Positional information providing system and apparatus

• US 6,178,377 B1
• Filed: 03/18/1999
• Issued: 01/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishihara, Fuminari, Kanemitsu, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/269,024
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/212, 701/213, 340/998, 340/995
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

When information regarding position of a facility, such as a parking lot, is requested from a terminal (22), an information center (10) supplies position information to the terminal (22) as a relative position using a landmark, such as a neighboring road. The terminal (22) computes a shift from a position of a landmark in a local map database (24) and a position of a received landmark in a map matching processor (34), and corrects the facility position. If the landmark has not been stored in the map database (24) at the terminal (22), relative data based on another road is resent.

Claims

1. A position information provider system, connecting a terminal and an information center and in which the information center provides position information regarding a specific position to the terminal, comprising:

a center map database, which stores a position regarding a linear landmark including at least a road;

position information generating means for generating position information that includes information regarding the landmark existing in periphery of said specific position that is provided to said terminal, extracted from said center map database, and information regarding a relative position of the relevant position for the landmark in the periphery of said specific position; and

transmitting means for transmitting said position information;

said terminal comprising;

a terminal map database in which information on the landmark on a linear map display;

receiving means for receiving information that said information center transmitted;

display position calculating means for calculating a display position on a terminal map of said specific position so that the position of said peripheral landmark that was received on the basis of said received position information matches the position of the landmark in the terminal map database corresponding to the relevant peripheral landmark; and

displaying means for displaying the relevant specific position while superimposed on the map on the basis on said calculated display position.

2. The position information provider system according to claim 1 wherein:

the information regarding said peripheral landmark includes shape and type of the relevant landmark.

3. The position information provider system according to claims 1 or 2 wherein:

said terminal transmits the type of terminal map database, which the relevant terminal holds, to the information center; and

said position information generating means extracts said peripheral landmark according to the type of terminal map database that was received and generates position information.

4. The position information provider system according to claim 3 wherein:

the peripheral landmark, which said position information generating means extracts, includes the road in accordance with the type of terminal map database, which said terminal holds; and

furthermore

the information regarding the specific position includes a reference point that is set in advance on said extracted road and detailed route information up to the specific position of information to be provided.

5. The position information provider system as in one of claims 1-4 wherein:

the peripheral landmark, which said position information generating means extracts, is two roads connected to each other and positioned so as to sandwich the specific position of information to be provided.

6. A position information provider system in which terminal and information center are connected by communications and the information center provides position information to the terminal wherein the information center comprises:

the center map database for storing the position of the road network as well as connections of links, which are units forming the road network; and

relative positional relationship specifying means for specifying an absolute position with relative position data that represents a relative positional relationship with a close link stored in the center map database;

the terminal comprises;

the terminal map database for storing the position of road network and for storing the road network as connections of links, which are units forming the road network;

the information center transmits a provided specific position to the terminal as relative position data with said link;

the terminal requests retransmission when the link used by the received relative position data does not exist in the terminal map database; and

the information center retransmits the relative position data with another link close to the specific position when the retransmission request is received.

7. The position information provider system according to claim 6 wherein:

said center map database stores a rank for each link; and

the information center transmits relative position data using a link having a rank higher than that of the link previously transmitted during retransmission.

8. The position information provider system according to claim 7 wherein:

said information center also transmits absolute position data of specific position while transmitting relative position data;

said terminal specifies a link close to absolute position data existing in the terminal map database during retransmission request; and

said information center transmits relative position data using a specified link in the retransmission request.

9. The position information provider system according to claim 8 wherein:

the information center transmits data on the shape of a link not existing in the terminal map database to the terminal; and

the terminal updates the terminal map database from the data on the shape of the link that was received.

10. The position information provider system according to claim 9 wherein:

the information center uses the data on the shape of the link to be transmitted as relative data using the link existing in the terminal map database.

11. The position information provider apparatus for transforming absolute position data into relative position data comprising:

the map database for storing road network as coordinate values on map associated with absolute values; and

transforming means for transforming an arbitrary absolute position into the relative position with the road network.

12. The position information provider apparatus according to claim 11 wherein:

relative position data to be provided regards the position of a facility for which a request was made.