US 8,026,835 B2 · Data mining in a digital map database to identify traffic signals, stop signs and yield signs at bottoms of hills and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed is a feature for a vehicle that enables taking precautionary actions in response to conditions on the road network around or ahead of the vehicle, in particular, a traffic light, stop sign or yield sign located at the bottom of a hill. A database that represents the road network is used to determine locations where a traffic light, stop sign or yield sign is located at the bottom of a hill. Then, precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate a location at which a precautionary action is to be taken about the traffic light, stop sign or yield sign located at the bottom of a hill. A precautionary action system installed in a vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, in combination with a positioning system to determine when the vehicle is at a location that corresponds to the location of a precautionary action. When the vehicle is at such a location, a precautionary action is taken by a vehicle system as the vehicle is approaching a traffic light, stop sign or yield sign located at the bottom of a hill.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for making an augmented version of a database that can be used as a component in a vehicle system that provides a precautionary action in a vehicle when the vehicle approaches a potentially hazardous location, wherein the potentially hazardous location is one in which two conditions are present at a same location along a road network in a geographic region, wherein one of the two conditions comprises presence of a traffic light, stop sign or yield sign and another of the two conditions comprises a bottom of a hill, the method comprising:

using data contained in a first version of the database to identify traffic lights, stop signs or yield signs located at the bottoms of hills throughout the geographic region;
and
forming the augmented version of the database by adding precautionary action data to the first version of the database to indicate locations at which a precautionary action is to be taken by the vehicle system.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Data mining in a digital map database to identify traffic signals, stop signs and yield signs at bottoms of hills and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

Life of this patent

Data mining in a digital map database to identify traffic signals, stop signs and yield signs at bottoms of hills and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20