Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-20
2004-11-09
Marc-Coleman, Marthe Y. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S208000, C701S211000, C340S988000, C340S995100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06816781
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a navigation method and system for guiding a user through a calculated route to a destination, and more particularly, to a navigation method and system for accurately determining an optimum route to a destination where such a destination is within a large compound such as a shopping mall, an apartment complex, or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A navigation system performs travel guidance for enabling a user to easily reach the selected destination. A typical example is a vehicle navigation system. The present invention is not limited to a vehicle navigation system but is applicable to other types of navigation system such as a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a cellular phone, and other portable navigation devices. However, for the convenience of explanation, the following description is made mainly for the vehicle navigation system.
Such a navigation system detects the position of the vehicle, reads out map data pertaining to an area at the vehicle current position from a data storage medium, for example, a CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory), a DVD (digital versatile disc) or a HDD (hard disc drive), and displays a map image on a monitor screen (display) while superimposing a mark representing the current location of the vehicle on the map image. Alternatively, such map data can be provided to the vehicle from a remote server through a communication network such as Internet.
The vehicle position is determined by a self-contained navigation sensors (e.g. a distance traveled sensor and a bearing sensor) mounted in the vehicle or by a global positioning system (GPS) including an artificial satellite (satellite navigation) . The satellite enables absolute position detection and higher position accuracy than the self-contained navigation sensors. However, the satellite navigation involves problem of position detection failure such as in a tunnel or a building where the satellite radio signals are obstructed. Therefore, recent navigation systems utilize both self-contained navigation and satellite navigation to achieve improved performances.
As the present position of the vehicle changes with the travel of the vehicle, the vehicle current position mark in the map image on the screen is changed accordingly. Alternatively, the map is scrolled while the vehicle current position mark is fixed at a predetermined position, for example, at the center of the image. In either method, the navigation system enables the driver to recognize the map information of the area at the vehicle position at a glance.
When a destination is not set, such a navigation system functions as a locator map which indicates the current location of the vehicle on a map image. When the destination is set, the navigation system starts a route guidance function for setting a calculated route from the starting point to the destination. Typically, the route guidance function performs an intersection guidance process in which a monitor screen displays an enlarged intersection diagram and the direction in which the vehicle is to travel while displaying the guide route on a map. When a destination is input, a CPU in the navigation system determines a most suitable guided route from the current vehicle position to the destination and successively stores nodes (expressed in longitude and latitude) constituting the guided route in a memory.
During actual traveling, the node series stored in the memory is searched for a portion of the guided route to be displayed in a map display area of the monitor screen, and the portion of the guided route is highlighted so as to be discriminable from other routes. When the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of an intersection it is approaching, an intersection guidance diagram (an enlarged or highlighted intersection diagram with an arrow indicating the direction in which the vehicle is to turn at the intersection) is displayed to inform a driver of the desired one of roads or directions selectable at the intersection.
In the case where a destination is within a large compound such as a shopping mall or an apartment complex, an address of the destination in the typical map data represents an address number on a street facing the large compound. For example,
FIG. 1
shows an example of layout of a shopping mall
20
having shops S
1
-S
7
where a road A runs along the shopping mall
20
. In the typical map data, an address of each shop is represented by an address number on the road A of a point defined by an imaginary line connecting between the road A and the shop.
Thus, in the map data, a shop S
3
is represented, for example, by an address number at a point Y on the road A. Typically, the point Y is defined by an imaginary line L
3
from the shop S
3
which perpendicularly intersects with the road A. Similarly, in a navigation system, an address of a shop S
6
is defined by an address number at a point X at which an imaginary line L
6
from the shop S
6
intersects perpendicularly with the road A and an address of a shop S
7
is defined by an address number at a point Z at which an imaginary line L
7
from the shop S
7
intersects in perpendicular to the road A.
Therefore, when a user specifies the shop S
6
in the navigation system as her destination, the navigation system calculates various routes to reach the point X on the road A and determines the best route to the point X. However, as shown in
FIG. 1
, if an entrance E of the shopping mall
20
is relatively far away from the point X, the route calculated by the navigation system may not the best route to the shop S
6
. In other words, there is a case in that the address of the shop S
6
is significantly different from the actual entrance E of the shopping mall
20
. In contrast, an address of a relatively small structure, such as a building B
1
or B
2
(address M or N on road B) will substantially match the physical entrance of the building.
Since a large shopping mall attracts many customers, a relatively large road runs in front of a shopping mall. Sometimes, in the map data used for a navigation system, a large road with center separators is considered two separate roads or two one-way roads (may also referred to as “divided road”). Such an example is shown in
FIG. 2
where the road at the front of the shopping mall
20
is configured, in the map data, by a one-way road A
1
and another one way road A
2
. In the situation of
FIG. 2
, the conventional navigation system may be programmed to allow vehicles only on the one-way road A
2
(running toward the left) to enter the shopping mall
20
.
Thus, a navigation system may guide the user to travel a route which is substantially longer than other route as shown in FIG.
3
A. In the example of
FIG. 3A
, the navigation system may guide the user to take the one-way road A
2
through a road D and road E (east bound), which is an unreasonable route having a much longer distance than a route (reasonable route shown by dotted line) taking a road C and road A
1
(west bound). In reality, the reasonable route in
FIG. 3A
is available since, in many cases, the road A
1
of
FIG. 3A
allows a vehicle to legally make a left turn or U-turn between the center separators.
However, sometimes, conventional navigation systems are not designed to include a U-turn in the guided route. Thus, the user has to take the unreasonable route of
FIG. 3A
to the destination. Alternatively, even though the navigation system is designed to include a U-turn in the guided route, it is designed so that such a U-turn can only be made at an intersection. Thus, in the example of
FIG. 2
, a vehicle running on the one-way road Al (west bound) has to make the U-turn at the intersection IS to take the one-way road A
2
as shown in FIG.
3
B. This route is unreasonable, since it involves a round-trip between the shopping mall and the intersection IS which is very long.
It may be possible to create, in advance, a special database which includes data indicating one-to-one relationships between shops and nearest entrances of the large compound. Howev
Alpine Electronics, Inc
Marc-Coleman Marthe Y.
Muramatsu & Associates
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