Patent ID: 7463972

Claim:
A navigation apparatus, comprising: a memory that stores registered routes, wherein each registered route includes a previously traveled route, a corresponding starting point, a corresponding destination point, and a time at which each node on the registered route was through; and a controller that: searches for a route from a specified starting point to a specified destination point; compares the searched route with the registered routes; when a corresponding starting point is substantially identical to the specified starting point or a corresponding destination point is substantially identical to the specified destination point, utilizes a portion of a registered route including the substantially identical starting point or the substantially identical destination point as a navigation route; and when there is a common node or an adjacent node in both the searched route and the registered route: utilizes a portion of the registered route from the substantially identical starting point to the common node or the adjacent node as the navigation route, or utilizes a portion of the registered route from the common node or the adjacent node to the substantially identical destination point as the navigation route; predicts a time at which the common node or the adjacent node on the searched route will be passed through; and sets the navigation route in accordance with the predicted time and the stored time at which the common node or the adjacent node was passed through on the registered route.