Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Traffic analysis or control of surface vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-28
2001-11-27
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Traffic analysis or control of surface vehicle
C340S934000, C340S910000, C340S990000, C701S208000, C701S209000, C701S211000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324466
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method for spatial allocation of information referring to a location and is directed to a terminal unit for carrying out the method.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
For automatic evaluation of location-oriented information, for example, traffic information, determination of the location to which the information refers and a match with the location at which the terminal unit is located is required in the terminal unit receiving this information. A problem in this respect is that the geographic positions of locations are generally determined neither precisely, nor definitively because, for example, locations such as street intersections, forks or branch-offs, etc. are assigned different positions on different maps, and when updating maps, etc. the geographic positions of locations in the map sometimes change or new locations such as new branch-offs are added.
A possible method for spatial allocation in a terminal unit of information referring to a location would be to issue a standardized identification number to important locations such as stretches of road, highway exits, etc., wherein the information provider and the terminal unit both have identical tables of identification numbers and associated locations. While this method is definitive, it cannot be updated continuously without elaborate centralized administrative management. Further, because of the abstract issuing of identity numbers, in the case of an old table of codes in the terminal unit, a spatial allocation of information received by an information provider is not possible at least in the case of a new location, such as a new highway exit, designated by a new identity number.
In another conceivable method, names can be assigned to the locations. In this case, long roads, especially highways, must be divided up through additions such as “between junction x and y”. With respect to an automatic evaluation of information sent from an information provider to a terminal unit, problems can arise due to different types of writing, for example, umlauts and abbreviations, as well as different designations, for example, Stachus and Karlsplatz in Munich, and the nonstandardized naming of exits, etc. by the locality adjoining the exit.
Further, allocation of a location through geographic coordinates such as the geographic longitude and latitude of a location is also possible. However, the problem in this case is that the same location, for example, a street intersection, is located in different positions on different maps, which causes problems when the traffic information center receives data referring to different maps or when the geographic coordinates of a location in the map change due to an update of the map. Even in the case of relatively minor inaccuracies in the indication of geographic coordinates on a map, this location can no longer be definitively allocated in a terminal unit. However, a definitive allocation of locations to standardized geographic coordinates would entail highly complicated administration for definition and upkeep.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to provide an efficient method for spatially allocating, in a terminal unit, information which refers to a location and which is sent from an information provider to the terminal unit.
Transmitted geographic coordinates of the location to which information refers, which geographic coordinates are represented by location coordinate data, can be represented, for example, in the form of two-dimensional coordinates, especially as the geographic longitude and latitude of the location. Location characteristics of the location which are designated as supplemental location data can include, in particular, the road type and road number of the location. Further, they can include one or more names of the location. Moreover, they can include additional attributes of the location such as information on whether or not it is situated at an intersection, fork, etc., on what roadway, and whether it is situated at the end, beginning or in the middle of the roadway, etc.
If location coordinate data transmitted along with information sent from an information provider to a terminal unit are contained in a reference file in the terminal unit, the location is defined for the terminal unit. Based on the additional location file, particularly the road type and road number, a plausibility check can also be carried out. The location can be further processed and/or read out based on the location coordinate data or on further data stored in the reference file on these location coordinate data. However, when the transmitted location coordinate data of the location are not contained in the reference file in the terminal unit and also, as the case may be, if the supplemental location data supplementing the location coordinate data in the reference file do not match the transmitted supplemental location data, the location to which the information of the information provider refers can be established on the basis of the supplemental location data transmitted along with this information and its location coordinate data by searching for these supplemental location data in the reference file of the terminal unit. The additional use of supplemental location data accordingly increases the probability of correct spatial allocation of received information about a location in the terminal device and also avoids errors when, for example, owing to updated maps or use of different maps than those used previously, the geographic coordinates of a determined location according to the updated or different maps change in the case of the information provider or deviate in the case of a different information provider, while only location coordinates for one particular map version are contained in the terminal unit.
The spatial allocation of information received in a terminal unit about the location to which the information refers can be optimized by the type of location coordinate data and supplemental location data transmitted with information from an information provider to the terminal unit.
In particular, as was stated above, supplemental location data can include the road type and road number of the location to which the received information refers and/or the names of these locations; the supplemental location data further advisably have attributes of the location such as the information about whether there is an intersection or branch-off, the roadway to which it refers, the start, end or middle of the roadway, etc.
The location coordinate data identify the location to which the information refers, advisably by means of an identification number which represents the geographic coordinates of the location. The location coordinate data are very compact when the geographic coordinates of the location are rounded off at 10 to 500 m, especially 100 m, that is, by adopting only the higher-value digits (values starting from 100 m) of the longitude and latitude in the location coordinate data (GeoCode location coordinate file); the lower-value digits of the location coordinates in which errors frequently occur because of different maps and which do not significantly simplify the spatial allocation are ignored.
The information, location coordinate data and supplemental location data are advisably transmitted in a predetermined format and/or in a predetermined sequence, preferably both, from the information provider to the terminal unit, which facilitates automatic processing in the terminal unit.
Particularly when there are several usual standardized map files, an identification of the digital map of a traffic network to which the location coordinate data refer is advantageous because the location can be identified more easily based on the digital map in the terminal unit associated with these location coordinates.
The method can be used for the transmission and spatial allocation of different information. In particular, information can be traffic information of a traffic information provider for a
Heimann Josef
Schulz Werner
Vieweg Stefan
Cohen & Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Mannesmann AG
To Tuan C
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