(12) United States Patent
`Walters
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,188,956 B1
`Feb. 13, 2001
`
`US006188956B1
`
`(54) NAVIGATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR
`SELECTIVELY DISPLAYING
`THOROUGHFARE NAMES
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Thomas H. Walters, Gardner, KS (US)
`.
`.
`.
`(73) Asslgneez Garmln C°rP°m"°“ (TW)
`
`5,225,842
`5,229,925
`5,323,164
`5,333,116
`
`5,884,219 *
`5,936,553 *
`
`7/1993 Brown et al.
`7/1993 Spencer etal.
`6/1994 Endo t ........... ..
`7/1994 Hawkins et al.
`£::1:1;reett:11t‘
`3/1999 C t
`' ht
`8/1999
`
`t
`
`...................... .. 342/357
`361/422
`342/357
`. 364/708.1
`
`
`
`..
`
`............... .. 701/213
`l.
`...................... 340/995
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Under 35 U.S.C. 154(b), the term of this
`patent shall be extended for 0 days.
`
`* Cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—William A. Cuchlinski, Jr.
`Assistant Examiner—Gertrude Arthur
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Shook, Hardy & Bacon
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A navigation device for selectively displaying thoroughfare
`naincs ntilizcs a nioccsson incinoiy, display,
`input and
`antenna/receiver. The navigation device,
`incorporated
`Within a vehicle receives GPS satellite signals from a
`plurality of satellites orbiting the earth and calculates its
`position, velocity and direction. Cartographic data, includ-
`ing data indicative of thoroughfares and their corresponding
`names is stored in the memory and displayed on the display
`along with an icon indicativc of thc location of thc Vchiclc.
`As the vehicle is navigated along a thoroughfare displayed
`on the dlfspfiaya thehprocessfir cilauses the ditsjpletiy to d1StPlaY the
`nameso t oroug aresvv ic ,intone em. o iment, intersect
`with the thorougthfaretbeing navigated, in another embodi-
`ment are crosswise with the thoroughfare being navigated.
`Preferably, only the names of thoroughfares which intersect
`or are oriented crosswise with the thoroughfare being navi-
`gated Within a selected angle from perpendicular to the
`thoroughfare being navigated are displayed. The invention
`thus displays the thoroughfare names that are most likely of
`-
`-
`-
`-
`mteteet Wttheet eletteeee the eteelee
`
`23 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`(21) Appl' No‘: 09/2255554
`(22)
`Filed:
`Dcc_ 30, 1993
`(51)
`Int. Cl.7 ................................................. .. G06F 165/00
`(52) U.s. Cl.
`.............................. 701/200, 701/23, 701/25,
`701/208; 701/211; 701/212; 340/990; 340/995
`(58) Field of Search ................................ .. 701/23, 25, 26,
`701/200> 208> 209> 210> 211> 212; 340/990>
`995; 73/178 R
`
`5
`( 6)
`
`C d
`R f
`lte
`e erences
`Us. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`8/1987 Suzuki
`................................ .. D10/78
`ggigflggfi
`"
`D10/65
`2/1991 Granny et t
`N D14/138
`5/1992 Watanabe
`N D14/144
`7/1993 Li,/W0 ttttttttN
`D10/73
`12/1995 Lavcrick et al.
`D10/78
`12/1995 Laverick et a1.
`. 353/35
`9/1977 Boggs
`- - - - - -- 375/1
`6/1988 Tfimble - - - - - - - - - - -
`~~ 701/208
`1/1989 NakaYama ‘*1 a1~ -
`“ 361/422
`9/1989 Putman et al‘ "
`5
`'
`l
`l.
`$132
`11/133? ififpoili .......
`.. 361/394
`.
`4/1992 Kobayashi et al.
