NAVIGATION APPARATUS

• US 20090326804A1
• Filed: 10/15/2007
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Machino, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,770 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/091 Traffic information broadcasting broadcasting communication H04H
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A navigation apparatus, including a map data acquiring means 11a, 11, 12, and 5 for acquiring map data including car pool lane data, a current position determining means 13, 14, 15, and 10 for determining a current position, and a display unit 2 for generating and displaying a map of an area in a neighborhood of the determined current position on the basis of the acquired map data, is provided with a road information receiving means 16 for receiving road information in real time from outside the apparatus, a control unit 10 for, when the road information received by the road information receiving means shows that a traffic congestion has occurred in a highway in a traveling direction, judging whether a car pool lane is also provided in the highway on the basis of the map data acquired by the map data acquiring means, and an output means 2 and 4 for outputting a message showing whether or not there exists a car pool lane according to the result of the judgment by the control unit.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus including a map data acquiring means for acquiring map data including car pool lane data, a current position determining means for determining a current position, and a display unit for generating and displaying a map of an area in a neighborhood of the current position determined by said current position determining means on a basis of the map data acquired by said map data acquiring means, said navigation apparatus comprising:

a road information receiving means for receiving road information in real time from outside said navigation apparatus;

a control unit for, when the road information received by said road information receiving means shows that a traffic congestion has occurred in a highway in a traveling direction, judging whether a car pool lane is also provided in said highway on a basis of the map data acquired by said map data acquiring means; and

an output means for outputting a message showing whether or not there exists a car pool lane according to a result of the judgment by said control unit.

2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said navigation apparatus includes an input unit for inputting a destination, and a route searching unit for searching for a route from the current position determined by the current position determining means to the destination inputted by said input unit on a basis of the map data acquired by the map data acquiring means, and, when the road information received by the road information receiving means shows that a traffic congestion has occurred in the route which said route searching unit has searched for, the control unit judges whether or not a car pool lane is also provided in said route on a basis of the map data acquired by said map data acquiring means.

3. The navigation apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said navigation apparatus includes a route guidance unit for providing a route guidance along the route which has been searched for by the route searching unit, and, when judging that a car pool lane is also provided in the route which has been searched for by said route searching unit on a basis of the map data acquired by said map data acquiring means when the road information received by the road information receiving means shows that a traffic congestion has occurred in said route, the control unit inquires whether or not said car pool lane can be used, the route searching unit re-searches for a route including said car pool lane when receiving an instruction of using the car pool lane which is a response to the inquiry by said control unit, and said route guidance unit provides a route guidance on a basis of the route which has been re-searched for by said route searching unit.