Display method and apparatus of navigation system

#This invention relates to a display method and apparatus of information retrieval system for displaying information necessary for finding business and other establishment of interest, and more particularly, to a display method and apparatus of information retrieval system such as navigation system for displaying information which assists in searching points of interest related to an area which is remote not familiar to a user without requiring entering a new name of point of interest.

#A vehicle navigation system performs vehicle travel guidance for enabling a driver to easily drive the vehicle to a selected destination. Such a navigation system detects the position of the vehicle, reads out map data pertaining to an area at the vehicle current position from a data storage medium, for example, a CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory) or a DVD (digital videodisc), and displays a map image on a monitor (display) screen while superposing a mark representing the current location of the vehicle on a predetermined portion of the map image.

#The vehicle position is determined by a self-contained navigation sensors (e.g. a distance traveled sensor and a bearing sensor) mounted in the vehicle or by a global positioning system (GPS) including a satellite (satellite navigation). The satellite enables absolute position detection and higher position accuracy than the self-contained navigation sensors. However, the satellite navigation involves problem of position detection failure such as in a tunnel or a building where the satellite radio signals are obstructed. Therefore, recent navigation systems utilize both self-contained navigation and satellite navigation to achieve improved performances.

#FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams showing an example of locator map display and route guidance display, respectively, of a vehicle navigation system.

#FIGS. 2A-2F are schematic diagrams showing display examples of a vehicle navigation system. FIG. 2A is a main menu, FIG. 2B is a destination set menu, FIG. 2C shows a list of category when setting a point of interest, FIGS. 2D and 2E show name list in the category specified in FIG. 2C, and FIG. 2F shows a key board display for entering the address or intersection.

#FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of structure in the vehicle navigation system according to the present invention.

#The navigation system of the present invention is designed to enable a user (such as a driver or passenger) quickly find and select the destination in an new area based on the favorite names or places used in his/her home area. An example of displays in the first embodiment of the navigation system is shown in FIGS. 5A-5D in which the destination is specified through a “Preferred List” provided in the point of interest menu. In accordance with the present invention, a user such as a driver who lives and works in a home area, such as San Francisco, can quickly enter the favorite name of the chain store or branch office in a new area, such as Los Angeles, during his/her trip.

#Before going into details of the display examples of FIGS. 3-8, a brief description is given regarding the basic structure of the navigation system with reference to FIG. 3 and an example of remote controller for the navigation system with reference to FIG. 4. In the block diagram of FIG. 3, the navigation system includes a map storage medium 41 such as a CD-ROM or DVD (hereafter “DVD”) for storing map information, a DVD control unit 42 for controlling an operation for reading the map information from the DVD, a point measuring device 43 for measuring the present vehicle position which has a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a moving distance, a gyro for detecting a moving direction, a microprocessor for calculating a position, a GPS receiver, and etc., a map information memory 44 for storing the map information which is read out from the DVD 41, a database memory 45 for storing database information such as point of interest (POI) information which is read out from the DVD 41.

#The navigation system further includes a remote controller 47 for executing a menu selection operation, an enlarge/reduce operation, a destination input operation, etc. and a remote controller interface 48. As shown in FIG. 4, the remote controller 47 includes a joystick/enter key 47a, a menu key 47b, a cancel key 47c, an MP/RG key 47d, a zoom/scroll key 47e, a monitor ON/OFF key 47f, and so on. The joystick/enter key 47a has a function as a joystick key for moving the cursor or vehicle current position mark, etc., relatively in one of eight directions in the map or moving a menu bar (highlight) when selecting a desired menu item, and a function as an enter key for setting and inputting the cursor point and selecting and inputting the menu. Therefore, the joystick/enter key 47a will be also labeled simply as a joystick or enter key hereinafter.