Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-08
2003-07-29
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3663)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S200000, C340S990000, C342S375000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06600993
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system performing navigation operation by using map data, and more particularly relates to the navigation system having a storage device, such as a hard disc, storing the map data in it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a navigation system, having a DVD-ROM drive or a CD-ROM drive, reading out the map data stored in a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM as a recording medium, and performing the navigation operation, is widely used. If the navigation system is mounted in a vehicle, it detects a present position of the vehicle when it performs the navigation operation, reading out the map data indicating areas around the present position, and displaying the map image made on the basis of the read map data with a mark indicating the present position of the vehicle on a screen.
Recently, a recording medium storing music data or image data in DVD-Video format or DVD-audio format, such as DVD-ROM, is provided. Therefore music or image can be reproduced by using the DVD-ROM on the navigation system having a DVD-ROM drive. Actually, some users hope to play the DVD-ROM on the navigation system while driving. However, in the conventional navigation system, the DVD-ROM storing the map data needs to be always loaded on the navigation system while the navigation operation is performed, so that it is difficult to use the navigation system for purposes other than originally intended. For example, if the user presses an eject button to eject the DVD-ROM storing the map data compulsorily while the navigation operation is performed, the conventional navigation system is configured to stop the operation.
In the navigation system, a nonvolatile storage device having high capacity other than the recording medium, for example, a hard disc can be mounted. If the whole data of the DVD-ROM storing the map data is installed on the hard disc, and the navigation system is configured to read out the map data from the hard disc when the navigation operation is performed, the DVD-ROM drive of the navigation system can be used for purposes other than originally intended. In this case, the hard disc drive has a quick access time so that there is an advantage in displaying the image on the screen at high speed.
However, it takes quite a long time to install the whole data of the DVD-ROM storing the map data on the hard disc. Further, it is a burdensome operation for the user. Moreover, DVD-ROM has a high capacity. For example, the capacity of a single sided one-layer DVD-ROM is 4.7G bytes, and that of a single sided two-layer DVD-ROM is 8.7G bytes. Therefore, it is necessary to use the hard disc having such a capacity. Furthermore, even the map data corresponding to an area having a low frequency of travelling is installed on the hard disc, so that the hard disk is cluttered with useless data. Therefore, if the hard disc is further used for purposes other than originally intended such that it records music data, etc., there may be no sufficient capacity for it. In addition, if the DVD-ROM is upgraded to a new version, it is necessary to install new data on the hard disc every time.
As mentioned above, using the hard disc with the DVD-ROM or the CD-ROM for the navigation system causes a lot of disadvantages in respect of usability, the cost of maintenance or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a navigation system having a hard disc, to which necessary data is automatically transferred, so that it can have good usability.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a navigation system. The navigation system is provided with: a present position detecting device for detecting a present position of a movable body; a reading device for reading map data recorded on a recording medium; a nonvolatile storage device for storing the map data thereon; a selecting device for selecting an area as an object to be transmitted in accordance with the present position; a transmitting device for reading the recorded map data corresponding to the area from the recording medium and transmitting the read map data to the nonvolatile storage device at a predetermined timing; and a controlling device for controlling a navigation operation to assist the movable body in traveling on the basis of the recorded map data on the recording medium and the stored map data on the nonvolatile storage device.
According to the navigation system of the present invention, a present position detecting device detects a present position of a movable body. A reading device reads map data in accordance with the present invention recorded on a recording medium. Then a controlling device controls a navigation operation to assist the movable body in traveling on the basis of the read map data
On the other hand, a selecting device selects an area as an object to be transmitted in accordance with the present position. Then a transmitting device reads the recorded map data corresponding to the area from the recording medium. Further, the transmitting device transmits the read map data to the nonvolatile storage device at a predetermined timing. The transmitted map data is stored on the nonvolatile storage device. In this case, the controlling device controls the navigation operation on the basis of the stored map data on the nonvolatile storage device.
Therefore after the map data is transmitted to the nonvolatile storage device once, the navigation operation is continued even if the recording medium is not loaded in the reading device. As a result, it is possible to provide the navigation system having high usability.
In one aspect of the navigation system, the nonvolatile storage device, which stores the map data transmitted from the reading device, has a faster access time than the reading device.
According to the navigation system, if the navigation operation is controlled on the basis of the map data stored on the nonvolatile storage device, a reading time of the map data is faster than that on the basis of the map data recorded on the recording medium. Therefore the navigation operation can be executed at a high speed.
In another aspect of the navigation system, the nonvolatile storage device, which stores the map data transmitted from the reading device, is provided with a hard disc device.
According to the navigation system, the map data is transmitted to and stored on the hard disc device having a high capacity and a high access time. Therefore the navigation operation can be executed at a high speed.
In another aspect of the navigation system, if the map data necessary to the navigation operation is stored on the nonvolatile storage device, the controlling device controls the navigation operation on the basis of the map data stored on the nonvolatile storage device. On the other hand, if the map data necessary to the navigation operation on the recording medium is readable and is not stored on the nonvolatile storage device, the controlling device controls the navigation operation on the basis of the recorded map data on the recording medium.
According to the navigation system, after the map data is transmitted to the nonvolatile storage device, the navigation operation is continued even if the recording medium is not loaded in the reading device. Therefore it is possible to provide the navigation system having high usability.
In another aspect of the navigation system, the transmitted map data is stored on a map data storing area of the nonvolatile storage device.
According to the navigation system, an area other than the map data storing area can be use for storing another data. Therefore the nonvolatile storage device can have a wide applicability.
In another aspect of the navigation system, the navigation system further had a map data deleting device. If the map data storing area becomes full at the transmitting of the map data by the transmitting device, the map data deleting device deletes part of the map data stored on the map data storing area in accordance with a prede
Kaneko Michihiro
Nagaki Koichi
Yamauchi Keiichi
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Donnelly Arthur D.
Pioneer Corporation
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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