Navigation apparatus

• US 6,549,847 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 04/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimotani, Mitsuo, Umezu, Masaharu, Mikuriya, Makoto, Ikeuchi, Tomoya
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIPALA, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US09/995,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20020082773A1
• Time in Patent Office: 502 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/206, 701/207, 701/208, 701/210, 701/211
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3859 Differential updating map data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B

Abstract

A navigation apparatus includes a map database that records map data in a fixed storage medium, a map data read section for reading map data from the map database, and a navigation section for detecting the location of local apparatus, calculating a route to a destination specified by the user, and giving guidance to the destination according to the route, a map information acquisition section for acquiring map information from outside the navigation apparatus, and a map information update section for updating the map database with the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section. The navigation section includes an emphasis display section that displays updated data detected in a difference data detecting section, in an emphasized way, and an emphasis voice guidance section that emphasizes the data detected in the difference data detecting section.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map database that records map data in a fixed storage medium;

a map data read section for reading the map data from the map database;

a navigation section for detecting the location of a local apparatus, calculating a route to a destination specified by a user, and giving guidance to the destination according to the route;

a map information acquisition section for acquiring map information from outside the navigation apparatus;

a map information update section for updating the map database with the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section, wherein the map information update section comprises a difference data detecting section for detecting modified data as the difference between the map data read by the map data read section and the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section;

a map information merging section for merging map data read by the map data read section and map information acquired by the map information acquisition section to generate updated map data, wherein the navigation section comprises an emphasis display section for displaying the modified data detected in the difference data detecting section in an emphasized way such that displayed map data read by the map data read section is distinguishable from displayed map information acquired by the map information acquisition section; and

an emphasis voice guidance section providing emphasized guidance of the modified data detected in the difference data detecting section.

2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map information acquisition section comprises:

an acquirable information presenting section for presenting to the user acquirable map information that is acquirable from outside the navigation apparatus; and

a target information selecting section for selecting target map information from the acquirable map information presented to the user.

3. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map information acquisition section comprises a target information specification section for specifying target map information to be acquired from outside the navigation apparatus.

4. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map information acquisition section comprises a target information unspecification section for canceling a user specification in order to limit target information to a geographical area necessary for a route search and maintaining the specification canceled by the user when information on the geographical area for which the specification has been canceled is subsequently acquired.

5. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an emphasis management section for managing emphasis display and emphasis voice guidance, comprising:

an emphasis start determination section for determining timing of starting of at least one of emphasis display and emphasis voice guidance;

an emphasis display end determination section for determining timing of ending of emphasis display; and

an emphasis display level determination section for determining emphasis level of each item to be displayed emphatically.

6. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an emphasis management section for managing emphasis display and emphasis voice guidance comprising an emphasis unit determination section for determining whether to emphasize emphasis unit information including items preselected by the user and data corresponding to the emphasis unit information.

7. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an emphasis management section for managing emphasis, wherein

the navigation section comprises a map data usage characteristics learning section for learning map data usage characteristics of the user, and

the emphasis management section comprises an emphasis detail level determination section for determining detail level of contents to be displayed emphatically or to undergo emphasis voice guidance in accordance with the map data usage characteristics learned by the map data usage characteristics learning section.

8. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an emphasis management section for managing emphasis, wherein the emphasis management section comprises a period information detecting section for detecting period information when period information is included in the difference data detected in the difference data detecting section and including a period emphasis instructing section for instructing the emphasis display section or the emphasis voice guidance section to provide period emphasis according to the period described in the period information detected by the period information detecting section.

9. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an emphasis management section for managing emphasis comprising an emphasis characteristics learning section for learning emphasis characteristics of the user.

10. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emphasis display section, recognizing an item to be displayed emphatically, emphasizes the item in a way different from emphasis of items currently displayed emphatically.

11. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the difference data detecting section comprises a difference area calculating section for calculating a geographical area where difference data is present and

the emphasis display section shows that difference data is present in lower-layer map data when the geographical area is in the lower-layer map data of the map data displayed.

12. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map database that records map data in a fixed storage medium;

a map data read section for reading the map data from the map database;

a navigation section for detecting the location of a local apparatus, calculating a route to a destination specified by a user, and giving guidance to the destination according to the route;

a map information acquisition section for acquiring map information from outside the navigation apparatus;

a map information update section for updating the map database with the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section, wherein the map information update section comprises a difference data detecting section for detecting modified data as the difference between the map data read by the map data read section and the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section; and

a map information merging section for merging map data read by the map data read section and map information acquired by the map information acquisition section to generate updated map data, wherein the navigation section comprises an emphasis display section for displaying the modified data detected in the difference data detecting section in an emphasized way such that displayed map data read by the map data read section is distinguishable from displayed map information acquired by the map information acquisition section.

13. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map database that records map data in a fixed storage medium;

a map data read section for reading the map data from the map database;

a navigation section for detecting the location of a local apparatus, calculating a route to a destination specified by a user, and giving guidance to the destination according to the route;

a map information acquisition section for acquiring map information from outside the navigation apparatus;

a map information update section for updating the map database with the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section, wherein the map information update section comprises a difference data detecting section for detecting modified data as the difference between the map data read by the map data read section and the map information acquired by the map information acquisition section; and

a map information merging section for merging map data read by the map data read section and map information acquired by the map information acquisition section to generate updated map data, wherein the navigation section comprises an emphasis voice guidance section for providing emphasized voice guidance of the modified data detected in the difference data detecting section.