# US 8,543,293 B2 · Route guidance apparatus, route guidance method, and computer program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,543,293 B2 - Document ID: US8543293B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/311,088 - Filed: 2011-12-05 - Published: 2012-06-21 - Granted: 2013-09-24 - Earliest claimed: 2010-12-21 - Assignees: Aisin Aw Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Daisuke Tanizaki - Inventors: Daisuke Tanizaki - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8543293B2 ## CPC - G01C 21/3626: {Details of the output of route guidance instructions (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)} - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) ## Abstract Route guidance apparatuses, methods, and programs determine a guidance intersection in front of a movable body in a direction of travel along a navigation route. The apparatuses, methods, and programs acquire a shape of the guidance intersection, determine an exit road on which the movable body leaves the guidance intersection, and determine whether the determined exit road is one of a plurality of roads connected to the guidance intersection that exist in an area extending in the same direction as the determined exit road. When the determined road is one of the plurality of roads that exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road, the apparatuses, methods, and programs associate each of the plurality of roads with an identification information item usable to identify a connecting relationship with the guidance intersection, and provide guidance using the identification information item associated with the exit road. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A route guidance apparatus for a moveable body, the apparatus comprising: a controller that: sets a navigation route; acquires a position of the movable body; based on the acquired position, determines a guidance intersection in front of the movable body in a direction of travel along the navigation route; acquires a shape of the guidance intersection; determines an exit road on which the movable body leaves the guidance intersection according to the navigation route; based on the acquired shape of the guidance intersection, determines whether the determined exit road is one of a plurality of roads connected to the guidance intersection that exist in an area extending in the same direction as the determined exit road; when the determined road is one of the plurality of roads that exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road, associates each of the plurality of roads with an identification information item usable to identify a connecting relationship with the guidance intersection; and provides guidance on the guidance intersection using the identification information item associated with the exit road. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The route guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller: determines whether the plurality of roads exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road with respect to a direction of an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The route guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller: based on the acquired shape of the intersection, determines whether a following road exists that exits the intersection and smoothly follows an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection; wherein, when the following road exists, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the following road. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The route guidance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: when the following road does not exist, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the access road. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The route guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller: acquires information about a feature that exists at a periphery of the guidance intersection; wherein the identification information item for each of at least one of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the feature. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A navigation system comprising the route guidance apparatus according to claim 1. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A cellular telephone comprising the route guidance apparatus according to claim 1. ### Claim 8 A route guidance method for a moveable body, the method comprising: setting a navigation route; acquiring a position of the movable body; based on the acquired position, determining, with a processor, a guidance intersection in front of the movable body in a direction of travel along the navigation route; acquiring a shape of the guidance intersection; determining, with the processor, an exit road on which the movable body leaves the guidance intersection according to the navigation route; based on the acquired shape of the guidance intersection, determining, with the processor, whether the determined exit road is one of a plurality of roads connected to the guidance intersection that exist in an area extending in the same direction as the determined exit road; when the determined road is one of the plurality of roads that exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road, associating, with the processor, each of the plurality of roads with an identification information item usable to identify a connecting relationship with the guidance intersection; and providing, with the processor, guidance on the guidance intersection using the identification information item associated with the exit road. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The route guidance method according to claim 8, further comprising: determining, with the processor, whether the plurality of roads exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road with respect to a direction of an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The route guidance method according to claim 8, further comprising: based on the acquired shape of the intersection, determining, with the processor, whether a following road exists that exits the intersection and smoothly follows an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection; wherein, when the following road exists, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the following road. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The route guidance method according to claim 10, wherein: when the following road does not exist, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the access road. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The route guidance method according to claim 8, further comprising: acquiring information about a feature that exists at a periphery of the guidance intersection; wherein the identification information item for each of at least one of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the feature. ### Claim 13 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer-executable route guidance program, the program comprising: instructions for setting a navigation route; instructions for acquiring a position of a movable body; instructions for, based on the acquired position, determining a guidance intersection in front of the movable body in a direction of travel along the navigation route; instructions for acquiring a shape of the guidance intersection; instructions for determining an exit road on which the movable body leaves the guidance intersection according to the navigation route; instructions for, based on the acquired shape of the guidance intersection, determining whether the determined exit road is one of a plurality of roads connected to the guidance intersection that exist in an area extending in the same direction as the determined exit road; instructions for, when the determined road is one of the plurality of roads that exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road, associating each of the plurality of roads with an identification information item usable to identify a connecting relationship with the guidance intersection; and instructions for providing guidance on the guidance intersection using the identification information item associated with the exit road. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The storage medium according to claim 13, the program further comprising: instructions for determining whether the plurality of roads exist in the area extending in the same direction as the exit road with respect to a direction of an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The storage medium according to claim 13, the program further comprising: instructions for, based on the acquired shape of the intersection, determining whether a following road exists that exits the intersection and smoothly follows an access road from which the movable body enters the guidance intersection; wherein, when the following road exists, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the following road. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein: when the following road does not exist, the identification information item for each of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the access road. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The storage medium according to claim 13, the program further comprising: instructions for acquiring information about a feature that exists at a periphery of the guidance intersection; wherein the identification information item for each of at least one of the plurality of roads describes a positional relationship between the road and the feature.