US 6,314,369 B1Granted

Communications navigation system, and navigation base apparatus and navigation apparatus both used in the navigation system

AssigneeKabushikikaisha Equos Research

InventorsYasuo Ito, Takashi Sugawara, Naoki Gorai, Satoshi Kitano

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Abstract

In a communications navigation system, data is transmitted and received between a navigation base apparatus provided at a navigation base and each of a plurality of navigation apparatuses provided in moving bodies such as vehicles using communication. A determining section of the navigation base apparatus determines untraveled route portion by comparing user's information stored in a user information storage with information of a recommended route provided by a route search section. The navigation base apparatus extracts necessary route/guidance information for untraveled route portion determined by the determining section from route/guidance data stored in a database, and then transmits the extracted route/guidance data to the navigation apparatus identified by the identification information. The route/guidance information may be transmitted to the navigation apparatus in the form of segmented data. In this way, it becomes possible for the navigation apparatus to extract only the route/guidance information needed by the user from the route/guidance data stored in the database.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A communications navigation system in which data communications are transmitted and received between a navigation base apparatus provided at a navigation base and each of a plurality of navigation apparatuses provided in moving bodies such as vehicles,

wherein at least one navigation apparatus of the plurality of the navigation apparatuses includes:
(a) transmitting means for transmitting, to the navigation base apparatus, at least current position data for a current position of one moving body on which the one navigation apparatus is mounted, destination data indicating a destination thereof and identification data identifying the one navigation apparatus,
(b) receiving means for receiving data from the navigation base apparatus, and
(c) route guidance means for providing route guidance using the data received from the navigation base apparatus;
and
wherein the navigation base apparatus includes:
(a) route/guidance information storage means which stores route/guidance information therein;
(b) route search means for searching to determine a recommended route based on the current position data and the destination data received from the one navigation apparatus;
(c) determination means for determining, based on the identification data received from the one navigation apparatus, necessary route/guidance information that a user of the one navigation apparatus needs to have with regard to the recommended route,
wherein the navigation base apparatus extracts route/guidance data corresponding to the necessary route/guidance information determined by the determination means from the route/guidance information stored in the route/guidance information storage means, and then transmits the extracted route/guidance data to the navigation apparatus identified by the identification data;
and
segmented data producing means for producing segmented data by dividing the extracted route/guidance data geographically into a plurality of data segments which link together geographically in series along the recommended route, for transmission of the extracted route/guidance data in the form of said plurality of data segments to the one navigation apparatus, each data segment containing route/guidance data for a geographical part of the recommended route and being independently usable in the one navigation apparatus for route guidance.

9 more elements

wherein at least one navigation apparatus of the plurality of the navigation apparatuses includes:
(a) transmitting means for transmitting, to the navigation base apparatus, at least current position data for a current position of one moving body on which the one navigation apparatus is mounted, destination data indicating a destination thereof and identification data identifying the one navigation apparatus;
(b) receiving means for receiving data from the navigation base apparatus, and
(c) route guidance means for providing route guidance using the data received from the navigation base apparatus;
and
wherein the navigation base apparatus includes:
(a) route/guidance information storage means which stores route/guidance information therein;
(b) route search means for searching to determine a recommended route based on the current position data and the destination data received from the one navigation apparatus;
and
(c) determination means for determining, based on the identification data received from the one navigation apparatus, necessary route/guidance information that a user of the one navigation apparatus needs to have with regard to the recommended route,
said determination means comprising:
(i) user information storage means which stores items of identification information identifying the respective navigation apparatuses and user's information for determining the necessary route/guidance information for respective users of the plurality of the navigation apparatuses, each item of identification information being associated in storage with user's information for a user of the navigation apparatus identified by the item of identification information;
and
(ii) untraveled route portion determining means for determining an untraveled route portion which is a part of the recommended route on which the one moving body has not yet traveled, based on the user's information stored in the user's information storage means;
(d) extracting means for extracting only route/guidance data for the untraveled route portion determined by the untraveled route portion determining means from the route/guidance information stored in the route/guidance information storage means as the necessary route/guidance information;
and
(e) transmitting means for transmitting the extracted route/guidance data to the one navigation apparatus identified by the identification data.

14 more elements

at least one navigation apparatus of the plurality of the navigation apparatuses includes:
(a) transmitting means for transmitting, to the navigation base apparatus, at least current position data for a current position of the one moving body on which the one navigation apparatus is mounted, destination data indicating a destination thereof and identification data identifying the one navigation apparatus;
(b) receiving means for receiving data from the navigation base apparatus and
(c) route guidance means for providing route guidance using data received from the navigation base apparatus,
and wherein the navigation base apparatus includes:
(a) route/guidance information storage means which stores route/guidance information therein;
(b) route search means for searching to determine a recommended route based on the current position data and the destination data received from the navigation apparatus;
(c) extracting means for extracting route/guidance data for the recommended route produced by the route search means, the route guidance data being used by the route guidance means in the navigation apparatus to provide the route guidance to a user of the one navigation apparatus;
and
(d) segmented data producing means for dividing the extracted route/guidance data geographically into a plurality of data segments which link together geographically in series along the recommended route, each of said data segments containing route/guidance data for a geographical part of the recommended route which is specified by a road number or road name;
wherein the navigation base apparatus transmits the route/guidance data in the form of said plurality of data segments to the one navigation apparatus identified by the identification data, in which each data segment is independently utilizable by said route guidance means navigation apparatus to provide the route guidance.

8 more elements

at least one navigation apparatus of the plurality of the navigation apparatuses includes:
(a) transmitting means for transmitting, to the navigation base apparatus, at least current position data for a current position of the one moving body on which the one navigation apparatus is mounted, destination data indicating a destination thereof and identification data identifying the one navigation apparatus;
and
(b) receiving means for receiving data from the navigation base apparatus;
and
(c) route guidance means for providing route guidance using data received from the navigation base apparatus,
and wherein the navigation base apparatus includes:
(a) route/guidance information storage means which stores route/guidance information therein;
(b) route search means for searching to determine a recommended route based on the current position data and the destination data received from the navigation apparatus;
(c) extracting means for extracting route/guidance data for the recommended route produced by the route search means, the route guidance data being used by the route guidance means in the navigation apparatus to provide the route guidance to a user of the one navigation apparatus;
and
(d) segmented data producing means for dividing the extracted route/guidance data geographically into a plurality of data segments which link together geographically along the recommended route, each data segment containing route/guidance data for a geographical part of the recommended route which is defined by two adjacent intersections;
wherein the navigation base apparatus transmits the route/guidance data in the form of said plurality of segments to the one navigation apparatus identified by the identification data in which each data segment is independently used by the route guidance means to provide the route guidance.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/345,479Filed 1 Jul 1999
Priority: JP 10-1873352 Jul 1998
Granted: 6 Nov 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G08G 1/096811
Where the transmitted instructions are used to compute a route: where the route is computed offboard
G01C 21/34
Specially adapted for navigation in a road network: route searching; Route guidance
G08G 1/096844
Where different aspects are considered when computing the route: where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
G08G 1/096861
Where the output is provided in a suitable form to the driver: where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs…