Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-29
2001-03-13
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C340S995190, C701S212000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202026
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a map display device and a recording medium of a vehicle navigation system which searches for a route from a departing point or a present position to a destination, and executes route guidance in accordance with the searched route.
2. Description of Related Art
There are various types of vehicle navigation systems for providing a driver with guidance information along a vehicle travel route, such as a navigation system that searches for a route to a destination and provides visual/audio guidance on characteristic information relating to a map and route information to the destination, and a navigation system that displays a map centering the present position and providing information about the vicinity of the present position, etc. For example, regarding a vehicle navigation system having functions, such as route search and route guidance, there are proposed systems, such as a system for simultaneously providing the positional relationship between the destination and the present position and the detailed information on the vicinity of the present position of the vehicle, by displaying a wide-area map including the area from the present position to the destination and the detailed map of the present position on the two-part split screen (e.g. Japanese Patent Publication No. 335390/92), a system for identifying the relative position in the wide-area map by displaying a scaled-down map on a sub-window through the use of a main window and a sub-window (e.g. Japanese Patent Publication No. 270172/95), and a system for displaying a window frame matching the enlarged scale on the map and then magnifying a road map within the frame when the system displays a magnified map (Japanese Patent Publication No. 20259/96).
According to the above-mentioned system which displays a wide-area map and a detailed map on the two-part split screen, the system fixes the wide-area map screen and alters the position and the direction of the present position mark, whereas, regarding the detailed map screen, the system fixes the display position of the present position mark in the center of the map and then scrolls the map. Therefore, the above-mentioned system makes it difficult for the driver to identify which display area of the wide-area map corresponds to the continuous variable display area of the detailed map. Regarding the system displaying a sub-window, the sub-window superimposed on the main window makes the driver difficult to see because a part of the map displayed on the main window is covered by the sub-window. Regarding the system displaying a window frame for displaying a magnified map on the un-magnified map, since the wide-area map is erased after being magnified, its relative position in the wide area cannot be identified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the invention is to display the correspondences between the detailed map and the wide-area map clearly in the two-part split display mode.
In order to attain the above aspect, there is provided a map display device, comprising an information memory device for storing map data and other guidance data, an input device for inputting instructions and information relating to the map display, a display device for displaying a wide-area map and a detailed map respectively on a two-part split screen, and a display control device for reading map data and guidance data from the information memory device in response to the instructions input by the input device and controlling guidance information displayed on the display device. The display control device displays a frame around the position on the wide-area map that corresponds to the detailed map displayed on the two-part split screen.
According to another aspect of the invention, the display control device scrolls a frame displayed on the wide-area map as the detailed map scrolls in accordance with the scroll operation, and scrolls the area displayed on the wide-area map when the frame extends off said wide-area map during the scroll operation, scrolls the area displayed on the wide-area map so that the frame lies in the center of the wide-area map, or the frame doesn't lie off the area displayed on the wide-area map and changes the size of the frame to scale in accordance with the area displayed on the detailed map.
The display control device having a virtual travel mode displays a present position mark on said detailed map by using said virtual travel mode, scrolls said detailed map in accordance with a searched route, scrolls the frame displayed on said wide-area map corresponding to said scroll of the detailed map, and scrolls said wide-area map so that said frame does not extend off the area displayed on said wide-area map as said frame scrolls.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5283562 (1994-02-01), Kaneko et al.
patent: 5884217 (1999-03-01), Koyanagi
patent: 5925091 (1999-07-01), Ando
patent: 5936631 (1999-08-01), Yano et al.
patent: 335390 (1992-11-01), None
patent: 270172 (1995-10-01), None
patent: 20259 (1996-01-01), None
Masuda Hiroyoshi
Nimura Mitsuhiro
Aisin Aw Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Zanelli Michael J.
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