Navigation apparatus

• US 8,078,393 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Ohi, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US11/664,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20090012702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,216 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701207-213, 340/995.12, 340/995.24
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3859 Differential updating map data

Abstract

A navigation apparatus includes a map information updating means (13) for updating map information on a basis of map update information, a mounting detecting means (14) for detecting whether a storage medium is mounted to a storage medium driving means, a map information ID comparison means (15) for comparing a map information ID attached to the map information with a map information ID attached to the map update information to judge whether they match each other, a map information selection control means (16) for, when the storage medium is mounted to the storage medium driving means and the map information IDs match each other, selecting all of the map information, and selecting a part of the map information otherwise, a navigation information calculating means (17) for creating navigation information on the basis of the selected map information, and a navigation information output means (18) for outputting the created navigation information.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map information storage unit that stores map information;

a storage medium driving unit in which a storage medium for storing map update information used for updating said map information is mounted;

a map information updating unit that updates the map information stored in said map information storage unit on a basis of the map update information read from the storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit;

a mounting detecting unit that detects whether or not the storage medium is mounted to said storage medium driving unit;

a map information ID comparison unit that compares a map information ID attached to the map information stored in said map information storage unit with a map information ID attached to the map update information stored in the storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit, and judging whether said compared map information IDs match each other;

a map information selection control unit that selects a part of the map information stored in said map information storage unit under conditions where the mounting detecting unit detects the storage medium being mounted to the mounting detecting unit and the map information ID comparison unit judges that said compared map information IDs do not match each other;

a navigation information calculating unit that creates navigation information by carrying out an predetermined operation on a basis of the map information selected by said map information selection control unit; and

a navigation information output unit that outputs the navigation information created by said navigation information calculating unit.

2. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a map information update history storage unit that stores a map information ID attached to the map information updated by the map information updating unit,

wherein the map information selection control unit selects a part of the map information stored in said map information storage unit when a storage medium having the same map information ID as a map information ID stored in the map information update history storage unit is not mounted to the storage medium driving unit.

3. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects whether a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is a first one of two or more storage media when map update information has been separately stored in said two or more storage media,

wherein the map information selection control unit selects a part of the map information stored in said map information storage unit when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that said storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is not the first one.

4. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects, when map update information has been separately stored in said two or more storage media, whether a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is either one of said two or more storage media,

wherein the map information selection control unit selects a part of the map information stored in said map information storage unit when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that said storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is not either one of said two or more storage media.

5. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an applicable area setting unit that sets areas to be applied to map update information when said map update information has been separately stored in two or more storage media according to said areas; and

a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects whether the area set by said application area setting unit matches an applicable area stored in a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit,

wherein the map information selection control unit selects a part of the map information stored in said map information storage unit when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that the area set by said application area setting unit does not match the applicable area.

6. The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-storage medium driving unit for mounting a sub-storage medium in which the map information ID attached to the map update information is stored,

wherein the mounting detecting unit detects the sub-storage medium being mounted to said sub-storage medium driving unit, and

the map information ID comparison unit compares the map information ID attached to the map information stored in the map information storage unit with the map information ID stored in the sub-storage medium mounted to said sub-storage medium driving unit, and judges whether said compared map information IDs match each other.

7. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map information storage unit that stores map information;

a storage medium driving unit in which a storage medium that stores map update information used that updates said map information is mounted;

a map information updating unit that updates the map information stored in said map information storage unit on a basis of the map update information read from the storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit;

a mounting detecting unit that detects whether the storage medium is mounted to said storage medium driving unit;

a map information ID comparison unit that compares a map information ID attached to the map information stored in said map information storage unit with a map information ID attached to the map update information stored in the storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit, and judging whether said compared map information IDs match each other;

an operation item selection control unit that selects a part of all operations items for implementing a part of all functions provided in the navigation apparatus under conditions where the mounting detecting unit detects the storage medium being mounted to the storage medium driving unit and the map information ID comparison unit judges that said compared map information IDs do not match each other;

a navigation information calculating unit that creates navigation information by carrying out operation items selected by said operation item selection control unit; and

a navigation information output unit for outputting the navigation information created by said navigation information calculating unit.

8. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a map information update history storage unit that stores a map information ID attached to the map information updated by the map information updating unit,

wherein the operation item selection control unit selecting a part of all operations items for implementing a part of all functions provided in the navigation apparatus when a storage medium having the same map information ID as a map information ID stored in the map information update history storage unit is not mounted to the storage medium driving unit.

9. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects whether a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is a first one of two or more storage media when map update information has been separately stored in said two or more storage media,

wherein the operation item selection control unit selects a part of all operations items for implementing a part of all functions provided in the navigation apparatus when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that said storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is not the first one.

10. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects whether a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is either one of two or more storage media when map update information has been separately stored in said two or more storage media,

wherein the operation item selection control unit selects a part of all operations items for implementing a part of all functions provided in the navigation apparatus when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that said storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit is not either one of said two or more storage media.

11. The navigation apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

an applicable area setting unit that sets areas to be applied to map update information when said map update information has been separately stored in two or more storage media according to said areas; and

a storage medium ID detecting unit that detects whether the area set by said application area setting unit matches an applicable area stored in a storage medium mounted to said storage medium driving unit,

wherein the operation item selection control unit selects a part of all operations items for implementing a part of all functions provided in the navigation apparatus when the storage medium ID detecting unit detects that the area set by said application area setting unit does not match the applicable area.