Automobile navigation system and road map update system

• US 7,565,241 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Tauchi, Nobutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen; Shelley
• Application Number:
  US11/253,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20060111837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,370 Days
• Field of Search: 701208-210
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3815 Road data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3837 Data obtained from a single source
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3844 Data obtained from position sensors only, e.g. from inertial navigation

Abstract

A navigation system in a vehicle stores position history information including position information related to a detection position detected by a position detector and position information related to a map matching position. The map matching position is obtained by matching the detection position with a point of a road in road map data. When the vehicle runs on a not-stored road that is not stored in the road map data, the navigation system determines a trail of running of the vehicle from departure from a stored road that is stored in the road map data to comeback into a stored road that is stored in the road map data, based on the stored position history information.

Claims

1. A navigation system provided in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a display device;

a position detector that detects a position of the vehicle as a detection position, wherein the position detector is further configured to carry out at least two positioning types different in accuracy of (i) high-accuracy positioning having a relatively high accuracy and (ii) low-accuracy positioning having a relatively low accuracy;

a map data storage unit that stores road map data;

a map matching unit that performs map matching that matches, based on the detection position and the road map data, the detection position with a point of a road in the road map data, wherein the point is defined to be a map matching position;

a display control unit that causes the display device to display the map matching position together with a road map based on the road map data;

a history storage unit, configured to store position history information, wherein (i) the position history information includes only position information related to the detection position when the high-accuracy positioning is carried out, and (ii) the position history information includes position information related to the detection position and position information related to the map matching position when the low-accuracy positioning is carried out;

a determination unit that, when the vehicle runs on a not-stored road that is not stored in the road map data, determines a trail of running of the vehicle from departure to comeback based on the position history information, wherein the departure is to depart from a first stored road that is stored in the road map data while the comeback is to back into a second stored road that is stored in the road map data; and

a road data generation unit that generates road data corresponding to the trail of running determined by the determination unit and adds the generated road data to the road map data, wherein,

when a certain detection position detected when the high-accuracy positioning is carried out is stored in the history storage unit and the certain detection position is different from a map matching position corresponding to the detection position,

the road data generation unit calculates a difference between the certain detection position and the corresponding map matching position as a correction vector for the trail of running related to the certain detection position, and

the road data generation unit corrects, based on the calculated correction vector, either (i) the generated road data corresponding to the trail of running related to the certain detection position detected when the high-accuracy positioning is carried out or (ii) road map data to which the generated road data is attached.

2. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when the low-accuracy positioning is carried out, the history storage unit pairs the detection position and the map matching position corresponding to the detection position with each other in the position history information.

3. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when generating the road data, the road data generation unit inquires of a user whether the generated road data should be added, and

wherein, when the user gives an instruction to add the generated road data, the road data generation unit adds the generated road data to the road map data.

4. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein the road data generation unit gives to the generated road data an attribute for indicating a direction in which the vehicle actually ran as a trafficable direction.

5. The navigation system according to claim 4,

wherein, when the vehicle runs on a road corresponding to the generated road data in a direction opposite the trafficable direction, the road data generation unit corrects the attribute of the road data to an attribute that indicates that the road is two-way trafficable.

6. The navigation system according to claim 4, further comprising:

an instruction unit that gives an instruction to provide guidance to take for homeward journey a same route as a route for outward journey; and

a guidance unit that sets the same route for the homeward journey as a guided route under the instruction and provides routing assistance,

wherein, in a case where the road data is generated with the attribute given and an instruction is given by the instruction unit, the road data generation unit corrects the attribute to indicate two-way trafficable.

7. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when the history storage unit stores the position history information including both the position information related to the detection position and the position information related to the map matching position, the determination unit determines a point of the departure from the first stored road that is a target of map matching based on an angle difference between an orientation of the first stored road and a traveling direction determined from the position information related to the detection position.

8. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when the history storage unit stores the position history information including both the position information related to the detection position and the position information related to the map matching position, the determination unit determines a point of the comeback into the second stored road that is a target of map matching based on an angle difference between an orientation of the second stored road and a traveling direction determined from the position information related to the detection position.

9. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when a state in which there is no road to be a target of map matching lasts for a predetermined period and thereafter a detection position agrees with a position on the second stored road, the determination unit regards the vehicle as having run on the not-stored road and then determines the trail of running of the vehicle.

10. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when a data amount of the stored position history information reaches a predetermined amount, the history storage unit replaces chronologically oldest data with latest data.

11. The navigation system according to claim 1,

wherein, when a data amount of the stored position history information reaches a predetermined amount, the history storage unit thins out and deletes a portion of the stored position history information according to a predetermined rule, thereby ensuring a storage area of the history storage unit.

12. The navigation system according to claim 11,

wherein the thinning out and deletion of the portion of the stored position history information are carried out in the history storage unit when the vehicle is running on the not-stored road.

13. The navigation system according to claim 11,

wherein the determination unit includes a judgment unit that judges, when the vehicle comes back to the second stored road, whether the history storage unit holds position history information required for determining the trail of running of the vehicle from the departure to the comeback, and

wherein, when the history storage unit is determined to hold the position history information required for determining, the determination unit determines the trail of running of the vehicle.