Travel time calculating method and traffic information display method for a navigation device

• US 20040249568A1
• Filed: 03/30/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoNavigare LLC
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Amaya, Shinichi, Endo, Yoshinori, Sumizawa, Akio
• Granted Patent: US 7,376,509 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• 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 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096888 where input information is obtained using learning systems, e.g. history databases

Abstract

The navigation device of the present invention has a storage device which stores map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, and statistical data including travel time (moving speed) which is determined by statistical values of traffic information collected in the past, with respect to each of the links. Then, the navigation device uses for each departure time candidate, the map data and the statistical data of collection conditions corresponding to the statuses upon passing each of the route constituting links which constitute the route, so as to obtain the travel time for each of the route constituting links. Thereafter, the travel times of respective route constituting links thus obtained are summed up, and the travel time between the departure position and the destination is obtained.

Claims

1. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device, wherein,

said navigation device comprises a storage device which stores map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, and statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed, which are determined by statistical values of traffic information collected in the past, wherein,

said statistical data is classified by collection condition of the traffic information, which is a basis for determining said statistical data, and

the navigation device is allowed to execute the following:

a departure position/destination setting step which sets a departure position and a destination,

a departure time candidate setting step which sets a plurality of departure time candidates, and

a travel time calculating step which uses, with respect to each of said departure time candidates,

said map data and

said statistical data of the collecting conditions corresponding to statuses in passing through respective route constituting links, each constituting a route between said departure position and said destination,

obtains travel times for said respective route constituting links, and

further obtains a travel time between said departure position and said destination by summing up thus obtained travel times of respective route constituting links.

2. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said statistical data includes a travel time or a moving speed by time zone for each of said links,

said travel time calculating step calculates said travel time, by using,

as the travel time of a first link constituting a route between said departure position and said destination, a travel time corresponding to a time zone including a departure time of said departure position included in said statistical data, or a travel time obtained from the moving speed corresponding to the time zone, and

as the travel time of the (n)th route constituting link (n≧

2) constituting the route between said departure position and said destination, a travel time corresponding to a time zone including an expected arrival point of time at a termination node of (n−

1)th route constituting link, being connected to the (n)th route constituting link, or a travel time obtained from a moving speed corresponding to the time zone.

3. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said navigation device further executes a route specifying step which specifies a route between said departure position and said destination, and

said travel time calculating step obtains, with respect to each of said departure time candidates, a travel time of the route specified in said route specifying step.

4. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said navigation device further executes a route searching step which searches for a route between said departure position and said destination, and

said travel time calculating step obtains, with respect to each of said departure time candidates, a travel time of the route searched in said route searching step.

5. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said travel time calculating step obtains, with respect to each of said departure time candidates, a travel time for a route which has the shortest travel time between said departure position and said destination, which is searched by use of said map data and said statistical data.

6. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said navigation device further execute a displaying step, which displays with respect to each of said departure time candidates, the travel time obtained in said travel time calculating step.

7. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 6, wherein,

said statistical data includes a degree of jam by time zone for each of said links,

said travel time calculating step uses the travel times of said respective links constituting the travel route or the degree of jam in the time zone corresponding to the moving speed, and determines the degree of jam of each of sections in a case where the travel route is divided into a plurality of sections, and

said travel time displaying step displays the travel time and the degree of jam in each of the sections of the travel route obtained in said travel time calculating step, in a length according to the travel time of the section, and in a display mode in accordance with the degree of jam of the section, in a form of bar graph.

8. A travel time calculating method of a navigation device according to claim 1, wherein,

said departure time candidate setting step includes a step which receives a selection whether the departure time candidate is set to the current time, or to the time beyond the current time.

9. A traffic information displaying method of a navigation device, wherein,

said navigation device comprises a storage device which stores,

map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed which are determined based on statistical values of traffic information collected in the past with respect to each of the links, and

information for deciding whether the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is generated from actual measurement data or is generated from an interpolation processing on the actual measurement data, and

when information regarding the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is displayed based on said statistical data, a display mode is differentiated between the case where the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is generated from actual measurement data and the case where the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is generated from the interpolation processing on the actual measurement data.

10. A traffic information displaying method of a navigation device according to claim 9, wherein,

the information regarding the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links, being generated by the interpolation processing, is not displayed.

11. A traffic information displaying method of a navigation device, having a current position detecting function, wherein,

said navigation device comprises a storage device which stores,

map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, and statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed which are determined based on statistical values of traffic information collected in the past with respect to each of the links, and

said navigation device executes:

a step which obtains present status traffic information of each of said links present in the periphery of a current position detected by said current position detecting function,

a step which receives a selection of a display mode, either of a mode for displaying information based on said statistical data and a mode for displaying information based on said present status traffic information, and

a step which displays in the display mode thus selected.

12. A traffic information displaying method according to claim 11, further executes,

a step which switches the display mode to display the information based on the present status traffic data, when an operation other than an operation to maintain displaying said information based on the statistical data is conducted, while said information based on the statistical data is displayed.

13. A navigation device comprising a storing means which stores map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, and statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed, which are determined by statistical values of the traffic information collected in the past, wherein,

said statistical data is classified by collection condition of traffic information, which is a basis for determining said statistical data, and the navigation device includes:

a departure position/destination setting means which sets a departure position and a destination,

a departure time candidate setting means which sets a plurality of departure time candidates, and

a travel time calculating means which uses, with respect to each of said departure time candidates,

said map data and

said statistical data of the collecting conditions corresponding to statuses in passing through respective route constituting links, each constituting a route between said departure position and said destination,

obtains travel times for said respective route constituting links, and

further obtains a travel time between said departure position and said destination by summing up thus obtained travel times of respective route constituting links.

14. A navigation device comprising a storing means which stores,

map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed which are determined based on statistical values of traffic information collected in the past with respect to each of the links, and

information for deciding whether the travel time or the moving speed of said respective links is generated from actual measurement data or is generated from an interpolation processing on the actual measurement data, and

a means which differentiates a display mode between the case where the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is generated from actual measurement data and the case where the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is generated from the interpolation processing on the actual measurement data, when information regarding the travel time or the moving speed of each of said links is displayed based on said statistical data.

15. A navigation device having a current position detecting function, comprising,

a storing means which stores,

map data including link data of respective links constituting roads on a map, and statistical data including a travel time or a moving speed which are determined based on statistical values of traffic information collected in the past with respect to each of the links,

a means which obtains present status traffic information of each of said links present in the periphery of a current position detected by said current position detecting function,

a means which receives a selection of a display mode, either of a mode for displaying information based on said statistical data and a mode for displaying information based on said present status traffic information, and

a means which displays in the display mode thus selected.