Navigation system and navigation apparatus used in the navigation system

• US 6,282,492 B1
• Filed: 10/25/2000
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushikikaisha Equos Research
• Original Assignee: Kabushikikaisha Equos Research
• Inventors: Ito, Yasuo, Sugawara, Takashi, Kitano, Satoshi, Yamakawa, Hiroyuki, Gorai, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/695,255
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• Field of Search: 701/209, 701/210, 701/200, 701/24, 701/25, 701/26, 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 340/905, 731/78.R
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance

Abstract

A navigation system includes a navigation center and a plurality of navigation apparatuses each of which has a data storage that stores various information. In this navigation system, data (coordinate data of each of traveling intersections) concerning a recommended route is transmitted from the navigation center to the navigation apparatus, and then route guidance is carried out in the navigation apparatus using the data received from the navigation center. In the case where the navigation apparatus has intersection data for an intersection specified by the data received from the navigation center, the navigation apparatus extracts the intersection data for the intersection from the data storage. Further, in the case where the navigation center does not have intersection data for an intersection specified by the data received from the navigation center, the navigation apparatus establishes the intersection as a newly-built intersection on the recommended route. Then, the navigation apparatus produces route guidance data (which is used for providing route guidance to a user) using the extracted intersection data, and/or intersection data concerning the established newly-built intersection in addition to the information in the data storage.

Claims

1. A navigation system which includes a navigation center and a plurality of navigation apparatuses, in which data concerning a recommended route from a current position of each navigation apparatus to a destination is transmitted from the navigation center to the navigation apparatus, and then route guidance is carried out in the navigation apparatus using the data received from the navigation center,

wherein the navigation center of the navigation system comprises:

data receiving means for receiving at least data concerning a destination and data concerning a current position of the navigation apparatus from the navigation apparatus using data communications;

a database which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections;

database updating means for updating each information in the database;

recommended route determining means for determining a recommended route from the current position of the navigation apparatus to the destination, the determination of the recommended route being made based on the information in the database in response to a request from the navigation apparatus;

intersection specifying data producing means for specifying intersections located on the determined recommended route based on the intersection information in the database to produce intersection specifying data for said specified intersections; and

data transmitting means for transmitting at least the produced intersection specifying data to the navigation apparatus using data communications;

and wherein each navigation apparatus of the navigation system comprises;

data transmitting means for transmitting at least the current position data and the destination data to the navigation center using data communications;

data receiving means for receiving the intersection specifying data from the navigation center using data communications;

data storage means which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections and road information which includes information concerning roads connecting said intersections; and

route guidance data producing means for producing route guidance data which is used for providing route guidance for the recommended route to a user of the navigation apparatus, the route guidance data being produced in accordance with the intersection specifying data received from the navigation center and the road information in the data storage means, in which said route guidance data producing means comprises;

(a) specified intersection judging means for judging whether or not intersection data for each of the intersections specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, respectively;

(b) guide intersection extracting means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, extracting the intersection data for the intersection from the data storage means; and

(c) new-intersection establishing means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is not contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, establishing the intersection as a newly-built intersection on the recommended route;

wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus is designed so as to produce the route guidance data using the intersection data extracted by said guide intersection extracting means (b), and/or intersection data concerning the newly-built intersection established by said new-intersection establishing means (c) in addition to the road information in the data storage means.

2. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intersection specifying data produced by the intersection specifying data producing means contains at least coordinate data of each intersection on the determined recommended route.

3. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises:

first adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not adjacent two intersections are included in intersections extracted by the guide intersection extracting means (b) of the navigation apparatus; and

first road-judging means for, in a case where the first adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that adjacent two intersections are included in the extracted intersections, judging whether or not road data for a road which directly connects said adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means of the navigation apparatus.

4. The navigation system as claimed in claim 3, wherein in a case where the first road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects the adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using said road data.

5. The navigation system as claimed in claim 3, wherein in a case where the first road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects the adjacent two intersections is not contained in the road information in the data storage means, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data by interpolating between said adjacent two intersections.

6. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises;

second adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not an intersection adjacent to any one of newly-built intersections established by the new-intersection establishing means (c) is included in intersections extracted by the guide intersection extracting means (b) of the navigation apparatus,; and

second road-judging means for, in a case where the second adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that an intersection adjacent to any one of the newly-built intersections established by the new-intersection establishing means (c) is included in the extracted intersections, judging whether or not road data for a road which directly connects these adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means of the navigation apparatus.

