Navigation system

• US 8,364,391 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2007
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Nagase, Kenji, Ishikawa, Hiroki, Tomita, Hiroshi, Nakada, Takayasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Elchanti, Hussein
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Application Number:
  US11/905,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20080091339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 701/24, 701/29, 701/36, 701/117, 701/119, 701/118, 701/200, 701/208, 701/400, 701/414, 701/415, 701/423, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/456, 340/905, 340/989, 340990-993, 340/995.13, 342/125, 342/454, 342/458, 342/461, 342/357.09
• US Class Current: 701/400
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3844 Data obtained from position sensors only, e.g. from inertial navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A navigation system includes an information center and a navigation device installed in a probe vehicle. The information center stores limiting information for specifying a content of probe information in accordance with predefined factors, specifies a predefined factor corresponding to a navigation device, selects the limiting information based on the specified predefined factor, transmits the selected limiting information to the navigation device, and receives the corresponding probe information transmitted from a navigation device. The navigation device receives the limiting information from the information center, collects probe information, selects only the probe information specified by the received limiting information for transmission to the information center, and transmits the selected probe information to the information center.

Claims

1. A navigation device for use with an information center that receives probe information and position data transmitted from the navigation device, the information center configured to store collecting patterns, each stored collecting pattern indicating what type of probe information should be transmitted and having at least one associated seasonal factor and at least one associated regional factor, specify a seasonal factor and a regional factor corresponding to the navigation device, select a stored collection pattern based on the specified seasonal factor and the specified regional factor, and transmit the selected collecting pattern to the navigation device, the navigation device comprising:

a memory that stores a history of received collecting patterns corresponding to a receiving condition; and

a controller that;

collects probe information;

based on the stored history, judges whether a same collecting pattern has been received under a same receiving condition for a predefined number of times;

if the same collecting pattern has been received under the same receiving condition for the predefined number of times, selects only the probe information specified by the same collecting pattern for transmission to the information center whenever the receiving condition is met; and

a transmitter that transmits the selected probe information to the information center.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the information center is configured to receive destination distance information transmitted from the navigation device and the selected collecting pattern enables or disables the navigation device to transmit the probe information based on the received distance information, wherein:

the controller calculates a distance to a preset destination; and

the transmitter transmits the calculated distance to the information center as the destination distance information.

3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is a cellular receiver and the transmitter is a cellular transmitter.

4. A navigation system comprising:

the navigation device of claim 1; and

the information center.

5. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein each stored collecting pattern indicates whether or not one or more of the following types of probe information should be transmitted by the transmitter:

an operating state of a braking system;

traffic congestion information;

probe information for certain types of roads; and

probe information collected on certain days.