Navigation system

• US 7,539,575 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2004
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Tada, Kenichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US10/995,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 701/210, 701/211, 701/201, 701/207, 701/208, 701/209, 340/995.12, 340/995.19
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance

Abstract

A navigation system has a navigation apparatus mounted on a vehicle, and a computer apparatus which is connected with the navigation apparatus to enable to communicates with the navigation apparatus. When the navigation apparatus receives route search information including recommended-route information from the computer apparatus, the navigation apparatus transmits a notice of completion of reception to the computer apparatus, generates traveling route information of the vehicle which moves on the basis of the route search information, and transmits guidance result information to the computer apparatus. The computer apparatus transmits recommended-route information which is generated on the basis of a predetermined algorithm, to the navigation apparatus, receives from the navigation apparatus the reception completion notice and the guidance result information including the traveling route information of the vehicle, and modifies the algorithm on the basis of the recommended-route information and the traveling route information.

Claims

1. A computer apparatus, which is connected with a navigation apparatus to be mounted on a mobile unit through a communication network so that the computer apparatus enables to communicate with the navigation apparatus, comprising:

a recommended-route generating section that calculates a recommended route between two arbitrary points based on a recommended-route generation algorithm to generate recommended-route information;

a route search information transmitting section that transmits route search information including the recommended-route information to the navigation apparatus;

a first receiving section that receives a notice of completion of reception for the route search information transmitted from the navigation apparatus;

a second receiving section that receives guidance result information including traveling route information of the mobile unit which moves based on the recommended-route information; and

a learning section that conducts a learning process by modifying the recommended-route generation algorithm based on the recommended-route information and the traveling route information.

2. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the route search information includes:

computer apparatus identifying information which is to identify the computer apparatus;

the recommended-route information; and

recommended-route identifying information which is to identify the recommended-route information.

3. The computer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notice of completion of reception includes the recommended-route identifying information and navigation apparatus identifying information which is to identify the navigation apparatus, and

the computer apparatus further comprises:

a guidance history information generating section that generates guidance history information involving the recommended-route identifying information, the navigation apparatus identifying information and the recommended-route information.

4. The computer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the guidance result information includes the recommended-route identifying information, the traveling route information and the navigation apparatus identifying information, and

the learning section does not modify the recommended-route generation algorithm in a case where the navigation apparatus identifying information received by the second receiving section is inconsistent with the navigation apparatus identifying information in the guidance history information, or where the recommended-route identifying information received by the second receiving section is inconsistent with the recommended-route identifying information in the guidance history information.

5. The computer apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

an alarming section that displays an alarm in a case where the navigation apparatus identifying information received by the second receiving section is inconsistent with the navigation apparatus identifying information in the guidance history information, or where the recommended-route identifying information received by the second receiving section is inconsistent with the recommended-route identifying information in the guidance history information.

6. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus is configured from a plurality of navigation apparatuses which are respectively placed in a plurality of mobile units,

the recommended-route generation algorithm is given to each of the plurality of navigation apparatuses, and

the learning section modifies the recommended-route generation algorithm for each of the plurality of navigation apparatuses.

7. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guidance history information has a learning flag indicating whether or not a learning process is conducted on the recommended-route generation algorithm for generating a recommended route, and

when the learning process is conducted on the recommended-route generation algorithm, the learning section set the learning flag to a value indicating that the learning process is conducted.

8. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a guidance history information deleting section that deletes the guidance history information,

wherein the guidance history information deleting section deletes oldest guidance history information to prevent the number of stored guidance history information from exceeding a predetermined number.

9. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a guidance history information deleting section that deletes the guidance history information,

wherein the guidance history information has generation date information indicating a date of generation when the recommended-route information is generated, and

the guidance history information deleting section deletes guidance history information in which a predetermined time has passed since a date of generation indicated by the generation date information.

10. The computer apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the guidance history information has an automatic-erasure inhibiting flag indicating whether or not automatic erasure is enabled, and

the guidance history information deleting section deletes guidance history information in which the automatic-erasure inhibiting flag does not indicate that automatic erasure is disabled.

11. A navigation system comprising a navigation apparatus mounted on a mobile unit, and a computer apparatus which is connected with the navigation apparatus through a communication network so that the computer apparatus enables to communicate with the navigation apparatus, wherein

the navigation apparatus comprises:

a receiving section that receives route search information from the computer apparatus, the route search information including recommended-route information indicating a recommended route between two arbitrary points;

a reception completion notice transmitting section that transmits a notice of completion of reception to the computer apparatus in accordance with reception of the route search information;

a traveling route recording section that records a traveling route of the mobile unit which moves based on the route search information, and generates traveling route information; and

a guidance result information transmitting section that transmits guidance result information to the computer apparatus based on the traveling route information, and

the computer apparatus comprises;

a recommended-route generating section that generates the recommended-route information based on a recommended-route generation algorithm;

a route search information transmitting section that transmits the route search information including the recommended-route information to the navigation apparatus;

a first receiving section that receives the notice of completion of reception for the route search information transmitted from the navigation apparatus;

a second receiving section that receives guidance result information including the traveling route information of the mobile unit which moves based on the recommended-route information; and

a learning section that conducts a learning process by modifying the recommended-route generation algorithm based on the recommended-route information and the traveling route information.