`4/1993 Yoshida .............................. .. 364/449
`
`
`
`D. 291,288
`B‘
`D: 314:713
`D. 326,450
`D. 337,582
`D. 365,032
`D. 365,292
`4,050,798
`4,754,465
`47969189 *
`4e868e715
`2‘:32§:$2§
`5,103,377
`5,204,817
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`Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Petitioner
`(cid:57)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:86)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:42)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:83)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:17)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:51)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)
`1
`(cid:20)
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 13, 2001
`
`Sheet 1 of 2
`
`US 6,188,956 B1
`
`ANTENNA
`
`28
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`26
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`MEMORY
`
`
`
`PROCESSOR
`
`
`INPUT! DISPLAY”
`20
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`15
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`FIG. 2.
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`

`
`US 6,188,956 B1
`
`1
`NAVIGATION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR
`SELECTIVELY DISPLAYING
`THOROUGHFARE NAMES
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention is generally directed to an elec-
`tronic navigational device employing a receiver for receiv-
`ing GPS satellite signals. More particularly,
`the present
`invention is directed to an electronic navigation device and
`a method for selectively displaying the names of thorough-
`fares stored in a memory device.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Electronic navigation devices employing GPS receivers
`have become increasingly popular in recent years. The
`device is utilized in an electronic navigation system which
`permits a user of the system to determine his or her position
`with respect
`to the earth. Such navigation devices are
`extremely useful
`in navigational vehicles of all
`types,
`including aircraft, marine craft, and land vehicles.
`Additionally, the device is useful for tracking purposes, and
`hand held versions are popular with hikers and campers.
`Very generally, conventional electronic navigation devices
`employ a receiver which detects signals from a number of
`satellites orbiting the earth. The processor within the navi-
`gation device computes the location of the device, based
`upon data received from the received satellite signals, after
`a sufficient number of GPS satellite signals have been
`acquired. Particularly, once a sufficient number of GPS
`satellite signals are acquired, the device is able to calculate
`its position with respect to the various satellites. Thus, an
`electronic navigation device employing a GPS receiver has
`the ability to accurately compute the position of the device
`in real time, even as the device moves. Additionally, the
`device is able to calculate the velocity and direction in which
`the device is moving in three dimensions.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,164 to Endo teaches a satellite radio
`wave capturing method for global positioning system
`receiver. U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,842 to Brown, et al. teaches a
`vehicle tracking system employing global position satellites.
`Each of these patents is incorporated herein by reference.
`Users of navigation equipment seek intuitive representa-
`tions of navigation information which are direct and simple
`to interpret. Particularly, the ability of a navigation device to
`present navigation information in a manner that is simple to
`interpret is particularly important to individuals navigating a
`land vehicle, since the operator of the vehicle does not want
`to have to spend significant
`time interpreting displayed
`navigation data.
`Conventional navigational devices have electronic maps
`stored in memory. Particularly, data indicative of geography
`and thoroughfares are stored in memory. One such conven-
`tional navigation device are used in combination with a
`vehicle, such as an automobile, the navigation device cal-
`culates its location and provides an icon on the display
`screen, relative to displayed electronic map, to indicate to
`the operator of the vehicle the position and movement of the
`vehicle relative to surrounding geography. Typically,
`the
`electronic maps are displayed two dimensionally, although
`the electronic map data may also be transformed to a
`perspective view.
`In conventional GPS navigation devices, each thorough-
`fare has an associated name stored in memory. Thus, upon
`display of a particular thoroughfare on the display of the
`navigation device, the name of that thoroughfare can also be
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`displayed to indicate to the user the identity of the thor-
`oughfare being displayed. As will be appreciated, in heavily
`populated areas, such as cities, there are a great number of
`thoroughfares in close proximity to each other. This presents
`a problem in displaying the names of each thoroughfare, due
`to the fact that the display screens on conventional naviga-
`tional devices are not large enough to adequately show all of
`the names of closely related thoroughfares. More
`specifically, when thoroughfares are arranged in a grid
`pattern, such as city blocks which are often arranged, the
`names of streets oriented in one direction often overlap with
`the names of streets oriented in another direction on the
`
`display of the navigation device. In such a case, the dis-
`played information is obviously not at all intuitive and, in
`fact, presents overlapping text which is extremely difficult,
`or impossible, to read. In response to this problem, methods
`have been implemented to eliminate the names of some of
`the roads for display of the cartographic information on the
`navigation device, so as to prevent
`the overlapping of
`names. While a variety of approaches are taken,
`these
`approaches result in randomly named streets appearing on
`the display, while the names of other streets or roads do not
`appear.
