Systems, methods, and data structures for smoothing navigation data

• US 20050143906A1
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Hiroki, Zaitsu, Tomoyuki
• Application Number:
  US11/002,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20050143906A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• 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

Abstract

Systems and methods of smoothing navigation data may accumulate traffic information including, for each link, a congestion degree at a plurality of trip times, calculate a link travel time on the basis of the congestion degree for each trip time, and smooth the calculated link travel time.

Claims

1. A method of smoothing navigation data, comprising:

accumulating traffic information including, for each link, a congestion degree at a plurality of trip times;

calculating a link travel time on the basis of the congestion degree for each trip time; and

smoothing the calculated link travel time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein smoothing the calculated link travel time comprises:

smoothing a target calculated link travel time with a plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein smoothing a target calculated link travel time with a plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time comprises:

smoothing the targeted link travel time by statistically processing the plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein smoothing a target calculated link travel time with a plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time comprises:

calculating the arithmetic mean of the plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the smoothed calculated link travel time into a congestion degree.

6. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and usable for performing the method recited in claim 1.

7. A system for smoothing navigation data, comprising:

a memory that accumulates traffic information including, for each link, a congestion degree at a plurality of trip times; and

a controller that;

calculates a link travel time on the basis of the congestion degree for each trip time; and

smoothes the calculated link travel time.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller:

smoothes a target calculated link travel time with a plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller:

smoothes the targeted link travel time by statistically processing the plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller:

calculates the arithmetic mean of the plurality of calculated link travel times including the targeted calculated link travel time.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller:

converts the smoothed calculated link travel time into a congestion degree.

12. A navigation apparatus comprising the system of claim 7.

13. A navigation information center comprising the system of claim 7.

14. A smoothing navigation data structure that is produced by smoothing a link travel time calculated on the basis of traffic information that is made up of a congestion degree for each piece of time information.

15. The smoothing navigation data structure according to claim 14, wherein:

the calculated link travel time is smoothed by statistically processing a plurality of calculated link travel times including the calculated link travel time.

16. The smoothing navigation data structure according to claim 14, wherein:

the smoothed calculated link travel time is converted into a congestion degree.

17. A storage medium storing the data structure of claim 14.