a display responsive to the display signal to display the selected guiding spots on the road map. Thus, the degree of the freedom in the display of guiding spots is improved and the apparatus is well suited for use in a wide range of guiding information application.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying a plurality of guiding spots on a road map, comprising:

display means for displaying a map of a predetermined area;

storage means for storing first guiding spot data corresponding to a first guiding classification, each of said first guiding spot data being assigned a priority, and for storing second guiding spot data corresponding to a second guiding classification, each of said second guiding spot data being assigned a priority;

classification selecting means for selecting one of said first guiding classification and said second guiding classification;

designating means for entering a designation related to the number of guiding spots to be displayed; and

display control means for reading guiding spot data from said storage means corresponding to the guiding classification selected by said classification selecting means and for displaying said guiding spots in accordance with said guiding spot data on said map displayed by said display means, a number of guiding spots displayed corresponding to said designation by said designating means, said guiding spots being displayed in order of priority such that a higher priority guiding spot is displayed before a lower priority guiding spot.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second guiding spot data comprise coordinate data representing positions on the map respectively corresponding to guiding spots, and

said display control means includes means for displaying the guiding spots respectively corresponding to positions on the map displayed by said display means in accordance with said coordinate data.

3. An apparatus for displaying a map with guiding spots, comprising:

storage means for storing a plurality of guiding spot data, said data grouped into a plurality of classifications, and data within each said classification being prioritized in an order of highest priority to lowest priority;

operating means for selecting;

(a) a designation related to the number of guiding spots to be displayed; and

(b) one of said plurality of classifications;

display control means, coupled to said storage means and to said operating means, for;

(a) receiving an indication indicative of said one classification, and a display number indicative of a number of guiding spots to be displayed based upon said designation,

(b) accessing said storage means to read said display number of guiding spot data from said one classification in order of highest priority data to lower priority data, so that said display number of data read are the highest priority data in said storage means, and

(c) producing a display indicative of said guiding spot data read; and

display means, coupled to said display control means, for displaying a map and for displaying said display produced by said display control means superposed on said map.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said guiding spot data is prioritized by its order of writing into said storage means.

5. An apparatus as in claim 3, further comprising priority indicative information being written into said storage means.