Navigation terminal device and navigation method

• US 7,098,923 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2002
• Issued: 08/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GeoTechnologies, Inc., PIP Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Kumada, Satoshi, Shirahama, Toshie
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CUNNINGHAM, GREGORY F
• Application Number:
  US10/127,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20020161512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.19, 340/539.2, 340/903, 340/990, 340/995.1, 340/995.12, 34099514-99519, 340/995.23, 340/995.26, 340/995.27, 340/FOR.400, 345/581, 345/744, 345/749, 345/FOR.185, 379/185, 455/422.1, 455/426.2, 455/431, 701/200, 701/201, 701207-212, 709/203, 709/219, 709/FOR.106, 709/122
• US Class Current: 345/581
• 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 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096883 where input information is obtained using a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone, a PDA

Abstract

A navigation terminal device includes a map information receiving unit for receiving the map of the region around a reference point from the web server by inputting retrieval information; a display screen for displaying the received map; a route line drawing unit for drawing the destination from the starting point of the reference point by screen scrolling, computing the orientation from the reference point to the destination, and displaying the route line which can be traced from the reference point to the destination; a map information requesting unit for requesting again that the web server distributes the map information of the adjacent peripheral region if the destination is not within the received map of the peripheral region; and a route line re-drawing unit for searching the destination by screen scrolling the updated map information, re-compute the orientation and re-draw the route line.

Claims

1. A navigation terminal device connected to a server through a communication line for requesting map information from the server, said navigation terminal device comprising:

a map information receiving unit for receiving maps, of a peripheral region around a reference point, from the server by inputting retrieval information about the reference point;

a route line drawing unit for computing an orientation from the reference point to a destination, and for superimposing a straight route line on the maps for tracing a route from the reference point to the destination;

a map information requesting unit for requesting again that the server distributes the map information of the adjacent peripheral region if the destination is not within the received map of the peripheral region, and

a route line re-drawing unit for searching the destination by screen scrolling the updated map information, re-computing the orientation from the reference point to the destination to re-draw the route line which can be continuously traced from the reference point to the destination.

2. A navigation terminal device connected to a server through a communication line for requesting map information from the server, said navigation terminal device comprising:

a receiving circuit that receives maps, of a peripheral region around a reference point, from the server by inputting retrieval information about the reference point;

a control circuit that computes an orientation from the reference point to a destination, and superimposes a straight route line on the maps for tracing a route from the reference point to the destination,

wherein said receiving circuit receives the map again if the destination is not within the received map of the peripheral region, and

wherein the control unit re-computes the orientation from the reference point to the destination to re-draw the route line which can be continuously traced from the reference point to the destination.