# US 10,311,729 B2 · Navigation system and on-board unit

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- Number: US 10,311,729 B2
- Document ID: US10311729B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/543,446
- Filed: 2015-01-16
- Published: 2017-12-28
- Granted: 2019-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2015-01-16
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd.
- Applicants: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd.
- Inventors: Kiichi Sugimoto; Ryota Hiura; Takeshi Fukase; Takuma Okazaki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10311729B2

## CPC

- G08G 1/096811: {where the route is computed offboard}
- G01C 21/28: with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
- G01C 21/3415: {Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents}
- G01C 21/3492: {employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)}
- G01C 21/3691: {Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions (arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09)}
- G08G 1/0112: {from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]}
- G08G 1/0133: {for classifying traffic situation}
- G08G 1/0145: {for active traffic flow control}
- G08G 1/017: identifying vehicles (G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence)
- G08G 1/052: with provision for determining speed or overspeed {(speed measuring in general G01P)}
- G08G 1/096827: {where the route is computed onboard}
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)

## Abstract

A navigation system includes: a traffic condition calculation unit (222) that calculates an evaluation value indicating a traffic condition of each road segment included in a target area; a guidance route determination unit (223) that determines a route in which a degree of non-congestion based on the traffic condition evaluation value of a road segment included in a route to a destination of each vehicle is the highest as a guidance route on the basis of the traffic condition evaluation value calculated by the traffic condition calculation unit and the destination of each vehicle; and a guidance route providing unit (224) that provides the guidance routes determined by the guidance route determination unit to a driver of the corresponding vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A navigation system comprising:
a traffic condition calculation unit that calculates a traffic condition evaluation value indicating a traffic condition of each road segment included in a target area;
a guidance route determination unit that prepares a plurality of routes to a same destination for each vehicle in the target area, calculates an area traffic condition index value indicating a traffic condition of a group of vehicles in the target area and obtained by integrating index values indicating the traffic condition of the plurality of routes prepared for each vehicle for all vehicles in the target area on a basis of the traffic condition evaluation value calculated by the traffic condition calculation unit according to the plurality of routes to the same destination of each vehicle, and determines a route in which a degree of non-congestion based on the area traffic condition index value is highest among the plurality of routes to the same destination for one vehicle as a guidance route; and
a guidance route providing unit that provides the guidance route determined by the guidance route determination unit to a driver of a corresponding vehicle.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein
the guidance route determination unit prepares routes that do not include a bottleneck road segment in which a value based on the traffic condition evaluation value is lower than a reference value as the plurality of routes to the same destination.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein
when a setting route to the destination is set for the vehicle, the guidance route determination unit prepares at least one candidate route of which the destination is the same as the setting route and in which the route to the destination is different from the setting route and calculates the area traffic condition index value for the setting route and the area traffic condition index value for the candidate route, and
the guidance route providing unit provides the candidate route in which the degree of non-congestion based on the area traffic condition index value is higher than that of the setting route to the driver of the corresponding vehicle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a first travel record learning unit that predicts a predicted guidance route which is set for the vehicle on a basis of a record value set as a route for navigating the vehicle among the guidance routes provided by the guidance route providing unit, wherein
the guidance route determination unit calculates the area traffic condition index value for the predicted guidance route predicted by the first travel record learning unit and the area traffic condition index value for the plurality of routes to the same destination, and
the guidance route providing unit provides the predicted guidance route in which the degree of non-congestion based on the area traffic condition index value is higher than that of the plurality of routes to the same destination to the driver of the corresponding vehicle.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The navigation system according to claim 4, wherein,
when a route in which the degree of non-congestion based on the area traffic condition index value is higher than that of the predicted guidance route exists among the plurality of routes to the same destination, the guidance route providing unit provides the predicted guidance route to the driver of the corresponding vehicle if a difference between a highest value of the degree of non-congestion and the degree of non-congestion of the predicted guidance route is within a predetermined range.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a second travel record learning unit that predicts a traffic condition which occurs in the road segment on a basis of a record value of the traffic condition evaluation value calculated by the guidance route determination unit, wherein
the traffic condition calculation unit calculates the traffic condition evaluation value corresponding to each road segment on a basis of the traffic condition predicted by the second travel record learning unit.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a third travel record learning unit that predicts a predicted destination which is set for the vehicle on a basis of a record value set as the destination of each vehicle, wherein
the guidance route determination unit prepares a plurality of routes to the predicted destination as the plurality of routes to the same destination on a basis of the predicted destination predicted by the third travel record learning unit.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an external information acquisition unit that acquires external information via a communication unit, wherein
the traffic condition calculation unit calculates the traffic condition evaluation value on a basis of the external information acquired by the external information acquisition unit.

### Claim 9

An on-board unit comprising:
a positional information generation unit that acquires vehicle positional information indicating a position of a vehicle;
a communication unit that transmits the vehicle positional information acquired by the positional information generation unit and route information indicating a setting route to a destination set for the vehicle to a navigation server; and
a navigation control unit that receives at least one candidate route of which the destination is the same as the setting route and in which the route to the destination is different from the setting route, from the navigation server via the communication unit and outputs information for navigating the vehicle according to the candidate route from an output unit, the candidate route being a route in which a degree of non-congestion based on an area traffic condition index value is higher than a degree of non-congestion based on the area traffic condition index value of the setting route, the area traffic condition index value being obtained by integrating index values indicating a traffic condition of the setting route or the candidate route for each vehicle for all vehicles in a target area on a basis of an evaluation value indicating the traffic condition of each road segment included in the target area.