Navigation system

• US 7,733,244 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2007
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Asada, Hiroshige
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thompson; Bradley E
• Application Number:
  US11/724,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20070233370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995.1, 701/211, 382/106
• US Class Current: 340/995.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3602 Input other than that of destination using image analysis, e.g. detection of road signs, lanes, buildings, real preceding vehicles using a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams

Abstract

A navigation system having a camera captures a front view image for guiding a driver of a vehicle to a destination. A portion of the front view image is identified as a destination image area, and the destination image area is marked by an arrow based on a processing in the navigation system. Then, the front view image with destination marking is displayed on a monitor for guiding the driver.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus for providing a navigation route toward a destination for a vehicle comprising:

a camera for capturing an image of a front view of the vehicle;

a monitor for displaying the image of the front view of the vehicle;

a position detector for detecting a current position of the vehicle;

a direction sensor for sensing an imaging direction of the camera;

a destination position setting unit for specifying a destination image section in correspondence to the destination in the image of the front view captured by the camera, wherein the camera aims in the imaging direction sensed by the direction sensor;

a processing unit for processing the image of the front view for viewing on the monitor to add a graphic effect indicative of the destination position to the image of the front view;

a map guidance unit for displaying on the monitor a map image that represents the current position on a map around the current position in association to the navigation route; and

a closeness detection unit for detecting closeness from the current position to the destination,

wherein the processing unit switches the map image displayed by the map guidance on the monitor to the image of the front view being processed by the processing unit when the closeness detected by the closeness detection unit meets a certain criterion that determines that the vehicle is close to the destination.

2. The navigation apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein the closeness detection unit uses a predetermined distance as the criterion of closeness.

3. The navigation apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein the closeness detection unit uses a condition that a road between the current position and the destination is straight as the criterion of closeness.

4. A navigation apparatus for use in a vehicle comprising:

a position detector for detecting a current position of the vehicle;

a destination determiner for determining a destination of a navigation route;

a camera for capturing an image of a front view of the vehicle;

a monitor for displaying the image of the front view of the vehicle;

an angle memory for storing a view angle of the camera;

a direction sensor for sensing an imaging direction of the camera;

a destination position setting unit for specifying a destination position in the image of the front view captured by the camera, wherein the camera aims in the imaging direction sensed by the direction sensor with the view angle stored in the angle memory;

a processing unit for processing the image of the front view for viewing on the monitor to add a graphic effect indicative of the destination position to the image of the front view;

a map guidance unit for providing route navigation by outputting a map with the current position of the vehicle superposed thereon to the monitor;

a closeness determination unit for determining closeness of the current position to the destination; and

a switch unit for switching the map provided by the map guidance unit to the image processed by the first processing unit based on the closeness determined by the closeness determination unit.

5. The navigation apparatus as in claim 4,

wherein the closeness determination unit uses a predetermined distance value as a criterion for determining the closeness of the current position to the destination.

6. The navigation apparatus as in claim 4 further comprising:

a map storage unit for storing map information that includes road position information,

the closeness determination unit determine the closeness of the current position to the destination on a condition that the destination is viewable in the image of the front view captured by the camera in the view angle stored in the angle memory in addition to a condition that the current position and the destination are interposed only by the nearby road based on the road position determined by the road positioning units.