Generation of intersection information by a mapping service

• US 9,880,019 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2015
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: McCarthy, Paul S.
• Primary Examiner(s): GOLDMAN, RICHARD A
• Application Number:
  US14/612,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,093 Days
• Field of Search: 706 45, 706 90, 709202, 709201, 701400, 701426, 707803
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3635 Guidance using 3D or perspective road maps
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2291 User-Defined Types; Storage management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2024 Style variation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method for generating intersection data for paths in a map region. The method receives a set of junctions at which paths intersect in the map region. For a particular junction of at least two paths, the method automatically determines whether any of the other junctions in the map region satisfy criteria to be part of a single intersection with the particular junction. When at least one of the other junctions satisfies the criteria, the method automatically combines the other junctions that satisfy the criteria with the particular junction into a single intersection for use in performing mapping operations.

Claims

1. A method for generating and storing intersection data for a map region, the method comprising:

receiving road data for a map region that defines a plurality of road segments within the map region;

identifying a set of intersections within the map region as locations in the map region at which at least two road segments intersect based on location data for the road segments;

for each intersection of a plurality of the identified intersections;

for each road segment that either (i) exits the intersection or (ii) enters the intersection and is separate from all of the road segments that exit the intersection, calculating an angle associated with a direction of the road segment, wherein the angles for the road segments of each of the plurality of intersections in the map region are calculated with respect to a common compass direction, wherein, for at least one of the intersections, angles are calculated for three or more road segments that exit or enter the intersection; and

storing, in a non-transitory machine readable medium, the calculated angles associated with the road segments in order to define the intersection in the road data for the map region, wherein the stored road segment and intersection information is used to generate navigation routes in response to requests from a plurality of mobile devices,

wherein the receiving, identifying, and calculating are performed by a set of processing units of a computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the common compass direction with respect to which the angles are calculated is North.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the road segments are defined as a series of coordinate sets identifying locations.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein calculating the angle for a particular road segment comprises calculating the angle of a straight line from a coordinate set of the road segment located at the intersection to a coordinate set of the road segment located a predefined distance away from the intersection, with respect to the common compass direction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the received road data for the map region further comprises junction data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the identification of the set of intersections within the map region is further based on the junction data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored intersection information for a particular intersection is used to generate navigation data for a first navigation route that enters the intersection via a first road segment and to generate navigation data for a second navigation route that enters the intersection via a second, different road segment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored intersection information for a particular intersection comprises a first angle calculated for a first road segment with respect to the common compass direction, a second angle calculated for a second road segment with respect to the common compass direction, and a third angle calculated for a third road segment with respect to the common compass direction, wherein a navigation route generated in response to a request from a particular mobile device comprises a maneuver from the first road segment to the second road segment without involving the third road segment.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein data transmitted to the particular mobile device regarding the generated route comprises fourth, fifth, and sixth angles for the first, second, and third road segments, respectively, wherein the fourth, fifth, and sixth angles correspond to the first, second, and third angles rotated by a same amount such that the fourth angle for the first road segment on which the navigation route enters the intersection is equal to a particular value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the calculated angles for a particular intersection comprises storing a type field associated with each calculated angle for a road segment of the particular intersection, the type field indicating one of a point intersection and a roundabout intersection.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving, identifying, and calculating are performed by a set of processing units of a first server, wherein the stored road segment and intersection information is used by a second server to receive requests from the plurality of mobile devices and generate navigation routes in response to the requests from the plurality of mobile devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein when a navigation route is generated using information for a particular intersection, the angles calculated for the road segments that exit or enter the intersection are rotated based on an angle of the road segment at which the navigation route enters the particular intersection.

13. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one processing unit generates and stores intersection data for a map region, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving road data for a map region that defines a plurality of road segments within the map region;

identifying a set of intersections within the map region as locations in the map region at which at least two road segments intersect based on location data for the road segments;

for each intersection of a plurality of the identified intersections;

for each road segment that either (i) exits the intersection or (ii) enters the intersection and is separate from all of the road segments that exit the intersection, calculating an angle associated with a direction of the road segment, wherein the angles for the road segments of each of the plurality of intersections in the map region are calculated with respect to a common compass direction, wherein, for at least one of the intersections, angles are calculated for three or more road segments that exit or enter the intersection; and

storing, in a non-transitory machine readable medium, the calculated angles associated with the road segments in order to define the intersection in the road data for the map region, wherein the stored road segment and intersection information is used to generate navigation routes in response to requests from a plurality of mobile devices.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the road segments are defined as a series of coordinate sets identifying locations, wherein the set of instructions for calculating the angle for a particular road segment comprises calculating the angle of a straight line from a coordinate set of the road segment located at the intersection to a coordinate set of the road segment located a specified distance away from the intersection.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the received road data for the map region further comprises junction data.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the identification of the set of intersection within the map region is further based on the junction data.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the stored intersection information for a particular intersection is used to generate navigation data for a first navigation route that enters the intersection via a first road segment and to generate navigation data for a second navigation route that enters the intersection via a second, different road segment.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the stored intersection information for a particular intersection comprises a first angle calculated for a first road segment with respect to the common compass direction, a second angle calculated for a second road segment with respect to the common compass direction, and a third angle calculated for a third road segment with respect to the common compass direction, wherein a navigation route generated in response to a request from a particular mobile device comprises a maneuver from the first road segment to the second road segment without involving the third road segment.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 18, wherein data transmitted to the particular mobile device regarding the generated route comprises fourth, fifth, and sixth angles for the first, second, and third road segments, respectively, wherein the fourth, fifth, and sixth angles correspond to the first, second, and third angles rotated by a same amount such that the fourth angle for the first road segment on which the navigation route enters the intersection is equal to a particular value.

20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein storing the calculated angles for a particular intersection comprises storing a type field associated with each calculated angle for a road segment of the particular intersection, the type field indicating one of a point intersection and a roundabout intersection.