Patent ID: 7460952

Claim:
A navigation apparatus for displaying navigation information generated based on map information, the navigation apparatus comprising: positional information acquiring means for acquiring positional information; storage means for storing two-dimensional map data, three-dimensional graphic data, and node-based altitude data of recorded altitude data of nodes which are set on a link used as a route; a data processor for: calculating altitudes of points on the route based on the node-based altitude data; calculating an altitude of the navigation apparatus based on the positional information and based on the node-based altitude data; calculating an altitude of a vehicle having the navigation apparatus based on the positional information and the node-based altitude data; generating three-dimensional route information for a guidance region based on the positional information; and generating three-dimensional data obtained in observation from a camera viewpoint set within an allowable range for setting the camera viewpoint, the allowable range having altitudes not less than the altitude of the vehicle or the altitude of the navigation apparatus; and display means for displaying the three dimensional route information and the three-dimensional data, wherein the storage means: stores, as interpolation-point-based altitude data, altitude information of interpolation points set between two adjacent nodes, and excludes one of a first sequential interpolation point and a second sequential interpolation point when a difference between altitude information of the first sequential interpolation point and altitude information of the second sequential interpolation point is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold difference.