`
`Accordingly, the need exists for a navigation device and
`method for displaying the names of thoroughfares on a
`navigation device which are most likely to be of interest to
`the navigator of a land vehicle. The present invention fulfills
`this need, and other needs, and overcomes the drawbacks of
`the prior art.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is a unique electronic navigation
`device, and method, for selectively displaying the names of
`thoroughfares on the display of a navigation device. The
`device includes a housing for housing a processor, and a
`keypad input unit, a memory, a display having a display
`screen, and an antenna, all of which are connected to the
`processor. The navigation device is operable to acquire
`satellite signals from global positioning satellites and com-
`pute a geographic location of the device in a conventional
`manner. The navigation device and method of the present
`invention is preferably incorporated in a unit to be mounted
`in a land vehicle, such as an automobile or truck. Carto-
`graphic data, including names of various geographical loca-
`tions and, particularly, the names of thoroughfares, is stored
`in memory.
`In operation, the electronic navigation device is mounted
`in a land vehicle. As the vehicle is navigated along a
`thoroughfare, the navigation device calculates its position,
`direction of travel, and velocity. Electronic map data corre-
`sponding to the geograph surrounding the vehicle is dis-
`played on the display of the navigation device. Utilizing the
`electronic map data and the current position of the naviga-
`tion device, the processor determines which thoroughfare is
`being navigated in a conventional manner.
`As stated, a particular problem with prior art devices is the
`display of all of the names of thoroughfares on the display
`screen of the navigation devices, particularly in highly
`populated areas which have many thoroughfares in close
`proximity and, additionally, which result in many intersec-
`tions.
`In order to overcome this problem,
`the present
`invention, after calculating the location of the navigation
`device and the thoroughfare upon which the vehicle employ-
`ing the navigation device is being navigated, displays the
`names of only selected ones of the thoroughfares stored in
`memory. Particularly,
`in one embodiment,
`the processor
`
`4
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`

`
`US 6,188,956 B1
`
`3
`determines which thoroughfares intersect with the thorough-
`fare being navigated, and displays the name of only those
`thoroughfares which intersect the thoroughfare being navi-
`gated. This unique solution to the problem of displaying
`thoroughfare names on the display of the navigation device
`provides the navigator of the vehicle with the names of those
`thoroughfares which are most
`likely of interest. In this
`regard, as the vehicle is being navigated on a particular
`thoroughfare in a first direction, the names of thoroughfares
`which are running parallel to the navigated thoroughfare, or
`which do not intersect the thoroughfare being navigated, are
`most likely not of as much interest as the names of those
`thoroughfares which will be crossed, or which intersect with
`the thoroughfare being navigated.
`More particularly,
`it will be understood that the carto-
`graphic data is stored in memory and that each thoroughfare
`contains a series of coordinates (e.g., xn, yn). By analyzing
`these coordinates,
`the processor can determine thorough-
`fares which intersect with the thoroughfare being navigated.
`In a preferred embodiment, the processor determines those
`thoroughfares that intersect It with the thoroughfare being
`navigated within a selected angle, in either direction, from a
`line drawn perpendicularly to the road being navigated.
`Preferably, the angle within which the thoroughfares to be
`named must fall is 45 degrees from perpendicular to the road
`being navigated.
`In accordance with a second embodiment of the
`invention, the processor determines which thoroughfares are
`oriented in a direction different from the thoroughfare being
`navigated and, particularly, are oriented within a selected
`angle from a line drawn perpendicularly to the thoroughfare
`being navigated. Preferably,
`the angle within which the
`thoroughfares could be named must fall as 45 degrees from
`perpendicular to the road being navigated.
