Navigation system for movable body

• US 5,089,826 A
• Filed: 10/22/1990
• Issued: 02/18/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Osamu, Naito, Norihiro, Yokouchi, Kazuhiro, Hirasa, Yoshiaki, Yano, Haruto, Tokunaga, Toshimichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US07/601,122
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• Field of Search: 342/457, 342/357, 364/449, 340/995
• US Class Current: 342/457
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A navigation system for a movable body wherein a map to be displayed on a screen can be selected freely in accordance with a request of an operator and, when an initial map displayed is restored, the operator can find out a current position of the movable body readily. The navigation system comprises a memory in which map data are stored, a position detector for detecting a current position of the movable body, and a display unit having a screen on which a map based on part of the map data and a current position mark based on a current position from the position detector are normally displayed on the screen. When an operator wants to see an adjacent portion contiguous to the map displayed, one of four scroll key patterns displayed on the screen is selectively touched to cause the map and current position mark on the screen to be scrolled. If a map returning pattern displayed on the screen is touched, the initial map is restored and the current position mark is displayed in position on the map. If the current position mark is out of position then, a correction pattern on the screen is touched to cause the current position mark to be displayed in position on the map.

Claims

1. A navigation system for a movable body, comprising map storage means in which map data representative of a map of a predetermined area are stored, position detecting means for detecting a current position of said movable body with respect to the map, a display unit having a screen, map current position display means for causing a map based on map data read out from said map storage means and a current position mark indicative of a detected position of said movable body from said position detecting means to be displayed on said screen of said display unit, partial map display means for reading out part of the map data from said map storage means and causing said displaying means to display a partial map corresponding to the part of the map data on said screen of said display unit, map scrolling means operable in response to a map scrolling instruction signal arbitrarily transmitted thereto for reading out map data corresponding to a region adjacent to the partial map from said map storage means and causing the adjacent region to be displayed on said screen of said display unit to scroll the map on said screen of said display unit and also for moving said current position mark together with the map on said screen, correction position mark displaying means for causing a correction position mark for the current position mark to be displayed substantially at the center of said screen of said display unit after starting of scrolling movement of the map by operation of said map scrolling means, map returning means operable in response to a returning instruction signal arbitrarily transmitted thereto for returning the map and the current position mark scrolled by said map scrolling means to the respective initial positions on said screen of said display unit at which said movable body is present, and current position mark correcting means operable in response to a correcting instruction signal arbitrarily transmitted thereto for moving the scrolled current position mark to the position of the correction position mark with respect to the map scrolled by said map scrolling means.