On-Vehicle Map Display Apparatus, Map Display Method

• US 20080275631A1
• Filed: 04/18/2008
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sumizawa, Akio, Kaneko, Akihiro, Asahara, Akinori, Shimada, Shigeru, Maruyama, Kishiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,224,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• 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 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station

Abstract

This on-vehicle map display apparatus comprises a map scale setting unit that sets a map scale, a summary map generation unit that generates a summary map by abbreviating road shapes if a map scale that is less than a predetermined scale is set by the map scale setting unit, a summary map display control unit that displays the summary map generated by the summary map generation unit upon a display monitor, a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information, and a congestion information display control unit that displays the congestion information acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit as superimposed upon the summary map displayed upon the display monitor by the summary map display control unit.

Claims

1. An on-vehicle map display apparatus, comprising:

a map scale setting unit that sets a map scale;

a summary map generation unit that generates a summary map by abbreviating a road shape, if a map scale that is less than a predetermined scale is set by the map scale setting unit;

a summary map display control unit that displays the summary map generated by the summary map generation unit upon a display monitor;

a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information; and

a congestion information display control unit that displays the congestion information acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit as superimposed upon the summary map displayed upon the display monitor by the summary map display control unit.

2. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion unit that converts the congestion information that has been acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit to match the road shape in the summary map, and wherein:

the congestion information display control unit displays the congestion information that has been converted by the conversion unit along the road upon the summary map when displaying the congestion information as superimposed upon the summary map.

3. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a combination unit that combines together congestion information that satisfies a predetermined combination condition among the congestion information that has been acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit, and wherein:

the congestion information display control unit displays the congestion information that has been combined by the combination unit as superimposed upon the summary map.

4. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a combination unit that combines together congestion information that satisfies a predetermined combination condition among the congestion information that has been acquired by the congestion information acquisition unit; and

a conversion unit that converts the congestion information that has been combined by the combination unit to match the road shape in the summary map, and wherein;

the congestion information display control unit displays the congestion information that has been converted by the conversion unit along the road upon the summary map when displaying the congestion information as superimposed upon the summary map.

5. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the combination unit determines the display format of the congestion information after conversion that is to be displayed by the congestion information display control unit based upon proportions of total congested distances for each congestion levels in the congestion information before combination.

6. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the combination unit combines together congestion information that has been set for a road between specified intersections, as being congestion information that satisfies the predetermined combination condition.

7. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the combination unit determines the display format of the congestion information after conversion that is to be displayed by the congestion information display control unit based upon proportions of total congested distances for each congestion levels in the congestion information before combination.

8. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the combination unit combines together congestion information that has been set for a road between specified intersections, as being congestion information that satisfies the predetermined combination condition.

9. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the combination unit combines together congestion information that has been set for a road between specified intersections, as being congestion information that satisfies the predetermined combination condition.

10. An on-vehicle map display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the combination unit combines together congestion information that has been set for a road between specified intersections, as being congestion information that satisfies the predetermined combination condition.

11. A map display method, comprising:

setting a map scale;

generating a summary map by abbreviating road shapes, if a map scale that is less than a predetermined scale is set;

displaying the generated summary map upon a display monitor;

acquiring congestion information; and

displaying the acquired congestion information as superimposed upon the summary map displayed upon the display monitor.