Navigation systems, methods, and programs

• US 20060074551A1
• Filed: 09/22/2005
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Hiroki, Zaitsu, Tomoyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,797,100 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: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data

Abstract

Systems, methods, and programs determine whether it is possible to generate statistical values based on a number of pieces of travel history information and a degree of contingency of traffic information in the travel history information. Systems, methods, and programs display, if a predicted travel time is greater than a typical travel time, at least one of a predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or a route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is greater than the typical travel time; or display, if the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time, at least one of the predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or the route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time.

Claims

1. A navigation system, comprising:

a controller that;

obtains travel history information;

accumulates the obtained of travel history information in a memory; and

generates statistical values by statistically processing the accumulated travel history information;

wherein the controller determines whether it is possible to generate the statistical values based on a number of pieces of the travel history information and a degree of contingency of traffic information in the travel history information.

2. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein:

if the number of the pieces of the travel history information is less than a minimum sample number, the controller determines whether it is possible to generate the statistical values based on the number of the pieces of the travel history information and the degree of contingency of the traffic information; and

if the sample number of the travel history information is the minimum sample number or more, the controller generates the statistical values.

3. The navigation system of claim 2, wherein:

if the sample number of the travel history information is less than the minimum sample number and the degree of contingency of the traffic information in the travel history information is low, the controller generates the statistical values.

4. The navigation system of claim 2, wherein:

if the sample number of the travel history information is less than the minimum sample number and all the pieces of the travel history information have the same traffic information, the controller generates the statistical values.

5. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein:

the traffic information comprises congestion degree information; and

each statistical value comprises a statistical congestion degree and a statistical traveling time.

6. The navigation system of claim 5, wherein:

the congestion degree information indicates at least one of no congestion, heavy traffic, and congestion; and

if the sample number of the travel history information is three or more, the controller generates the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time;

if the sample number of the travel history information is two and all the pieces of travel history information have the same congestion degree information, the controller generates the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time; and

if the sample number of the travel history information is one and the congestion degree information of the travel history information indicates no congestion, the controller generates the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time.

7. The navigation system of claim 5, wherein:

if the congestion degree information indicates heavy traffic or congestion, it is determined that the degree of contingency of the traffic information is high; and

if the congestion degree information indicates no congestion, it is determined that the degree of contingency of the traffic information is low.

8. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein:

the travel history information comprises travel history information for a plurality of links; and

the controller determines whether it is possible to generate a statistical value for a link based on a number of pieces of travel history information associated with the link and a degree of contingency of traffic information associated with the link.

9. A navigation system, comprising:

a controller that;

obtains present traffic information;

determines, based on the obtained present traffic information, a predicted travel time for a route;

obtains past traffic information;

determines, based on the obtained past traffic information, a typical travel time for the route;

compares the predicted travel time with the typical travel time;

displays, if the predicted travel time is greater than the typical travel time, at least one of the predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or the route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is greater than the typical travel time; and

displays, if the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time, at least one of the predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or the route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time.

10. A navigation method, comprising:

obtaining travel history information;

accumulating the obtained of travel history information in a memory; and

determining whether it is possible to generate statistical values based on a number of pieces of the travel history information and a degree of contingency of traffic information in the travel history information; and

generating the statistical values by statistically processing the accumulated travel history information.

11. The navigation method of claim 10, wherein:

if the number of the pieces of the travel history information is less than a minimum sample number, determining whether it is possible to generate the statistical values comprises determining whether it is possible to generate the statistical values based on the number of the pieces of the travel history information and the degree of contingency of the traffic information; and

if the sample number of the travel history information is the minimum sample number or more, generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical values.

12. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein:

generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical values if the sample number of the travel history information is less than the minimum sample number and the degree of contingency of the traffic information in the travel history information is low.

13. The navigation method of claim 11, wherein:

generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical values if the sample number of the travel history information is less than the minimum sample number and all the pieces of the travel history information have the same traffic information.

14. The navigation method of claim 10, wherein:

the traffic information comprises congestion degree; and

each statistical values comprises a statistical congestion degree and a statistical traveling time.

15. The navigation method of claim 14, wherein:

the congestion degree information indicates at least one of no congestion, heavy traffic, and congestion; and

generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time if the sample number of the travel history information is three or more;

generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time if the sample number of the travel history information is two and all the pieces of travel history information have the same congestion degree information; and

generating the statistical values comprises generating the statistical congestion degree and the statistical traveling time if the sample number of the travel history information is one and the congestion degree information of the travel history information indicates no congestion.

16. The navigation method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the degree of contingency of the traffic information is high if the congestion degree information indicates heavy traffic or congestion; and

determining that the degree of contingency of the traffic information is low if the congestion degree information indicates no congestion.

17. The navigation method of claim 10, wherein:

obtaining the travel history information comprises obtaining travel history information for a plurality of links; and

determining whether it is possible to generate a statistical value for a link based on a number of pieces of travel history information associated with the link and a degree of contingency of traffic information associated with the link.

18. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and useable to implement the method of claim 10.

19. A navigation method, comprising:

obtaining present traffic information;

determining, based on the obtained present traffic information, a predicted travel time for a route;

obtaining past traffic information;

determining, based on the obtained past traffic information, a typical travel time for the route;

comparing the predicted travel time with the typical travel time;

displaying, if the predicted travel time is greater than the typical travel time, at least one of the predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or the route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is greater than the typical travel time; and

displaying, if the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time, at least one of the predicted travel time, a predicted arrival time, or the route in a manner that indicates that the predicted travel time is less than the typical travel time.

20. A storage medium storing a set of program instructions executable on a data processing device and useable to implement the method of claim 19.