Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-14
2001-07-24
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
C701S117000, C340S901000, C342S454000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266608
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the selection of traffic information for a motor vehicle. Such a method and such an apparatus are already generally known. According to the conventional prior art, the driver of a motor vehicle can report, before he starts a journey, the geographical area for which he desires traffic information to a telematics terminal installed in the motor vehicle. To do this, appropriate information must be input manually into the telematics terminal, for example to the effect that the driver wishes to move only within a town in the future or intends, for example, to drive to a more distant destination on a cross-country route or motorway. In the first-mentioned case, the only traffic information which is indicated or reported to him is that which is relevant for a circular area with a predetermined radius around the motor vehicle. In this case, the driver can himself also define the size of the radius. In contrast, in the last-mentioned case, the driver is given only traffic information which applies to a predetermined area around the motor vehicle and for that area in which the motor vehicle is moving in the direction of the destination. In the second case, the area for which relevant traffic information is obtained has a shape similar to that of a keyhole. Once again, radii and distances may be freely chosen by the driver before he starts the journey, or may be predetermined by the system.
A disadvantage of the known method is that, before starting to drive, the driver must himself select the respective areas for which he desires traffic information. To do this, suitable filter parameters must be input into the telematics terminal, which filter parameters are used to filter out from a large set of traffic information only those items which relate to the area selected by the driver. With the continuously increasing number of electronic devices in a motor vehicle, the additional process of manually inputting filter parameters for the selection of traffic information is, however, undesirable since this represents an additional load on the driver and, in some circumstances, could distract him if he were making a setting while driving.
EP 0 789 343 A1 has already disclosed a method for the selection of received traffic information or traffic information to be transmitted in a vehicle, in which case the selection is carried out as a function of the type of road on which the vehicle is currently being driven. In this case, the geometric journey route is defined section-by-section in the vehicle, with the details relating to the respective section of the geometric journey route comprising at least the relative positions of the start point and end point of this section, and this section of the journey route being compared with characteristic, geometric variables relating to road types, from which the road type currently being driven on is defined, and is used as a selection criterion. A characteristic feature in this case is, however, the fact that no time analyses are required, and only geometric details relating to the journey route are considered.
The invention is based on the object of developing a method and an apparatus of the type mentioned initially such that it is possible to select areas for which traffic information is desired more easily and in a less time-consuming manner, but nevertheless highly accurately.
The solution to the described object with respect to the method is specified in Claim
1
. In contrast, a solution to the stated object with regard to the apparatus is contained in Claim
10
. Advantageous refinements of the invention can be found in the respective associated dependent claims.
In accordance with the invention, in the case of a method for the selection of traffic information for a motor vehicle, the selection is carried out automatically and as a function of a time-dependent movement profile of the motor vehicle. Thus, after starting his motor vehicle and switching on his telematics terminal, the driver need do nothing more whatsoever in order to make the selection of the respective areas for which he desires to be given traffic information, but can concentrate entirely on the road traffic, thus considerably simplifying the journey in the motor vehicle, and making it safer.
The movement profile of the motor vehicle can for this purpose be determined in various ways, for example on the one hand by means of acceleration sensors and direction sensors fitted to the motor vehicle, or on the other hand by radio position sensors, for example GPS receivers, and the like which operate in conjunction with time measurement appliances. Together with the movement profile of the motor vehicle, its actual position is then used to select the relevant traffic information, that is to say to select that area for which the driver desires traffic information.
The selection of the traffic information can be carried out, for example, directly using the telematics terminal in the motor vehicle, for example if traffic information for very large geographical areas is transmitted by public transmitters and is received by the mass of those driving in the traffic. In this case, the traffic information which applies to the very large geographical areas is temporarily stored in a traffic information memory which belongs to the telematics terminal in the motor vehicle, and is updated, or changed to the latest state, with each transmission cycle of the public transmitters. The traffic information relevant to the driver is then filtered out or selected from this traffic information temporarily stored in this way, as a function of the movement profile of the motor vehicle, to be precise as a function of filter parameters which are generated on the basis of the movement profile of the motor vehicle.
If, on the other hand, the traffic information for a desired area is transmitted by a service provider on request by an individual person driving in the traffic, then the selection of traffic information could also be carried out by the service provider, so that only a small amount of information now need be transmitted to the requesting person driving in the traffic, thus reducing his user costs, and reducing the memory space required in the telematics terminal. However, to do this, the requesting person driving in the traffic must previously have transmitted to the service provider his current position and the filter parameters derived from the movement profile of his motor vehicle.
According to one refinement of the invention, the selection of traffic information can be carried out, for example, as a function of the speed of the motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle is moving at a relatively low speed and below a predetermined speed value, then the filter parameters are automatically chosen such that the traffic information is transmitted to the driver only for a circular area around the motor vehicle. If, on the other hand, the speed of the motor vehicle is above the predetermined speed value, then the selection is made such that the driver is provided only with traffic information for a relatively narrow area extending in the direction of travel of the vehicle.
According to one development of the invention, the selection may also be carried out as a function of changes in the direction of travel of the motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle is travelling at a relatively low mean speed and relatively high mean direction changes in the direction of travel occur at the same time, then it is assumed that the motor vehicle is staying within a town area. In this case, the area for which traffic information is to be transmitted to the driver is placed in a circular shape around the motor vehicle, to be precise with a relatively small radius. If, on the other hand, the motor vehicle is moving at a relatively high mean speed (above the predetermined speed value) and relatively minor mean direction changes in the direction of travel of the motor vehicle occur at the same time, then it is assumed that the motor vehicle is moving on a high-speed road or motorw
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Hernandez Olga
Nokia Mobile Phones Limited
Perman & Green LLP
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