Navigation device and method

• US 6,895,331 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2002
• Issued: 05/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MANCHO, RONNIE M
• Application Number:
  US10/200,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 701/200, 701/210, 701/202, 701/208, 701/212, 701/209, 340/990, 340/995.2, 340/995.21, 340/995.1, 340/995.11, 340/995.23, 455/456.5
• US Class Current: 701/212
• 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

Abstract

A navigation device is provided for easily designating a road to be avoided with high accuracy. When a location on a map is designated by a touch panel 7, an avoidance-road setting unit 22 identifies a road existing at or near the location designated, and specifies a link corresponding to the road. Then a map drawing unit 14 draws a map image in a reduced scale larger than that previously set. If another location on the map is designated, the process of specifying the link and the process of drawing the map image in the larger reduced scale, which are described above, are repeated. When there is provided an instruction to set the road specified based on the location as an avoidance road, the avoidance-road setting unit 22 stores a link ID of the link corresponding to the specified road in an avoidance-road memory 24.

Claims

1. A navigation device comprising:

map drawing means for drawing a map image in one of a plurality of predetermined reduced scales;

a display unit for displaying the map image drawn by said map drawing means;

designation means for designating an arbitrary road which is included in said map image displayed by the display unit in accordance with a user'"'"'s operation; and

road selection means for variably setting a section of the road designated by said designation means in accordance with said reduced scale to select said set section of the road;

wherein when a first map image in one of the reduced scales is displayed, the user can designate a section of a road included in the first map image, and if the designated road section is not set by the user using the road selection means, a second map image in a larger reduced scale is displayed and includes said designated road section, thereby allowing the user to designate a smaller portion of the road section than was designated in the first map image.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising selected-road storage means for storing said section of the road selected by said road selection means, together with a date of the setting.

3. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising selected-road storage means for storing said section of the road selected by said road selection means, together with additional information entered by the user.

4. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising route search means for searching for an optimal travel route between a predetermined starting point and a destination, and avoidance setting means for setting the section of the road selected by said road selection means as one to be avoided when said route search means performs the route search.

5. The navigation device according to claim 4, wherein, as to roads which are respectively included in a plurality of map images responsive to a plurality of reduced scales, the roads being identical to one another, the road in a map image having a smaller reduced scale corresponds to a longer link, while the identical road in a map image having a larger reduced scale corresponds to smaller links into which the longer link is divided, and wherein, when said designation means designates a road in the map image having any one of the reduced scales, said avoidance setting means sets a first link corresponding to the designated road, and a plurality of second links corresponding to said first link in a map image having a larger reduced scale, as avoidance links of interest.

6. The navigation device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein, in a case where a part of said section of the road selected by said road selection means lies outside a display area displayed by said display unit, said map drawing means redraws the map image such that a full range of the selected section of the road is within the display area.

7. The navigation device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein said map drawing means draws the section of the road selected by said road selection means in such a manner that said section of the road is distinguishable from the other roads displayed.

8. The navigation device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein said map drawing means draws a detailed area map image in a reduced scale larger than the reduced scale that is set when said road selection means selects any one of the roads, and wherein, when said designation means carries out a repeated designation of a road, said road selection means performs a selecting operation of a detailed road, based on the road that has been already selected.

9. The navigation device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein, when said road selection means repeatedly performs a plurality of selecting operations of the road sections, said map drawing means draws each of the sections of the roads selected by the respective selecting processes in such a manner that said sections of the roads are distinguishable from one another and from the other roads displayed.

10. The navigation device according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein, when said designation means designates an expressway, said road selection means selects the entire designated expressway in a case where the reduced scale is smaller than a predetermined value, and partially selects a section of the expressway, with an interval from one interchange of the designated expressway to another as one unit, in a case where the reduced scale is larger than a predetermined value.

11. A method of operating a vehicle navigation device, comprising:

providing map data for drawing a map image in a plurality of reduced scales;

displaying a first map image in one of the reduced scales;

receiving from a user a designation of a road included in the displayed first map image;

receiving from the user an instruction to set the designated road in the first map image or, if the user does not provide such a setting instruction, displaying a second map image including the designated road in a larger reduced scale, thereby allowing the user to designate a smaller portion of the road than was designated in the first map image.

12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

storing said section of the designated road, together with at least one of a date of setting the road section and additional information entered by the user.

13. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:

searching for a travel route between a predetermined starting point and a destination while avoiding said section of the designated road.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein for a road included in a map image at a plurality of reduced scales, the road is formed of relatively longer first links at a smaller reduced scale and is formed of relatively shorter second links at a larger reduced scale;

said section of the designated road corresponds to a number of first links of the road at the smaller reduced scale that is smaller than the number of second links of the road at the larger reduced scale.

15. A method according to claim 13, further comprising:

if said section of the designated road lies partly outside the displayed map image, automatically redrawing the map image so that the entire section of the designated road is displayed.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein said section of the designated road is displayed in a manner so that said section is visually distinguishable from the other roads displayed.