Progressive map maintenance at a mobile navigation unit

• US 10,309,794 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2017
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Bai, Fan, Grimm, Donald K., Bojanowski, David E., Liu, Chia-Hsiang, Chen, Jinzhu
• Primary Examiner(s): Heinle, Courtney D
• Application Number:
  US15/448,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20170254665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3874 Structures specially adapted for data searching and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3889 Transmission of selected map data, e.g. depending on route
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4092 Image resolution transcoding, e.g. by using client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols

Abstract

A system configured to receive baseline map data from a remote map-data source, and determine whether the baseline map data is sufficient for present mobile navigation-unit function, yielding a map-sufficiency determination. If the map-sufficiency determination is affirmative, using the baseline map data for the present mobile navigation-unit function. If the map-sufficiency determination is negative, the system predicts navigation-unit movement, obtains based on the navigation-unit movement predicted, supplemental map data, and uses the baseline map data and the supplemental map data for the present mobile navigation-unit function.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a hardware-based processing unit; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device comprising code that, when executed by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to perform operations comprising;

receiving baseline map data, including a baseline number of prioritized map features for each of a plurality of road segments, from a remote map-data source;

receiving first supplemental map data, wherein the first supplemental map data includes a supplemental number of prioritized map features for at least some of the plurality of road segments, wherein the at least some of the plurality of road segments are selected for receiving the supplemental number of prioritized map features based on a measure of visitation of a mobile navigation unit to the at least some of the plurality of road segments being above a threshold amount of the measure of visitation;

determining whether prioritized map features necessary for a present mobile navigation-unit function along selected ones of the plurality of road segments are found in at least one of the baseline map data and the first supplemental map data, yielding a map-sufficiency determination;

using, if the map-sufficiency determination is affirmative, the baseline map data and the first supplemental map data for the present mobile navigation-unit function along the at least some of the plurality of road segments; and

if the map-sufficiency determination is negative;

determining navigation-unit movement characteristics;

obtaining, based on the navigation-unit movement characteristics, second supplemental map data; and

using at least the second supplemental map data for the present mobile navigation-unit function.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the operations further comprise determining, based on the navigation-unit movement characteristics, the second supplemental map data; and

the obtaining operation includes fetching the second supplemental map data determined.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the second supplemental map data comprises a number of prioritized features that have a lower priority than the number of prioritized features of the baseline map data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of road segments is a first plurality of road segments and obtaining the second supplemental map data based on the navigation-unit movement characteristics comprises obtaining a number of prioritized features for a second plurality of road segments, wherein the second plurality of road segments are smaller than the first plurality of road segments for a corresponding length of road.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein movement characteristics comprises heading.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein movement characteristics comprises speed.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the operation of obtaining the baseline map data from the remote map-data source comprises fetching the baseline map data from the remote map-data source to pre-load at the mobile navigation unit; and

pre-loading the baseline map data to the non-transitory computer-readable storage device for subsequent use at the mobile navigation unit.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first supplemental map data is generated in response to using the baseline map data.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the operation of obtaining the baseline map data from the remote map-data source for pre-load at the mobile navigation unit comprises receiving the baseline map data periodically.