Navigation apparatus for vehicle

• US 7,457,704 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2004
• Issued: 11/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Kensuke, Mikame, Masami, Yasuda, Takashi, Suzuki, Hidenobu, Inayoshi, Hiromichi
• Primary Examiner(s): To; Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US10/893,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20050049779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/208, 701/207, 701/212, 701/209, 701/201, 340/995.15, 340/995.19, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995.1, 340/995.17, 340/995.18, 715/702
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance

Abstract

A vehicle navigation apparatus displays an expressway guide diagram indicating the names of plural exits at which a travelling vehicle can exit an expressway and the distance and estimated arrival time to each of the exits. The expressway guide diagram includes a map display for indicating a display of a surrounding-area map of an exit. When the map display is operated, the display scale of the surrounding-area map is determined so as to contain a predetermined number of representative facilities, and the surrounding-area map is displayed on a display device according to the display scale. Therefore, with respect to each exit at which the vehicle can get off the expressway, a map based on the proper display scale corresponding to the positional relationship between each exit and facilities can be displayed.

Claims

1. A vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a current position detecting unit that detects a current position of a vehicle that has the vehicle navigation apparatus;

a storage unit that stores

map data of surrounding areas of exits from a travel route of the vehicle and

information on the exits of the travel route;

a control circuit, wherein the control circuit

obtains, from the storage unit, information regarding an upcoming exit among the exits of the travel route on the basis of the current position detected by the current position detecting unit, wherein the control circuit displays the information thus obtained on the display device; and

displays a surrounding area map of an area around the upcoming exit and determines a display scale of the surrounding area map such that a predetermined number of facilities is included in the surrounding area map; and

an instruction operating unit through which a user of the vehicle navigation apparatus instructs displaying of the surrounding-area map, wherein;

the control circuit displays the surrounding-area map on the display device according to the display scale in such a manner that the upcoming exit is located substantially at the center of the display device when the surrounding-area map is instructed to be displayed by the instruction operating unit; and

when the upcoming exit includes a plurality of exit points, the control circuit displays the surrounding-area map in such a manner that the center-of-gravity position of the plurality of exit points is located substantially at the center of the surrounding-area map displayed on the display device.

2. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit sets plural display scales as the display scale for a surrounding-area map in advance and displays the surrounding-area map in the minimum display scale so as to include the predetermined number of facilities by judging whether the surrounding-area map of each display scale includes the predetermined number of facilities while successively changing the display scale of the surrounding-area map in increasing order of display scale.

3. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit sets the maximum display scale of the surrounding-area map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range and displays the surrounding-area map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

4. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when no facility is included in the surrounding-area map of the maximum display scale, the control circuit displays a surrounding-area map of a larger display scale.

5. The above vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit displays the names of plural exits and the distance/time needed for the vehicle to arrive at each exit as information on possible exit choices defined as exits at which the vehicle can get off the travel route.

6. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a selecting unit for selecting the name of one exit from the names of plural exits, wherein the control circuit further displays, as the information on the possible exit choices, categories of facilities existing around the exit selected by the selecting unit.

7. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of facilities to be contained in the surrounding-area map can be set.

8. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the categories of facilities to be contained in the surrounding-area map can be set.

9. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit sets plural display scales as the display scale for a surrounding-area map in advance and displays the surrounding-area map in the minimum display scale so as to include a predetermined number of facilities by judging whether the surrounding-area map of each display scale includes the predetermined number of facilities while successively changing the display scale of the surrounding-area map in increasing order of display scale.

10. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control circuit sets the maximum display scale of the surrounding-area map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range, and displays the surrounding-area map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

11. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when no facility is included in the surrounding-area map of the maximum display scale, the control circuit displays a surrounding-area map of a larger display scale.

12. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exits are exits of an expressway, on which the vehicle currently travels.

13. A vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a current position detecting unit that detects a current position of a vehicle that has the vehicle navigation apparatus;

a storage unit that stores map data of surrounding areas of exits from a travel route of the vehicle and information on the exits of the travel route;

a control circuit, wherein the control circuit

obtains, from the storage unit, information regarding an upcoming exit among the exits of the travel route on the basis of the current position detected by the current position detecting unit, wherein the control circuit further displays the information thus obtained on the display device; and

displays a surrounding area map of an area around the upcoming exit and determines a display scale of the surrounding area map such that a predetermined number of facilities is included; and

an instruction operating unit through which a user of the vehicle navigation apparatus instructs displaying of the surrounding-area map, wherein;

the control circuit displays the surrounding-area map on the display device according to the display scale when the surrounding-area map is instructed to be displayed by the instruction operating unit; and

the control circuit sets the maximum display scale of the surrounding-area map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range and displays the surrounding-area map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

14. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a display device; and

a controller that displays a scalable map, which includes a preselected geographic location, on the display device, wherein;

the controller preselects a scale of the map to be displayed from a plurality of display scales and determines whether at least one facility of a preselected category of facilities is included in the map at the preselected scale;

if the controller determines that the at least one facility is included in the map at the preselected scale, the controller selects the pre-selected scale as a selected display scale and displays the map at the selected display scale;

the preselected geographic location is an upcoming exit of an expressway, on which a vehicle that has the navigation apparatus currently travels; and

the controller sets the maximum display scale of the map so that plural exits are not simultaneously included in a display range, and displays the map in a display scale smaller than the maximum display scale.

15. The navigation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the controller selects a most detailed map, which includes the at least one facility, as the displayed map.

16. The navigation apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a means for notifying a user of a plurality of displayable facility categories and for receiving an input of a user, which specifies the at least one preselected category of facilities among the plurality of displayable facility categories.