Method and apparatus for transmitting position information on a digital map

• US 7,353,108 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Adachi, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Behncke; Christine M
• Application Number:
  US10/652,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20040039524A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 701/209, 701/207, 701/208, 701/211, 340/995.13, 340/995.12, 340/995.2, 340/988, 340/995.14, 340/932.2
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3819 Road shape data, e.g. outline of a route
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3889 Transmission of selected map data, e.g. depending on route
• 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 1/096866 where the complete route is shown to the driver
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

The invention purposes to provide a position information transmission method for accurately transmitting a position and a shape on a digital map with a small amount of data.

In a position information transmission method of the invention, the transmitting side transmits road shape information to specify the target road section on a digital map and event information to specify an event position by using a relative position in the target road section and the receiving side performs map matching based on the road shape information to identify the target road section and identifies the event position in the target road section based on the event information is characterized in that the transmitting side intermittently selects nodes included in the target road section to include the coordinate data of the nodes in the road shape information for transmission, and that the receiving side performs map matching to determine the positions of the nodes included in the road shape information and obtains the road connecting the nodes by way of a route search to identify the target road section. It is thus possible to efficiently and accurately transmit an event position on a digital map.

Claims

1. A position information transmission method for transmitting and receiving road shape information, the method comprising the steps of:

at a transmitting side having a first digital map,

selecting nodes in a target road section on the first digital map on a predetermined condition;

generating road shape information including the selected nodes;

transmitting the road shape information;

at a receiving side having a second digital map,

identifying positions of the selected nodes on the second digital map by matching the selected nodes on the second digital map based on the road shape information; and

identifying the target road section on the second digital map by performing a route search between the identified positions of the nodes on the second digital map.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road shape information transmitted from the transmitting side includes supplementary information indicating attributes of the selected nodes, and wherein the receiving side references the supplementary information in the step of executing a matching in order to determine the positions of the nodes.

3. The method according to claim 2,

wherein the supplementary information indicating the attributes of the nodes includes at least one of a road type, a road name, a road number, a number of intersections between selected nodes, a number of connecting links, angles between connecting roads, functional road class, form of way, intersection type, driving direction, and azimuth information at the selected node.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the road shape information transmitted from the transmitting side includes supplementary information indicating attributes of links included between the selected nodes, and

wherein the receiving device references the supplementary information during using the route search in the step of obtaining the road between the nodes.

5. The method according to claim 4,

wherein the supplementary information indicating the attributes of the links includes at least one of a road type, a road number, a link type, and a distance between nodes.

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the transmitting side selects a plurality of nodes in at least a part of the target road section more thickly than in another part and transmits the road shape information, and

wherein said nodes representing said predetermined section are selected more thickly than another section.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

comparing a setting date of the digital map data of the road in the target road section with a regulated date; and

transmitting the road shape information including data representing the road shape in the target road section, in case of that the setting date is later than the regulated date;

wherein the steps of the comparing a setting date with a regulated date and transmitting the road shape information are executed at the transmitting side.

8. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the road shape information transmitted from the transmitting side includes a setting date that the digital map data of the road in the target road section was set, and

wherein the step of identifying the target road section is skipped in case of that the setting date is later than a creation date of a digital map data which the receiving side owns.

9. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the road shape information transmitted from the transmitting side includes distance data between the selected nodes, and

the method further comprising the step of:

comparing the distance data of the road connecting the nodes obtained by way of the route search and the distance data between the nodes in the road shape information; and

discriminating propriety of the route search;

wherein the steps of the comparing the distances and discriminating the propriety are executed at the receiving side.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining a length of the target road section or number of the nodes in the road shape information based on a distance from the selected nodes in the target road section to a closest point on the adjacent road section, or based on a difference between azimuth information of the selected nodes in the target road section and azimuth information of the adjacent road section.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising determining whether or not a part of the target road section in the road shape information is to be represented by nodes, which is selected thickly based on at least one of the following:

a distance from the selected nodes in the target road section to a closest point on an adjacent road section, or a difference between azimuth information of the selected nodes in the target road section and azimuth information of the adjacent road section.

12. A position information transmission apparatus for transmitting road shape information to specify a target road section on a digital map, the apparatus comprising:

means for selecting nodes in a target road section on a first digital map on a predetermined condition;

means for generating road shape information including the selected nodes; and

means for transmitting the road shape information to a receiving side,

wherein the receiving side identifies positions of the selected nodes on a second digital map by matching the selected nodes on the second digital map based on the road shape information and identifies the target road section on the second digital map by performing a route search between the identified positions of the nodes on the second digital map.

13. A position information receiving apparatus for receiving road shape information designating a target road section on a digital map and for specifying the target road section based on the road shape information, the apparatus comprising:

map matching means for performing map matching to identify positions of selected nodes included in the road shape information on the digital map; and

route search means for performing a route search between identified positions of the nodes on the digital map to identify the target road section.

14. The position information receiving apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the map matching means executes a map matching based on node information of some of the nodes included in the road shape information to determine the positions of the nodes on a digital map.

15. A method for identifying position of a target road section on a digital map, said method comprising the steps of:

at a transmitting side having a first digital map,

selecting nodes including coordinate information from the target road section on the first digital map on a predetermined condition;

creating position information of the target road section on a first digital map using the selected nodes;

sending said position information of the target road section;

at a receiving side having a second digital map,

receiving said position information of the target road section;

calculating a path between positions of said selected nodes on the second digital map based on said coordinate information; and

identifying position of said target road section on the second digital map based on the calculated path.

16. The method according to claim 15,

wherein, in the step of calculating the path between the selected nodes, said receiving side calculates the shortest path between said selected nodes.

17. The method according to claim 15,

wherein said nodes are intermittently selected from the target road.