`In this
`embodiment, it is not necessary for a thoroughfare to actu-
`ally intersect the road being navigated. Rather, as will be
`appreciated, many thoroughfares may be oriented in a cross-
`wise manner to a road being navigated, but do not actually
`intersect with the road. Thus, according to this embodiment
`of the invention, these non-crossing, but cross-wise oriented
`thoroughfares, are also displayed. According to the broadest
`form of this embodiment, any road which is oriented in a
`direction different from the road being navigated has its
`name displayed in association with a representation of the
`road.
`
`Depending upon the layout of thoroughfares in a particu-
`lar area, even utilizing the foregoing principals, there may be
`times when the name of one road overlaps with the name of
`another road,
`thus causing what
`is termed herein as a
`collision event. In such a case,
`the name of one of the
`thoroughfares is removed, based upon selected criteria. For
`example, in accordance with conventional cartographic data
`storage techniques, the thoroughfares stored in the memory
`of the navigation device are classified. In this regard, inter-
`states may be of one classification, state highways of a
`second classification, boulevards and trafficways of a third
`classification, city streets of a fourth classification, and
`country roads of a fifth classification, and so on. When a
`collision event is declared,
`the processor will default to
`display the name of the road which is in the lowest
`classification, where the lowest classification consists of the
`most major type of thoroughfare. If the thoroughfares relat-
`ing to the collision event are in the same classification type,
`other criteria can be utilized. For example, a thoroughfare
`that is furthest away from the vehicle being navigated could
`have its name eliminated from the display.
`In accordance with yet another aspect of the present
`invention, an area defining a window is reserved at the top
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`of the display of the navigation device. In this window, the
`name of the next thoroughfare which intersects, or which is
`aligned crosswise with the thoroughfare being navigated,
`depending upon the embodiment,
`is displayed in large
`letters. Thus,
`the navigator of the vehicle can quickly
`determine, without having to closely analyze the carto-
`graphic data of the display, the next intersecting or crosswise
`road, or the next road that is oriented in a direction differ-
`ently from the road being navigated.
`According to the device and method of displaying navi-
`gation data according to the present invention, those thor-
`oughfares having a name which is to be displayed on the
`display of the navigation device are determined as a function
`of the direction in which the navigation device is being
`navigated. Thus, according to the invention, and depending
`upon the embodiment employed, thoroughfares that inter-
`sect with the thoroughfare being navigated, or that are
`oriented in a direction other than the direction being
`navigated, and, particularly, within a selected angle from
`perpendicular to the thoroughfare being navigated, are dis-
`played.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The objects and features of the invention noted above are
`explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in
`which like reference numerals denote like elements, and in
`which:
`
`FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a navigation device of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hardware of the naviga-
`tion device of the present invention; and
`FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of a display screen
`utilizing the display methodology of the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`With reference initially to FIG. 1, a navigation device of
`the present invention is designated generally by the refer-
`ence numeral 10. As illustrated, navigation device 10 has a
`housing 12, adapted to rest on its surface. Navigation device
`10 has as front face 14, including an input area comprised of
`a keypad 16, with keys 18, and a display designated gener-
`ally by reference numeral 20, having a display screen 22. It
`should be understood that the structure of navigation device
`10 is shown as illustrative of one type of navigation device.
`Other physical structures, such as a portable hand held unit,
`are contemplated within the scope of this invention.
`As illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 2, navigation
`device 10 of the present invention includes a processor,
`designated by reference numeral 24. Keypad 16 and display
`20, as well as memory 26 and an antenna 28, are connected
`to processor 24, as shown. In accordance with the principles
`of the present invention, and as described in detail below,
`display 20 displays navigational information, such as data
`indicative of thoroughfares, with the name of each of
`selected thoroughfares being displayed on the display, as
`described in detail below.
`
`With reference to FIGS. 1-3, operation of the navigation
`device and method of the present invention is shown and
`described.
`
`In operation and use, navigation device 10 is utilized in
`conjunction with a vehicle, such as an automobile. In the
`embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is preferred that navigation
`device 10 is mounted on the dash of a vehicle. It should be
`
`understood, however,
`
`that navigation device 10 of the
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`US 6,188,956 B1
`
`to
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`5
`present invention can be an in-dash mounted device,
`provide a more permanent association with the vehicle.
