Navigation system and navigation equipment

• US 20030201912A1
• Filed: 04/24/2003
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Matsukawa, Toshiki, Hashida, Masaya, Naganuma, Mayumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,071,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/995.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once

Abstract

A navigation system and navigation equipment which reduce the time required for radio transmissions to implement fast navigational guidance. The navigation equipment communicates bi-directionally by radio with a navigation server, thereby providing navigational guidance. The navigation equipment transmits position data delivered by a GPS receiver to the navigation server through a communication device and acquires, from the communication device, map data for display indicative of a map of a surrounding area including a self-location provided by the position data sent back from the navigation server. The navigation equipment then performs map matching between road information contained in the acquired map data for display and the position information, thereby determining a current position on the road, thereby displaying a map in the form of an image on a display unit in accordance with the map data for display and displaying the current position determined by the map matching on the map displayed in the form of an image.

Claims

1. A navigation system including a mobile unit and a navigation server communicating with each other over a radio communication network,

wherein said mobile unit comprises:

communicating means for communicating bi-directionally with said navigation server over said radio communication network;

positioning means for determining a self-location of the mobile unit;

control means for transmitting position information delivered by said positioning means to said navigation server through said communicating means, and for acquiring, from said communicating means, map information for display indicative of a map of a surrounding area including the self-location provided by said position information sent back from said navigation server, to perform map matching between road information contained in said acquired map information for display and position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position of the mobile unit on said road; and

display means for displaying a map in the form of an image in accordance with said map information for display and for displaying said current position determined by said control means on said map displayed in the form of an image,

wherein when having received said position information transmitted from said mobile unit, said navigation server sends map information for display, corresponding to the map of the surrounding area including the self-location of said mobile unit determined by said received position information, back to said mobile unit.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein

when having received the position information indicative of the self-location transmitted from said mobile unit and information with regard to a destination, said navigation server searches for an optimal route from the self-location to said destination and sends route information formed of only road information with regard to a road constituting said optimal route back to said mobile unit, and

instead of performing map matching between the road information contained in said map information for display and position information determined by said positioning means, said control means performs map matching between the route information sent back from said navigation server and the position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position to be displayed on said display means.

3. The navigation system according to claim 2, wherein

when having determined that the route information sent back from said navigation server and the position information determined by said positioning means do not satisfy a predetermined condition, said control means performs map matching between the road information contained in said map information for display and the position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position to be displayed on said display means.

4. Navigation equipment comprising:

communicating means for communicating bi-directionally with a navigation server over a radio communication network;

positioning means for determining a self-location;

control means for transmitting position information delivered by said positioning means to said navigation server through said communicating means, and for acquiring, from said communicating means, map information for display indicative of a map of a surrounding area including the self-location provided by said position information sent back from said navigation server, to perform map matching between road information contained in said acquired map information for display and the position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position of a mobile unit on said road; and

display means for displaying a map in the form of an image in accordance with said map information for display and for displaying said current position determined by said control means on said map displayed in the form of an image.

5. The navigation equipment according to claim 4, wherein

said control means transmits the position information delivered by said positioning means and information with regard to a destination to said navigation server, and acquires route information indicative of an optimal route and formed of only road information with regard to a road to said destination from the self-location provided by the position information sent back from said navigation server, to perform map matching between the route information sent back from said navigation server and the position information determined by said positioning means, instead of performing map matching between the road information contained in said map information for display and the position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position to be displayed on said display means.

6. The navigation equipment according to claim 5, wherein

when having determined that the route information sent back from said navigation server and the position information determined by said positioning means do not satisfy a predetermined condition, said control means performs map matching between the road information contained in said map information for display and the position information determined by said positioning means, thereby determining a current position to be displayed on said display means.