In-vehicle navigation apparatus

• US 20060212216A1
• Filed: 03/16/2006
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Nobuharu, Tsurumi, Kiyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,302,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• 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 1/0968 Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn

Abstract

When a first one-way traffic road becomes partially impassable because of roadworks, a second one-way traffic road temporarily replaces the first road and is used in a direction opposite to an original trafficable direction. This second road is registered as a replacing road based on traffic information from the VICS center. When the second road registered as the replacing road is present within a given area surrounding the current position of a relevant vehicle, map matching is executed without considering the original trafficable direction of the second road. This allows the second road to be designated as a travel road through the map matching even when the relevant vehicle travels in a direction opposite to the original trafficable direction of the second road.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus in a vehicle, comprising:

a position detector for detecting a current position of the vehicle;

an advancing direction detecting unit for detecting an advancing direction of the vehicle;

a road data storage unit for storing road data, where a road includes at least one link, each link assigned information indicating a position of the each link, wherein a link corresponding to a one-way traffic road is assigned one-way traffic information including a trafficable direction;

a map matching unit for extracting a link within an area surrounding the detected current position from the road data storage unit to designate a travel road that the vehicle travels from a map-matching candidate road that includes the extracted link, wherein a certain road including the extracted link is excluded from the map-matching candidate road when the extracted link included in the certain road is assigned one-way traffic information indicating a trafficable direction not agreeing with the detected advancing direction; and

a registering unit for executing registration to register a one-way traffic road temporarily used in a direction opposite to a trafficable direction, wherein

the map matching unit regards a link included in the registered one-way traffic road as a link assigned no one-way traffic information.

2. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a designating unit for designating a destination; and

a route computing unit for retrieving a route to the designated destination from a current position detected by the position detector, wherein

the route computing unit stops retrieving another route when the vehicle departs from the retrieved route and the registered one-way traffic road is designated as the travel road.

3. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the registering unit registers

a road allowing the vehicle to travel in a direction opposite to a trafficable direction of the road as a replacing road, and

a road temporarily impassable as a replaced road corresponding to the replacing road, and

the map matching unit stops regarding a link included in the replacing road as a link assigned no one-way traffic information when both of the link included in the replacing road and a link included in the replaced road are included within the area surrounding a current position detected by the position detector.

4. The navigation apparatus of claim 3, wherein

the map matching unit preferentially designates a travel road as the replaced road when the replacing road has been the travel road when both of the link included in the replacing road and the link included in the replaced road are included within the area surrounding a current position detected by the position detector.

5. The navigation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a releasing unit for releasing the registration executed by the registering unit.