`In accordance with conventional techniques, navigation
`device 10 receives global positioning satellite signals, via
`antenna 28. Processor 24 utilizes the global positioning
`satellite signals to determine the location of the device 10,
`and hence the vehicle. The computation of the location of
`navigation device 10 is preferably accomplished through
`triangulation techniques, which are well known in the art. As
`will be appreciated, the navigation device 10 must acquire at
`least three satellites in order to be able to compute its two
`dimensional location.
`
`As illustrated in FIG. 3, once navigation device 10
`computes its location, it displays, on display 20, an icon 30
`indicative of the location of the vehicle relative to surround-
`ing geography. In particular, the cartographic data is stored
`in memory, which includes plurality of thoroughfares, is
`displayed on display 20. Additionally, as will be appreciated
`and understood, navigation device 10 calculates its speed
`and direction of travel. Thus, the processor 24 updates the
`display screen periodically and repositions the icon 30
`according to the actual location of the vehicle.
`In accordance with the principles of the present invention,
`the processor 24 displays cartographic data on display 20 in
`a unique manner. Particularly, each thoroughfare stored in
`memory has an associated name stored in memory.
`In
`displaying the names of thoroughfares on to display 20, the
`processor favors those thoroughfares which are oriented in
`a direction different than the general direction of the thor-
`oughfare being navigated. For example, in accordance with
`one embodiment of the present
`invention, and in the
`example provided in FIG. 3, the vehicle, designated by icon
`30, is preceding North, or towards the top of the display 20,
`on Mission Road. At
`the current
`time represented,
`the
`vehicle is between Darby Road and Johnson Drive. Accord-
`ing to this embodiment, since Darby Road and Johnson
`Drive, Roosevelt Drive, Abbey Lane, Eagle Trafficway, and
`Front Street are oriented in a direction that is different from
`
`Mission Road, each of these names is displayed on the
`display in association with its corresponding thoroughfare.
`Thus, processor 24 favors display of the names of those
`thoroughfares that are oriented in a direction different from
`the thoroughfare being navigated and, particularly, that are
`oriented in a generally crosswise fashion to the thoroughfare
`being navigated.
`More particularly, in accordance with another embodi-
`ment of the invention, processor 24 displays the name of
`those thoroughfares which are oriented within a selected
`angle from a line drawn perpendicularly to the thoroughfare
`being navigated. More particularly, in accordance with the
`preferred aspect of the invention, the processor 24 causes
`display 20 to display the names of only those thoroughfares
`which are oriented within a 45 degree angle from a line
`drawn perpendicularly from the thoroughfare being navi-
`gated. As illustrated in FIG. 3 in dashed lines, an imaginary
`line 32 is drawn perpendicularly to the thoroughfare, namely
`Mission Road, being navigated. Processor 24 determines
`those thoroughfares which are within 45 degrees, in either
`direction, from a line drawn perpendicularly to the thor-
`oughfare being navigated, namely Mission Road. Thus, in
`the example of FIG. 3, Darby Road, Johnson Drive,
`Roosevelt Drive and Abbey Lane, and Eagle Trafficway all
`have their name displayed on display 20.
`In contrast,
`however, the name of Front Street would not be displayed in
`this embodiment, since it does not fall within the selected
`angle.
`invention,
`In yet another embodiment of the present
`processor 20, rather than displaying the names of thorough-
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`fares oriented substantially crosswise with the thoroughfare
`being navigated, displays the names of those thoroughfares
`which intersect the thoroughfare being navigated. In this
`embodiment, then, Darby Road, Johnson Drive, Roosevelt
`Drive, Eagle Trafficway, and Front Street would have their
`corresponding name displayed in association with a repre-
`sentation of the thoroughfare. In contrast, however, Abbey
`Lane, despite being crosswise with Mission Road, would not
`have its name displayed since it does not intersect with
`Mission Road. More specifically, as in the foregoing
`embodiment, it is preferred that in this embodiment, pro-
`cessor 24 continue to determine which of the thoroughfares
`intersect the thoroughfare being navigated within a selected
`angle, namely 45 degrees. Accordingly, in this embodiment,
`neither Abbey Lane or Front Street would have its name
`displayed. As stated, Abbey Lane does not intersect Mission
`Road, and thus would not have its name displayed.
