Abstract: A navigation system including an information memory device that stores road information for parallel roads and other information required for executing route guidance; a present position detection device that detects a present position of a vehicle by detecting vehicle travel information; and a control device that reads the road information stored in the information memory device on the basis of the present position detected by the present position detection device, and executes matching processing of the present position detection information to the road information to provide route guidance. The control device determines whether parallel roads exist on the basis of the road information stored in the information memory device and, when parallel roads exist, selects the road on which the vehicle is running from the identified parallel roads according to the road information and various indicative or decision parameters.

Abstract: A navigation system has a display screen which can be divided into a plurality of windows for simultaneously displaying different classifications of routes in the same scale, or different routes from a present position or starting point to a destination or return to a route from which a car has deviated.

Abstract: The invention provides a vehicular navigation system which is capable of lowering the cost of detecting road data stored in order in the outgoing trip, using the road data as resources in the return trip, and determining a route meeting the requirements of the user. According to a vehicular navigation system of the invention, when a vehicle is traveling on a road having bidirectional data along an outgoing route from a starting point to a destination, a road on the opposite side of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is stored as return route data with a lowered cost of route determination. Such a storing operation is performed for each node passed by the vehicle. The return route data thus stored are used to determine a return route.

Abstract: An information display system has a touch panel for selecting an item from a plurality of displayed items by touching. Coordinate differences between each of the coordinates of the plurality of displayed items and the touch position coordinates are calculated. The item having the least calculated coordinate difference is the selected item. Subsequent touchings within a predetermined time and distance are determined to be attempts to correct previous erroneous selections causing probabilities of selecting the previously selected items to be reduced, such as by changing relative calculated coordinate differences to favor selection of other items. Alternatively, a next candidate button can be touched to select the item with the next least coordinate difference.

Abstract: A vehicular navigation system which is enabled by inputting the name of a registered point to search for the corresponding registered point, including an information memory for storing, as registered point data, registered point name data and the district data where the registered point is located; an input device or devices for inputting a portion or the entire registered point name and district designation data for the registered point to be searched; a search engine for searching for the registered point that corresponds to a portion or the entire name input via the input device or devices, from the registered points which are stored in the information memory; and a display for displaying the searched registered points in a list, wherein the search engine searches for the registered point corresponding to the input district input by the input device or devices.

Abstract: In the disclosed navigation system, a distinctive object at an intersection or branch point already registered is recognized by image recognition in order that necessary action can be taken at the earliest opportunity by obtaining information as to the road on which the vehicle has advanced from the intersection or the branch point. The road on which the vehicle has advanced at the intersection or branch point is determined from the direction of relative movement of the distinctive object in the recognized image. Also, in order that easily understandable guidance can be provided even when intersections are in close proximity and even when a distinctive object is newly installed or removed at the intersection, assuming that the present position as detected is on the predetermined and guided route, a guidance message is composed by reading data relating to a point on the guided route, ahead of the present position, in the data stored in the information storage unit.

Abstract: In a navigation apparatus for a vehicle, a route is determined in an ordinary-road-preferential mode or a toll-road-preferential mode, and route guidance is provided based on the thus-determined route. When the vehicle deviates from the determined route, redetermination is conducted so as to obtain a new route based on which guidance is provided. For example, when the vehicle has deviated from a route determined in the ordinary-road-preferential mode in order to enter a toll road, the user operates a toll-road-preference ON touch button so to change the determination mode to the toll-road preferential mode, so that route redetermination is carried out in a state in which priority is given to toll roads. In the navigation apparatus, optimum interchanges of a special road are automatically searched, and a route that preferentially uses the special road is calculated.

Abstract: A navigation apparatus has: a current position detecting device for detecting current position of a vehicle in which the device is installed; an information storing device for storing map information and other route information for route search and route guidance; an input device for inputting instructions; an output device for outputting information for route guidance; and a central processing unit. The central processing unit has a route searching capability for searching for a route from the current position to a destination or an intermediate point on the basis of the map information, route storage means for temporarily storing the route found by the route search, and route guidance control for outputting to the output device a signal for executing route guidance. The apparatus determines a location on the road located a predetermined distance ahead in the direction of travel from the current position, as a search starting location or as a route guidance starting location.