METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING POSITION INFORMATION ON A DIGISTAL MAP

• US 20080201072A1
• Filed: 02/05/2008
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Adachi, Shinya
• Application Number:
  US12/026,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20080201072A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3819 Road shape data, e.g. outline of a route
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3889 Transmission of selected map data, e.g. depending on route
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096866 where the complete route is shown to the driver
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

The invention purposes to provide a position information transmission method for accurately transmitting a position and a shape on a digital map with a small amount of data.

In a position information transmission method of the invention, the transmitting side transmits road shape information to specify the target road section on a digital map and event information to specify an event position by using a relative position in the target road section and the receiving side performs map matching based on the road shape information to identify the target road section and identifies the event position in the target road section based on the event information is characterized in that the transmitting side intermittently selects nodes included in the target road section to include the coordinate data of the nodes in the road shape information for transmission, and that the receiving side performs map matching to determine the positions of the nodes included in the road shape information and obtains the road connecting the nodes by way of a route search to identify the target road section. It is thus possible to efficiently and accurately transmit an event position on a digital map.

Claims

1. A position information transmission method for transmitting road shape information, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting nodes in a target road section on a digital map on predetermined conditions;

generating road shape information including the selected nodes; and

transmitting the road shape information;

wherein one of said predetermined conditions is based on the distance from a node in said target road section to a road which is adjacent to said road section.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein said step of selecting nodes includes:

selecting a group of nodes in said target road section on a predetermined condition which is not based on said distance; and

adding one or more nodes to the group of nodes in case that said distance is shorter than a predetermined value.

3. A position information transmission apparatus for transmitting road shape information, the apparatus comprising:

means for selecting nodes in a target road section on a digital map on predetermined conditions;

means for generating road shape information including the selected nodes; and

means for transmitting the road shape information;

wherein one of said predetermined conditions is based on the distance from a node in said target road section to a road which is adjacent to said road section.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said means for selecting nodes includes:

means for selecting a group of nodes in said target road section on a predetermined condition which is not based on said distance; and

means for adding one or more nodes to the group of nodes in case that said distance is shorter than a predetermined value.

5. A position information receiving apparatus for receiving road shape information for identifying a road section on a digital map, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a road shape information from a transmitting side; and

means for identifying the road section on the digital map by performing matching by using the road shape information;

wherein said transmitting side;

selects nodes which specify the road section on a digital map of the transmitting side on predetermined conditions which include a condition based on the distance from a node in the road section to a road which is adjacent to the road section,

generates road shape information including the selected nodes; and

transmits the road shape information to said position information receiving apparatus.