Method for locating road shapes using erroneous map data

• US 8,078,563 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2009
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: T&M Data Update LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Adachi, Shinya, Miyama, Satoko, Yamada, Naoki, Yoshida, Seiji, Ichikawa, Yukio, Kawasato, Takashi, Maeda, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): KENNEDY, ADRIAN L
• Application Number:
  US12/625,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 706/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station

Abstract

When transmitting an on-road location on a digital map, an information provider transmits, as on-road location information, string of coordinates information representing the road shape of a road section including the on-road location having a predetermined length, additional information including at least one information item chosen from a group of the attribute information on the road including the road location and detailed information on the nodes in the road section, and relative information indicating the on-road location in the road section. Receiving party receiving this on-road location information performs shape matching to identify the road section on a digital map and uses relative data to identify the on-road location in this road section. The receiving party can identify the road shape with high accuracy even when only a small amount of string of coordinates data is available. This makes it possible to reduce the data transmission amount and identify an on-load location with high accuracy.

Claims

1. A system for identifying a location of a road segment in digital maps, each map containing errors inherent in the reduced-scaling of the digital maps and/or depending on the kind of the digital maps, the digital maps including a first digital map and a second digital map, the second digital map showing the road segment at a different location from the first digital map due to the errors, the system comprising:

the transmitting apparatus that has the first digital map and transmits the location information which indicates the road segment on the first digital map to the receiving apparatus;

wherein the location information including;

coordinates information which indicates a list of coordinates of points on the road segment, attribute information about the points or the road segment, and relative information which indicates a location where a traffic event occurred on the road segment, and

the receiving apparatus that has the second digital map wherein after the receiving apparatus receives the location information from the transmitting apparatus, the receiving apparatus identifies the location of the road segment on the second digital map by using the coordinates information and the attribute information included in the location information and identifies the location of the traffic event on the road segment on the second digital map by using the relative information included in the location information.

2. The system according to claim 1,

wherein the attribute information indicates any one of:

a road type,

a road number,

toll highway code,

number of traffic lanes,

regulation information,

road width,

intersection name,

number of connecting links to a crossing point, and

connection angle of each connecting link to a crossing point.

3. A transmission apparatus adapted for operating as the transmitting apparatus of the system according to claim 1.

4. A receiving apparatus adapted for operating as the receiving apparatus of the system according to claim 1.

5. A method for identifying a location of a road segment in digital maps, each map containing errors inherent in the reduced-scaling of the digital maps and/or depending on the kind of the digital maps, the digital maps including a first digital map and a second digital map, the second digital map showing the road segment at a different location from the first digital map due to the errors, the method comprising:

transmitting the location information which indicates the road segment on the first digital map from the transmitting apparatus;

wherein the location information including;

coordinates information which indicates a list of coordinates of points on the road segment, attribute information about the points or the road segment, and relative information which indicates a location where a traffic event occurred on the road segment;

receiving the location information from the transmitting apparatus at the receiving apparatus;

identifying the location of the road segment on the second digital map by using the coordinates information and the attribute information included in the received location information at the receiving apparatus, and

identifying the location of the traffic event on the road segment on the second digital map by using the relative information included in the received location information at the receiving apparatus.

6. The method according to claim 5,

wherein the attribute information indicates any one of:

a road type,

a road number,

toll highway code,

number of traffic lanes,

regulation information,

road width,

intersection name,

number of connecting links to a crossing point, and

connection angle of each connecting link to a crossing point.