Method for obtaining information for a geographic database

• US 6,640,187 B1
• Filed: 04/26/2002
• Issued: 10/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Navigation Technologies Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Chenault, William W., Kaplan, Lawrence M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marc-Coleman, Marthe Y.
• Application Number:
  US10/133,823
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 701/208, 701/209, 701/117, 701/118, 701/200, 701/201, 340/990, 340/995, 340/988
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system and method for collecting address data for a geographic database are disclosed. Data are collected using a plurality of end users'"'"' navigation systems. The data indicate a location at which a trip by a vehicle in which a navigation system is located ended and a desired destination entered into the navigation system by an end user prior thereto. These data are received in a data collection facility that statistically analyzes the data and uses the data to update a geographic database.

Claims

1. A method of collecting data for a geographic database using a plurality of vehicles that travel on roads in a geographic area, the method comprising:

with each of the plurality of vehicles,

driving the vehicle to a destination;

stopping the vehicle at the destination;

using a positioning system to determine a position of the vehicle when the vehicle stops at the destination;

forwarding data for updating a geographic database, wherein the data indicate an association between the position determined by the positioning system and an address associated with the destination; and

updating the geographic database to include information based on the data forwarded from each of said plurality of vehicles.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of vehicles stops at a plurality of destinations.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of vehicles stops at a plurality of destinations and wherein the positioning system determines a plurality of positions each of which is associated with a respective one of said plurality of destinations.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of vehicles stops at a plurality of destinations and wherein the positioning system determines a plurality of positions each of which is associated with a respective one of said plurality of destinations and wherein the data that are forwarded indicate an association between each of the plurality of destinations and a respective one of the plurality of positions.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the data that indicate an association between the position determined by the positioning system and an address associated with the destination are forwarded to a database developer.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein, with respect to each of said plurality of vehicles, the positioning system is located in the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the positioning system used to determine the position of a vehicle is a GPS system.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

before updating the geographic database, statistically analyzing the data forwarded from each of said plurality of vehicles.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

before updating the geographic database, discarding data that are not meaningful.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein placement of a vehicle transmission into park is used to determine when a vehicle has stopped at a destination.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating includes updating of exiting data contained in the geographic database.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating includes adding new data to the geographic database.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said plurality of vehicles are trucks.

14. A method of collecting data for a geographic database using a vehicle that travels on roads in a geographic area, the method comprising:

stopping the vehicle at a plurality of the destinations, wherein each of said destinations is associated with a corresponding street address;

using a positioning system to determine a position of the vehicle when the vehicle stops at each of the destinations;

forwarding data for updating a geographic database, wherein the data indicate an association between each of the positions determined by the positioning system and the corresponding street address associated therewith; and

updating a geographic database to include information based on the data forwarded from said vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the positioning system is a GPS system.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

before updating the geographic database, statistically analyzing the data forwarded from said vehicle.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

before updating the geographic database, discarding data that are not meaningful.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein placement of a transmission of the vehicle into park is used to determine when the vehicle has stopped at a destination.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said vehicle is a truck.

20. A method of collecting data for a geographic database using a plurality of vehicles that travel on roads in a geographic area, the method comprising:

with each of the plurality of vehicles,

driving the vehicle to a destination;

stopping the vehicle at the destination;

using a positioning system to determine a position of the vehicle when the vehicle stops at the destination;

forwarding data for updating a geographic database, wherein the data indicate an association between the position determined by the positioning system and a name associated with the destination; and

updating a geographic database to include information based on the data forwarded from each of said plurality of vehicles.