NAVIGATION UNIT FOR VEHICLE, ITS INFORMATION COMMUNICATING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit the travel locus of an own vehicle or photograph information to an external communication device. SOLUTION: This navigation unit transmits map image information for displaying a map image of an area surrounding the present position of an automobile mounted with this unit to the external communication device if the communication device has neither the same map data as this unit has nor any function of displaying the map image based on the map data. The image information includes the present position of the navigation unit, the travel locus of the vehicle in the past, information on symbol images enabling a route guide path to a destination to be identified, passage time (date) corresponding to the travel locus, messages, and photographs (or their thumbnail images). The image information has a data format easily reproducible by a common personal computer.