Creation of GIS tools and spatial database for limited access highway entrance points in the US and Canada

• US 8,670,924 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Gibb, Mark, Michalek, Jeffrey L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rangrej, Sheetal R
• Application Number:
  US12/209,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,006 Days
• Field of Search: 701209-210
• US Class Current: 701/210
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3811 Point data, e.g. Point of Interest [POI]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn

Abstract

A navigation assistance system and method determines limited access highway entrance points as destinations in a geographic information system. In one aspect, the limited access highway entrance points are stored as destinations in a geographic database within the geographic information system such that a telematics service provider can provide directions to the limited access highway entrance points.

Claims

1. A method for determining the geographic locations of limited access highway entrance points for a geographic information system, the method comprising:

generating a fishhone map that contains intersection points between a plurality of street segments with a plurality of limited access highways;

identifying intersections between the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways on the fishbone map, the identified intersections including intersections that do not provide access via one of the plurality of street segments to the plurality of limited access highways;

identifying limited access highway entrance points by analyzing a first set of attiihutes of the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways at the identified intersections within the fishbone map to determine the limited access highway entrance points; and

storing an identification corresponding to the geographic location of a limited access highway entrance point in the geographic information system.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from a telematics user for directions to the limited access highway entrance point across a wireless communication network; and

providing directions to the limited access highway entrance point across the wireless communication network to the telematics user.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the directions provided to the telematics user include one of verbal directions, turn-by-turn directions, and autonomous navigation unit directions.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein storing an identification corresponding to the limited access highway entrance points in the geographic information system further comprises storing the limited highway access entrance points in a geographic information database within the geographic information system.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the geographic information system comprises:

at least one software application configured to generate the fishbone map, analyze the attributes of plurality of streets that intersect the plurality of limited access highways within the fishbone map to determine the limited access highway entrance points, process the limited access highway entrance points, and store the limited highway entrance points in the geographic information database; and

at least one server configured to run the at least one software application.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein storing an identification corresponding to the limited access highway entrance points in the geographic information system further comprises applying a second set of attributes to the limited highways access entrance points.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising searching a requested limited access highway entrance point using the second set of attributes.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second set of attributes is selected from the group consisting of alternate street names, county, zip code, city, state and province.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of attributes is selected from the group consisting of Street Type, Controlled Access Indicator, Ramp Indicator, and Relative Elevation.

10. A system for determining the geographic locations of limited access highway entrance points for a geographic information system, the system comprising:

at least one application generating a fishbone map that contains intersection points between a plurality of street segments with a plurality of limited access highways;

identifying intersections on the fishbone map between the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways, the identified intersections including intersections that do not provide access via one of the plurality of street segments to the plurality of limited access highways;

identifying limited access highway entrance points by analyzing a first set of attributes of the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways at the identified intersections within the fishbone map to determine the limited access highway entrance points; and

providing directions to a telematics user for a requested limited access highway entrance point;

at least one server implementing the at least one application; and

at least one geographic information database for storing the geographic locations of the plurality of limited highway entrance points.

11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising a telematics unit for sending to a telematics service provider over a wireless communication network a request for directions to the requested limited access highway entrance point.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one application stores the limited highway access entrance points in the geographic information database.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one application processes the limited access highway entrance points to store them in the geographic information database as part of the geographic information system by applying a second set of attributes to the limited highways access entrance points.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the second set of attributes is selected from the group consisting of alternate street names, county, zip code, city, state and province.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one application searches a requested limited access highway entrance point using the second set of attributes.

16. The system according to claim 10, wherein the first set of attributes is selected from the group consisting of Street Type, Controlled Access Indicator, Ramp Indicator, and Relative Elevation.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein the directions provided to the telematics user include one of verbal directions, turn-by-turn directions, and autonomous navigation unit directions.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having thereon computer-executable instructions for determining, the geographic locations of limited access highway entrance points for a geographic information system, the computer-readable instructions comprising:

instructions for generating a fishbone map that contains intersection points between a plurality of street segments with a plurality of limited access highways;

instructions for identifying intersections between the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways on the fishbone map, the identified intersections including intersections that do not provide access via one of the plurality of street segments to the plurality of limited access highways;

instructions for identifying limited access highway entrance points by analyzing a first set of attributes of the plurality of street segments and the plurality of limited access highways at the identified intersections within the fishbone map to determine the geographic locations of the limited access highway entrance points; and

instructions for storing an identification corresponding to the geographic location of a limited access highway entrance point in the geographic information system.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, the instructions further comprising:

instructions for receiving a request from a telematics user for directions to the limited access highway entrance point across a wireless communication network; and

instructions for providing directions to the limited access highway entrance point across the wireless communication network to the telematics user.