Navigation apparatus and navigation program

• US 8,370,059 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2008
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Takamitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): MANCHO, RONNIE M
• Application Number:
  US12/219,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20090043493A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,650 Days
• Field of Search: 701/211, 701/209, 701/400, 701/428, 340/995.2, 340/438, 340/461, 345/349, 345/970, 345/620, 345/623, 345/629, 345/638, 345/637, 345/619, 345/625, 348/333.01, 348/333.05
• US Class Current: 701/428
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names

Abstract

A display is divided into two regions, a standard region and an enlarged region with a user positioned is at an angle relative to the display. The standard region is formed on a side nearer the user and the enlarged region is formed on a side farther from the user. When the navigation device displays guidance information, information displayed in the standard region is displayed on a standard scale, while information displayed in the enlarged region is displayed enlarged relative to the standard scale. Since the display on the side farther from the user position is thus enlarged, the user can more easily view that guidance information.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a display unit that displays items of guidance information, the items of guidance information being respectively displayed in separate display spaces on a display screen of the display unit;

a guidance information acquisition unit that obtains the guidance information; and

a display control unit that displays the obtained guidance information on the display unit such that at least a portion of the items of guidance information displayed on a far side of the display screen farther from a user is enlarged relative to the items of guidance information displayed on a near side of the display screen nearer the user than the far side; and

wherein the guidance information is prioritized with a predetermined priority, and the display control unit determines if an item of guidance information on the far side is partially or wholly off the display screen of the display unit and, if an item of guidance information is determined to be partially or wholly off the display screen, then the display control unit deletes display of at least one item of guidance information with a predetermined lowest priority from the far side of the display screen, so that all items of the guidance information of higher priority than the at least one item of guidance information appear in whole on the display screen.

2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position acquisition unit that determines position of the user relative to the display unit, wherein the display control unit uses the determined user position to determine the near side of the display screen and the far side of the display screen.

3. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position acquisition unit comprises sensors on opposing ends of the display unit.

4. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit changes display state of items of guidance information independently on the display screen.

5. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display screen is a split screen with near side and far side sections showing map displays of different scale.

6. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the items of information are displayed superimposed on a map display and wherein, upon deletion of the at least one item of information, the map display is not changed.

7. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a display unit that displays items of guidance information, the items of guidance information being respectively displayed in separate display spaces on a display screen of the display unit;

a guidance information acquisition unit that obtains the guidance information; and

a display control unit that displays the obtained guidance information on the display unit such that at least a portion of the items of guidance information displayed on a far side of the display screen farther from a user is enlarged relative to the items of guidance information displayed on a near side of the display screen nearer the user than the far side; and

wherein the guidance information is prioritized with a predetermined priority, and the display control unit determines if an item of guidance information on the far side is partially or wholly off the display screen of the display unit, and, if an item of guidance information is determined to be partially or wholly off the display screen, then the display control unit reduces the size of the display of at least one item of guidance information on the far side, having a lowest predetermined priority, relative to displays of other items of guidance information with higher priority, so that all items of the guidance information appear in whole on the display screen.

8. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a position acquisition unit that determines position of the user relative to the display unit, wherein the display control unit uses the determined user position to determine the side of the display device nearer the user and the side farther from the user.

9. The navigation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the position acquisition unit comprises sensors on opposing ends of the display unit.

10. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the display screen is a split screen with near side and far side sections showing map displays of different scale.

11. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the items of information are displayed superimposed on a map display and wherein, upon reduction in size of the display of the at least one item of information, the map display is not changed.