Navigation system and method for guiding a road vehicle

• US 6,061,630 A
• Filed: 12/17/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Mulder, Edwin W., Emmerink, Carla J. M., Walgers, Erik J., Lahaije, Paul D. M. E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US08/992,287
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/202, 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/211, 701/214, 701/216, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 73/178 R
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data

Abstract

In a navigation system a driver of a vehicle is guided along a planned route (310) from an origin to a destination. The system comprises a receiver (122) for receiving a traffic message of an actual travel condition concerning a road-element. The system comprises an evaluation module (126) to determine whether the received traffic message makes it necessary to plan a new route to the destination. If a traffic message is received for a road-element which does not form a part of the planned route (212), the evaluation module determines whether the message indicates an improvement (204) of the travel condition of that road-element and if this is so then the planning module plans a new route.

Claims

1. A method for guiding a driver of a road vehicle along a route, the method comprising the steps of:

planning the route between a current position and a destination, the route comprising a number of road-elements,

during travel of the vehicle along a planned route, receiving and decoding a traffic message and therefrom deriving an actual travel condition of a particular road-element to which the message is directed,

evaluating whether replanning the route is required, which evaluation comprises detecting whether the actual travel condition indicates a problem relating to one of the road-elements on the route to the destination and if this is the case then deciding to replan the route,

in case of a positive decision, replanning the route between the current travel position and the destination,

maintaining a list of travel conditions from received traffic messages directed to road-elements in a relevance region, and

in the case where the traffic message relates to a particular road-element which is off the planned route, the evaluation comprises detecting whether the actual travel condition message indicates an improvement in the particular off-route road element, and if this is the case then deciding to replan the route.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of planning the route includes exploring a search area for route alternatives and that the relevance region comprises said search area.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the relevance region is a restricted area around the route, and reducing the relevance region in accordance with the progress of the vehicle along the route, the relevance region comprising the current position of the vehicle, the road-elements of the route and the destination.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein detecting whether the actual travel condition indicates an improvement comprises detecting that the received message is no longer valid or detecting that a newly received message indicates an improvement with respect to said actual travel condition of the particular road-element.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the particular road-element is off the route, the evaluation comprises detecting whether the message is the first received for the particular road-element and if so then establishing that the travel condition is not an improvement and that no replanning is required.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the particular road-element is on the route, the evaluation comprises detecting whether the actual travel condition indicates an improvement and if so then deciding that replanning the route is not required.

7. A method according to claim 3 wherein the relevance region includes additional road-elements off the route but in the vicinity of the route.

8. A navigation system for guiding a driver of a road vehicle along a route, the system comprising:

a planning module for planning the route between a current position and a destination, the route comprising a number of road-elements,

a receiver for receiving and decoding a traffic message and therefrom deriving an actual travel condition of a particular road-element to which the message is directed,

an evaluation module for evaluating whether replanning the route is required, wherein the evaluation module is arranged to detect whether the actual travel condition indicates a problem relating to one of the road-elements on the route to the destination and if this is the case then to decide to replan the route, wherein

the system is arranged to maintain a list of travel conditions from received traffic messages directed to road-elements in a relevance region, and

the evaluation module is arranged to detect, in the case where the particular road-element is off the route, whether the actual travel condition indicates an improvement and if so then to decide to replan the route.

9. A navigation system according to claim 8, wherein the planning module is arranged to explore a search area for route alternatives and that the relevance region comprises said search area.

10. A navigation system according to claim 8, wherein the system is arranged to employ as the relevance region a restricted area around the route, which area is reduced in accordance with progress of the vehicle along the route, the relevance region comprising the current position of the vehicle, the road-elements of the route and the destination.

11. A navigation system according to claim 10 wherein the relevance region includes additional road-elements off the route but in the vicinity of the route.

12. A navigation system according to claim 10 wherein the planning module explores a search area for alternative routes and the relevance region is smaller than the search area.

13. A navigation system according to claim 10 wherein the evaluation module detects, when the particular road-element is off the route, whether the message is the first received for the particular road-element and if so establishing that the actual travel condition is not an improvement and that no replanning is required.

14. A navigation system according to claim 8, wherein the evaluation module is arranged to detect whether the actual travel condition indicates an improvement on the basis of detection that the received message is no longer valid or of detection that a newly received message indicates an improvement with respect to said actual travel condition of the particular road-element.

15. A navigation system according to claim 8, wherein the evaluation module is arranged to detect, in case the particular road-element is off the route, whether the message is the first received for the particular road-element and if so then to establish that the actual travel condition is not an improvement and that no replanning is required.

16. A navigation system according to claim 8, wherein the evaluation module is arranged to detect, in case the particular road-element is on the route, whether the actual travel condition indicates an improvement and if so then to decide that replanning the route is not required.

17. A navigation system according to claim 8 wherein, during travel along a planned route, if a received traffic message relates to a particular off the route road-element within the relevance region, and the evaluation module determines that an improvement occurred in the particular off the route road-element, then the planning module replans for an optimal route from the current vehicle position to the destination.

18. A method for guiding a road vehicle along a route to a destination point, which comprises:

planning the route between a current vehicle position and the destination point, the route comprising a number of road-elements,

during travel of the vehicle along a planned route, receiving and decoding a traffic message and deriving therefrom an actual travel condition of a particular road-element to which the message is directed,

evaluating whether replanning the route is required on the basis of a received traffic message relating to a road-element on the route to the destination point,

if the traffic message indicates a deterioration of the road-element on the route to the destination point, then replanning the route between the current vehicle travel position and the destination point,

maintaining a list of travel conditions from received traffic messages directed to road-elements in a relevance region, and

during travel along a planned route, if a received traffic message relates to a particular off the route road-element within the relevance region, evaluating whether or not an improvement occurred in the particular off the route road-element, and if so,

then replanning for an optimal route from the current vehicle position to the destination point.

19. A method according to claim 18 which further comprises:

reducing the relevance region in accordance with the progress of the vehicle along the route, the relevance region comprising the current position of the vehicle, the road-elements of the route and the destination point.

20. A method according to claim 19 wherein the relevance region further comprises additional road-elements off the planned route but in the vicinity thereof.