Method for taking into account supplementary traffic information in an onboard travel control system

• US 6,321,162 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2000
• Issued: 11/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tomtom Global Content B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Hessing, Bernd
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US09/530,155
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 701/210, 701/201, 701/202, 701/209, 701/211, 701/213, 340/995, 340/905, 342/457
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once

Abstract

A method for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating an onboard travel control system of a motor vehicle, containing an internal digital road map, by transferring a point of origin and destination to a central computer and transmitting, to the onboard travel control system of the motor vehicle, a route plan drawn up in the central computer, taking into account the supplementary traffic information is achieved, at low data transmission rates and maintaining short transmission times, by providing the internal digital road map of the onboard travel control system with information about location codes; by transmitting the route plan by specifying route segments that are defined by the location codes and lie between the point of origin and the destination; and by modifying the transmitted route segments in the internal digital road map of the travel control system so that they are taken into account as a higher priority than non-transmitted route segments during the subsequent route selection carried out in the onboard travel control system.

Claims

1. A method for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating an onboard travel control system of a motor vehicle, the onboard travel control system including an internal digital road map having route segments, comprising the steps of:

transferring a point of origin and a destination from the onboard travel control system to a central computer of a central office, the onboard travel control system having information about location codes;

calculating, via the central computer, a route plan that takes into account the supplementary traffic information, the route plan including route segments that are defined by the location codes, the route segments being disposed between the point of origin and the destination;

transmitting the route plan from the central computer to the onboard travel control system; and

modifying, in the internal digital road map, the transmitted route segments so that the transmitted route segments are assigned a higher priority over the route segments in the internal digital road map during subsequent route selection, the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of calculating includes the step of encoding the route segments, the encoded route segments include a code for a specific position on a specific street, a code for a direction on the street and a code for extent of the route segment on the street.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of encoding includes the step of encoding using traffic message channel (TMC) location codes.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of calculating includes the step of encoding the route segments by specifying entry points and by specifying exit points on a street.

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the step of calculating includes the step of encoding the route segments, and

wherein the step of transmitting includes the step of transmitting the encoded route segments via short message system (SMS) transmission.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control system uses both the transmitted route segments as well as the route segments in the internal digital road map during the subsequent route selection.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of filling any gaps between the transmitted route segments by the onboard travel control system.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the route plan is too large, then it is divided up and the transmission is in the form of multiple route segments.

9. A method for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating an onboard travel control system of a motor vehicle, the onboard travel control system including an internal digital road map having route segments, comprising the steps of:

transferring a point of origin and a destination from the onboard travel control system to a central computer of a central office, the onboard travel control system having information about location codes;

calculating, via the central computer, a route plan that takes into account the supplementary traffic information, the route plan including route segments that are defined by the location codes, the route segments being disposed between the point of origin and the destination;

transmitting the route plan from the central computer to the onboard travel control system;

modifying, in the internal digital road map, the transmitted route segments so that the transmitted route segments are assigned a higher priority over the route segments in the internal digital road map during subsequent route selection, the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control system; and

further comprising the step of;

if a particular item of information relating to a traffic disturbance for a particular route segment is received by the onboard travel control system, then canceling a modification of a particular route segment by the onboard travel control system.

10. A method for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating an onboard travel control system of a motor vehicle, the onboard travel control system including an internal digital road map having route segments, comprising the steps of:

transferring a point of origin and a destination from the onboard travel control system to a central computer of a central office, the onboard travel control system having information about location codes;

calculating, via the central computer, a route plan that takes into account the supplementary traffic information, the route plan including route segments that are defined by the location codes, the route segments being disposed between the point of origin and the destination;

transmitting the route plan from the central computer to the onboard travel control system;

modifying, in the internal digital road map, the transmitted route segments so that the transmitted route segments are assigned a higher priority over the route segments in the internal digital road map during subsequent route selection, the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control system; and

further comprising the step of;

if the destination is reached, then canceling modifications of the transmitted route segments.

11. A method for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating an onboard travel control system of a motor vehicle, the onboard travel control system including an internal digital road map having route segments, comprising the steps of:

transferring a point of origin and a destination from the onboard travel control system to a central computer of a central office, the onboard travel control system having information about location codes;

calculating, via the central computer, a route plan that takes into account the supplementary traffic information, the route plan including route segments that are defined by the location codes, the route segments being disposed between the point of origin and the destination;

transmitting the route plan from the central computer to the onboard travel control system;

modifying, in the internal digital road map, the transmitted route segments so that the transmitted route segments are assigned a higher priority over the route segments in the internal digital road map during subsequent route selection, the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control system; and

further comprising the step of;

if at least one of a particular time variation and a particular position variation exceed a particular threshold, then automatically revising the route plan via the central office.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of:

if the revised route plan is transmitted from the central office, then canceling modifications to the previously transmitted route segments.

13. A system for operating an onboard travel control device in a motor vehicle, the system comprising:

the onboard travel control device includes an internal digital road map having route segments contained therein;

means for taking into account supplementary traffic information for operating the onboard travel control device in the motor vehicle;

means for transferring a point of origin and a destination from the onboard travel control device to a central computer of a central office, the onboard travel control device having information about location codes;

the central computer calculates a route plan that takes into account the supplementary traffic information, the route plan including route segments that are defined by the location codes, the route segments being disposed between the point of origin and the destination;

means for transmitting the route plan from the central computer to the onboard travel control device; and

wherein the internal digital road map is modified based upon the transmitted route segments so that the transmitted route segments are assigned a higher priority over the route segments in the internal digital road map during subsequent route selection, the subsequent route selection being carried out by the onboard travel control device.

14. The system according to claim 13 wherein the route plan has encoded route segments, and wherein the encoded route segments include a code for a specific position on a specific street, a code for a direction on the street and a code for extent of the route segment on the street.

15. The system according to claim 13 wherein the route segments include encoded traffic message channel (TMC) location codes.

16. The system according to claim 13 wherein the route segments include encoded route segments with specified entry points and specified exit points on a street.

17. The system according to claim 13 wherein the route segments are encoded, and transmitted via short message system (SMS) transmission.

18. The system according to claim 13 wherein when a particular item of information relating to a traffic disturbance for a particular route segment is received by the onboard travel control device, the modification of a particular route segment by the onboard travel control system is then cancelled.

19. The system according to claim 13 wherein when the destination is reached the modifications of the transmitted route segments is then cancelled.

20. The system according to claim 13 wherein when at least one of a particular time variation and a particular position variation exceed a particular threshold then the route plan is automatically revised via the central office.

21. The system according to claim 20 wherein when the revised route plan is transmitted from the central office the modifications to the previously transmitted route segments are then cancelled.

22. The system according to claim 13 wherein the subsequent route selection is carried out by the onboard travel control device using both the transmitted route segments as well as the route segments in the internal digital road map during the subsequent route selection.

23. The system according to claim 13 wherein the onboard travel control device has means to fill any gaps between the transmitted route segments and the internal digital road map.

24. The system according to claim 13 wherein, if the route plan is too large, then it is divided up and the transmission is in the form of multiple route segments.