Method of representing road lanes

• US 20050004753A1
• Filed: 07/16/2003
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: McDonough, William, Shuman, David, Nyczak, Gregory, Tsengouras, Michael, Ford, Paul, Weiland, Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/620,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20050004753A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17 Using electrical or electronic regulation means to control braking detecting or indicating faulty operation B60T8/885
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/82 Elements for improving aerodynamics

Abstract

A method is disclosed for representing road lanes as data in a database that can be used by a system in a vehicle to provide a safety-related function. Each data representation of a physical road lane includes data indicating start and end points of the represented lane and other data attributes pertaining to the represented lane, including data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented lane on right and left sides thereof and data indicating a geometry of the represented lane. Further, at least some of the data representations of lanes are associated with data representations of sublanes. Each data representation of a sublane includes data indicating start and end points thereof, defined relative to the lane of which the sublane is a part. A data representation of a sublane includes at least one data attribute associated therewith that pertains to the represented sublane and that is different than the same attribute of the lane of which the sublane is a part. The database is compatible with navigation-related applications that use a different data model to provide navigation-related functions.

Claims

1. A method for representing lanes with a road database comprising:

storing in the road database data representations of physical road lanes; and

associating with each data representation of a physical road lane

data indicating start and end points of the represented physical road lane; and

data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane on a right side and a left side thereof.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate another physical road lane, which can be entered by a lane change.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate another physical road lane but which cannot be entered.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate a physical road lane is in the process of forming.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate a physical road lane is in the process of ending.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate a shoulder.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate another drivable surface.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane indicate no drivable surface.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating with at least some data representations of physical road lanes data indicating a sublane of the represented physical road lane,

wherein the data indicating a sublane include data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane, wherein the data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane are defined relative to an end of the physical road lane of which the sublane is a part.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating with some data representations of a physical road lane data indicating multiple sublanes of the represented physical road lane,

wherein each of the multiple sublanes is represented by data indicating start and end points of the respective associated represented sublane, wherein the data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane are defined relative to an end of the respective associated physical road lane of which the sublane is a part.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein at least some of the sublanes associated with some physical road lanes overlap.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating with each data representation of a physical road lane data indicating a geometry of the represented physical road lane.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the geometry of a represented physical road lane includes a clothoid.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the geometry of a represented physical road lane includes a spline.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein each data representation of a physical road lane further comprises:

a reference to at least one data entity used for navigation-related purposes that represents the road segment of which the physical road lane is a part.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the data representations of physical road lanes represent lanes that are less than full width.

17. A method for representing lanes with a road database comprising:

storing in the road database data representations of physical road lanes;

associating with each data representation of a physical road lane data indicating start and end points of the represented physical road lane; and

associating with at least some data representations of physical road lanes data indicating a sublane of the represented physical road lane,

wherein the data indicating a sublane include data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane, wherein the data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane are defined relative to an end of the physical road lane of which the sublane is a part.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the data indicating a sublane include attributes that take precedence over the same attributes of the represented physical road lane of which the sublane is a part.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein some of the data representations of physical road lanes have multiple data representations of sublanes associated with a single physical road lane.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein some of the multiple sublanes associated with a single physical road lane overlap.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the data representations of physical road lanes represent lanes that are less than full width.

22. A database that models roads comprising:

data representations of physical road lanes, wherein each data representation of a physical road lane includes

data indicating start and end points of the represented physical road lane; and

data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented physical road lane on a right side and a left side thereof.

23. The database of claim 22 further comprising:

data entities that represent roads for navigation-related purposes,

wherein the data representations of physical road lanes refer to those data entities that represent roads for navigation-related purposes that represent those roads of which the physical road lanes are a part.

24. The database of claim 22 wherein said data representations of physical road lanes are stored on a computer-readable medium.

25. The database of claim 22 wherein the data representations of physical road lanes represent lanes that are less than full width.

26. A database that models roads comprising:

data representations of physical road lanes, wherein each data representation of a physical road lane includes

data indicating start and end points of the represented physical road lane; and

wherein at least some of the data representations of physical road lanes include data indicating a sublane of the represented physical road lane,

wherein the data indicating a sublane include data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane, wherein the data indicating start and end points of the represented sublane are defined relative to an end of the physical road lane of which the sublane is a part.

27. The database of claim 26 wherein said data representations of physical road lanes are stored on a computer-readable medium.

28. The database of claim 26 wherein the data representations of physical road lanes represent lanes that are less than full width.