Method and system for setting travel time and method and system for route calculation with use thereof

• US 6,915,207 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2001
• Issued: 07/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Increment P Corporation (Pioneer Corporation), Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Nakano, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/013,346
• Publication Number:
  US 20020077748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/204, 701/213, 701206-211, 701/300, 340988-994, 340/905, 340/933, 340/934, 340/936, 340/995.23, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.5
• US Class Current: 701/209
• 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 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• 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 position of a vehicle is detected by receiving a position detection signal transmitted from the travelling vehicle. It is sensed whether or not the vehicle passes a starting node of a required link on a road network, and when the vehicle passes the starting node, the passing time is stored. Then, it is also sensed whether or not the vehicle passes an end node of the required link on the road network, and when the vehicle passes the end node, the passing time is stored. Then, a travel time for the link is calculated from the passing times of passing the respective starting and end nodes of the link.

Claims

1. A method for setting a travel time, comprising the steps of:

receiving a position detection signal transmitted from a travelling vehicle to detect a position of the vehicle;

sensing whether or not the vehicle passes a starting node of a required link on a road network for storage of a passing time when the vehicle passes the starting node;

sensing whether or not the vehicle passes an end node of the required link on the road network for storage of a passing time when the vehicle passes the end node;

calculating a travel time for the link from the passing times at the starting node and the end node of the link, wherein said step of calculating the travel time is performed during at least one pre-set time slot and, in said step of calculating the travel time, the travel time is calculated by averaging a plurality of data representing the travel times of the vehicles detected within the at least one pre-set time slot; and

calculating a travel time in the link from road data and a set speed instead of the travel time measured when the number of data representing the travel times of the vehicles detected within the at least one pre-set time slot is lower than a specified number set in advance.

2. The method for setting the travel time according to claim 1, further comprising a step of calculating an average speed per hour from the calculated travel time and the distance of the link.

3. The method for setting the travel time according to claim 1, further comprising a step of storing data representing the calculated travel time through an overwriting operation.

4. A system for setting a travel time, comprising:

vehicle-position detection means for receiving a position detection signal transmitted from a travelling vehicle to detect a vehicle position;

node-passing-time detection means for sensing from the position detection of said vehicle-position detection means whether or not the vehicle passes a required node on a road network, to detect a node passing time of the vehicle; and

travel-time calculation means for calculating a travel time in a link connecting the two required nodes from the node passing times of the vehicle passing the two required nodes on the road network which are detected by said node-passing-time detection means,

wherein said travel-time calculation means calculates the travel time during at least one pre-set time slot, averages a plurality of data representing the travel times of the vehicles detected within the at least one pre-set time slot for calculating the travel time, and calculates the travel time in the link from road data and a set speed instead of the detected node passage time when the number of data representing the travel times of a plurality of the vehicles detected within the at least one pre-set time slot is lower than a specified number set in advance.

5. The system for setting the travel time according to claim 4, further comprising speed-per-hour calculation means for calculating an average speed per hour from the travel time calculated by said travel-time calculation means and a distance of the link.

6. The system for setting the travel time according to claim 4, further comprising travel-time data storage means for storing data representing the travel time calculated by said travel-time calculation means.

7. The system for setting the travel time according to claim 6, wherein said travel-time data storing means stores the data representing the travel time through an overwriting operation.

8. A method for route calculation, comprising the steps of:

detecting node-passing times of a vehicle passing two required nodes on a road network on the basis of a vehicle positions detected by position detection signals transmitted from the travelling vehicle;

calculating a travel time in a link connecting the two nodes from the detected node-passing times for storing the calculated data for each link on the road network;

calculating a route connecting a set starting location and a set destination location on the basis of the stored travel time data, wherein said step of calculating the travel time is performed during at least one pre-set time slot and is calculated by averaging a plurality of data representing the travel time of the vehicle detected within the at least one pre-set time slot, and wherein said step of calculating the route connecting the set starting location and the set destination location is performed based on the averaged travel time data for the corresponding one pre-set time slot; and

calculating a travel time in the link from road data and a set speed from storage instead of the travel time measured when the number of data representing the travel times of a plurality of the vehicles detected within the at least one pre-set time slot is lower than a specified number set in advance, wherein said step of calculating the route connecting the set starting location and the set destination location is performed on the basis of the travel time data defined by the road data and the set speed.

9. A system for route calculation, comprising:

vehicle-position detection means for receiving a position detection signal transmitted from a travelling vehicle to detect a vehicle position;

node-passing-time detecting means for sensing from the position detection of said vehicle-position detection means whether or not the vehicle passes a required node on a road network, to detect a node passing time of the vehicle;

travel time calculation means for calculating a travel time in a link connecting the two required nodes from the node passing times when the vehicle passes the two required nodes on the road network which are detected by said node-passing-time detection means;

travel-time data storage means for storing the data representing the travel time calculated by said travel time calculation means for each link on the road network; and

route calculation means for calculating a route connecting a set starting location and a set destination on the basis of the travel time data stored in said travel-time data storage means,

wherein said travel time calculation means calculates the travel time during at least one pre-set time slot and stores it in said travel-time data storage means, averages a plurality of data representing the travel times of the vehicles detected within the at least pre-set time slot for calculation of the travel time and stores the averaged travel time in said travel-time data storage means, and calculates the travel time in the link from road data and a set speed instead of the measured travel time when the number of data representing the travel times of a plurality of the vehicles detected within the at least pre-set time slot is lower than a specified number set in advance and stores it in said travel time data storage means, and

said route calculation means calculates the route connecting the set starting location and the set destination based on the travel time data for the corresponding one pre-set time slot read out from the travel-time data storage means, calculates the route connecting the set starting location and the set destination location on the basis of the averaged travel time data for the corresponding one pre-set time slot read out from the travel-time data storage means, and calculates the route connecting the set starting location and the set destination location on the basis of the travel time data, defined by the road data and the set speed, read out from the travel-time data storage means.

10. The system for the route calculation according to claim 9, wherein said travel-time data storage means stores the calculated travel time data through an overwriting operation.