Navigation system for vehicles and waypoint entering and storage method

• US 6,115,669 A
• Filed: 12/09/1996
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Kazuyuki, Nanba, Akimasa
• Primary Examiner(s): LOUIS JACQUES, JACQUES H
• Application Number:
  US08/762,421
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/206, 701/208, 701/209, 701/211, 701/212, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 340/996, 340/460, 340/692, 342/457, 342/357, 342/357.13, 342/452, 342/176, 342/183, 342/184, 73/178 R
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

The invention is characterized in that the street and street number of a waypoint, or of a point nearest to the waypoint, is located and input by an input means whereby the desired street name and street number are entered and stored as the waypoint name. In case the street name of the waypoint, or of a point nearest to the waypoint, cannot be found, the name of facility nearest to the waypoint, or the longitude and latitude of the waypoint, is entered and stored as the waypoint name.

Claims

1. A navigation system for vehicles, comprising:

input means for inputting any desired point by marking a point on a displayed map;

storage means for storing a data relating to the displayed map;

position coordinates calculating means for calculating position coordinates of the desired point on the map input by said input means;

street name searching means for selecting a street based on a distance from the calculated position coordinates of the desired point, to a street in the vicinity of the desired point, and searching for the selected street name from the map data stored in the storage means;

registration means for registering the desired point by associating the street name searched by said street name searching means with the position coordinates calculated by said position coordinates calculating means;

display means for displaying the street name registered by said registration means in response to a request of a user; and

destination setting means for setting the position coordinates registered by associating with the street name displayed by said display means as coordinates of the destination.

2. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 1, wherein said street name searching means searches for a name of a street nearest to the position coordinates of any desired point input by said input means from said storage means.

3. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 2, wherein said street name searching means calculates a distance from the input point to the street by drawing a perpendicular line from the input point to the street.

4. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 3, wherein said street name searching means searches for a structure related to any desired point input by said input means under the condition that the street name could not be found, and said registration means registers a name of the searched structure.

5. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 4, wherein said registration means registers position coordinates of the input point under the condition that said searching means could not find a structure related to any desired point input by said input means.

6. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 1, wherein said street name searching means searches for a structure related to any desired point input by said input means under the condition that the street name could not be found, and said registration means registers a name of the searched structure.

7. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 6, wherein said registration means registers position coordinates of the input point under the condition that said street name searching means could not search a structure related to any desired point inputted by said input means.

8. A navigation system for vehicles, comprising;

input means for inputting any desired point by marking a point on a displayed map;

storage means for storing map data and structure configuration map data stored therein;

position coordinates calculating means for calculating position coordinates of the desired point on the map input by said input means;

searching means for searching for structure configuration map data corresponding to the calculated position coordinates of the desired point from said storage means;

registration means for searching for the structure configuration map data stored in said storage means under the condition that said searching means could find the structure, for selecting a street based on a distance from the calculated position coordinates of the desired point, to a street in the vicinity of the desired point, and for searching for the selected street name from the map data stored in the storage means under the condition that said searching means could not find the structure, and for registering the desired point by associating the structure configuration map data or the street name searched by said searching means with the position coordinates calculated by said position coordinates calculating means;

display means for displaying the structure configuration map data or the street name registered by said registration means in response to a request of a user; and

destination setting means for setting the position coordinates registered by associating with the street name displayed by said display means as coordinates of the destination.

9. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 8, wherein said searching means searches for a structure nearest to any desired point input by said input means under the condition that the structure configuration map data or the street name could not be found, and said registration means registers the name of the searched structure.

10. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 9, wherein said registration means registers position coordinates of the input point under the condition that said searching means could not find a structure related to any desired point input by said input means.

11. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 8, wherein the structure configuration map data searched for by said searching means is an address of the structure.

12. The navigation system for vehicles according to claim 11, wherein the address of the structure searched by said searching means is a street name and a street number.

13. A method for registering and displaying a point on a map, comprising the steps of:

inputting any desired point marked on a displayed map;

selecting a street based on a distance from position coordinates of the desired point input to a street in the vicinity of the desired point, and searching the selected street name from map data relating to the displayed map;

registering the desired point by associating position coordinates of the searched point with the street name;

displaying the registered street name in response to a request of a user; and

setting the position coordinates registered by associating the desired point with the displayed street name as coordinates of the destination.