Mazda Motor Corporation

Masao Sasaki

Masaki Kakihara

Futoshi Shoji

Yasuyuki Masaki

Tatsuaki Taniguchi

Keiji Takao

Toshihiko Okamoto

A navigation apparatus for vehicles according to the present invention has a display device for displaying road information. The navigation system is designed to selectively display the road information which is close to the current position of the vehicle and/or the demands of the driver from a large amount of road information (each of which consists of image data to be displayed and logical data on which logical determination can be made).

Navigation apparatus for vehicles

A navigation apparatus for vehicles has a display device for displaying map information. On the screen of the display device, a current position of the vehicle on which this navigation apparatus is mounted is displayed. Also, a route to a preset destination starting from the current position is displayed at the maximum length.

A vehicle navigation apparatus which selects possible target nodes stored in memory based on the present position of the vehicle and then eliminates those nodes not possible to reach after comparing the bearing from the present position of the vehicle to each selected node with the present bearing of the vehicle. The navigation apparatus determines that the vehicle is traveling on a road-not-in-memory when the number of possible nodes is reduced to zero. The navigation apparatus repeatedly searches, after each predetermined travel distance, for possible nodes within a progressively widening search circle, the radius of which is related to the distance traveled. When a target is found which is stored in memory the apparatus determines that the vehicle has returned to travel on a road stored in memory.

Vehicle navigation apparatus employing node selection, comparison and

Disclosed is a navigation apparatus for showing a driver the current position of his vehicle by estimating the vehicle position on the basis of the travel direction and travel distance thereof and matching the current vehicle position thus estimated to map information stored previously. The apparatus disclosed is capable of navigating a vehicle with accuracy even if it is traveling on a road which is not stored in memory; in that case, the apparatus repeats comparison of the vehicle travel direction with the directions in which lie the current vehicle position and respective nodes stored in memory, and accumulates the comparison results so as to infer the arrival of the vehicle at its destination which corresponds to one of the nodes stored in memory.

Growing community of inventors

Higashihiroshima, Japan

Masao Sasaki