Vehicle information display apparatus

• US 7,089,094 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Issued: 08/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Eric J. Wangler, Mary P. Crowley-Wangler
• Original Assignee: Furuno Electric Co, Ltd
• Inventors: Yanagi, Katsuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US10/855,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129288A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 701/21, 701/200, 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 701/213, 701/300, 701/301, 342/357.01, 342/357.02, 342/357.06, 342/357.08, 342/357.09, 342/357.12, 342/357.13, 342/357.14, 342/41
• US Class Current: 701/21
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/937 of marine craft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 3/00 Traffic control systems for marine craft marking of navigational route B63B22/16, B63B51/00

Abstract

A vehicle information display apparatus receives multiple pieces of information on mobile vehicles, determines degrees of importance of the individual pieces of information according to specific conditions, and displays symbols of only those mobile vehicles of which importance falls within a predefined range or symbols of only a specific number of mobile vehicles selected according to their importance in graphic form with enhanced visibility.

Claims

1. A vehicle information display apparatus comprising:

a vehicle position information extractor for receiving vehicle identification signals transmitted from vessels and extracting at least position information indicating the positions of the vessels from the vehicle identification signals;

a target acquisition/tracking device for acquiring and tracking targets based on target echo data fed from a radar; and

a controller for displaying first symbols indicating the positions or velocity vectors of the individual vessels obtained by said vehicle position information extractor as well as second symbols indicating the positions or velocity vectors of the individual targets obtained by said target acquisition/tracking device on a single display device, wherein said controller displays the first symbols with higher priority over the second symbols at and in the proximity of a position where any of the first symbols is displayed.

2. The vehicle information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller prohibits acquisition and tracking of targets by said target acquisition/tracking device at and in the proximity of the position where any of the first symbols is displayed.

3. The vehicle information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller prohibits on-screen display of the second symbols at and in the proximity of the position where any of the first symbols is displayed.

4. The vehicle information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller prohibits on-screen display of the second symbols and target echoes detected by the radar at and in the proximity of the position where any of the first symbols is displayed.

5. The vehicle information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller prohibits on-screen display of the second symbols without prohibiting on-screen display of target echoes detected by the radar at and in the proximity of the position where any of the first symbols is displayed.

6. The vehicle information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle position information extractor is a universal ship borne automatic identification system and said target acquisition/tracking device is an automatic radar plotting aid.

7. The vehicle information display apparatus of claim 1, wherein said vehicle information display apparatus is a vehicle surveillance apparatus, said target acquisition/tracking device acquiring and tracking targets based on target echo data fed from a land-based radar.