Car navigation apparatus

• US 8,649,972 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2010
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Masaki, Machino, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Application Number:
  US12/819,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20100256904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701207-216, 701/23, 701/25, 701/26, 701/117, 701/400, 701/408, 701/409, 701/410, 701/425, 701/426, 701/428, 701/430, 701/432, 701/437, 701/438, 701/439, 701/440, 701/457, 701/461, 701/538, 701/540, 701/302, 340/988, 3409951-99527
• US Class Current: 701/426
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096894 where input is assisted by the navigation device, i.e. the user does not type the complete name of the destination, e.g. using zip codes, telephone numbers, progressively selecting from initial letters

Abstract

A car navigation apparatus includes an intersection searching means 14 for searching for intersections in a vicinity of the current position of a vehicle from intersections which exist on a searched route and which exist between the current position and a destination, an intersection name outputting means 15 for outputting the names of the searched intersections, an intersection selecting means 17 for selecting an intersection from the intersection names outputted, an facility searching means 18 for searching for facilities which exist in a vicinity of the intersection selected through the map data, a facility name outputting means 19 for outputting the names of the searched facilities, a facility selecting means 20 for selecting a facility from the facility names outputted, and a facility information outputting means 21 for extracting facility information about the selected facility from the map data, and for outputting the facility information.

Claims

1. A car navigation method, implemented using a car navigation apparatus, for searching facilities in a vicinity of an intersection which exists on a route comprising:

detecting a current position of a car using a GPS receiver;

determining a route to a user-identified destination by searching map data that includes road data, said map data further including intersection information identifying various roads along said route and roads intersecting therewith and facility information identifying various types of facilities within a geographic region of said map data, said determined route including a route to be followed by the car from the current position to the user-identified destination and comprising a combination of a plurality of road sections to be traveled from said current position of said car to said user-identified destinations;

searching intersections within a predefined vicinity of the current position of the car from among intersections which exist on the route ahead of the current position of the car and along the route to the user-identified destination;

providing route guidance to a user along the route to the user-identified destination including displaying a route guidance screen including

a map indicating the guided route or a portion of the guided routed based on the scale of the displayed map,

a current position indicator indicating the current position of the car as calculated by said GPS receiver, and

an intersection name listing displaying an ordered sequence of intersection names corresponding to upcoming intersections on the guided route ahead of the current position of the car and along the guided route, where the intersection names are displayed in the order to be crossed along the guided route and allow the user to physically designate an individual one of the intersection names during route guidance;

interactively receiving, during route guidance, a physical designation, from the user, of an individual one of the listed intersection names;

in response to receiving the physical designation of the individual intersection, searching, during route guidance, for facilities which exist in a vicinity of the individual intersection physically designated by the user by referring to the map data;

outputting, as a result of the search for facilities, a facility category listing including a plurality of facility categories corresponding, respectively, to the facilities determined by the search to exist in the vicinity of the individual intersection physically designated by the user;

updating the route guidance screen to include the plurality of outputted facility categories which correspond to the facilities which exist in the vicinity of the individually designated intersection, wherein facility category listing is displayed as a list on a separate portion of the updated guidance screen than the portion where the map indicating the guided route, or a portion of the guided route based on the scale of the map is displayed, and facility categories for facilities existing in the vicinity of non-designated intersections are not displayed, such that the user can visually associate the plurality of facility categories with the individual intersection that has been interactively designated by the user, and

continuously updating the route guidance screen based on the current position of the car as determined by said GPS receiver by removing one or more displayed intersection names in the ordered sequence list of displayed intersection names that are no longer ahead of the current position of the car along the guided route, wherein the map indicating the guided route, or a portion of the guided route based on the scale of the map, is displayed on a first portion of the screen and the ordered sequence list of intersection names is displayed on a second portion of the screen, wherein the first portion of the screen and the second portion of the screen are side-by-side such that the user can visually associate the ordered sequence list of upcoming intersections as displayed on the second portion of the screen in relation to the map indicating the guided route or a portion of the guided route displayed on the first portion of the screen.

