Patents by Inventor Kiyohide Kato

Kiyohide Kato has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8510038
    Abstract: A route guidance system includes: a current position detecting unit; a display condition determination processing unit that determines, for each of pieces of lane data that correspond to a lane list display section set in a forward direction of a vehicle position, whether a display condition for creating a lane list is satisfied, based on the pieces of lane data; a display setting processing unit that sets a piece of the lane data that satisfies the display condition as a display target; and a list display processing unit that displays the lane list based on the piece of the lane data that has been set as the display target. Thus, the piece of the lane data that satisfies the display condition is set as the display target, and the lane list is displayed based on the piece of the lane data that has been set as the display target. Consequently, the size of the lane list can be prevented from becoming too large.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignees: Aisin AW Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato, Kenichi Murata, Kiyokazu Okada
  • Patent number: 8175800
    Abstract: A route guidance system includes a current position detection section, a route search section, and a guidance section. The guidance section includes a branch computation section computes the number of branches between a host vehicle location and a guidance location along a specified route. A point guidance section executes route guidance based on the computed number of the branches. The number of branches between the host vehicle location and the guidance location is computed, and the route guidance is executed based on the computed number of the branches, so it is possible to recognize the guidance location simply by counting the number of the branches, regardless of the number of traffic signals that exist between the host vehicle location and the guidance location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Nakayama, Shino Oonishi, Kensuke Takeuchi, Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato
  • Patent number: 7949468
    Abstract: Route guidance systems, methods, and programs detect a current position of a vehicle and search for a route to a destination on the basis of the vehicle position. The systems, methods, and programs set a guidance point at a predetermined distance before a target point on the searched route. If a guidance condition is met, the systems, methods, and programs provide route guidance about the target point when the vehicle reaches the guidance point, the guidance condition being met on the basis of the presence or absence of traffic lights at each of at least one intersection between the guidance point and the target point. If the guidance condition is met, the systems, methods, and programs output route guidance, the content of the route guidance being preset based on the guidance condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Nakayama, Shino Oonishi, Kensuke Takeuchi, Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato
  • Publication number: 20100292922
    Abstract: A route guidance system includes: a current position detecting unit; a display condition determination processing unit that determines, for each of pieces of lane data that correspond to a lane list display section set in a forward direction of a vehicle position, whether a display condition for creating a lane list is satisfied, based on the pieces of lane data; a display setting processing unit that sets a piece of the lane data that satisfies the display condition as a display target; and a list display processing unit that displays the lane list based on the piece of the lane data that has been set as the display target. Thus, the piece of the lane data that satisfies the display condition is set as the display target, and the lane list is displayed based on the piece of the lane data that has been set as the display target. Consequently, the size of the lane list can be prevented from becoming too large.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Applicants: Aisin AW Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato, Kenichi Murata, Kiyokazu Okada
  • Publication number: 20100026804
    Abstract: Route guidance systems, methods, and programs detect a current position of a vehicle and search for a route to a destination based on the detected current position. The systems, methods, and programs identify a guide intersection along the route and set a route guide point at a predetermined point on the route before the guide intersection. The systems, methods, and programs calculate a number of intersections along the route from the route guide point to the guide intersection having both a traffic signal and a road feature and perform a voice output based on the calculated number of intersections when the vehicle arrives at the route guide point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Publication date: February 4, 2010
    Applicant: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato
  • Publication number: 20090319171
    Abstract: A route guidance system includes a current position detection section, a route search section, and a guidance section. The guidance section includes a branch computation section computes the number of branches between a host vehicle location and a guidance location along a specified route. A point guidance section executes route guidance based on the computed number of the branches. The number of branches between the host vehicle location and the guidance location is computed, and the route guidance is executed based on the computed number of the branches, so it is possible to recognize the guidance location simply by counting the number of the branches, regardless of the number of traffic signals that exist between the host vehicle location and the guidance location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Applicant: Aisin Aw Co., Lltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Nakayama, Shino Oonishi, Kensuke Takeuchi, Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato
  • Publication number: 20090222202
    Abstract: If it is determined that a course change at a branch point is necessary and a vehicle is traveling on a road in which a lane is added to correspond to a road which is taken after the course change (road before the branch point), “direction guidance” is provided before a road section in which the lane is added (added lane section) and “lane guidance” is provided in the added lane section. As above, by switching the “direction guidance” and the “lane guidance” depending on whether the vehicle has reached the added lane section or not, and by providing either one of the guidances, a driver can recognize the guidance without confusion. Particularly, when the branch point is branched off at a narrow angle and when the added lane is a lane dedicated to the road which is taken after the course change, by providing the lane guidance, instead of the direction guidance indicating left or right, the guidance becomes easier to understand.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2008
    Publication date: September 3, 2009
    Applicant: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kiyohide Kato
  • Publication number: 20070124069