7. The navigation system as claimed in claim 6, wherein in a case where the second road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects the adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using said road data.

8. The navigation system as claimed in claim 6, wherein in a case where the second road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects the adjacent two intersections is not contained in the road information in the data storage means, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data by interpolating between said adjacent two intersections.

9. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises third adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not adjacent two newly-built intersections are included in newly-built intersections established by the new-intersection establishing means (c) of the navigation apparatus.

10. The navigation system as claimed in claim 9, wherein in a case where the third adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that adjacent two newly-built intersections are included in the established newly-built intersections, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data by interpolating between said adjacent two newly-built intersections.

11. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus further comprises current position measuring means for measuring its current position, the current position measuring means being designed so as to measure the current position by utilizing a global positioning system and/or an inertial navigation system.

12. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus further comprises information displaying means for displaying information with which the route guidance is provided to the user of the navigation apparatus.

13. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus further comprises voice information outputting means for outputting voice information with which the route guidance is provided to the user of the navigation apparatus.

14. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein both of the navigation center and the navigation apparatus are designed so as to perform the data communications using packet switching technique and/or circuit switching technique.

15. The navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation canter is designed so as to send the navigation apparatus additional information as well as the intersection specifying data, in which said additional information contains at least one of:

coordinate data of each of roads connecting the intersections located on the determined recommended route;

data concerning the number of lanes on each of roads connecting the intersections located on the determined recommended route;

data concerning traffic restrictions on each of roads connecting the intersections located on the determined recommended route;

data concerning a geographical layout of each of roads connecting the intersections located on the determined recommended route;

data concerning facilities located around each of the intersections on the determined recommended route;

data showing which intersections in the intersections located on the determined recommended route are provided with traffic lights; and

data for indicating a travelling direction toward which the user of the navigation apparatus is to be guided.

16. A navigation system which includes a navigation center and a plurality of navigation apparatuses, in which data concerning a recommended route from a current position of each navigation apparatus to a destination is transmitted from the navigation center to the navigation apparatus, and then route guidance is carried out in the navigation apparatus using the data received from the navigation center,

wherein the navigation center of the navigation system comprises;

data receiving means for receiving at least data concerning a destination and data concerning a current position of the navigation apparatus from the navigation apparatus using data communications;

a database which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections;

database updating means for updating each information in the database;

recommended route determining means for determining a recommended route from the current position of the navigation apparatus to the destination, the determination of the recommended route being made based on the information in the database in response to a request from the navigation apparatus;

intersection specifying data producing means for specifying intersections located on the determined recommended route based on the intersection information in the database to produce intersection specifying data for said specified intersections; and

data transmitting means for transmitting at least the produced intersection specifying data to the navigation apparatus using data communications;

and wherein each navigation apparatus of the navigation system comprises;

data transmitting means for transmitting at least the current position data and the destination data to the navigation center using data communications;

data receiving means for receiving the intersection specifying data from the navigation center using data communications;

data storage means which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections and road information which includes information concerning roads connecting said intersections; and

route guidance data producing means for producing route guidance data which is used for providing route guidance for the recommended route to a user of the navigation apparatus, the route guidance data being produced in accordance with the intersection specifying data received from the navigation center and the road information in the data storage means, in which said route guidance data producing means comprises;

(a) specified intersection judging means for judging whether or not intersection data for each of the intersections specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means respectively;

(b) guide intersection extracting means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, extracting the intersection data for the intersection from the data storage means; and

(c) uncontained intersection data request means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is not contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, obtaining intersection data for the intersection on the recommended route by requesting the navigation center to send said intersection data to the navigation apparatus;

wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus is designed so as to produce the route guidance data using the intersection data extracted by said guide intersection extracting means (b), and/or the intersection data obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c) in addition to the road information in the data storage means.

17. The navigation system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the intersection specifying data produced by the intersection specifying data producing means contains at least any one of:

coordinate data of each intersection on the determined recommended route; and

data of identification number of each intersection on the determined recommended route.

18. The navigation system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises:

first adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not adjacent two intersections are included in intersections extracted by the guide intersection extracting means (b) of the navigation apparatus; and

road-judging means for, in a case where the first adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that adjacent two intersections are included in the extracted intersections, judging whether or not road data for a road which directly connects said adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means of the navigation apparatus.

19. The navigation system as claimed in claim 18, wherein in a case where the road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects the adjacent two intersections is contained in the road information in the data storage means, the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using said road data.

