Route searching apparatus

• US 20050055158A1
• Filed: 02/09/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Machino, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,433,780 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• 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 21/3658 Lane guidance

Abstract

A route searching apparatus includes a map data acquiring unit for acquiring map data defined by nodes and road links, a route searching unit for searching for a route to a destination in consideration of road links corresponding to specific roads, on which determination of whether or not a vehicle is allowed to travel can be performed according to a condition of the vehicle before the condition of the vehicle is set, the road links being included in the map data acquired by the map data acquiring unit, and an output unit for outputting the route searched for by the route searching unit.

Claims

1. A route searching apparatus comprising:

a map data acquiring unit for acquiring map data defined by nodes and road links;

a route searching unit for searching for a route to a destination in consideration of road links corresponding to specific roads, on which determination of whether or not a vehicle is allowed to travel can be performed according to a condition of the vehicle, before the condition of the vehicle is set, the road links being included in the map data acquired by said map data acquiring unit; and

an output unit for outputting the route searched for by said route searching unit.

2. The route searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said route searching unit searches for the route to the destination while counting road links corresponding to specific roads included in the map data acquired by said map data acquiring unit as targets to be searched for.

3. The route searching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the searched-for route includes a specific road, said route searching unit outputs a message to urge setting of the condition of the vehicle.

4. The route searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the condition of the vehicle that is input thereto in response to the message meets requirements for permission to drive in the specific road, said route searching unit sends the route acquired through the route searching to said output unit, whereas when the condition of the vehicle that is input thereto in response to the message doesn'"'"'t meet the requirements for permission to drive in the specific road, said route searching unit searches for the route to the destination by excluding a road link corresponding to the specific road from targets to be searched for and outputs the searched-for route to said output unit.

5. The route searching apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting that the vehicle reaches a predetermined region including a specific road, wherein when said detecting unit detects that the vehicle reaches a predetermined region including a specific road, said route searching unit outputs a message to urge setting of the condition of the vehicle.

6. The route searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said route searching unit searches for the route to the destination by excluding the road links included in the map data acquired by said map data acquiring unit and corresponding to the specific roads from targets to be searched for.

7. The route searching apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the searched-for route includes a specific road, said route searching unit outputs a message to urge setting of the condition of the vehicle.

8. The route searching apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the condition of the vehicle that is input thereto in response to the message doesn'"'"'t meet requirements for permission to drive in the specific road, said route searching unit delivers the route acquired through the route searching to said output unit, whereas when the condition for the vehicle that is received in response to the message meets the requirements for permission to drive in the specific road, said route searching unit searches for the route to the destination while counting a road link corresponding to the specific road as targets to be searched for.

9. The route searching apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting that the vehicle reaches a predetermined region including a specific road, wherein when said detecting unit detects that the vehicle reaches a predetermined region including a specific road, said route searching unit outputs a message to urge setting of the condition of the vehicle.