    Abstract: Route guidance systems, methods, and programs detect a current position of a vehicle and search for a route to a destination on the basis of the vehicle position. The systems, methods, and programs set a guidance point at a predetermined distance before a target point on the searched route. If a guidance condition is met, the systems, methods, and programs provide route guidance about the target point when the vehicle reaches the guidance point, the guidance condition being met on the basis of the presence or absence of traffic lights at each of at least one intersection between the guidance point and the target point. If the guidance condition is met, the systems, methods, and programs output route guidance, the content of the route guidance being preset based on the guidance condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Publication date: May 31, 2007
    Applicant: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Nakayama, Shino Oonishi, Kensuke Takeuchi, Daisuke Tanizaki, Kiyohide Kato
  • Publication number: 20070124068
    Abstract: A route guidance system includes a current-location detecting unit for detecting the current location of the vehicle; a route-searching unit for searching to determine a route to a destination from the detected vehicle current location; a guidance-intersection setting processing unit for setting a guidance intersection based on the determined route; a route guidance point setting processing unit for setting a route guidance point on the near side of a guidance intersection; a change condition determination processing unit for calculating a route guidance region from the start to the end of route guidance based on the route guidance point and the contents of route guidance, and determining whether or not the route guidance region overlaps a predetermined intersection between the vehicle current location and the guidance intersection; and a route guidance region changing unit for changing the route guidance region when the route guidance region is determined to overlap the predetermined intersection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Publication date: May 31, 2007
    Applicant: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Nakayama, Shino Oonishi, Kensuke Takeuchi, Kiyohide Kato
  • Patent number: 6317687
    Abstract: A vehicle navigation apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a CDROM (2) for storing all the data required for navigation processing such as maps and voice data, and a buffer (4-1) for accessing CDROM (2) to prepare beforehand a phrase necessary for the navigation guidance. A control device (1) selects appropriate phrases corresponding to the present vehicle position and reads out the selected phrases from the buffer, (4-1) successively, in response to a request signal supplied from a request sensor (7) which is output in response to the driver's request. The thus processed navigation information data is transformed into voice signals through a decoder (4-2) and output from a speaker (5) as a voice response. The control device (1) checks whether or not a phrase prepared in the buffer (4-1) is a frequently used phrase and replaces this phrase with a new phrase if this phrase is not frequently used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Assignee: Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoumi Morimoto, Naokazu Ozaki, Kiyohide Kato, Naoko Sugiura
  • Patent number: 6064941
    Abstract: A navigation apparatus reduces route search time while providing guidance in conformity with drivers' preferences, by selectively conducting either a full-range route search or a more limited, local area search, in accordance with detected conditions and responsive to occurrence of an off-route event. For example, the full-range route search is conducted pursuant to a determination that the vehicle has gone straight at a predetermined number of certain intersections where current guidance has directed a turn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2000
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Nimura, Kiyohide Kato, Yasunobu Ito
  • Patent number: 5874905
    Abstract: The vehicular navigation system of the present invention includes a present position detector for detecting the present position of a vehicle, an input device for inputting a destination, an information memory for storing road data for searching for an optimal route, a route search system for searching for an optimal route to the destination based on the road data stored in the information memory, a route information converter for converting the route information near the present position of the vehicle to a visually 3-dimensional route information based on configuration of the road by the route search system, and a display for outputting and displaying the route information converted by the route information converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1999
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akimasa Nanba, Kiyohide Kato
  • Patent number: 5809447
    Abstract: A vehicle navigation device provides route guidance by voice or the like in accordance with a preset route. The system includes data storage for storing data such as data relating to a map and route guidance voice data. The system reads out the route voice guidance data from storage and outputs the route voice guidance data directly as voice guidance. An input device allows for inputting information for setting or instructing the route guidance. A current position detector detects current position of the vehicle and a controller sets a route from the current position to a destination, with temporary storage of that set route. A voice data editor edits the combination of phrases of the guidance message relating to an intersection, a diverging point, etc., on the set route in temporary storage. The controller controls the reading out of the voice data from storage in sequential fashion and outputs the read voice data at a predetermined distance before a guide point utilizing the edited combination of phrases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyohide Kato, Koji Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 5231584
    Abstract: A navigation apparatus has an input unit (1), a CPU (2), a display unit (3) and a memory unit (4), the memory unit (4) being a memory such as a CD-ROM in which network data of geographical points, namely destinations and present locations, and information are stored in advance. Also stored are map data (10), an intersection list (11), a destination list (12), road data (13) and a region name list (14), etc. When a destination is designated by an input from the input means (1), the CPU (2) performs an exchange with a program, stored in a ROM (9a), in order to set information for travel to the destination by course exploration in accordance with each geographical point stored in the memory unit (4). This information is stored in a memory such as a RAM (9b). In an embodiment, the RAM (9b) is provided with a non-volatile area for storing departure-point data (east longitude, north latitude, etc.).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1993
    Assignees: Aisin AW Co., Ltd., Kabushiki Kaisha Shinsangyokaihatsu
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Nimura, Shoji Yokoyama, Koji Sumiya, Shuzo Moroto, Kiyohide Kato