Method and system for using real-time traffic broadcasts with navigation systems

• US 6,741,932 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Navigation Technologies Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: McGrath, Timothy, McGrath, Suzanne, Groth, Eric, Mbekeani, Lumumba
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US10/123,587
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 701/210, 701/117, 701/118, 701/200, 731/78.R, 340/988, 340/995.13
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/092 Coding or decoding of the information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed that provide traffic information to end users. The traffic information is contained in traffic data messages that use location reference codes to identify locations along roads. A data structure is formed that relates a set of location reference codes assigned to locations along roads by a first data supplier to another set of location reference codes assigned locations along roads by a second data supplier. The data structure is used to form traffic data messages containing location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier based on traffic data messages containing location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier.

Claims

1. A method for providing traffic data to end users comprising:

forming traffic messages using location reference codes assigned by a second data supplier;

converting the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by a first data supplier; and

transmitting the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier to end users.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

before the step of converting, forming a conversion table that identifies relationships between location reference codes assigned by the first supplier and location reference codes assigned by the second supplier; and

using the conversion table to convert the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by a first data supplier.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in navigation systems used by the end users, using data contained in geographic databases used by the navigation systems to associate traffic data contained in the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier with data used to determine routes to destinations.

4. The method of claim 1 further wherein the step of converting is performed by a message converter program.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

operating a message converter program to convert the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting both the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier and the traffic messages using the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier to end users.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of converting further comprises:

for a location reference code assigned by the second supplier that represents a location that exactly matches a location that is represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier, converting the location reference code assigned by the second data supplier into the location reference code assigned by the first data supplier.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of converting further comprises:

for a location reference code assigned by the second data supplier that represents a location that does not exactly match a location represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier, but that represents a location located between two locations that are each represented by location reference codes assigned by both the first data supplier and the second data supplier, converting the location reference code assigned by the second data supplier into that location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that represents the location immediately downstream in the direction of traffic if the location reference code being converted represents a primary location.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of converting further comprises:

for a location reference code assigned by the second data supplier that represents a location that does not exactly match a location represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier, but that represents a location located between two locations that are each represented by location reference codes assigned by both the first data supplier and the second data supplier, converting the location reference code assigned by the second data supplier into that location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that represents the location immediately downstream in the direction of traffic if the location reference code being converted represents a secondary location.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the traffic messages are in Alert-C format.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier are bi-directional.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier are uni-directional.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier are bi-directional and the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier are uni-directional.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier and the second data supplier are bi-directional.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier and the second data supplier are uni-directional.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier are uni-directional and the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier are bi-directional.

17. A method for providing traffic data to users of navigation systems comprising:

forming a conversion table that identifies relationships between location reference codes assigned by a first supplier and location reference codes assigned by a second supplier, wherein said relationships include exact matches wherein a location reference code of the second supplier corresponds to the same location as a location reference code of the first supplier and intermediate matches wherein a location reference code of either the first or second supplier represents a location that is not represented by a location reference code of the other supplier but which represents a location topologically between locations represented by location reference codes that are exact matches;

forming traffic messages using the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier;

using the conversion table to convert the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier; and

transmitting the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier to end users.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

in navigation systems used by the end users, using location reference code data contained in geographic databases used by the navigation systems to associate data contained in the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier with data used to determine routes to destinations.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the conversion table identifies the location reference codes assigned by the first supplier that represent locations that exactly match locations that are represented by location reference codes assigned by the second supplier.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the conversion table identifies the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier that do not match any location reference codes assigned by the first supplier but that represent locations that are located topologically between locations that are represented by location codes assigned by the second data supplier that exactly match location reference codes assigned by the second supplier.

21. The method of claim 17 further wherein the step of using is performed by a message converter program.

22. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

operating a message converter program to use the conversion table to convert the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier.

23. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

transmitting both the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier and the traffic messages using the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier to end users.

24. A method of forming a conversion table for converting traffic messages that contain location reference codes assigned by a second data supplier into traffic messages that contain location reference codes assigned by a first data supplier, the method comprising:

storing in the conversion table data that identifies as exact matches the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier and the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier that refer to the same locations;

storing in the conversion table data that identifies as an intermediate match each location reference code assigned by the second data supplier that refers to a location that is not represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier but is located between locations that are represented by location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier; and

storing in the conversion table data that identifies, for each intermediate match, the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier that represent the locations immediately adjacent to the location represented by the location reference code identified as the intermediate match and directions relative thereto.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

storing in the conversion table data that identifies as a dangling match each location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that refers to a location that is not represented by a location reference code assigned by the second data supplier but which represents a location before a first pair or after a last pair of codes that are exact matches.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the exact matches are determined using a window search of cross roads associated with subsequent consecutive location codes contained in a first ordered list of location reference codes assigned to a road by the second data supplier for a cross road associated with a location reference code contained in a second ordered list of location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein data indicating geographic coordinates of locations associated with location reference codes assigned by both data suppliers are compared to assist in determining exact matches.

28. A method for providing traffic data to end users comprising:

forming traffic messages using location reference code assigned by a second data supplier;

using a conversion table to determine whether an original traffic message formed using the location reference codes of the second data supplier indicates a traffic condition that spans a stretch of road represented by more than one chain of location reference codes assigned by a first data supplier,

if a determination is made that the original traffic message formed using the location reference codes of the second data supplier indicates a traffic condition that spans a stretch of road represented by more than one chain of location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier, converting the original traffic message formed with the location reference codes assigned by the second data supplier into multiple traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier; and

transmitting the traffic messages formed with the location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier to end users.

29. A method for providing traffic data to end users comprising:

forming an original traffic message that uses location reference codes assigned by a second data supplier; and

using said original traffic message to form at least one traffic message that uses location reference codes assigned by a first data supplier;

wherein said traffic message that uses location reference codes assigned by the first data supplier is formed by

using a conversion table to identify whether a location reference code used by an original traffic message represents a location that is also represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier, and if so,

substituting the location reference code used by the original traffic message with the location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that represents the location;

but if the location reference code used by the original traffic message represents a location that is not represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier,

using a program to select which location reference code assigned by the first data supplier to use to substitute for the location reference code used by the original traffic message.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said program selects the location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that represents the first location represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier located immediately downstream in the direction of traffic from the location represented by the code used by the original traffic message.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein said program selects the location reference code assigned by the first data supplier that represents the first location represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier located immediately downstream in the direction of traffic from the location represented by the location reference code used by the original traffic message, unless the location represented by the location reference code used by the original traffic message is located within a predetermined distance of a location represented by a location reference code assigned by the first data supplier located immediately upstream in the direction of traffic from the location represented by the location reference code used by the original traffic message.