Abstract: A position determining apparatus for a vehicle in which movement components in longitudinal (southerly-northerly) and latitudinal (easterly-westerly) directions in a unit running distance of the vehicle are determined from an initialized location. The apparatus determines the longitudinal distance of the current position of the vehicle from the initialized location by integrating the movement component in the longitudinal direction and utilizes the longitudinal distance for determining a latitude difference from a reference latitude and a virtual latitude. The apparatus converts the movement component in the latitudinal direction at the virtual latitude into a latitudinal movement component at the reference latitude to determine the latitudinal distance of the current position of the vehicle from the initialized location. The latitudinal and longitudinal distances of the current position of the vehicle are displayed.

Abstract: An on-vehicle navigation system wherein movement components in an easterly or westerly direction and a southerly or northerly direction for each unit running distance are calculated to determine longitudinal and latitudinal variations. A plurality of locations and the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates representative thereof are stored in memory so as to be retrieved for display. A contraction scale formed of a rectangular periphery enclosing a longitudinal meridian and a latitudinal parallel passing through the starting location and a longitudinal meridian and a latitudinal parallel passing through the destination location is determined on a display unit so that the current position is effectively illustrated on the display.

Abstract: An automotive navigation system wherein a memory included therein has not stored therein picture information of an actual map, but instead has stored therein geographical names and the geographical positions thereof. When the geographical names of a departure point, a destination point and one or more passing points are entered through an input unit, a control circuit reads out the respective positions of the points from the memory. The control circuit controls a display unit to display on a display screen marks respectively indicating two or more of the points and the current position of a vehicle.