Navigation system for finding optimum route using traffic incidents information

• US 20040150534A1
• Filed: 01/31/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Linn, Jian-Liang
• Granted Patent: US 7,161,504 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/995.13
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A navigation system for finding an optimum route to the destination using traffic incidents information provides a novel approach to enable a user easily and quickly to select which incidents should be avoided. In the system, the user reviews the latest incident information through a wireless communication device. Besides the basic information, the user can grasp and review the images of incidents. The user can easily identify the important traffic incidents because the system can display only the traffic incidents on the calculated route as well as all the traffic incidents in the converged area. The user can select the incident to receive more detailed information or to avoid it on the route to the destination. The system calculates a new optimum route to avoid the specified traffic incidents.

Claims

1. A display method for a navigation system, comprising the following steps of:

receiving traffic information through a wireless communication device;

identifying locations of all of traffic incidents in a coverage area which is dependent upon a current position of a user of the navigation system and a calculated route to a destination;

selecting one of display types, all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination;

displaying the traffic incidents of the selected display type on the navigation system;

selecting a traffic incident to be avoided on the calculated route to the destination; and

calculating a new route to the destination which does not have the selected traffic incident and displaying the new calculated route on the navigation system.

2. A display method for a navigation system as defined claim 1, further comprising a step of selecting a traffic incident to review detailed information on the traffic incident.

3. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of displaying the traffic incidents includes a step of displaying all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area on a map image or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination on the map image.

4. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 3, wherein said step of selecting the traffic incident on the map image further includes a step of selecting one of the traffic incidents by pointing an icon of the traffic incident with a cursor.

5. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of displaying the traffic incidents includes a step of displaying all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area in a traffic incident list or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination on the traffic incident list.

6. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 2, further comprising a step of displaying a pop-up menu which shows the detailed traffic information regarding the traffic incident specified by the user.

7. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 6, wherein the detailed traffic information includes text data and image data of the selected traffic incident.

8. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 7, wherein said image data includes a live video image of the selected traffic incident received through the wireless communication.

9. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of selecting the traffic incident to be avoided further includes a step of pointing an icon of the traffic incident with a cursor, and executing the navigation system to avoid the selected traffic incident.

10. A display method for a navigation system as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of selecting the traffic incident to avoid includes a step of automatically selecting all the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination.

11. A display apparatus for a navigation system, comprising:

means for receiving traffic information through a wireless communication device;

means for identifying locations of all of traffic incidents in a coverage area which is dependent upon a current position of a user of the navigation system and a calculated route to a user'"'"'s destination;

means for selecting one of display types, all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination;

means for displaying the traffic incidents of the selected display type on the navigation system;

means for selecting a traffic incident to be avoided on the calculated route to the destination; and

means for calculating a new route to the destination which does not have the selected traffic incident and displaying the new calculated route on the navigation system.

12. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 11, further comprising means for selecting a traffic incident to review detailed information on the traffic incident.

13. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 11, wherein said means for displaying the traffic incidents includes means for displaying all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area on a map image or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination on the map image.

14. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 13, wherein said means for selecting the traffic incident on the map image further includes means for selecting one of the traffic incidents by pointing a cursor at an icon of the traffic incident.

15. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 11, wherein said means for displaying the traffic incidents includes means for displaying all of the traffic incidents in the coverage area in a traffic incident list or a part of the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination on the traffic incident list.

16. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 12, further comprising means for displaying a pop-up menu which shows the detailed traffic information regarding the selected traffic incident after the traffic incident is selected by the user.

17. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 16, wherein the detailed traffic information includes text data and image data of the selected traffic incident.

18. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 17, wherein said image data includes a live video image of the selected traffic incident received through the wireless communication.

19. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 11, wherein said means for selecting the traffic incident to be avoided further includes means for pointing an icon of the traffic incident with a cursor, and executing the navigation system to avoid the selected traffic incident.

20. A display apparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 11, wherein said means for selecting the traffic incident to avoid includes means for automatically selecting all the traffic incidents on the calculated route to the destination.