Navigation system

• US 20070067099A1
• Filed: 08/29/2006
• Published: 03/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yoshinori, Kawakami, Hidehiko, Ohashi, Yasuko
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,632 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching

Abstract

A navigation system stores setting record information related to places designated as destination or reached place. The setting record information includes setting frequencies with which corresponding places were designated. A control unit searches a map database for places meeting a keyword inputted by a user and causes a display unit to present the places in the descending order of their corresponding setting frequencies in the stored setting record information. The user then selects as a destination a certain place from the presented places. The control unit stores the selected certain place to update the setting record information. Thus, the names of places meeting the keyword inputted are directly displayed in the descending order of the setting frequency with which they have been designated in the past. Therefore, the user need not perform an operation to hierarchically select a desired place by region or facility name.

Claims

1. A navigation system comprising:

an input unit for a user to input;

a navigation unit that identifies a current position and navigates based on the identified current position;

a search database that has data of a place to be searched for;

a setting record storage unit that stores setting record information related to a place of at least one of a destination and a reached place, which were designated with respect to navigating;

a presenting unit that presents information; and

a control unit that

searches the search database in accordance with a predetermined rule, which directly identifies a place based on a keyword inputted via the input unit,

causes the presenting unit to present a search result from the searching in a predetermined precedence order based on the setting record information stored in the setting record storage unit, and

stores a place, which is included in the result presented and then selected as a destination via the input unit, in the setting record storage unit so as to update the setting record information.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the setting record information stored in the setting record storage unit includes at least one of (i) destination setting record information related to a place designated as a destination and (ii) reached place setting record information related to a place designated as a reached place, and

the control unit stores a place, which is included in the search result presented and then selected as a destination via the input unit, in the storage unit as destination setting record information.

3. The navigation system of claim 2, wherein

the place designated as the reached place includes (i) a place where designating a reached place is performed via the input unit or (ii) a place estimated when a guidance by the navigation unit is terminated.

4. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the setting record information stored in the setting record storage unit includes a frequency of setting related to a place, and

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result in a descending order of the frequency of setting included in the setting record information.

5. The navigation system according to claim 4, wherein

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result in the descending order of the frequency of setting while giving a higher priority to setting related to a destination than setting related to a reached place.

6. The navigation system according to claim 4, wherein

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result in the descending order of the frequency of setting while giving a higher priority to setting related to a reached place than setting related to a destination.

7. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein,

when the setting record storage unit stores the setting record information related to a place, an attribute related to the place is stored together,

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result based on an attribute related to a place included in the setting record information, and

the control unit stores a place together with the attribute of the place, which is included in the search result presented and then selected via the input unit, in the setting record storage unit as setting record information.

8. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the setting record information stored in the setting record storage unit includes information on time when the setting record information was set, and

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result while considering the information on time.

9. The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a situation acquiring unit for acquiring a situation in which a keyword is inputted, wherein

the setting record storage unit stores as selection record information a situation acquired by the situation acquiring unit in association to the setting record information,

when a certain search of the search database is started based on a certain keyword inputted, the control unit causes the presenting unit to present search result from the certain search based on selection record information, which is stored in the setting record storage unit and related to a certain situation acquired by the situation acquiring unit when the certain keyword is inputted, and

the control unit stores a place, which is included in the search result presented and then selected via the input unit,. as setting record information in the setting record storage unit, while associating with the certain situation, as selection record information.

10. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit computes a distance from a current position identified by the navigation unit to a place included in the search result, based on data related to the place included in the search database, and

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result in an increasing order of the computed distance.

11. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

the search database includes map information, which is displayed as a map image by the presenting unit, and

the control unit causes the presenting unit to present the search result along with a map surrounding a place to be most preferentially presented using map information acquired from the search database.

12. The navigation system according to claim 1, which is mounted in a vehicle.

13. A navigation system comprising:

input means for a user to input;

navigation means that identifies a current position and navigates based on the identified current position;

a search database that has data of a place to be searched for;

setting record storing means that stores setting record information related to at least one of a destination and a reached place, which were designated with respect to navigating;

presenting means for presenting information; and

control means that

searches the search database in accordance with a predetermined rule, which directly identifies a place based on a keyword inputted via the input means,

causes the presenting means to present a search result from the searching in a predetermined precedence order based on the setting record information stored in the setting record storing means, and

stores a place, which is included in the search result presented and then selected as a destination via the input means, in the setting record storing means so as to update the setting record information.