Navigation Apparatus

• US 20130311086A1
• Filed: 05/16/2013
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: AOKI, Toshiyuki, KATO, Koichi, KAWABATA, Akihiro, LIU, Zhixing
• Granted Patent: US 9,395,191 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/446
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3815 Road data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3844 Data obtained from position sensors only, e.g. from inertial navigation

Abstract

A navigation apparatus includes: a map information storage unit that stores road information; a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the vehicle; a map matching unit that specifies link candidate points corresponding to the position of the vehicle; a parallel roads determination unit that detects links of parallel roads that extend mutually parallel to one another; a traveling link determination unit that, for each link of the parallel roads, determines whether it is a traveling link upon which the vehicle is traveling, or a parallel link that extends parallel to the traveling link; and a link position correction unit that obtains position correction amounts for nodes of the traveling link and of the parallel link on the basis of the distance between the link candidate point that corresponds to the traveling link and the position of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a map information storage unit that stores road information related to roads;

a position estimation unit that estimates the position of the vehicle;

a map matching unit that, using the road information, specifies a plurality of link candidate points corresponding to the position of the vehicle as estimated by the position estimation unit;

a parallel roads determination unit that, on the basis of the plurality of link candidate points, detects links of parallel roads that extend mutually parallel to one another;

a traveling link determination unit that, for each link of the parallel roads detected by the parallel roads determination unit, determines whether it is a traveling link upon which the vehicle is traveling, or a parallel link that extends parallel to the traveling link; and

a link position correction unit that obtains position correction amounts for nodes of the traveling link and of the parallel link on the basis of the distance between the one of the plurality of link candidate points that corresponds to the traveling link, and the position of the vehicle as estimated by the position estimation unit.

2. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a link position correction implementation determination unit that makes a decision whether or not to implement link position correction, on the basis of the distance between the link candidate point that corresponds to the traveling link and the position of the vehicle estimated by the position estimation unit, wherein:

the link position correction unit does not obtain position correction amounts for the nodes of the traveling link and the parallel link, if it has been decided by the link position correction implementation determination unit not to implement link position correction.

3. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a link position correction range determination unit that determines a first correction range on the basis of the distance between the link candidate point that corresponds to the traveling link and the position of the vehicle as estimated by the position estimation unit, wherein:

the link position correction unit obtains position correction amounts for nodes that are included in a traveling link series constituted by a plurality of the traveling links or a parallel link series constituted by a plurality of the parallel links, and that are within the first correction range.

4. A navigation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the link position correction range determination unit further determines a second correction range on the basis of a value obtained by dividing the position correction amount of nodes that are positioned at the boundary of the first correction range by the tangent of a predetermined permissible azimuth error; and

the link position correction unit further obtains position correction amounts for nodes that are included in the traveling link series or the parallel link series, and that are within the second correction range, on the basis of the position correction amounts of the nodes that are positioned at the boundary of the first correction range, and the distances from the nodes that are positioned at the boundary of the first correction range to those nodes.

5. A navigation apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a map correction amount storage unit that, for nodes for which position correction amounts have been obtained by the link position correction unit, stores those position correction amounts, wherein:

the map matching unit corrects the positions of nodes for which position correction amounts have been obtained by the link position correction unit and specifies the plurality of link candidate points, on the basis of the position correction amounts stored in the map correction amount storage unit.

6. A navigation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the map correction amount storage unit, for each node for which a position correction amount has been obtained by the link position correction unit, in addition to that position correction amount, also stores a correction range type that specifies whether that node belongs to the first correction range or to the second correction range;

for a link candidate point, among the plurality of link candidate points, that corresponds to a link of which the position of at least one node has been corrected, the map matching unit decides to which of the first correction range or to the second correction range that node belongs, on the basis of the correction range type stored in the map correction amount storage unit;

if it has been decided that both the nodes at the two ends of a link that corresponds to the link candidate point both belong to the first correction range, the map matching unit calculates the evaluation value for the link candidate point using the link azimuth corresponding to the node position after correction; and

if it has been decided that at least one of the nodes at the two ends of a link that corresponds to the link candidate point belongs to the second correction range, the map matching unit calculates the evaluation value for the link candidate point using the link azimuth corresponding to the node position before correction.

7. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

for a node among the nodes of the traveling link and the parallel link to which a plurality of links are connected, the link position correction unit obtains the position correction amount for that node so that the sum of squares of the amount of azimuth change of each link connected to that node becomes a minimum.

8. A navigation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a traveling position indication unit that indicates the road upon which the vehicle is traveling on the basis of input from the user, wherein:

the traveling link determination unit determines the traveling link on the basis of indication from the traveling position indication unit.

9. A navigation apparatus, comprising:

a map information storage unit that stores road information related to roads;

a screen and audio output unit that displays a road map using the road information;

a traveling position indication unit that indicates the road upon which the vehicle is traveling on the basis of input from the user;

a traveling link determination unit that, on the basis of indication from the traveling position indication unit, determines whether it is the traveling link upon which the vehicle is traveling, or a parallel link that extends parallel to the traveling link; and

a link position correction unit that corrects the position of the traveling link and the parallel link;

wherein;

the screen and audio output unit shifts the traveling link and the parallel link upon the road map, so as to match their positions after correction by the link position correction unit.