Vehicle guidance system and method therefor
First Claim
1. In a vehicle guidance system for guiding a motor vehicle in a locality in which locations therein are defined by a plurality of decision points representing intersections and a respective plurality of links representing streets interconnecting said intersections, the improvement comprising:
- a memory defining a primary street having a number of decision points spaced thereon, each decision point being further defined by a crossing street identifier, x-y coordinate values representing the location of decision point in said locality, a number of bearing values representing directional routes emanating a decision point, and distance values representing the distance along each link from one decision point to another decision point interconnected by a link;
a retrieval circuit connected to said memory for accessing information therein, an initiation circuit for inputting representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of an instantaneous position of the vehicle, a route programming circuit for inputting a representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of a desired destination of said vehicle, a route computation device connected to said memory and said retrieval circuit for determining a series of route segments between said instantaneous position and said desired destination, said computation device including;
a processor for calculating a directional bearing between said instantaneous position and said desired destination based upon the respective x-y coordinate values of said instantaneous position and said desired destination, for comparing said directional bearing with bearings of links emanating from a decision point beginning at a first decision point nearest said instantaneous position, for selecting a bearing of a link representing a first route segment emanating from said first decision point which matches the calculated directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a next connecting decision point and corresponding x-y coordinate value, bearings and distance information, for storing information pertaining to a first link in a programmed route memory, and until calculating all route segments to reach said desired destination, for calculating a next directional bearing from said next decision point, for comparing said next directional bearing with each said link emanating from said next decision point, for selecting a bearing of a link representing a next route segment which matches the next directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a further connecting decision point, and for storing said last route segment and a further connecting decision point information in said programmed route memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle guidance system for guiding motor vehicles comprising a central traffic control system, a plurality of roadside equipment, and an on-board vehicle guidance and control system. The central traffic control system includes horizontal memory for storing horizontal coordinates and direction information of a locality, vertical memory for storing vertical coordinates and direction information of the locality, transmitter means for transmitting the horizontal and vertical information of the locality, and a system control unit for controlling the continuous transmission of the horizontal and vertical information of the locality. The roadside equipment includes coordinates memory for storing the coordinates information of the roadside equipment, coordinates transmitter means for transmitting the coordinates information of the roadside equipment to the vehicle, receiver means for receiving destination information from the vehicle, and vehicle destination means for transmitting the coordinates information of the roadside equipment and the destination information of the vehicle to the central traffic control system. The on-board vehicle guidance and control system includes receiver means for receiving the horizontal and vertical coordinates information of the locality traffic control system, vertical coordinates memory for storing the vertical coordinates information of the locality, horizontal coordinates memory for storing the horizontal coordinates information of the locality, an on-board system control unit for controlling the reception and storage of the horizontal and vertical coordinates information of the locality, display feed memory for storing route direction information for reaching the destination of the vehicle, and display means for displaying the route direction information.
35 Citations
18 Claims
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1. In a vehicle guidance system for guiding a motor vehicle in a locality in which locations therein are defined by a plurality of decision points representing intersections and a respective plurality of links representing streets interconnecting said intersections, the improvement comprising:
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a memory defining a primary street having a number of decision points spaced thereon, each decision point being further defined by a crossing street identifier, x-y coordinate values representing the location of decision point in said locality, a number of bearing values representing directional routes emanating a decision point, and distance values representing the distance along each link from one decision point to another decision point interconnected by a link;
a retrieval circuit connected to said memory for accessing information therein, an initiation circuit for inputting representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of an instantaneous position of the vehicle, a route programming circuit for inputting a representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of a desired destination of said vehicle, a route computation device connected to said memory and said retrieval circuit for determining a series of route segments between said instantaneous position and said desired destination, said computation device including;
a processor for calculating a directional bearing between said instantaneous position and said desired destination based upon the respective x-y coordinate values of said instantaneous position and said desired destination, for comparing said directional bearing with bearings of links emanating from a decision point beginning at a first decision point nearest said instantaneous position, for selecting a bearing of a link representing a first route segment emanating from said first decision point which matches the calculated directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a next connecting decision point and corresponding x-y coordinate value, bearings and distance information, for storing information pertaining to a first link in a programmed route memory, and until calculating all route segments to reach said desired destination, for calculating a next directional bearing from said next decision point, for comparing said next directional bearing with each said link emanating from said next decision point, for selecting a bearing of a link representing a next route segment which matches the next directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a further connecting decision point, and for storing said last route segment and a further connecting decision point information in said programmed route memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. In a vehicle guidance system for guiding a motor vehicle in a locality in which locations therein are defined by a plurality of decision points representing intersections and a respective plurality of links representing streets interconnecting said intersections, a method comprising the steps of:
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defining in a memory a primary street having a number of decision points spaced thereon, each decision point being further defined by a crossing street identifier, x-y coordinate values representing the location of decision point in said locality, a number of bearing values representing directional routes emanating from a decision point, and distance values representing the distance along each link from said decision point to an interconnecting decision point;
retrieving information stored in said memory, inputting a representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of the instantaneous position of the vehicle, inputting a representation of an x-y coordinate value indicative of a desired destination of said vehicle, determining a series of route segments between said instantaneous position and said desired destination by;
calculating a directional bearing between said instantaneous position and said desired destination based upon the respective x-y coordinate values of said instantaneous position and said desired destination, comparing said directional bearing with bearings of links emanating from a decision point beginning at a first decision nearest said instantaneous position, selecting a bearing of a link representing a first route segment emanating from said first decision point which matches the calculated directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a next connecting decision point and corresponding x-y coordinate, bearings and distance information, storing information pertaining to a first link in a programmed route memory, and until computing all route segments to reach said desired destination, calculating a next directional bearing from said next decision point, comparing said next directional bearing with each said link emanating from said next decision, selecting a bearing of a link representing a next route segment which matches the next directional bearing the closest thereby to ascertain a further connecting decision point, and storing a last route segment and said further connecting decision point information in said programmed route memory. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification