Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.

Naokazu Ozaki

Toyoji Hiyokawa

Junzo Matsuba

Kyomi Morimoto

Kiyohide Kato

Kyoumi Morimoto

Naoyuki Kurauchi

Naoko Sugiura

Navigation systems, methods, and programs receive, with a signal receiver, a first signal and a second signal that is different from the first signal. The systems, methods, and programs estimate a region in which a current location is present on the basis of a combination of a status of reception of the first signal and a status of reception of the second signal.

Navigation system, and control method and program for navigation system

Systems, methods, and programs detect a current position of a movable body, identify a destination for the moveable body, and search for a going route from a departure point to the destination. The systems, methods, and programs search for a returning route from the destination to the departure point and select a landmark for a branch point along the returning route. While the current position is moving along the going route, the systems, methods, and programs provide returning-route guidance regarding the branch point using the selected landmark.

Navigation system, navigation method, and navigation program

An image display device is provided that includes an information storage device in which names of destinations are stored; name obtaining unit for obtaining names from the information storage device on the basis of an input device and its operation; a display for displaying character strings on a menu screen; a name display unit for displaying names obtained by the name obtaining unit in respective rows in a plurality of areas on the menu screen; and a display change unit for displaying character strings of names in a plurality of rows upon determining whether character strings of names to be displayed cannot fit in the display area. When the operator operates the input device, names are obtained from the information storage device and if character strings of names to be displayed cannot fit in the display areas, the character strings of the names are displayed in a plurality of rows.

Image display device, method of image display, and storage medium for storing image display programs

A vehicle navigation system is presented for performing guidance along route which produces an intersection image upon controlling a drawing area of the intersection image on the basis of information and route regarding the intersection existing on the route which requires guidance. The navigation system display control unit determines the drawing area of the intersection image on the basis of map information stored in a memory, route information stored in a route memory and information concerning an intersection requiring route information and guidance prior to producing the intersection image. In addition, the display control unit judges whether the intersection which requires route guidance is larger than the predetermined limited scale rate, and if the intersection which requires guidance is larger than the predetermined image limit, the display control unit controls a display area by reducing the scale rate so as to be able to display the entire intersection or otherwise controls the display area so as to be able to display all routes within its intersection.

Vehicle navigation system and method

A vehicle navigation apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a CDROM (,) for storing all the data required for navigation processing such as maps and voice data, and a buffer (,-,) for accessing CDROM (,) to prepare beforehand a phrase necessary for the navigation guidance. A control device (,) selects appropriate phrases corresponding to the present vehicle position and reads out the selected phrases from the buffer, (,-,) successively, in response to a request signal supplied from a request sensor (,) which is output in response to the driver's request. The thus processed navigation information data is transformed into voice signals through a decoder (,-,) and output from a speaker (,) as a voice response. The control device (,) checks whether or not a phrase prepared in the buffer (,-,) is a frequently used phrase and replaces this phrase with a new phrase if this phrase is not frequently used. Furthermore, the control device (,) sets discriminating flags to the selected phrases and continuously reads out these phrases with the discriminating flags, in a predetermined order, in accordance with the driver's request, so as to execute voice response processing.

Vehicle navigation apparatus providing both automatic guidance and guidance information in response to manual input request

A vehicle navigation system is made to generate bitmap image data necessary for navigation, including map data, road data, font data, etc., and then to transmit a pattern (font) image and an enlarged intersection image to a display.

Growing community of inventors

Nishio, Japan

Naokazu Ozaki