Information center for communications-type navigation device

• US 6,978,208 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2003
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Katsuaki Tanaka, Kimiya Yamaashi, Kimiyoshi Machii, Kozo Nakamura, Michio Morioka, Shigeru Matsuo, Takaharu Ishida, Yoshinori Endo
• Inventors: Endo, Yoshinori, Matsuo, Shigeru, Nakamura, Kozo, Machii, Kimiyoshi, Ishida, Takaharu, Tanaka, Katsuaki, Morioka, Michio, Yamaashi, Kimiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US10/407,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20030191580A1
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/209, 701/25, 701/211, 701/207, 701/208, 701/203, 340/995.1, 340/995.19, 340/988, 340/994, 340/995.2, 340/995.21
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096866 where the complete route is shown to the driver
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096883 where input information is obtained using a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone, a PDA

Abstract

A communications-type car navigation system including a vehicle-mounted terminal and a server. When transferring, to the terminal, the result of a route searching which the server has performed, the server transfers the data that will satisfy the requirements of a route guiding method which the user wishes. Also, the server transfers the route data that has been compressed. Concerning the map data as well, the server transfers only the necessary attributes thereof. Moreover, the following conditions allow the operability to be enhanced: the selection of a map transferring method and the route guiding method where the driving state has been taken into consideration, and the selection of a guiding unit which the user wishes.

Claims

1. An information center comprising:

a communicator which performs transmission/reception of data;

a route information calculator which creates route information by calculating an optimum route form position information on a starting place and a destination place received at said communicator;

a guiding point information calculator which creates guiding point information by making reference to said calculated route so as to extract a guiding point at which an advancing course is to be modified,

wherein said guiding point information calculator generates the guiding point information indicating driving direction at the guiding point on the optimum route for guiding;

a user manager which manages a user who establishes a connection with said information center;

a guiding-mode type stored which stores a guiding-mode type on a user basis;

a guiding-mode type setting means which permits a user to set said guiding-mode type,

wherein said guiding point information calculator refers to said guiding-mode type set by said user and stored in said guiding-mode type storage, and when the referred guiding-mode type corresponds to a mode for displaying an intersection point in an enlarged-view which superposes the driving direction on a map around the guiding point, creates a guiding point map including a predetermined area map having the guiding point, and

wherein said communicator transmits the guiding point map with the route information and the guiding point information; and

a driven orbital-track manager which stores said orbital-track information of a position on a user basis, said orbital-track information being received by said communicator,

wherein said route information calculator makes a comparison between orbital-track information on the position of a user and road map information so as to determine a road on which the user is positioned and an advancing direction thereof, said orbital-track information being received by said communicator, and further, calculates said optimum route from said position information on said destination place obtained by said communicator, thereby creating said route information, and

wherein said route information calculator analyzes utilization-frequencies of roads that the user utilizes from said orbital-track information of the user stored in said driven orbital-track manager, and lowers a cost parameter of a road whose utilization-frequency is high, thereby creating, as said route information, said high utilization-frequency road with a higher priority.