Vehicle navigation apparatus and program

• US 7,031,831 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2002
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Kunihiro, Nimura, Mitsuhiro, Masuda, Hiroyoshi, Kaji, Takanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US10/473,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20040102899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701 25- 26, 701200-202, 701/204, 701208-211
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

A vehicle navigation apparatus for searching for a route from an inputted place of departure to an inputted destination and performing guide, the apparatus comprising: a registration unit for associating a traveled route with a place of departure and a destination and thus registering the traveled route; a judgment unit for judging whether the same place of departure and destination as a place of departure and a destination of a registered route are inputted or not; a route search unit for reading out information of the registered route when it is judged by the judgment unit that the same place of departure and destination are inputted, and lowering weighting in searching for the route so as to search for the route; and a control unit for performing guide of the route found by the search by the route search unit. Thus, route guide preferred by a user can be performed.

Claims

1. A vehicle navigation apparatus for searching for a route from an inputted place of departure to an inputted destination and performing guidance, the apparatus comprising:

a controller that;

registers a traveled route by associating a traveled route with a place of departure and a destination;

judges whether the inputted place of departure and the inputted destination are the same as a respective place of departure and destination of a registered route;

searches, if it is judged that a registered route has the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination, for a route by reading out information of the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination and lowering a search weight for the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination; and

performs guidance based on a route found by the search.

2. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a current position detector and a vehicle speed detector,

wherein if it is judged that a destination has been reached from information detected by the current position detector and/or the vehicle speed detector, the controller determines whether to update a currently registered route with a traveled route, and if the controller has determined to update the route, the controller updates and registers the route.

3. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller updates and registers the shortest recorded travel time for each registered route between the same place of departure and the same destination.

4. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the vehicle travels off a guide route, the controller performs a search for a route that would return the vehicle to the guide route.

6. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller records the travel time between the place of departure and the destination of the traveled route and interrupts timing while the engine of the vehicle is stopped.

7. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller records the travel time between the place of departure and the destination of the traveled route and interrupts timing while the engine of the vehicle is stopped.

8. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller records the travel time between the place of departure and the destination of the traveled route and interrupts timing after a predetermined amount of time that the vehicle has stopped.

9. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller subtracts the predetermined amount of time from the recorded travel time.

10. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller records the travel time between the place of departure and the destination of the traveled route and interrupts timing after a predetermined amount of time that the vehicle has stopped.

11. The vehicle navigation apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the controller subtracts the predetermined amount of time from the recorded travel time.

5. A method for searching for a route from an inputted place of departure to an inputted destination, comprising:

registering a traveled route by associating a traveled route with a place of departure and a destination;

judging whether the inputted place of departure and the inputted destination are the same as a respective place of departure and destination of a registered route;

searching, if it is judged that a registered route has the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination, for a route by reading out information of the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination, and lowering a search weight for the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination; and

performing guidance based on a route found by the search.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the method steps are embodied within a program stored in a memory.

13. A vehicle navigation apparatus for searching for a route from an inputted place of departure to an inputted destination and performing guidance, the apparatus comprising:

a registration means for registering a traveled route by associating a traveled route with a place of departure and a destination;

a judgment means for judging whether the inputted place of departure and the inputted destination are the same as a respective place of departure and destination of a registered route;

a search means for, if it is judged that a registered route has the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination, searching for a route by reading out information of the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination and lowering a search weight for the registered route with the same place of departure and same place of destination as the respective inputted place of departure and inputted destination; and

a guidance means for performing guidance based on a route found by the search.