Navigation device and control method thereof

• US 8,670,926 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2011
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.), MiTAC Research (Shanghai) Ltd. (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.), MiTAC Research (Shanghai) Ltd. (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Hua-En
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAYNE, ROBERT T
• Application Number:
  US13/224,831
• Publication Number:
  US 20130035854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/823, 701/208, 701/455, 701/532, 707/796, 345/419
• US Class Current: 701/409
• 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

Abstract

A navigation device and a control method thereof are disclosed. The navigation device control method includes the steps of using a display unit to display at least one road map thereon; using a processing unit to determine whether a moving speed of the navigation device is larger than a speed threshold value; and if the moving speed of the navigation device is larger than the speed threshold value, the processing unit controlling the display unit to adjust a manner in which the road map is displayed on the display unit.

Claims

1. A navigation device, comprising:

a display unit for displaying at least one road map thereon, each of the road maps having a current scale and consisting of a current road and surrounding roads; and

a processing unit being electrically connected to the display unit and determining whether a moving speed of the navigation device is larger than a speed threshold value;

wherein when the processing unit determines the moving speed of the navigation device is larger than the speed threshold value, the processing unit controls the display unit to adjust the road map by fading or not displaying the surrounding roads of the road map while only displaying the current road of the road map, using one or more of the following criteria;

the processing unit further determines whether the current scale in which the road map is displayed in the display unit exceeds a scale threshold value,

the processing unit further determines a relation between weighted values assigned to the current road and the surrounding roads of the road map, or

the processing unit further determines a relative position-based spatial relation of the current road and the surrounding roads of the road map in the vicinity of the navigation device.

2. The navigation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in phantom lines.

3. The navigation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a reduced level of brightness.

4. The navigation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a low contrast with the road map.

5. The navigation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a color gradient.

6. A navigation device control method applicable to a navigation device, comprising the steps of:

using a display unit to display at least one road map thereon, each of the road maps having a current scale and consisting of a current road and surrounding roads;

using a processing unit to determine whether a moving speed of the navigation device is larger than a speed threshold value; and

if the moving speed of the navigation device is larger than the speed threshold value, the processing unit controlling the display unit to adjust the road map by fading or not displaying the surrounding roads of the road map while only displaying the current road of the road map using one or more of the following criteria;

determining whether the current scale in which the road map is displayed in the display unit exceeds a scale threshold value,

determining the relation between weighted values assigned to the current road and the surrounding roads of the map, or

determining a relative position-based spatial relation of the current road and the surrounding roads of the road map in the vicinity of the navigation device.

7. The navigation device control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in phantom lines.

8. The navigation device control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a reduced level of brightness.

9. The navigation device control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a low contrast with the road map.

10. The navigation device control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing unit fades the surrounding roads of the road map by showing the surrounding roads in a color gradient.