Navigation device, navigation method, and navigation program

• US 8,972,160 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2011
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Miura, Naoki, Nonomura, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US13/184,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20120035843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 701/123, 701/110, 701/201, 701/212, 701/55, 701/2, 701/200, 701/416, 701/29, 701/533, 701/21, 701/410, 701/3, 701/38, 701/103, 701/29.4, 701/438, 701/439, 340/441, 340/439, 340/458, 340/450.2, 340/456, 340/438
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence

Abstract

A navigation device apparatus and method are provided. The apparatus includes a fuel consumption determination unit that determines a fuel consumption during a travel of a vehicle. Also included is a fuel consumption information storage unit that stores point information identifying a departing point and a destination in the travel of the vehicle and fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption during a previous travel A display unit is included that acquires previous fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption during the previous travel corresponding to the departing point and the destination during a current travel of the vehicle, and controls the display of the fuel consumption during the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption during the current travel determined by the fuel consumption determination unit.

Claims

1. A navigation device comprising:

a fuel consumption determination unit that is configured to determine a fuel consumption in a travel of a vehicle;

a fuel consumption information storage unit that is configured to store point information identifying a departing point and a destination in a travel of a vehicle and fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption in a past travel from the departing point to the destination such that the point information and the fuel consumption information is mutually associated;

a display control unit that is configured to acquire previous fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption in a previous travel among the fuel consumption information associated with the point information corresponding to the departing point and the destination in a current travel of the vehicle from the fuel consumption information storage unit, and control a display of the fuel consumption in the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption in the current travel determined by the fuel consumption determination unit,

wherein, the display control unit is configured such that in response to the display control unit determining that a plurality of sets of coordinates of the departing point and the destination, which are within a predetermined distance from the coordinates of the current departing point and the current destination, respectively, is stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit, the display control unit is configured to acquire the previous fuel consumption information associated with the set of coordinates having the smallest total value of the distance between the coordinate of the current departing point and the coordinate of the departing point stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit and the distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein

the display control unit is configured such that in response to the display control unit determining that a plurality of sets of coordinates having the same total value of the distance between the coordinate of the current departing point and the coordinate of the departing point stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit and the distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit, the display control unit is configured to acquire the previous fuel consumption information associated with the set of coordinates having the smallest distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit.

3. The navigation device according to claim 2, wherein

the display control unit is configured such that in response to the display control unit determining that a plurality of sets of coordinates having the same distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit, the display control unit is configured to select, in the following order, the set of coordinates for which a number of updates stored in the fuel consumption information storage unit is the largest, the set of coordinates for which a date of a final update is the latest, and a set of coordinates listed at an upper line in the fuel consumption information storage unit, and acquire the previous fuel consumption information associated with the selected set of coordinates.

4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein

the display control unit is configured to acquire average fuel consumption information identifying an average fuel consumption in the past travel among the fuel consumption information associated with the point information corresponding to the departing point and the destination in the current travel destination of the vehicle from the fuel consumption information storage unit, and control a display of the average fuel consumption based on the acquired average fuel consumption information;

and

the display control unit, after the vehicle has arrived at the destination, is configured to control a display of an evaluated result of the fuel consumption in the current travel on the basis of a comparison among the fuel consumption in the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information, the average fuel consumption based on the acquired average fuel consumption information, and the fuel consumption in the current travel determined by the fuel consumption determination unit.

5. The navigation device according to claim 4, wherein

the fuel consumption information storage unit further is configured to store travel route information identifying an attribute of a travel route from the departing point to the destination, and

the display control unit is configured to acquire the previous fuel consumption information associated with the travel route information corresponding to the attribute of a current travel route of the vehicle from the fuel consumption information storage unit, and controls a display of the fuel consumption in the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption in the current travel determined by the fuel consumption determination unit.

6. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein

the attribute of the travel route from the departing point to the destination includes at least one of a travel distance from the departing point to the destination, search conditions when searching for a travel route from the departing point to the destination, and the congestion situation during travel from the departing point to the destination.

7. A navigation method comprising the steps of:

determining, by a conroller, a fuel consumption in a travel of a vehicle;

storing, in a recording unit, point information identifying a departing point and a destination during a travel of a vehicle and fuel consumption information including identifying the fuel consumption in a past travel from the departing point to the destination such that the point information and the fuel consumption information is mutually associated;

determining, by the controller, that a plurality of sets of coordinates of the departing point and the destination, which are within a predetermined distance from the coordinates of a current departing point and a current destination in a current travel of the vehicle, respectively, is stored in the recording unit;

acquiring, by the controller, previous fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption in a previous travel among the fuel consumption information associated with the set of coordinates having the smallest total value of the distance between the coordinate of the current departing point and the coordinate of the departing point stored in the recording unit and the distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the recording unit, and controlling a display of the fuel consumption in the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption in the current travel determined at the fuel consumption determination step.

8. A navigation program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium causing a computer to execute a method comprising the steps of:

determining, by a controller, a fuel consumption in a travel of a vehicle;

storing, in a recording unit, point information identifying a departing point and a destination during a travel of a vehicle and fuel consumption information including identifying the fuel consumption in a past travel from the departing point to the destination such that the point information and the fuel consumption information is mutually associated;

determining, by the controller, that a plurality of sets of coordinates of the departing point and the destination, which are within a predetermined distance from the coordinates of a current departing point and a current destination in a current travel of the vehicle, respectively, is stored in the recording unit;

acquiring by the controller, previous fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption in a previous travel among the fuel consumption information associated with the set of coordinates having the smallest total value of the distance between the coordinate of the current departing point and the coordinate of the departing point stored in the recording unit and the distance between the coordinate of the current destination and the coordinate of the destination stored in the recording unit (SC1), and controlling a display of the fuel consumption in the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption in the current travel determined at the fuel consumption determination step.