2. The car navigation method according to claim 1, wherein the facilities which exist in a vicinity of the intersection are searched according to a facility searching conditions specifying facilities to be searched designated by the user.

3. The car navigation method according to claim 2, wherein the facility searching conditions includes at least one of a distance from the intersection, a direction in which the car is allowed to go from the intersection and types of facilities and functions provided by facilities.

4. The car navigation method according to claim 1, wherein the intersections in a vicinity of the current position are searched according to intersection search conditions specifying intersections to be searched designated by the user.

5. The car navigation method of claim 1, further comprising:

interactively receiving, during route guidance, a physical designation, from the user, of an individual one of the plurality of displayed facility categories;

extracting facility information about the facility corresponding to the individual facility category designated by the user from the map data; and

outputting the extracted facility information.

6. A car navigation method, implemented using a car navigation apparatus, for searching facilities in a vicinity of a connecting road which exists on a route, where a connecting road is a road which meets or crosses the route, comprising:

detecting a current position of a car using a GPS receiver;

determining a route to a user-identified destination by searching map data that includes road data, said map data further including connecting road information identifying various roads along said route and roads connecting therewith and facility information identifying various types of facilities within a geographic region of said map data, said determined route indicating a route to be followed by the car from the current position to the user-identified destination and comprising a combination of a plurality of road sections to be traveled from said current position of said car to said user-identified destination;

searching connecting roads within a predefined vicinity of the current position of the car from among connecting roads which exist on the route ahead of the current position of the car and along the route to the user-identified destination;

providing route guidance to a user along the route to the user-identified destination including displaying a route guidance screen including

a map indicating the guided route or a portion of the guided routed based on the scale of the displayed map,

a current position indicator indicating the current position of the car as calculated by said GPS receiver, and

a connecting road name listing displaying an ordered sequence of connecting road names corresponding to upcoming intersections on the guided route ahead of the current position of the car and along the guided route, where the connecting road names are displayed in the order to be crossed along the guided route and allow the user to physically designate an individual one of the connecting road names during route guidance;

interactively receiving, during route guidance, a physical designation, from the user, of an individual one of the listed connecting road names;

in response to receiving the physical designation of the individual connecting road searching, during route guidance, for facilities which exist in a vicinity of the individual connecting road physically designated by the user by referring to the map data;

outputting, as a result of the search for facilities, a facility category listing including a plurality of facility categories corresponding, respectively, to the facilities determined by the search to exist in the vicinity of the individual connecting road physically designated by the user;

updating the route guidance screen to include the plurality of outputted facility categories which correspond to the facilities which exist in the vicinity of the individually designated connecting road, wherein the facility category listing is displayed as a list on a separate portion of the updated guidance screen than the portion where the map indicating the guided route, or a portion of the guided route based on the scale of the map, is displayed, and facility categories for facilities existing in the vicinity of non-designated connecting roads are not displayed, such that the user can visually associate the plurality of facility categories with the individual connecting road that has been interactively designated by the user, and

continuously updating the route guidance screen based on the current position of the car as determined by said GPS receiver by removing one or more displayed connecting road names in the ordered sequence list of displayed connecting road names that are no longer ahead of the current position of the car along the guided route, wherein the map indicating the guided route, or a portion of the guided route based on the scale of the map, is displayed on a first portion of the screen and the ordered sequence list of connecting road names is displayed on a second portion of the screen, wherein the first portion of the screen and the second portion of the screen are side-by-side such that the user can visually associate the ordered sequence list of upcoming connecting roads as displayed on the second portion of the screen in relation to the map indicating the guided route or a portion of the guided route displayed on the first portion of the screen.

7. The car navigation method of claim 6, further comprising:

interactively receiving, during route guidance, a physical designation, from the user, of an individual one of the plurality of displayed facility categories;

extracting facility information about the facility corresponding to the individual facility category designated by the user from the map data; and

outputting the extracted facility information.