Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-10
2003-06-17
Arthur, Gertrude (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S201000, C701S202000, C701S208000, C701S210000, C340S990000, C340S995190
Reexamination Certificate
active
06581004
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Applications No. 2001-130447 filed on Apr. 26, 2001 and No. 2002-59525 filed on Mar. 5, 2002, including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a route navigation system, a client terminal, a server, a route navigation method, and a route identicalness determination method for performing route navigation for a user of the client terminal from a place of departure to a destination, through communication between the server at an information base and the client terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
Among the conventional route navigation systems that have been proposed, there is a navigation system in which a route navigation apparatus (client terminal) such as a navigation apparatus mounted in a vehicle carries out transmission and reception of information (data) to/from an information base (server), and thereby supplements data in the route navigation apparatus in order to properly perform route navigation from a place of departure P to a destination G. However, such a route navigation system involves a problem in that the amount of information (data) to be transmitted from the information base to the route navigation apparatus becomes large and communication cost is accordingly increased.
In view of such a problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2000-18955 discloses a system in which the information base only transmits information concerning a route that a user has not traveled in the past to a route navigation apparatus, but does not transmit information concerning a route that the user has previously traveled to the route navigation apparatus to thereby decrease the amount of the information to be transmitted.
However, the above-described system has a problem in that the information base, even in the case where substantially the same information concerning the route is stored in the route navigation apparatus, transmits the information of the entire route to the route navigation apparatus if the entire route has never been traveled by the user, thus resulting in a problem in that the amount of the data to be transmitted is not sufficiently decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the objects of the invention is achieved by a route navigation system, a client terminal, a server, a route navigation method, and a route identicalness determination method which decrease the amount of data to be transmitted from an information base to a route navigation apparatus (client terminal) through an effective use of data stored in the route navigation apparatus.
In a general description of the invention to be given below, a route navigation system provided with a server and a client terminal will be described as a typical example, and the description of the route navigation system will substitute for descriptions of the server and the client terminal, both of which are components of this route navigation system, a route navigation method which is an operating method of the route navigation system, and the route identicalness determination method according to the invention.
A route navigation system according to one aspect of the invention, which performs route navigation for a user of the client terminal from a place of departure to a destination, is constituted from:
a server including a server database, which determines a server route which is a route from the place of departure to the destination along with guiding points, using information in the server database; and
a client terminal, including a client terminal database, which, communicating with the server, determines a client route which is a route from the place of departure to the destination, along with guiding points, using information in the client terminal database.
The server or the client terminal determines whether or not a route between adjoining guiding points of the server route and a route between adjoining guiding points of the client route are identical by at least comparing positions of the guiding points of the server route and the client route. Then, the client terminal, based on a result of the above determination, selectively uses information concerning the client route in the client terminal database and information concerning the server route in the server database in performing the route navigation. At this point, it should be noted that physically separate servers may be used for determining the server route and for making the above-described comparative determination, which are respectively constructed from physically separate computers which are connected to and communicate with one another.
The server determines the server route which is a route from the place of departure to the destination using the information (data) in the server database which is its own database, and the server route includes the guiding points. On the other hand, the client terminal determines the client route, which is a route from the place of departure to the destination, using the information (data) in the client terminal database which is its own database, and the client route also includes the guiding points.
Next, in the above-described comparative determination by the server or the client terminal, the positions of the guiding points of the server route and the client route are compared to each other, and, based on a result thereof, it is determined whether or not the route between the adjoining guiding points of the server route and the route between the adjoining guiding points of the client route are identical. Then, according to the result thereof, the information in the server and the client terminal are selectively used in performing the route navigation.
In this way, at least when the guiding points of the server route and the client routes are identical, and therefore it is determined that the route between the adjoining guiding points of the server route and the route between the adjoining guiding points of the client route are substantially the same, the information concerning the client route in the client terminal database is effectively used and thereby it becomes possible to decrease the amount of the data (information) concerning the server route to be transmitted to the client terminal from the server.
Further, a route navigation system according to one embodiment of the invention is a route navigation system which performs route navigation for a user of the client terminal from a place of departure to a destination, including:
a server including a server database, which determines a server route which is a route from the place of departure to the destination using the information in the server database; and
a client terminal including a client terminal database which, communicating with the server, performs the route navigation based on the information in the client terminal database and the information in the server database, in which
the client terminal obtains guiding point information (information concerning guiding points) of the determined server route and, taking one of adjoining guiding points of the server route specified in the obtained information as the outgoing-side guiding point and the other one of those adjoining guiding points as the incoming-side guiding point, determines a client route therebetween using the information in the client terminal database, and
the client terminal determines whether or not the server route between the adjoining guiding points and the determined client route are identical, and if they are identical, performs the route navigation of the route between the adjoining guiding points using the information in the client terminal database, and if they are not identical, obtains the information concerning one or more sections or entire sections of the server route between the adjoining guiding points from the server and performs the route navigation based thereon.
As described above, the server determines the server route which is a route from the place of departure to the desti
Mori Kenji
Yurimoto Masayuki
Arthur Gertrude
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Route navigation system, client terminal, server, route... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Route navigation system, client terminal, server, route..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Route navigation system, client terminal, server, route... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3146266