Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-01
2003-12-30
Nguyen, Tan Q. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S211000, C701S212000, C340S995240
Reexamination Certificate
active
06671619
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation device, and particularly relates to a navigation device which, in the event that a vehicle enters a service area or parking area while driving a guided route on a freeway, or enters a shopping mall, displays detailed maps of within the area or within the mall, and also displays a guiding route by route calculations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Navigation devices which guide vehicles such that the driver can reach a desired destination operate by detecting the position of the vehicle, reading out map data of the area where the vehicle is from a storing media such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc., displaying a map image on a display screen, and drawing a vehicle mark (the term “vehicle” here indicates the vehicle to which the navigation device is mounted, unless specifically stated otherwise) overlapped at a particular position on the map image. The vehicle mark on the screen is moved on the screen, or the vehicle mark on the screen is fixed at a certain position on the screen (e.g., the center) and the map is scrolled, in accordance with the change in the current vehicle position due to motion of the vehicle. This allows the driver to be able to view map information in the area where the vehicle is located at a glance. This navigation device has route guiding functions for finding a guiding route from the point of origin to the destination, displaying the guide route on the map, and providing intersection guidance (displaying enlarged images of the intersection, and displaying the direction of progression).
If a vehicle CM (shown in
FIG. 30A
) mounted with a conventional navigation device enters a service area or parking area while driving along a freeway FHW which is the guided route, the conventional navigation device merely displays a landmark LM. The conventional navigation device only indicates that the vehicle has entered a service area or parking area. Thus, the conventional navigation device displays no guidance in returning to a portion of a guided route, such as freeway FHW (FIG.
30
B). Accordingly, in such an area a driver may not know the location of points of interest in the area, where the vehicle is located within the area, how to find an exit from the area, or how to return to a portion of a guided route, such as freeway FHW.
Also, in the United States, stores, movie theaters and other facilities, and parking lots often form complexes called shopping malls. Conventionally, even in the event that the vehicle enters the shopping mall, there is no navigation control therein, with only the vehicle mark moving through the shopping mall. Accordingly, the driver may be inconvenienced because the driver may not know where the stores and facilities, parking, and exits are located in the shopping mall. Also, even if the driver knows where the destination is, shopping malls often have one-way lanes, and so the destination cannot be reached speedily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the above problems, it is a first object of the present invention to display points of interest and the location of a vehicle within a service area or parking area which the vehicle has entered, in a manner that is readily understood.
It is a second object of the present invention to allow the vehicle to smoothly return to a portion of a guided route, such as a freeway, from the service area or parking area which the vehicle has entered.
It is a third object of the present invention to display, in a manner that is readily understood, the formation of the exit when the vehicle approaches the exit of the service area or parking area.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to display the location of desired stores and facilities, parking areas, and exits within a shopping mall which the vehicle or cursor has entered, in a manner that is readily recognized.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to allow the position of desired stores and facilities within the shopping mall to be readily recognized, and to allow these to be readily set as destinations.
It is a sixth object of the present invention to search routes to desired stores, facilities, and exits, so as to realize route guiding within the shopping mall.
It is a seventh object of the present invention to allow stores and facilities within a shopping mall to be set as destinations outside of the shopping mall, and performing route guiding toward the destination stores and facilities.
According to the present invention, the above first object is achieved by having detailed map information of inside freeway service areas and parking areas, and displaying detailed maps of within such an area in the event that the vehicle enters an arbitrary area while driving on a freeway which is a guiding route.
According to the present invention, the above second object is achieved by performing rerouting calculations in the event that the vehicle enters an area, and displaying a guiding route.
According to the present invention, the above third object is achieved by displaying the exit area in an enlarged manner in the event that the distance from the vehicle to the area exit is equal to or less than a certain distance while driving along the guiding route within the area, and also displaying the direction of progression.
According to the present invention, the above fourth object is achieved by displaying a detailed map of inside the shopping mall using database information, in the event that the vehicle enters a shopping mall.
According to the present invention, the above fifth object is achieved by:
(1) including building layouts, store layouts, store names, parking areas, and traffic lanes within the mall, in the detailed maps; or
(2) identifying and displaying the store layouts (store polygons) with the stores color coded according to type of store; or
(3) displaying detailed maps of specified floors by floor; or
(4) in the event that at least the first letter in a store name is input in an alphabetical store name search, making reference to a store list and searching for a store having the same letter as that input, and displaying the position of the store with the cursor; or
(5) in the event that a store type (category) is input in a store type search, making reference to the store list and displaying stores of the input store type in an identifiable manner.
According to the present invention, the above sixth object is achieved by:
(1) in the event that a particular store is set as a destination store, searching the route to the parking area nearest to the destination store and displaying this on the display unit; or
(2) in the event of entering a shopping mall, automatically searching the route to the nearest parking area and displaying this on the display unit; or
(3) at the time of turning on power to the navigation device within a parking area, searching and displaying the route to the nearest exit from the parking area.
According to the present invention, the above seventh object is achieved by:
(1) in the event that the cursor enters the shopping mall, displaying a detailed map of inside the shopping mall using the database information, and specifying the destination store with the cursor; or
(2) in the event that a shopping mall is set as the genre of destination and also a particular shopping mall is specified in a search by genre, displaying a detailed map of inside the shopping mall, and specifying the destination store with the cursor.
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Kusano Manabu
Saitoh Katsuya
Alpine Electronics Inc.
Nguyen Tan Q.
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