Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-26
2001-12-25
Beaulieu, Yonel (Department: 3614)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S024000, C701S200000, C073S17800T, C342S463000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334089
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle routing and guidance system and, more particularly, to a vehicle routing and guidance comprising a navigation system that includes a self-locating means for the vehicle and a central server for making of navigational information available to the navigation system, whereby the navigational system communicates with the central server at least temporarily by means of transmitter and receiver devices.
2. Prior Art
Vehicle-based navigation systems are known for guidance of vehicles. These systems use map information required for navigation in the vehicle in order to guide the vehicle to a destination point predetermined by the operator of the vehicle. All information required for the entire route is supplied in the vehicle. It is disadvantageous however that a correspondingly large memory capacity is required for the memory used in the navigation system for a number of different destinations over a comparatively large region or territory. Furthermore it is also disadvantageous that information effecting the destination of the vehicle, for example detours, road blockages and so on, is not considered.
Furthermore central server for preparation of navigational data are known, by means of which routes corresponding to a destination predetermined by the operator of the vehicle are transmitted to the vehicle-based navigation system. The entire navigational information for the chosen destination is transmitted. It is disadvantageous therefore that a comparatively large amount of information is to be transmitted and changes during travel over the route can no longer be considered.
By “route” a section of a digital chart or map with at least one destination, which is useable in a vehicle-based navigation system, is to be understood. For guidance to the destination the vehicle must be located on the digital chart, which means the route.
Furthermore vehicle routing and guidance systems are known that include traffic guidance devices arranged at fixed locations along a path of travel of the vehicle, by means of which navigational information corresponding to the selected route is transmitted from those traffic guidance devices that the vehicle passes during its travel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicle routing and guidance system that does not have the above-described disadvantages.
These objects, and others which will be made more apparent hereinafter, are attained in a vehicle routing and guidance system comprising a vehicle-based navigation system that includes a self-locating means for the vehicle and a central server for making navigational information available to the navigation system, whereby the navigation system communicates with the central server at least temporarily by means of transmitter and receiver devices.
According to the invention, the navigation system includes an input device by which at least one destination is input thereto, the central server includes means for determining a route for the vehicle from the at least one destination and means for transmitting the route determined from the at least one destination piecewise to the navigation system.
The vehicle routing and guidance system according to the invention has the advantage that it provides an efficient dynamic guidance to a destination, which means that actual changes by means of additional further transmissions of navigational information are possible during travel of the vehicle over the route, by determining the position of the vehicle by means of a comparatively simple built-in vehicle-based navigational system, for example a GPS, and by an exchange of comparatively little information for route guidance with the central server communicating with the navigational system. It is advantageously possible to provide the required memory capacity needed for the route section prepared by the central server in the memory of the vehicle-based navigation system because the navigation system includes an input device by which at least one destination is input thereto, the central server includes means for determining a route for the vehicle from the at least one destination and means for transmitting the route determined from the at least one destination piecewise to the navigation system. The term piecewise transmission' means that each route section is transmitted to the vehicle-based navigation system only when the previous route section has been traversed. By piecewise transmission of the entire route in route sections prior to reaching the destination, changes can be considered in sections or parts of the route over which the vehicle has not traveled during its travel over the route and can be transmitted to the navigation system. Thus dynamic navigational information of significant events which are comparatively far removed from the actual position of the vehicle can be made available to the navigation system over the entire route, without adding memory capacity in the vehicle-based navigation system and additional data transmission capacity for communication between the navigation system and the central server. When an actual position of the vehicle transmitted to the central server is just in the next route section, the actual route section already prepared by the central server is then transmitted to the navigation system of the vehicle.
In another embodiment the vehicle routing and guidance system according to the invention comprises a vehicle-based navigation system located in a vehicle, a central server for making navigational information available to the navigation system including means for establishing a communications link between the navigation system and the central server prior to start of travel of the vehicle for transmission of a most updated route for vehicle travel from a predetermined destination from the central server to the navigation system and transmitter and receiver means for at least temporarily establishing communication between the central server and the navigation system. This embodiment provides the advantage that the vehicle-based navigation system can be loaded with an updated or actual route according to the destination selected immediately prior to start. Since the navigation system is connected with the central server prior to the start of travel so that the updated route derived from the predetermined destination by the central server is read into the navigation system, it is advantageously possible to take into account all traffic information since the beginning of travel in preparing the travel route. The vehicle-based navigation system needs no large memory capacity to set up routes to all eventually possible destinations since only the actual route associated with the particular actual destination is copied into the navigation system and needs to be stored in it. Furthermore travel or traffic information, for example, street blockages, current traffic density, traffic predictions and the like, can be taken into account in preparing the route in a timely manner up to the start of travel. It is preferable when the navigation system is connected with the central server by means of a telecommunications server, for example a wired or wireless telecommunications network, for copying of the route information.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention certain selectable, for example repeatedly used routes, are stored in the navigation system. The route corresponding to the actually selected route is updated by the central server via the communications link before travel starts. Thus dynamic navigational information is made available in the vehicle results, which means taking updated traffic information into consideration.
Additional advantageous embodiments of the invention result from other features claimed in the appended dependent claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5568390 (1996-10-01), Hirota et al.
patent: 5699056 (1997-12-01), Yoshida
patent: 5757289 (1998-05-01), Nimura et al.
patent: 41 39 581 A1 (1993-06-01), N
Beaulieu Yonel
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
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