`Likewise, although Front Street does intersect Mission
`Road, it does not intersect Mission Road within the preferred
`angle, namely, 45 degrees from perpendicular to the road
`being navigated.
`in each of the foregoing
`As will be appreciated,
`embodiments,
`the thoroughfares displayed on display 20
`which are oriented in substantially the same direction as the
`thoroughfare being navigated, and do not
`intersect
`the
`thoroughfare being navigated, and are thus not oriented
`crosswise to the thoroughfare being navigated, do not have
`their names displayed. As illustrated, thoroughfares 34, 36,
`38 do not have their name displayed in any of the preferred
`embodiments. As will be seen, this invention thus prevents
`the names of those thoroughfares 34, 36, 38 from crossing
`with the text of, for example, Abbey Lane and Roosevelt
`Drive. Each of the thoroughfares consists of a plurality of
`coordinates, namely coordinates in the form of (xn, yn). This
`storage technique is conventional, and will be readily under-
`stood. For illustrative purposes, FIG. 3 illustrates the inter-
`section between Mission Road and Darby Road as (x1, y1),
`the intersection between Johnson Drive and Mission Road is
`
`the intersection between Mission Road and
`(x1, y2),
`Roosevelt Drive as (x1, y3), and the intersection between
`Eagle Trafficway and Mission Road is (x1, y4). In operation
`of the invention, processor 24 utilizes the coordinate data to
`determine the position and orientation of the various thor-
`oughfares. From this data, the processor instructs the display
`how to display the data, and also can easily determine the
`orientations of the various roads for use in determining
`which names to display.
`As will be appreciated, the example provided in FIG. 3 is
`quite simplistic. In actual use, in a very populated and dense
`city area, many more thoroughfares may be displayed, thus
`making the invention particularly useful for displaying the
`name of those thoroughfares in which the operator of the
`vehicle is most likely to be interested.
`In accordance with another aspect of the invention, pro-
`cessor 24, utilizing the known location and direction of the
`vehicle, and the cartographic data stored in memory 26,
`determines the next thoroughfare which, depending upon the
`foregoing embodiment, is oriented in a direction different
`than the thoroughfare being navigated, or is oriented sub-
`stantially crosswise direction to the thoroughfare being
`navigated, or is within a selected angle from a line drawn
`perpendicularly to the thoroughfare being navigated, or
`intersects with the thoroughfare being navigated, either at
`any angle, or within a selected angle of orientation. Thus, for
`example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, as the vehicle is
`traveling North on Mission Road, the next crosswise thor-
`oughfare to be reached is Johnson Drive. In accordance with
`
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`US 6,188,956 B1
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`7
`an important aspect of the invention, a display area, or
`window 40 is provided at a selected location of display 20.
`In this area, or window 40, the name of this next thorough-
`fare to be reached is displayed. Thus, in the example of FIG.
`3, the name “Johnson Drive” is prominently displayed, so
`that
`the operator of the vehicle can easily and readily
`determine the next cross street to be reached. This feature of
`the invention is particularly useful for preventing the opera-
`tor from having to carefully study the detailed cartographic
`data in order to determine which crosswise thoroughfare or
`intersection he or she will next reach. Additionally, the size
`of the text utilized in the display area or window 40 is
`preferably larger than the size of the text utilized for the
`names associated with the thoroughfares on the display.
`Additionally, different colors might be utilized for the dis-
`play area or window 40, or text located therein, to distin-
`guish that the area or window 40 from the remainder of the
`display. Additionally, in accordance with yet another aspect
`of the invention, an identifier, in this case the word “NEXT:”
`is utilized in the display area to readily identify the meaning
`of the name being displayed in the area or window 40,
`namely that it is the next thoroughfare to be reached.
