Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-30
2001-10-02
Nguyen, Tan (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S210000, C340S905000, C455S186100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298302
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a navigation system for guiding a driver in a vehicle, the system comprising
read means for reading chain information from a storage medium comprising a first storage unit with chains and nodes, a chain representing a road element and being connected to another chain via a node,
process means for exploiting said chain information, for example a planning module for planning a route or a display module for displaying a map on a display, and
a receiver for the reception of a traffic message related to a pre-defined problem location.
The invention further relates to a storage medium for use in a navigation system, the storage medium comprising a first storage unit with chains and nodes, a chain representing a road element and being connected to another chain via a node.
2. Description of Related Art
Such a system is described in the article “Traffic messaging, dynamic updating and road database standards the major issues”, S. Querée and T. Wood, IEE Colloquium on ‘Prometheus and Drive’ (Digest No. 172), pp. 9/1-3, Oct. 15, 1992. This computer assisted driver information system comprises a digital map representing the roads and junctions on which the driver can travel. The digital map resides on some storage medium that can be read by the navigation system. Based on the information in the map, the navigation system guides the driver during his journey. The digital map on the storage medium is static in that it reflects the information of roads at the moment the data for the storage medium is manufactured. Later changes to the roads after the storage medium has been manufactured are not present. The known system includes a receiver for the reception of traffic messages that are broadcast according to the Radio Data System (RDS). In RDS, the message is broadcast together with the audio signals of a radio program and the RDS receiver in the vehicle can receive the combined signals and separate the message from the audio. Within RDS, the Traffic Message Channel (TMC) is a set of coded traffic messages, agreed by the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) and laid down in the pre-standard prENV/278/4/1/0010. The traffic message according to TMC provides, among others, an event and a location. An event relates to a happening or circumstance of importance to a driver, like a temporary road closure, slow traffic on a road or fog. A large number of events have been standardised and the message contains a code indicating such standardised event. The location in the traffic message indicates the area, highway segment or point location where the source of the problem is situated. In a country, the respective authority has defined a number of potential problem locations in advance and has given these locations a unique number. The traffic message contains such problem location number to identify the problem location at hand.
After the receiver has received the traffic message, the system consults on the basis of the code and problem location number a local table to establish the event and the problem location of the traffic message. Subsequently the driver is informed through a spoken message and/or a written message. The traffic messages are typically intended directly for the driver and have been coded in isolation from the digital map of the navigation system. Therefore, the messages cannot be processed by the navigation system and cannot be used to update the static digital map on the storage medium, but are only supplied to the driver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a navigation system of the kind set forth which is able to exploit traffic messages related to problem locations in combination with the road information on the storage medium in an efficient way. This object is achieved according to the invention in a navigation system which is characterised in that the read means are arranged to read from the storage medium for a particular chain related to a particular node corresponding to a problem location additional chain information comprising an identification of that problem location. Using the additional chain information the system can easily establish to which problem location a chain in use by the system relates. If a traffic message is received, the system can then compare the problem location to which the message relates with the problem location to which the chain relates. If these are different problem locations, the system may discard the message else the system may further interpret the message in order to determine its consequences.
According to an embodiment of the navigation system according to the invention is when a traffic message is received, the system determines whether the identification of the problem location to which the traffic message relates is present in the list related to chains that are in the search area and thus have been considered when the route was planned. If the identification is not present, then the system may discard the traffic message since it relates to a problem location that has no effect on the planned route. If the identification is present, then this means that the traffic message is related to a problem location in the search area and the system may decide to plan a new route. Thanks to the list, the system can quickly determine whether a traffic message is relevant for the planned route without having to access all the chains of the search area.
According to another embodiment of the navigation system according to the invention when a traffic message is received, the system can through accessing the sub-list quickly determine whether the problem location of the traffic message is related to a problem location on the planned route. If this is the case, the system may decide to re-plan the route between the current vehicle position and the destination, taking into account the newly received information in the traffic message.
According to another embodiment of the navigation system according to the invention This allows the storage of the additional chain information on a separate place on the storage medium, independent from the first storage unit. This has the advantage that a version of a storage medium including the second storage unit is compatible with an earlier version of a storage medium with only the first storage unit, i.e. a system designed for reading the earlier version need not be adapted in order to be able to read the later version and vice versa.
The object of the invention is alternatively achieved according to the invention in a navigation system which is characterised in that the read means are arranged to read from the storage medium for the problem location related to the traffic message a first identification of a first one of the chains connected to a particular to the problem location by a corresponding node. By reading the identification of the chain connected to the problem location, the system is able to directly determine the relevant chain related to a received traffic message. When a traffic message is received, the system can directly act on the relevant chain or chains without accessing other chains to see if they are related to the message. An application is where the system has displayed a map of roads and subsequently receives a traffic message concerning a traffic queue at a certain problem location, whereby the road on which the traffic queue is present must be highlighted. Through the first identification, the system can directly locate the chain connected to the certain problem location and highlight it. Subsequently, the system can determine, based on the knowledge of the connection of chains and the specification given in the message, which further chains are affected and must be highlighted.
According to another embodiment of the navigation system according to the invention the pre-defined problem locations are specified in a certain order with respect to each other, whereby the order corresponds to a certain direction of travelling. So a problem location has a pre
Emmerink Carla J. M.
Lahaije Paul D. M.
Mulder Edwin W.
Walgers Erik J.
Mannesman VDO
Mayer Brown & Platt
Nguyen Tan
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