Car information system, map server and on-board system
First Claim
1. A car information system for communicating with a driving control unit located in a vehicle, and for controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed, the car information system comprising:
- a map database (DB) in which map data is registered, the map data including a link constituting a road, a road shape of the link, and attribute data of the link at each of a plurality of meshes into which a map area is divided, wherein the map area is divided into meshes of a support area that is judged by field research whether attribute data is present or absent for each kind of attribute data in said map data, and meshes of a non-support area that is not judged by field research;
a support area management table in which the meshes of the support area are registered; and
control means for estimating a traveling area through which the vehicle travels, for using said support area management table to judge whether or not estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, and for, if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed by use of the map data, whereas if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are not associated with the support area of the attribute data, not performing the driving control of the vehicle by use of the map data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention discloses highly accurate driving control of a vehicle using map data. A car information system for controlling a driving control unit group is located in a vehicle. The car information system includes a map database for storing map data, a support area management table in which each kind of attribute data of the map data is associated with information for identifying a field-researched area, and a control unit for estimating an area through which the vehicle travels. The control unit uses a support area management table to judge whether attribute data included in the estimated area is associated with the support area.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A car information system for communicating with a driving control unit located in a vehicle, and for controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed, the car information system comprising:
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a map database (DB) in which map data is registered, the map data including a link constituting a road, a road shape of the link, and attribute data of the link at each of a plurality of meshes into which a map area is divided, wherein the map area is divided into meshes of a support area that is judged by field research whether attribute data is present or absent for each kind of attribute data in said map data, and meshes of a non-support area that is not judged by field research; a support area management table in which the meshes of the support area are registered; and control means for estimating a traveling area through which the vehicle travels, for using said support area management table to judge whether or not estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, and for, if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed by use of the map data, whereas if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are not associated with the support area of the attribute data, not performing the driving control of the vehicle by use of the map data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A map server for storing map data including a link constituting a road, a road shape of the link, and attribute data of the link at each of a plurality of meshes into which a map area is divided, kept in the latest version, and for providing information about the map data to an on-board system for performing the driving control of a vehicle, wherein the map area is divided into meshes of a support area that is judged by field research whether attribute data is present or absent for each kind of attribute data in said map data, and meshes of a non-support area that is not judged by field research;
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the map server comprising; a support area management table in which the meshes of the support area are registered; an update-date management table for storing the update date of attribute data of a link, the update date of a road shape of the link, which are included in map data, and the update date of data of said support area management table; communication means for communicating with the on-board system; and update check means for, from the on-board system through said communication means, acquiring;
a check area of map data, whose update check is requested;
the update date of attribute data of the link, and the update date of the road shape of the link, which are included in the check area of the map data stored in the on-board system; and
the update date of the support area of the attribute data of the link included in the check area;
by use of the information acquired from the on-board system, said update-date management table, and said support area management table, judging whether or not to update the attribute data and road shape of the check area of the map data, and the support area of the attribute data, which are stored in the on-board system; and
transmitting the result of the judgment to the on-board system, and if it is judged that they should be updated, transmitting data required for the update. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. An on-board system comprising a driving control unit for performing the driving control of a vehicle and a car information system for communicating with the driving control unit to control the driving control unit,
the car information system comprising: -
a map database (DB) in which map data is registered at each of a plurality of meshes into which a map area is divided, wherein the map area is divided into meshes of a support area that is judged by field research whether attribute data is present or absent for each kind of attribute data in said map data, and meshes of a non-support area that is not judged by field research; a support area management table in which the meshes of the support area are registered; communication means for communicating with a map server which stores the latest-version map data; check means for accessing the map server through said communication means, and checking whether or not, among pieces of map data stored in said map DB, and among the support areas, the map data and the support area, relating to the area through which the vehicle has been estimated to travel, are the same as those kept in the latest version; warning/control switching means for setting the mode of the on-board system to one of modes of a control mode in which the driving control is executed, a warning mode in which warning processing is executed, or an uncontrolled mode in which neither the driving control nor the warning processing is executed; control means for, when the mode of the on-board system is set to the control mode, controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed by use of the map data of said map DB; and warning means for, when the mode of the on-board system is set to the warning mode, issuing a warning to a user by use of the map data of said map DB, wherein said warning/control switching means sets the mode of the on-board system to the control mode if said check means succeeds in judging that among the pieces of map data stored in said map DB, and among the support areas, the data and the support area relating to the area through which the vehicle has been estimated to travel, are the same as those of the latest-version map data, and at the same time, judging whether or not the meshes of the estimated area correspond to the support area of the attribute data, if the estimated area corresponds to the support area of the attribute data, said warning/control switching means sets the mode of the on-board system to the warning mode, if said check means fails to judge that the data relating to the area through which the vehicle has been estimated to travel are the same as those of the latest-version map data, and at the same time, judging whether or not the meshes of the estimated area correspond to the support area of the attribute data, if the estimated area corresponds to the support area of the attribute data, and said warning/control switching means sets the mode of the on-board system to the uncontrolled mode, judging whether or not the meshes of the estimated area correspond to the support area of the attribute data, if the estimated area does not correspond to the support area of the attributed data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification