Method for creating appendices that clearly reference the location of an object

• US 20040059745A1
• Filed: 10/08/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Buecher, Andreas, Hessling, Matthias, Brandes, Henry, Hahlweg, Cornelius, Pfeiffer, Heinz-Werner
• Granted Patent: US 8,060,496 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/102
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3874 Structures specially adapted for data searching and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/092 Coding or decoding of the information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output

Abstract

To generate appendices which uniquely reference an object geographically, a tree of possible paths (A . . . E) is generated. The paths are evaluated in accordance with predefined criteria, which are suited for use as termination criteria, already at the time the paths are formed. Of the remaining paths, at least that one is coded as an appendix which best fulfills at least one of the criteria.

Claims

1. A method for generating appendices which uniquely reference an object geographically, comprising the following features:

starting out from object (20), a tree of possible paths (A . . . E) is generated;

these paths (A . . . E) are evaluated in accordance with predefined criteria, which are suited for use as termination criteria, already at the time the paths are formed;

of the remaining paths (A . . . E), that one is coded as an appendix of the object (2) which best fulfills at least one of the criteria, as well as optionally at least one of other criteria.

2. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein, as paths (A . . . E), coordinate chains are used which lie at least partially on traffic routes, which are contained in a receiver database (30) and include characteristic properties of parts of a traffic route network.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 or 2,

wherein, as a basis for selecting the paths, vector maps are used, and other data material pertaining to geographic objects and routes, including printed map material, is prepared in advance in the form of vector maps.

4. The method as recited in one of claims 1 through 3, wherein, to generate the appendices, criteria are used, which lead individually or in a combination of at least two such criteria, to the following appendices:

they lead out from object (20), from a road or street network having a low classification into one having a higher classification;

they have a unique geometry in the nearby geographic surroundings;

from a navigational standpoint, they represent a real path toward the object (20) and/or away from the object;

they have a small length to be coded.

5. The method as recited in one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the following factual situations are used as termination criteria:

return path to a street having a lower classification;

directional specification does not indicate the object (20).

6. The method as recited in claim 4 or 5,

wherein, to determine the geometric uniqueness, at least one of the following criteria is evaluated, both for the entire path, as well as successively during set-up, or for partial paths:

it is analyzed whether the sum of the amounts of the angular changes over the path exceeds a predefined limiting value;

using the least squares method, it is analyzed whether point sets belong to a same classification or street;

by way of a geometric comparison, it is analyzed whether a found path conforms with a path in a generating database (40), i.e., a clear correlation maximum is ascertained.

7. The method as recited in one of claims 1 through 6, wherein the aforementioned criteria are scaled, in particular in accordance with the requirements of the receiver database (30).

8. The method as recited in claim 7,

wherein the scaling is dynamically carried out in an iterative process.

9. The method as recited in one of claims 6 through 8, wherein the correlation maximum is not only determined in the generating database (40), but is also expanded and/or shifted to the receiver database (30).

10. The method as recited in one of claims 1 through 9, wherein an appendix is referenced from the referencing object (20) to the point where a predefined representative of an object class known to a/the receiver database (30) is reached.