Patents Assigned to Garmin Würzburg GmbH
  • Patent number: 8630801
    Abstract: A system and method for determining and displaying a navigation route on a navigation device from one vehicle position to a travel destination. The navigation device can include processor with RAM, a mass storage device for holding a database with geographic data, as well as a display. Depending on whether a complex intersection is present on the navigation route, the complex intersection can be shown on the display in the form of a single perspective view. Embodiments of the invention can provide a high level of correlation between the actual situation on the road as seen by the user and the corresponding navigation maneuver displayed on the screen. The graphic output of navigation devices for complex intersections can also be improved regardless of whether the navigation device is a high-performance or very simple device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Jochen Katzer
  • Patent number: 8457884
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system comprising the following method steps: a) calculating a route from a point of departure to a destination, said route being composed of a succession of route segments and junctions between the route segments and being selected by means of a route calculation process from a database in which a geographical region is described by route segments and junctions; b) calculating at least one maneuvering instruction which contains instructions for the user to follow the route starting from the current position; c) optically and/or acoustically outputting the maneuvering instruction in an output device, wherein prior to and/or during the calculation and/or prior to and/or during the output of the maneuvering instruction, a configuration file is read and interpreted by an interpretation module, and wherein configuring preset data for calculating and/or outputting the maneuvering instruction are stored in the configuration file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Thorsten W. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8457890
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a method for generating a digital roadmap that can be stored on an electronic storage medium and in which a geographical area is specified by a multitude of data sets. The present invention further pertains to a navigation system that features a memory on which a digital roadmap of this type is stored and provided for use. Moreover, the present invention pertains to a method for operating a navigation system of the afore-mentioned type with a digital roadmap of the afore-mentioned type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Feliu Ros
  • Patent number: 8359160
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for operating a navigation device comprising an input device into which operating commands and/or location data, especially start data and/or destination data, can be entered, a road network database, a route calculation unit for calculating and storing a planned route taking into account the location data and the road network database, a signal receiving unit for receiving position signals, particularly GPS signals, a position determining unit for determining the current position of a vehicle, and a display device. In embodiments, the method comprises the following steps: a) the current vehicle position is determined taking into account the received position signals; b) a route preview is calculated which represents at least one section of the planned route as a film sequence, starting from the current vehicle position; c) the route preview is displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Philipp Hess
  • Patent number: 8237744
    Abstract: A method for operating a navigation device provides a driver with the option of being presented with an overview of the route lying ahead in addition to a detailed illustration of the current position along the route section, namely without any complicated interactions with the navigation device. This navigation device independently changes the scale of the display of the route on the display means in dependence on a manually selected operating mode. The advantage of this method can be seen in a semi-automated solution that always enables the driver to decide exactly which information should be displayed by his navigation device at which time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventors: Steffen Joachim, Jochen Katzer
  • Patent number: 8225201
    Abstract: A graphic output device for generating a mixed graphic-textual depiction having at least one text object consisting of multiple letters for identifying a geographic feature, the output device comprising a processor unit, which is set up to reshape the text object in such a manner that the reshaped text object comprises, in addition to a normal text area having letters in the original size, a compressed text area having letters shrunken and/or compressed in relation to the original size, the boundary between the normal text area and the compressed text area running along a semantic jump point of the text object. A method for preparing a text object consisting of multiple letters using a processor unit, for the purpose of depicting the text object using a graphic output device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Oliver Michael
  • Patent number: 8224562
    Abstract: A method for the automatic, computer-assisted determination of a route travelable by motor vehicles from a starting point to a destination point based on digitalized map data, wherein a computer acquires a starting point and destination point and determines the route based on possible road segments in such a way that the automatically generated route has a high recreational value. To this end, it is proposed that the computer determining the route preferably incorporate those road segments into the route that exhibit a high number of curves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Jochen Katzer
  • Patent number: 8195390
    Abstract: A navigation device (1) including an input device for inputting operator commands and/or location data, particularly starting points and/or destinations, a road network database, a route calculating unit for calculating a planned route with consideration of the location data and the road network database, wherein the route leads from the starting point to the destination, a signal receiving unit for receiving position signals, particularly GPS-signals, a position determining unit that determines the current position based on the position signals, and at least one optical display device, has an editable image database, in which image data files (7) provided for being displayed on the display device can be managed in a user-defined fashion and method of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Christian Schliermann
  • Patent number: 8180568
    Abstract: A method for operating a navigation system includes the following steps: a) computing a route from a starting point to a destination, wherein the route consists of a sequence of road segments and junctions between the road segments that is selected from a database, in which a geographic area is described in the form of road segments and junctions, with a route computation method, b) computing at least one maneuvering instruction that contains instructions for the user in order to follow the route from the current position, and c) computing and displaying a schematic maneuvering image on a display device, wherein the schematic maneuvering image graphically illustrates the maneuvering instructions in schematic form, wherein adjacent junctions that do not lie along the route and/or adjacent road segments that do not lie along the route and do not converge with a junction along the route are also analyzed during the computation of the schematic maneuvering image, wherein at least part of the adjacent road segmen
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Thorsten W. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8139088
    Abstract: A method for generating a digital map that can be stored on an electronic storage medium and in which a geographic area is described by a multitude of data sets includes the following steps: a) loading a database, in which the geographic area is described by a multitude of data sets, into an electronic analyzer, wherein the data sets contain several text data sets that describe the text messages (03), particularly street names, to be displayed in the map, b) specifying a resolution for the graphic illustration of at least a section of the digital map with assigned text messages (03) to be displayed on a display unit, c) calculating graphic overlaps (07) of the text messages (03) during the display of the section of the digital map on the display unit in dependence on the specified resolution, d) identifying all text messages (03) that cause graphic overlaps (07), and e) storing text display attributes that are assigned to the text data sets, wherein the text display attributes contain information on which
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Garmin Würzburg GmbH
    Inventor: Radu Tudose