Navigation device

• US 7,103,474 B1
• Filed: 06/08/2000
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Ueno, Kiyoko, Asahara, Tomoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US10/030,689
• Time in Patent Office: 2,280 Days
• Field of Search: 701/210, 701/117, 701/200, 701/209, 701/201, 701/208, 701/211, 340/995.19, 340/995.21, 340/905
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries

Abstract

A bypass setting for a section connecting arbitrary guide points is received by a bypass setting receiving section 6 and a route to a destination is re-searched by a route searching means 3 in accordance with the set result.

Claims

1. A navigation device, comprising:

a route searching means which, when at anytime requested by a user, searches an entire route to a destination when the destination is set,

a list-display means which lists and displays guide points on the entire route searched by the route searching means,

a receiving means which, upon designating at least two of said guide points, receives a bypass setting for a section connecting the at least two guide points when the list-display means lists and displays the guide points on the entire route, and

a storage means which stores the bypass setting received by the receiving means, and wherein when said route searching means searches the entire route to the destination, said route searching means refers to the bypass settings stored in the storage means;

wherein when said receiving means receives the bypass setting for the section connecting the at least two guide points, said route searching means re-searches the route to the destination in accordance with the setting result and said display means displays an updated list of guide points based on the researched route.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein said receiving means receives a bypass setting for an arbitrary guide point.

3. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising a modification means which receives modifications on the bypass settings while indicating the bypass settings stored in the storage means.

4. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein said modification means indicates the bypass settings stored in the storage means before the route searching means searches the entire route to the destination.

5. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein said storage means stores the bypass setting to which a bypass time and date are added.

6. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the list display means lists for each guide point a distance between each guide point, a symbol indicating traffic characteristics at each guide point, and an identification of each guide point.

7. A method for searching a route in a navigation device, comprising:

inputting entire route information in the navigation device at anytime by a user;

searching an optimal route based on map data stored in a map database and the inputted entire route information;

retrieving from the map database one or more guide points associated with the optimal route;

listing the one or more guide points on a display;

determining by the user whether to select a bypass setting based on the listed guide points, the bypass setting indicating which guide points should be bypassed;

performing an updated search of the optimal route based on the bypass setting;

storing a selected bypass setting in a memory for retrieval during route searching; and

displaying an updated list of guide points based on the updated optimal route.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein one or more sections of the optimal route defined by the guide points may be bypassed.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing a date and time stamp for each stored bypass setting.

10. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

an operation key by which a destination is set at anytime by a user;

a map database that stores map data;

a route searcher operatively connected to the map database and the operation key, the route searcher determining an optimal route based on the destination set by the user from the stored map data from the map database;

a display operatively connected to the route searcher, the display displaying a list of guide points located on the entirety of the optimal route; and

a bypass receiver operatively connected to the route searcher and said operation key, the bypass receiver receiving a bypass setting based on a user selection of one or more guide points to bypass; and

a bypass storage device operatively connected to said route searcher that stores the bypass setting for retrieval by said route searcher during route searching;

said route searcher performing an updated search of the optimal route based on the bypass setting and provides the updated optimal route to said display, where said display displays an updated list of guide points based in the updated optimal route.