20. The navigation system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises uncontained road data request means for, in a case where the road-judging means has judged that road data for the road which directly connects said adjacent two intersections is not contained in the road information in the data storage means, obtaining road data for said road by requesting the navigation center to send said road data to the navigation apparatus, in which the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using the road data obtained from the navigation center.

21. The navigation system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises second adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not an intersection adjacent to any one of intersections for which intersection data has been obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c) is included in intersections extracted by the guide intersection extracting means (b) of the navigation apparatus.

22. The navigation system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises uncontained road data request means for, in a case where the second adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that an intersection adjacent to any one of the intersections for which the intersection data has been obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c) is included in the extracted intersections, obtaining road data for a road which directly connects these adjacent two intersections by requesting the navigation center to send said road data to the navigation apparatus, in which the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using the road data obtained from the navigation center.

23. The navigation system an claimed in claim 16, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises third adjacent-intersections judging means for judging whether or not adjacent two intersections are included in intersections for which intersection data is obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c) of the navigation apparatus.

24. The navigation system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus further comprises uncontained road data request means for, in a case where the third adjacent-intersections judging means has judged that the adjacent two intersections are included in the intersections for which intersection data is obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c), obtaining road data for a road which directly connects these adjacent two intersections by requesting the navigation center to send said road data to the navigation apparatus, in which the route guidance data producing means of the navigation apparatus produces the route guidance data further using the road data obtained from the navigation center.

25. A navigation apparatus used in a navigation system in which data concerning a recommended route from a current position of the navigation apparatus to a destination is transmitted from a navigation center to the navigation apparatus, and then route guidance is carried out in the navigation apparatus using the data received from the navigation center, the navigation center being designed so as to determine the recommended route in response to a request from the navigation apparatus, and to produce intersection specifying data for specifying intersections located on the determined recommended route, the navigation apparatus comprising:

data transmitting means for transmitting at least data concerning a current position of the navigation apparatus and data concerning a destination to the navigation center using data communications;

data receiving means for receiving at least the intersection specifying data from the navigation center using data communications;

data storage means which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections and road information which includes information concerning roads connecting said intersections; and

route guidance data producing means for producing route guidance data which is used for providing route guidance for the recommended route to a user of the navigation apparatus, the route guidance data being produced in accordance with the intersection specifying data received from the navigation center and the road information in the data storage means, in which said route guidance data producing means comprises;

(a) specified intersection judging means for judging whether or not intersection data for each of the intersections specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, respectively;

(b) guide intersection extracting means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, extracting the intersection data for the intersection from the data storage means; and

(c) new-intersection establishing means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is not contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, establishing the intersection as a newly-built intersection on the recommended route;

wherein the route guidance data producing means is designed so as to produce the route guidance data using the intersection data extracted by said guide intersection extracting means (b) and/or intersection data concerning the newly-built intersection established by said new-intersection establishing means (c) in addition to the road information in the data storage means.

26. A navigation apparatus used in a navigation system in which data concerning a recommended route from a current position of the navigation apparatus to a destination is transmitted from a navigation center to the navigation apparatus, and then route guidance is carried out in the navigation apparatus using the data received from the navigation center, the navigation center being designed so as to determine the recommended route in response to a request from the navigation apparatus, and to produce intersection specifying data for specifying intersections located on the determined recommended route, the navigation apparatus comprising:

data transmitting means for transmitting at least data concerning a current position of the navigation apparatus and data concerning a destination to the navigation center using data communications;

data receiving means for receiving at least the intersection specifying data from the navigation center using data communications;

data storage means which stores at least intersection information concerning intersections and road information which includes information concerning roads connecting said intersections; and

route guidance data producing means for producing route guidance data which is used for providing route guidance for the recommended route to a user of the navigation apparatus, the route guidance data being produced in accordance with the intersection specifying data received from the navigation center and the road information in the data storage means, in which said route guidance data producing means comprises;

(a) specified intersection judging means for judging whether or not intersection data for each of the intersections specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, respectively;

(b) guide intersection extracting means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is considered to be contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, extracting the intersection data for the intersection from the data storage means; and

(c) uncontained intersection data request means for, in a case where the specified intersection judging means (a) has judged that intersection data for the intersection specified by the intersection specifying data is not contained in the intersection information in the data storage means, obtaining the intersection data for the intersection on the recommended route by requesting the navigation center to send the intersection data to the navigation apparatus;

wherein the route guidance data producing means is designed so as to produce the route guidance data using the intersection data extracted by said guide intersection extracting means (b), and/or the intersection data obtained by the uncontained intersection data request means (c) in addition to the road information in the data storage means.