System and method for estimating impedance time through a road network
First Claim
1. A navigation system comprising:
- a server including—
a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for estimating an impedance through a node at an intersection between roads in a roadway network. The impedance may be measured in time or distance, for example. Characteristic information describes at least one feature of the intersecting roads. One or more pieces of characteristic information may impact the impedance of traffic through an intersection and are used to estimate the impedance through the node. Examples of characteristic information are speed information, road-type, network routing level, intersection angle information, one-way, and cross traffic turn information. An impedance factor, or a cost, is assigned to each piece of characteristic information. The cost may be positive if the characteristic information adds impedance to the node, or negative if the characteristic information subtracts impedance from the node.
119 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A navigation system comprising:
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a server including— a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A navigation system comprising:
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a server including— a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of a data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory stores feature data indicative of intersection angle information identifying an angle between roads intersecting at a node through which the route travels, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the intersection angle information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A navigation system comprising:
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a server including— a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory storing feature data indicative of cross traffic turn information identifying whether a desired route through a node crosses on-coming traffic, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the cross traffic turn information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A navigation system comprising:
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a server including— a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of a data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory stores feature data indicative of intersection angle information identifying an angle between roads intersecting at a node through which the route travels, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the intersection angle information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link, the device including— a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for receiving signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites, a device processor for calculating, by triangulation, a first geographic location using the signals, an input for receiving a second geographic location from a user, and a display for displaying the route.
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20. A navigation system comprising:
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a server including— a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory storing feature data indicative of cross traffic turn information identifying whether a desired route through a node crosses on-coming traffic, and a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, a route through the roadway network between geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the cross traffic turn information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route; and
a navigation device operable to transmit the geographic locations to the server and receive the route from the server over a communications link, the device including— a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for receiving signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites, a device processor for calculating, by triangulation, a first geographic location using the signals, an input for receiving the second geographic location from a user, and a display for displaying the route.
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21. A navigation server for calculating a route between first and second geographic locations and transmitting the route to a portable navigation device for navigating the route, the server comprising:
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a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of a data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory stores feature data indicative of intersection angle information identifying an angle between roads intersecting at a node through which the route travels; and
a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, the route through the roadway network between the geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the intersection angle information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A portable navigation device for navigating a route between first and second geographic locations, the device comprising:
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a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for receiving signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites;
a device processor for calculating, by triangulation, the first geographic location using the signals;
an input for receiving indication of the second geographic location from a user;
a display for displaying the route between the first and second geographic locations; and
a transceiver for receiving the route from a server. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A navigation server for calculating a route between first and second geographic locations and transmitting the route to a portable navigation device for navigating the route, the server comprising:
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a memory for at least temporarily storing at least a portion of data structure having data indicative of a roadway network of roads intersecting at nodes, the data structure including feature data indicative of traffic characteristics for associated roads, the memory storing feature data indicative of cross traffic turn information identifying whether a desired route through a node crosses on-coming traffic; and
a server processor accessing the memory and calculating, from the data structure, the route through the roadway network between the geographic locations based on data indicative of route impedances associated with selected roads in the roadway network, the server processor estimating node impedances for intersection nodes through which the route travels, the server processor estimating node impedances based on the cross traffic turn information, the server processor utilizing the route impedance and node impedance to calculate the route. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A portable navigation device for navigating between first and second geographic locations, the device comprising:
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a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for receiving signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites;
a processor for calculating, by triangulation, the first geographic location using the signals;
an input for receiving indication of the second geographic location from a user;
a display for displaying the route between the first and second geographic locations; and
a transceiver for receiving the route from a server. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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Specification