Route guidance apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A route guidance apparatus for displaying a heading direction guidance image on a display unit when a moving body enters a roundabout having a plurality of branching routes extending from the roundabout, the moving body taking a first route of the plurality of branching routes to enter the roundabout and a second route of the plurality of branching routes to exit the roundabout, the apparatus comprising:
- a link data extractor for extracting link data of the roundabout from road map data;
a calculator for determining an angle between the first and second routes based on the link data as an exiting angle of the roundabout; and
an image generator for preparing a first image showing a direction of the exiting angle as the heading direction guidance image.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
When a moving body (e.g., a car) is entering a roundabout, a navigation machine extracts link data of the roundabout from road map data. The navigation machine detects a route entering the roundabout (i.e., a route the moving body is currently taking), a center of the roundabout, and an exiting route based on the link data to determine an angle of the exiting route with respect to the entering route. A direction mark having the exiting route angle is prepared as a heading direction guidance image. The navigation machine can show an appropriate route (direction) at the roundabout without increasing the amount of stored image data.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A route guidance apparatus for displaying a heading direction guidance image on a display unit when a moving body enters a roundabout having a plurality of branching routes extending from the roundabout, the moving body taking a first route of the plurality of branching routes to enter the roundabout and a second route of the plurality of branching routes to exit the roundabout, the apparatus comprising:
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a link data extractor for extracting link data of the roundabout from road map data;
a calculator for determining an angle between the first and second routes based on the link data as an exiting angle of the roundabout; and
an image generator for preparing a first image showing a direction of the exiting angle as the heading direction guidance image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A route guidance method for displaying a heading direction guidance image on a display unit when a moving body enters a roundabout having a plurality of branching routes extending from the roundabout, the moving body taking a first route of the plurality of branching routes to enter the roundabout and a second route of the plurality of branching routes to exit the roundabout, the method comprising:
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extracting link data of the roundabout from road map data;
calculating an angle between the first and second routes based on the link data as an exiting angle of the roundabout; and
preparing a first image showing a direction of the exiting angle as the heading direction guidance image. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A navigation apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
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a data storage for storing road map data;
a detector for determining a current location of the vehicle;
a display unit for displaying a road map of a certain area including the current location of the vehicle, data of the road map of the certain area being retrieved from the road map data;
a car mark generator for superposing a car mark at the current location of the vehicle on the displayed road map;
a data extractor for extracting data of a roundabout having a plurality of branching routes extending from the roundabout from the road map data when the vehicle enters the roundabout, the vehicle taking a first route of the plurality of branching routes to enter the roundabout and a second route of the plurality of branching routes to exit the roundabout;
a calculator for determining an angle between the first and second routes based on the data of the roundabout;
an image generator for preparing a first image showing a direction of the angle; and
a controller for superposing the first image over the displayed road map. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A guidance image generation method for a vehicle, comprising:
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detecting a current location of the vehicle;
extracting data about a roundabout from a road map data;
determining an entering route to the roundabout and an exiting route from the roundabout, based on the current location of the vehicle and the data about the roundabout;
determining an angle between the entering route and the exiting route as an exiting angle of the roundabout; and
preparing an image showing a direction of the exiting angle as the guidance image. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification