Map data update device

• US 9,672,739 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2016
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), C'S Lab Co., Ltd. (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), C'S Lab Co., Ltd. (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Onozawa, Toshiaki, Satou, Yoshimi, Kimura, Yuuko, Tomiyama, Shinichi, Baba, Akihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US15/187,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20160307445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 701411, 701450, 701521-522, 701413, 701468, 701417, 701 4, 34099518, 34099519, 34099522
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3819 Road shape data, e.g. outline of a route
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/13 the indicator being in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/006 Representation of non-cartographic information on maps, e.g. population distribution, wind direction, radiation levels, air and sea routes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

For a new road set in a region where an existing road is not present in map data, a road associated information setting unit 13 determines and sets road associated information to be applied to a road link of a new road on the basis of movement history data relating to a plurality of moving bodies stored in a movement history storage unit 14. Accordingly, the road associated information on the new road is automatically set on the basis of the movement history data relating to the plurality of moving bodies, and hence a worker is no longer required to execute on-site investigation or manually generate road associated information.

Claims

1. A server apparatus comprising a map data update device configured to update map data on the basis of movement history data of a moving body, the server apparatus comprising:

a movement history recording unit configured to cause movement history data relating to at least one moving body to be stored in a movement history storage unit, wherein the movement history data includes data of a traveling locus and data of a traveling speed of a vehicle; and

a road associated information setting unit configured to determine and set road associated information to be applied to a road link of a new road, on the basis of the movement history data stored in the movement history storage unit for a region where an existing road is not present on the map data;

wherein the road associated information setting unit is configured to specify a connection-source existing road and a connection-target existing road connected with the new road at both ends of the new road, and to determine and set a road type of the new road from among an expressway, a local road, and a ramp road as a piece of the road associated information, on the basis of road types set on the map data for the specified existing roads and traveling speeds of a plurality of vehicles indicated by movement history data relating to the new road.

3. The server apparatus comprising the map data update device according to claim 1, wherein the road associated information setting unit of the server apparatus is configured to specify traveling loci being the farthest from a road shape line generated for the new road, at both sides of the road shape line among a plurality of traveling loci indicated by movement history data relating to the new road, to calculate a distance between the specified traveling loci at both the sides as a traveling locus width, and to determine and set a number of lanes being a road attribute of the new road as a piece of the road associated information.

4. The server apparatus comprising the map data update device according to claim 3,

wherein the movement history data further includes data of a number of occupants of the vehicle, and

wherein the road associated information setting unit is configured to classify the plurality of traveling loci relating to the new road into a plurality of lanes, to count a number of traveling loci with the number of the occupants being two or more for each lane, and if a lane is present in which the counted number is larger by a predetermined ratio or higher than the other lanes, to set HOV lane information as a road attribute for the lane.

5. The server comprising the map data update device according to claim 1,

wherein the movement history data further includes data of moving loci and data of moving speeds relating to vehicles and pedestrians, and

wherein the road associated information setting unit is configured to classify a plurality of moving loci relating to the new road into moving loci of vehicles and moving loci of pedestrians, and if a number of the moving loci of the pedestrians is larger by a predetermined ratio or higher than a number of the moving loci of the vehicles and if an average value of moving speeds of the vehicles is a predetermined value or lower, to set pedestrian road information being a road attribute of the new road as a piece of the road associated information.

6. The server comprising the map data update device according to claim 1,

wherein the traveling locus includes data of a traveling locus based on an autonomous navigation sensor and data of a traveling locus based on a GPS receiver, and

wherein the road associated information setting unit is configured to set tunnel information being a road attribute of the new road, as a piece of the road associated information, for a section in which data of a traveling locus based on the autonomous navigation sensor is present but data of a traveling locus based on the GPS receiver is not present, in the new road set by the new road setting unit.

7. The server comprising the map data update device according to claim 1,

wherein the movement history data further includes data of a traveling time of a vehicle, and

wherein the road associated information setting unit is configured to set time-period regulation information being a road attribute of the new road, as a piece of the road associated information, if a state without a traveling locus lasts for a predetermined period of time or longer in the new road.

8. The server comprising the map data update device according to claim 1,

wherein the movement history data further includes data of a traveling time of the vehicle, and

wherein the road associated information setting unit is further configured to set tollgate information being a road attribute of the new road, as a piece of the road associated information, for a road section including a point at which traveling of the vehicle is stopped for several seconds, in the new road determined as the expressway or the ramp road.

2. A server apparatus for updating map data on the basis of movement history data of a moving body, the server apparatus configured to:

store movement history data relating to at least one moving body in a non-volatile memory, wherein the movement history data includes data of a traveling locus and data of a traveling speed of a vehicle; and

determine and set road associated information to be applied to a road link of a new road, on the basis of the movement history data stored in the non-volatile memory for a region where an existing road is not present on the map data;

wherein the server apparatus is configured to specify a connection-source existing road and a connection-target existing road connected with the new road at both ends of the new road, and to determine and set a road type of the new road from among an expressway, a local road, and a ramp road as a piece of the road associated information, on the basis of road types set on the map data for the specified existing roads and traveling speeds of a plurality of vehicles indicated by movement history data relating to the new road.