`In summary,
`the navigation device and method of the
`present
`invention uniquely and selectively displays the
`names of thoroughfares on the display of the navigation
`device. The invention is particularly useful for providing the
`operator of a vehicle with the names of thoroughfares in
`which the operator is most likely to be interested, while
`preventing the display from being jumbled with text and
`preventing the names of thoroughfares from overlapping,
`and becoming unreadable. Particularly, the invention favors,
`for display,
`the names of those thoroughfares which are
`oriented in a direction different from the thoroughfare being
`navigated, substantially crosswise to the thoroughfare being
`navigated, or which intersect with the thoroughfare being
`navigated. Additionally, as discussed,
`the invention may
`employ the utilization of a selected angle, preferably 45
`degrees in either direction from a line drawn perpendicularly
`from the road being navigated, to determine which thor-
`oughfare names to display, and which to preclude from the
`display. Additionally,
`the unique aspect of the invention
`provides the name, in selected display area, of the next
`crosswise thoroughfare, intersection, of the thoroughfare to
`be reached.
`
`From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is
`one well adapted to attain all is ends and objects hereinabove
`set forth together with the other advantages which are
`obvious and which are inherent to the structure.
`It will be understood that certain features and subcombi-
`
`nations are of utility and may be employed without reference
`to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated
`by and is within the scope of the claims.
`Since many possible embodiments may be made of the
`invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to
`be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the
`
`accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative,
`and not in a limiting sense.
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. A navigation device for navigating a vehicle on a
`thoroughfare, said device comprising:
`a memory containing cartographic data indicative of a
`plurality of thoroughfares, including said thoroughfare
`upon which said vehicle is being navigated, wherein at
`least one of said thoroughfares intersects said thorough-
`fare upon which said vehicle is being navigated, and
`wherein each of said thoroughfares has an associated
`name stored in memory;
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`a processor connected to said memory; and
`a display, connected to said processor, for displaying said
`cartographic data, wherein said display displays the
`name of each of said thoroughfares that intersects with
`said thoroughfare upon which said vehicle is being
`navigated, but does not display the name associated
`with said thoroughfare upon which said vehicle is being
`navigated.
`2. The navigation device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
`said display displays the names of only the thoroughfares
`that intersect with said thoroughfare upon which said vehicle
`is being navigated with a selected angle, in either direction,
`from perpendicular to the thoroughfare upon which said
`vehicle is being navigated.
`3. The navigation device as set forth in claim 2, wherein
`said selected angle is approximately 45 degrees.
`4. The navigation device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
`said data indicative of said thoroughfares includes thorough-
`fares which do not intersect said thoroughfare upon which
`said vehicle is being navigated, and wherein said display
`does not display the names of said non-intersecting thor-
`oughfare.
`5. A navigation device, for navigating a vehicle on a
`thoroughfare, said device comprising:
`a memory containing cartographic data indicative of a
`plurality of thoroughfares, including said thoroughfare
`on which said vehicle is being navigated, wherein each
`said thoroughfare has an associated name stored in said
`memory, and wherein a first set of said thoroughfares
`are generally aligned in a first direction, and a second
`set of said thoroughfares are generally aligned in a
`second direction;
`least a portion of said
`a processor for retrieving at
`cartographic data from said memory; and
`a display, connected to said processor, wherein said
`display displays images indicative of said thorough-
`fares and displays the names of each thoroughfare in a
`selected one of said sets of thoroughfares.
`6. The navigation device as set forth in claim 5, wherein
`each said thoroughfare in said first set of thoroughfares
`intersects said thoroughfare upon which said vehicle is being
`navigated, and wherein said selected one of said sets is said
`first set.
`
`7. The navigation device as set forth in claim 6, wherein
`each of said thoroughfare in said first set intersects said
`thoroughfare upon which said vehicle is being navigated
`within a selected angle,
`in either direction, from a line
`perpendicular to the road being navigated.
`8. The navigation device as