System and method for generating a route navigation database

• US 8,521,344 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2008
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Bonanni, Pierino Gianni
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): OH, HARRY Y
• Application Number:
  US12/248,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20100094551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,783 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701 19- 20, 701 23- 26, 701204-210, 701/213, 340988-994, 3409951-99528
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/025 Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates

Abstract

A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program including instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to acquire route data in a first format for a route, the route data comprising a plurality of route parameters for a plurality of route locations. The computer is further programmed to re-format the acquired route data in the first format into a second format different from the first format, filter the reformatted route data into a route dataset having a lesser number of route locations than the number of route locations in the acquired route data, and to store the route dataset in computer memory.

Claims

1. A navigation database system comprising a computer programmed to:

acquire route data in a first format for a route, the route data comprising a plurality of route parameters for each of a plurality of route locations;

re-format the acquired route data in the first format into a second format different from the first format;

filter the re-formatted route data into a route dataset having a lesser number of route locations than the number of route locations in the acquired route data;

store the route dataset in computer memory;

identify a portion of the survey data wherein two successive locations of the number of locations in the first route are separated by a distance that is greater than a threshold multiple of the average distance between successive locations of the number of locations in the first route; and

display the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

2. The navigation database system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of route parameters comprises one of a curvature parameter, a grade parameter, a speed limit parameter;

and

wherein the computer being programmed to re-format the acquired route data is further programmed to;

generate a separate table for each of the curvature parameter, the grade parameter, and the speed limit parameter, wherein each table includes respective data for one or more of the plurality of route locations.

3. The navigation database system of claim 2, wherein the computer being programmed to acquire route data in a first format is programmed to acquire route data having the plurality of route parameters for each of the plurality of route locations stored in one computer file.

4. The navigation database system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of route locations comprises a plurality of positions along the route wherein route data is acquired via a global positioning system (GPS) survey.

5. The navigation database system of claim 1, wherein the filtered route data comprise a plurality of positions along a straight portion of the route, and wherein a spacing between any two positions along the straight portion of the route is no more than one mile.

6. The navigation database system of claim 5, wherein the spacing between two positions along the straight portion of the route is one mile.

7. The navigation database system of claim 1, wherein the filtered data comprise a plurality of positions along a curved portion of the route, and wherein the spacing between any two of the plurality of positions along the curved portion is such that the chordal error is no more than a chordal error threshold.

8. The navigation database system of claim 1, wherein the filtered data comprise a plurality of positions along the route, and wherein the spacing between any two position is determined such that, for a track segment having two end points, wherein the two end points comprise two consecutive positions, the distance from a point on the segment to a nearest of the two end points is less than the distance from the point to any point on any non-contiguous track segment.

9. A method comprising:

obtaining survey data in a first format for a first route having a number of locations, the survey data comprising a plurality of route parameters for the number of locations;

assembling the survey data in the first format into a series of tables having a second format different from the first format;

reducing the number of locations in the survey data for the first route based on a set of criteria;

storing the reduced number of locations in computer memory;

identifying, via a processor, a portion of the survey data wherein two successive locations of the number of locations in the first route are separated by a distance that is greater than a threshold multiple of the average distance between successive locations of the number of locations in the first route; and

displaying the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein reducing the number of locations in the survey data comprises:

eliminating one or more locations on a straight portion of the first route such that remaining locations on the straight portion of the first route are no more than one mile apart;

eliminating one or more locations on a curved portion of the first route such that remaining locations on the curved portion of the first route yield a chordal error within a chordal error threshold; and

determining a spacing for locations in the first route such that for a track segment having two end points, wherein the two end points comprise two consecutive locations of the number of locations, the distance from a point on the segment to a nearest of the two end points is less than the distance from the point to any point on any non-contiguous track segment.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a portion of the survey data in which a location of the number of locations in the first route deviates from a calculated heading by more than a threshold amount, the calculated heading based on the previous two successive locations of the number of locations; and

displaying the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a portion of the survey data in which a first path in the first route has a second path diverging therefrom; and

displaying the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying a portion of the survey data where successive locations of the number of locations in the first route are not listed sequentially; and

displaying the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to:

receive survey data in a first format for a route, the survey data comprising a plurality of route parameters for a plurality of locations in the route;

convert the received survey data into a second format different from the first format;

process the converted survey data into a dataset having fewer locations in the route than the plurality of locations in the route from the received survey data;

store the dataset in computer memory;

identify a portion of the survey data wherein two successive locations of the number of locations in the first route are separated by a distance that is greater than a threshold multiple of the average distance between successive locations of the number of locations in the first route; and

display the identified portion of the survey data to a user.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer to receive survey data comprises instructions that cause the computer to:

receive a latitude parameter and a longitude parameter for one or more of the plurality of locations in the route; and

receive milepost locations for each milepost in the route.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of route parameters comprises one of a curvature parameter, a grade parameter, and a speed limit parameter for each of the plurality of route locations.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer to process the converted survey data comprises instructions that cause the computer to:

eliminate one or more locations on a straight portion of the route such that remaining locations on the straight portion of the route are no more than one mile apart;

eliminate one or more locations on a curved portion of the route such that remaining locations on the curved portion of the route yield a chordal error within a chordal error threshold; and

determine a spacing for locations in the route such that for a track segment having two end points, wherein the two end points comprise two consecutive locations of the plurality of locations, the distance from a point on the segment to a nearest of the two end points is less than the distance from the point to any point on any non-contiguous track segment.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer to process the converted survey data comprises instructions that cause the computer to:

identify a portion of the survey data in which a first path in the route diverges from a second path;

identify a portion of the survey data where successive locations of the plurality of locations in the route are not listed sequentially;

identify a location of the plurality of locations in the route having a lesser number of route parameters associated therewith than the number of route parameters associated with another location of the plurality of locations; and

display the identified data to a user.