Motor vehicle navigation system

• US 6,430,502 B1
• Filed: 02/14/2000
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Lopez, Robert, Cros, Gilles, Pournain, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US09/485,808
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 701/211, 701/212, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

The present invention relates to a motor vehicle navigation method and system (10). More specifically, this system comprises a central navigation computation unit (11) equipped with a memory (12) containing the topography of a predetermined zone, and a device (13) for locating the vehicle. The central unit (11) is associated with a voice-guidance device (15) and a screen (14) operating in a mode known as “normal guidance” mode, in which at least one direction pictogram is displayed on the screen to indicate the major maneuvers which have presently to be reproduced by the driver. The system according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a control (16) designed to make the voice-guidance device (15) and/or the screen (14) operate in a temporarily enhanced guidance mode, in which at least one voice message and/or one direction pictogram reproduces the topography, as stored, of the area for which enhanced guidance has been requested, said enhanced guidance pictogram and/or the associated voice message being obtained by temporary modification of the filtering applied to the stored topographical data.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle navigation system, comprising:

a central navigation computation unit equipped with a memory storing topographical data representing an actual topography of a predetermined zone;

a device for locating a vehicle in which said central navigation computation unit is disposed;

a user interface device selected from the group consisting of a voice guidance device and a screen connected to said central navigation computation unit and operating in a “

normal guidance”

mode, wherein a direction pictogram is displayed on the screen to indicate major maneuvers to be reproduced by an operator of the vehicle;

a control device for causing said user interface device to operate in a temporarily enhanced guidance mode, wherein said user interface device represents the topography, as stored in said memory, of an area for which enhanced guidance has been requested, obtained by temporary modifications of a filtering applied to the stored topographical data.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said user interface device, in the enhanced guidance mode, produces at least one message selected from the group consisting of a voice message and a direction pictogram reproducing the topography with a filtering varied relative to a filtering during the normal guidance mode.

3. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said central computation unit is programmed, after an actuation of said control device, to authorize switching to said enhanced guidance mode if there is a difference between a direction indicated by the said normal guidance mode and the stored topography of the area.

4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said central computation unit is programmed to switch the navigation system back to said normal guidance mode when the vehicle has passed the point for which said enhanced guidance was requested.

5. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said control device is associated with a time delay and said central computation unit is programmed to switch the navigation system back to said normal guidance mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since the system switched to said enhanced guidance mode.

6. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said control device is a push-button placed near a steering wheel of the vehicle.

7. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein said control device is a voice-activated control device.

8. A navigation method performed with the navigation system according to claim 1, the method which comprises:

filtering the data representing the topography in said “

normal guidance”

mode and selectively;

displaying on the screen pictograms indicating the major maneuvers to be performed by the operator of the vehicle; and

issuing corresponding guidance instructions with a voice-guidance device;

when an operator of the vehicle detects an ambiguity;

modifying the filtering, temporarily, to switch into said “

enhanced guidance”

mode, in which the information contained in the stored topography is delivered to the driver using a second type of filtering.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the modifying step comprises reducing a degree of filtering.