Route determination and driver warning system

• US 7,761,227 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2007
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kropp, Michaela
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner; Mark
• Application Number:
  US11/683,404
• Publication Number:
  US 20070225900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 701/202, 701/209, 340/995.23
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence

Abstract

A system for determining a route and for warning a driver of a vehicle and corresponding methods are provided. The systems include storage units that store road segment passage restriction data and vehicle passage restriction data. The systems further include a working memory unit and a processing unit that determine a route to be displayed on an output unit or that provide a warning signal output, depending upon both the vehicle passage restriction data and the road segment passage restriction data.

Claims

1. A method for determining a route from a start point to a destination for a vehicle, the method comprising:

(a) providing road segment passage restriction information for a plurality of road segments;

(b) providing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle; and

(c) determining a route from the start point to the destination for the vehicle based upon both the vehicle passage restriction data and the road segment passage restriction information, where determining a route includes determining a first passage threshold value and a second passage threshold value of a road segment based upon the passage restriction information of the road segment, the first and second passage threshold values relating to the same vehicle parameter, and the route is determined based upon the vehicle passage restriction data and each one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment.

2. The method of claim 1, where determining a route includes a computation of a cost function based upon road segment weighting factors, the method further including:

(a) comparing the vehicle passage restriction data with the passage restriction information of a road segment; and

(b) adjusting the weighting factor of the road segment, depending upon the result of the comparing.

3. The method of claim 2, where adjusting the weighting factor includes adjusting the weighting factor based upon a comparison of the vehicle passage restriction data with each one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment.

4. The method of claim 3, where the weighting factor of the road segment is not adjusted if the vehicle passage restriction data is smaller than the smaller one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment.

5. The method of claim 4, where the weighting factor of the road segment is increased if the vehicle passage restriction data is larger than the larger one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment.

6. The method of claim 1, further including:

(a) determining whether the vehicle passage restriction data is set to a new value;

(b) comparing the vehicle passage restriction data, if it is set to a new value, with passage restriction information of remaining road segments of an active route; and

(c) initiating a new determination of a route, based upon the result of the comparing of the new value of the vehicle passage restriction data.

7. A method of warning a driver of a vehicle, the method comprising:

(a) providing road segment passage restriction information for a road segment;

(b) providing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle;

(c) comparing the vehicle passage restriction data with the passage restriction information of the road segment, where comparing includes determining a first passage threshold value and a second passage threshold value based upon the passage restriction information of the road segment; and

(d) outputting a warning signal, depending upon the result of the comparing.

8. The method of claim 7, further including determining an active road segment on which the vehicle is located or an active road segment which the vehicle is approaching, where comparing is performed for the active road segment.

9. The method of claim 7, further including determining a set of road segments to be displayed on an optical output device, where the comparing and the outputting are performed for each road segment of the set of road segments.

10. The method of claim 7, where the warning signal is either or both of a visible warning signal and an audible warning signal.

11. The method of claim 7, where the vehicle passage restriction data is compared with each one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment, and the warning signal is output depending upon the results of both comparisons.

12. The method of claim 11, where a first warning signal is output if the vehicle passage restriction data is larger than each one of the first and second passage threshold values.

13. The method of claim 12, where a second warning signal different from the first warning signal is output if the vehicle passage restriction data is smaller than the larger one of the first and second passage threshold values and larger than the smaller one of the first and second passage threshold values.

14. The method of claim 7, where the road segment passage restriction information is a vertical clearance, a horizontal clearance, a road segment curvature radius, a lane width, or a weight restriction.

15. The method of claim 7, where the vehicle passage restriction data is a vehicle height, a vehicle width, either or both of a vehicle axle base and number of axles, a vehicle length, a vehicle turning circle radius, or a vehicle weight.

16. The method of claim 7, where providing vehicle passage restriction data includes inputting the vehicle passage restriction data by a user.

17. The method of claim 7, where providing vehicle passage restriction data includes automatically determining the vehicle passage restriction data.

18. A system of route determination for a vehicle, comprising:

(a) a first storage unit containing road segment passage restriction information;

(b) a second storage unit containing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle;

(c) a working memory unit for storing a subset of the road segment passage restriction information and the vehicle passage restriction data; and

(d) a processing unit coupled to the working memory unit and adapted to determine a route from a start point to a destination based upon both the road segment passage restriction information and the vehicle passage restriction data, and where the processing unit is adapted to determine a first passage threshold value and a second passage threshold value of a road segment based upon the passage restriction information of the road segment, the first and second passage threshold values relating to the same vehicle parameter, and to determine a route from the start point to the destination based upon the vehicle passage restriction data and each one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment.

19. The system of claim 18, further including a third storage unit containing road segment weighting factors, where the working memory unit is further adapted to store a subset of the road segment weighting factors, and the processing unit is adapted to adjust the weighting factor of a given road segment stored in the working memory unit based upon the result of a comparison of the vehicle passage restriction data with the passage restriction information of a given road segment.

20. The system of claim 18, further including a detection unit that automatically determines the vehicle passage restriction data and a transfer unit that transfers the vehicle passage restriction data determined by the detection unit to the second storage unit.

21. The system of claim 20, where the detection unit automatically determines whether a trailer is coupled to a tow bar of the vehicle.

22. The system of claim 18, where the system is adapted to perform a method comprising:

(a) providing road segment passage restriction information for a plurality of road segments;

(b) providing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle; and

(c) determining a route from the start point to the destination for the vehicle based upon both the vehicle passage restriction data and the road segment passage restriction information.

23. A system for warning a driver of a vehicle of a potential problem along a route, the system comprising:

(a) a first storage unit containing road segment passage restriction information;

(b) a second storage unit containing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle;

(c) a working memory unit for storing road segment passage restriction information of at least one road segment and the vehicle passage restriction data;

(d) a processing unit coupled to the working memory unit and adapted to compare passage restriction information of the road segment with the vehicle passage restriction data, where the processing unit is adapted to determine a first passage threshold value and a second passage threshold value of the road segment based upon the passage restriction information of the road segment; and

(e) an output unit coupled to the processing unit to receive a control signal therefrom and adapted to output a warning signal based upon the control signal.

24. The system of claim 23, further including a position determining unit for determining a current vehicle position where the determining unit is adapted to provide the current vehicle position to the processing unit and where the processing unit is adapted to determine an active road segment on which the vehicle is located or an active road segment which the vehicle is approaching, and to compare the vehicle passage restriction data with the passage restriction information of the active road segment.

25. The system of claim 23, where the processing unit is further adapted to compare the vehicle passage restriction data with each one of the first and second passage threshold values of the road segment and to output the control signal based upon the results of both comparisons, where the output unit is adapted to output a first warning signal or a second warning signal, depending upon the received control signal.

26. The system of claims 23, where the output unit is a screen of a navigation device.

28. The system of claim 23, where adapted to perform a method that includes:

(a) providing road segment passage restriction information for a road segment;

(b) providing vehicle passage restriction data characterizing the vehicle;

(c) comparing the vehicle passage restriction data with the passage restriction information of the road segment; and

(d) outputting a warning signal, depending upon the result of the comparing.

27. The system of 23, where the output unit is an acoustical output device.