DIGITAL MAP POSITION INFORMATION TRANSFER METHOD

• US 20070150181A1
• Filed: 03/12/2007
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T&M Data Update LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Adachi, Shinya
• Granted Patent: US 9,177,487 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide a method of transmitting position information of a digital map which can enhance matching precision on a receiving side. The invention provides a method of transmitting position information of a digital map in which a transmitting side transmits a vector shape on the digital map and a receiving side specifies the vector shape on a self-digital map by map matching, wherein the transmitting side selects a portion in which a plurality of candidate points are generated with difficulty during the map matching as an endpoint of the vector shape and transmits the vector shape having the endpoint in the portion to the receiving side. Mismatching on the receiving side can be prevented and the position information on the digital map can be transmitted accurately.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting position information of a digital map for transmitting a road shape consisting of target sections on the digital map from a transmitting side and specifying the road shape on a digital map in a receiving side by referring to the transmitted road shape,

the method being characterized by the steps of:

selecting a part that is not positioned on a target section of the road shape and that is referred to at the time of specifying the road shape on the digital map on the receiving side;

adding said selected part to an endpoint of said target section, and

transmitting the road shape to which said selected part is added from the transmitting side to the receiving side.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the part not positioned on the target section is an intersection.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the part not positioned on the target section presents on a road extending along the target section.

4. A transmitting device for transferring a road shape including a target section on a digital map, so that a receiving device specifies the road shape that is transmitted from the transmitting device on a digital map of the receiving device, the transmitting device comprising:

a position information converting portion for, when at least an endpoint of the road section in the target section on the digital map of the transmitting device does not satisfy a predetermined condition, selecting a part that is not positioned on the target section and adding the selected part to the endpoint of the target section to generate the road shape; and

a transmitting portion for transmitting the road shape to which the selected part is added to the receiving device.

5. A receiving device for specifying a road shape, transmitted from a transmitting device according to claim 4, on a digital map of the receiving device, the receiving device comprising:

a receiving portion for receiving the road shape from the transmitting device; and

a matching portion for performing shape matching of the received road shape on the digital map of the receiving device to specify a position of the road shape.