18. The method according to claim 15:

wherein the position information includes supplementary information; and

wherein at least one of the calculating step and the identifying step is performed with using the supplementary information.

19. The method according to claim 18,

wherein said supplementary information indicates attribute of the selected nodes.

20. The method according to claim 19,

wherein said attribute of nodes indicates any one of a road type, a road name, a road number, a number of intersections between the selected nodes, a number of connecting links, angles between connecting roads, functional road class, form of way, intersection type, driving direction, and azimuth information at the selected node.

21. The method according to claim 18,

wherein said supplementary information indicates attribute of a path between said selected nodes.

22. The method according to claim 21,

wherein said attribute of path indicates any one of a length and a road type, a road number, a link type, and distance between nodes of the path.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18,

wherein said position information includes a node on a intersection.

24. The method according to any one of the claims 15 to 18,

wherein said position information includes a node on any points between intersections.

25. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17,

wherein said position information includes a node in the middle of distance between intersections or in the vicinity of the middle of distance between intersections.

26. A method for identifying position of a target road section on a digital map, said method comprising the steps of:

at a transmitting side having a first digital map,

creating position information of the target road section, wherein said position information includes coordinate information of nodes selected from the target road section and at least a part of said nodes represent a shape of a predetermined section of the target road section;

sending said position information of the target road section;

at a receiving side having a second digital map,

identifying position of said predetermined section on the second digital map by using said shape;

calculating a path of the other section on the second digital map; and

identifying position of the target road section on the second digital map based on the identified position of said predetermined section and the calculated path.

27. The method according to claim 26,

wherein said nodes representing said predetermined section are selected more thickly than the other section.

28. The method according to claim 26,

wherein said predetermined section is a section which is estimated to cause an error matching at the sending side, or a section which is estimated to cause a miscalculation of a path thereof at the sending side.

29. The method according to claim 26,

wherein said predetermined section falls into one of a section to which plural roads run parallel and a section having a possibility that plural paths are calculated.

30. An apparatus for providing position information indicating a target road section on a first digital map to a receiving side having a second digital map so that the receiving side can identify the target road section on the second digital map, said apparatus comprising:

at a transmitting side having a first digital map,

means for creating position information of the target road section, wherein said position information includes coordinate information of nodes selected from the target road section and at least a part of said nodes represent a shape of a predetermined section of the target road section;

at a receiving side having a second digital map,

means for identifying position of said predetermined section on the second digital map by using said shape;

means for calculating a path of the other section on the second digital map; and

means for identifying position of the target road section on the second digital map based on the identified position of said predetermined section and the calculated path.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 further comprising:

means for selecting the predetermined section from the target road section; and

means for selecting nodes from points arranged on the target road section in such manner that nodes are selected more thickly in the predetermined section than the other section of the target road section.

32. An apparatus for identifying position of a target road section on a digital map at a receiving side based on position information including supplementary information on a digital map at a transmitting side, said apparatus comprising:

means for receiving the position information;

means for determining position of nodes representing the target road section on the digital map at the receiving side based on the received position information;

means for calculating a path between the identified nodes; and

means for identifying the target road section on the digital map at the receiving side using the path,

wherein at least one of the calculating step and the identifying step is performed using the supplementary information.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32,

wherein said means for identifying identifies the position of the target road section on the digital map based on at least one of the nodes included in the position information.

34. A method for identifying a first road section on a first digital map, and identifying a second road section, corresponding to the first road section, on a second digital map, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the first road section on the first digital map;

selecting first plural points located on the first road section, on the first digital map;

creating location information indicative of coordinates of the first plural points on the first digital map;

identifying plural second points, corresponding to the first plural points, on the second map with reference to the location information;

calculating a path connecting the second plural points on the second map; and

identifying the second road section on the second map based on the path.

36. The method according to claim 34 or 35,

wherein the coordinate information indicates an absolute coordinate of one of the first plural points as the coordinate of the one of the first plural points, and a relative positional relationship between the one of the first plural points and another one of the first plural points as the coordinate of the other one of the first plural points.

37. The method according to claim 34 or 35,

wherein the first plural points include a start node and an end node of the first road section on the first digital map.

35. A method for identifying a first road section on a first digital map, and identifying a second road section, corresponding to the first road section, on a second map, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the first road section on the first digital map;

extracting a part of the first road section as a predetermined section on the first digital map;

selecting first plural points located on the first predetermined section on the first digital map;

creating location information indicative of coordinates of the first plural points on the first digital map;

creating positional information indicative of a relative positional relationship between the first road section and the first predetermined section on the first digital map;

identifying plural second points, corresponding to the first plural points, on the second map with reference to the location information;

identifying a second predetermined section, corresponding to the first predetermined section, on the second digital map based on the plural second points; and

identifying the second road section on the second map based on the second predetermined section and the positional information.

38. A receiving apparatus for identifying a position of a target road section on a digital map, said receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving position information from transmitting side in which at least a part of nodes selected from the target road section represent a shape of a predetermined section of the target road section;

identifying means for identifying the predetermined section on the digital map using the received position information; and

calculating means for calculating a path of the other section on the digital map,

wherein the identifying means identifies the position of the target road section on the digital map based on the predetermined section and the calculated path.

39. The receiving apparatus of claim 38,

wherein said nodes representing said predetermined section are selected more quickly than the other section.

40. The receiving apparatus according to claim 38,

wherein said predetermined section is any one of the following:

a section which is estimated to cause an error matching at the transmitting side, or a section which is estimated to cause a miscalculation of a path thereof at the transmitting side.

41. The receiving apparatus according to claim 38,

wherein said predetermined section falls into one of a section to which plural roads run parallel and a section having a possibility that plural paths are calculated.