APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) FOR NAVIGATION APPLICATIONS THAT MERGES INCREMENTAL UPDATES WITH EXISTING MAP DATABASE

• US 20110137546A1
• Filed: 12/04/2009
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations Incorporated (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Roesser, Robert P., Hermiz, Sarmad Y.
• Granted Patent: US 9,304,005 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3859 Differential updating map data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3896 Transmission of map data from central databases

Abstract

A system and method for efficiently updating the map database in a mobile computing system, such as a vehicle navigation system. The system includes a central server that computes changes between the latest version of a master map database and a previous version of the map database, and wirelessly transmits the changes to participating vehicles'"'"' onboard navigation systems. The navigation system stores the changes in a look-aside buffer, and a navigation processor uses the stored changes to update a base map database.

Claims

1. A method for updating a map database, said method comprising:

determining changes between a latest version of the map database and a previous version of the map database;

formatting the changes into transaction files;

transmitting the transaction files;

storing the transmitted transaction files in a look-aside buffer;

providing a base map database and the transaction files from the look-aside buffer to a dynamic memory cache; and

updating the base map database in the dynamic memory cache using the transaction files.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein determining changes between a latest version of the map database and a previous version of the map database and formatting the changes into transaction files occur on a central server system.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein storing the transaction files, providing the base map database and the transaction files to a memory cache, and updating the base map database using the transaction files occur at a location remote from the server system.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the location remote from the server system is a navigation system.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the navigation system is an onboard vehicle navigation system.

6. The method according to claim 3 wherein updating the base map database in the dynamic memory cache is done by reading into the memory cache from the base map database all map elements in the vicinity of the navigation system, searching the look-aside buffer for any transaction file records which apply to map elements currently in the memory cache, and using the transaction file records to modify the base map database elements.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the changes between a latest version of the map database and a previous version of the map database include changes to identification reference numbers of map elements and changes to the database indexing.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein transmitting the transaction files is done wirelessly.

9. A system for updating a map database, said system comprising:

a computer server storing a plurality of different versions of an original map database, said server including a change comparison processor comparing the different versions of the original map database stored in the server and generating a plurality of transaction files identifying differences between the stored versions of the original map database, said server causing the transaction files to be broadcast;

a base map database stored at a location remote from the computer server, said base map database being one of the versions of the original map database that is stored on the server;

a look-aside buffer receiving one or more of the transaction files from the computer server at the remote location; and

a cache provided at the remote location, said cache receiving the transaction files from the look-aside buffer and the base map database and using the transaction files to update the base map database.

10. The system according to claim 9 wherein the look-aside buffer, the base map database and the cache are part of a navigation system.

11. The system according to claim 10 wherein the navigation system is a vehicle navigation system on-board a vehicle.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the cache is part of a vehicle navigation processor.

13. The system according to claim 12 wherein the vehicle navigation processor updates the base map database in the dynamic memory cache by reading into the memory cache from the base map database all map elements in the vicinity of the navigation system, searching the look-aside buffer for any transaction file records which apply to map elements currently in the memory cache, and using the transaction file records to modify the base map database elements.

14. The system according to claim 9 wherein the changes between a latest version of the map database and a previous version of the map database include changes to identification reference numbers of map elements and changes to the database indexing.

15. The system according to claim 9 wherein the transaction files are wirelessly transmitted.

16. An updating system for updating a map database on a vehicle navigation system, said updating system comprising:

a computer server storing a plurality of different versions of an original map database, said server including a change comparison processor comparing the different versions of the original map database stored in the server and generating a plurality of transaction files identifying differences between the stored versions of the original map database, said server causing the transaction files to be wirelessly transmitted;

a base map database stored in the navigation system, said base map database being one of the versions of the original map database that is stored on the server;

a look-aside buffer provided in the navigation system, said look-aside buffer receiving one or more of the transaction files from the computer server; and

a navigation processor receiving the transaction files from the look-aside buffer and the base map database and using the transaction files to update the base map database.

17. The updating system according to claim 16 wherein the vehicle navigation processor updates the base map database in a dynamic memory cache by reading into the memory cache from the base map database all map elements in the vicinity of the navigation system, searching the look-aside buffer for any transaction file records which apply to map elements currently in the memory cache, and using the transaction file records to modify the base map database elements.

18. The updating system according to claim 16 wherein the changes between a latest version of the map database and a previous version of the map database include changes to identification reference numbers of map elements and changes to the database indexing.