WO2010094252A1 - Method for operating a navigation system in a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system in a vehicle, comprising the following steps: - a road network database, - a position determination unit which determines the current position (10) from positioning signals, in particular satellite signals or position sensor signals, - a route calculation unit for calculating routes by way of the road network database, wherein the route calculation unit calculates and stores a desired route (1) from a starting point (2) to a destination point (3), - at least one route guidance device which calculates maneuvering instructions to follow the sections along the desired route (1), - at least one optical and/or acoustic output device for outputting the maneuvering instructions, - at least one traffic data reception device, which receives traffic reports from a traffic data reporting service, wherein traffic reports relating to a route of the navigation system can be selected as route-relevant and can be stored in a traffic data storage device marked as being route-relevant, and wherein the route-relevant traffic reports can be taken into account during further route planning.

Description

 Method for operating a navigation system in a vehicle

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system in a vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

Known navigation systems, for example mobile or permanently installed in a vehicle navigation devices, serve to guide the user along a precalculated route from a starting point to a destination point. For this purpose, a road network database is present in the navigation device, in which the corresponding geographical area is described digitally coded. By means of a route calculation unit, a desired route is calculated from the starting point to the destination point, taking into account the location data entered by the user and the digital map described in the road network database.

By means of a position detection unit, the navigation system constantly determines the current position. For this purpose, the position detection unit evaluates the position signals of suitable positioning systems, for example satellite signals of the GPS satellites or position sensor signals of position sensors installed in the vehicle. Depending on the current position, a route guidance calculated maneuver instructions that allow the driver to follow the route along the desired route. The output, in particular of the maneuvering instructions, takes place by means of an optical and / or acoustic output device, in particular by optical display on a display or by acoustic announcement on a

Speaker. By means of a traffic data receiving device, traffic reports can be received by a traffic data reporting service. Traffic messages relating to the desired routes can be selected and stored in a traffic data storage device. If a traffic message relating to the desired route is selected and stored in the known navigation systems, a bypass route for bypassing the traffic message located on the desired route is calculated by means of the route calculation unit. Subsequently, the route guidance devices compute maneuvering instructions for following the route along the bypass route.

This known as rerouting process known navigation systems is associated with significant disadvantages. First, there is the possibility that at the point at which the route guidance device issues a maneuvering instruction for leaving the desired route and for driving on the bypass route, the traffic message that triggered the rerouting is no longer up-to-date. In this case, the bypass route is unnecessarily traveled, which can be associated with a considerable detour. The rerouting can therefore have adverse consequences if a traffic message on the desired route a short time after leaving the desired route loses its relevance. In such a case, in known navigation systems, the bypass route is followed, although the return to the desired route would be advantageous in view of the changed traffic situation.

Starting from this prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new method for operating a navigation system. tion system which avoids these disadvantages of the known Rouou- tings.

This object is achieved by a method according to the teaching of claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The method according to the invention is based on the basic idea that a static decision as to whether it is sensible to bypass a traffic report on the desired route does not correspond to the underlying complex and dynamic conditions. It is therefore an object of the invention to add to rerouting a dynamic component that enables the navigation system to respond quickly to a change in the traffic message. If the traffic data receiving device receives a traffic message concerning the desired route, then this traffic message is selected and stored by means of a traffic data storage device. Further, a detour route is calculated by the route calculation unit, and maneuver instructions for following the detour route are outputted with the route guidance device. In the following, however, all traffic data is selected and stored as route-relevant when receiving traffic data, which relate either to the bypass route or the desired route. This means in other words that after activating a bypass route as a new active route, the traffic reports that are on the desired route continue to be monitored as being route-relevant, even though the original route is no longer the active route.

This creates the opportunity to respond to changes in the traffic situation on the desired route, despite following the bypass route. If then a traffic message stored as a route relevant to the desired route, by change, omission or timing is dropped out of the updated traffic data, such a change in the traffic reports with the inventive method is detected, and a rerouting can be triggered. As a result, it is checked whether either remaining on the bypass route or reversing and returning to the original desired route is more advantageous.

There are various possibilities for identifying the route-relevant traffic reports. According to a first variant, a separate route traffic data storage device is provided, wherein in the route traffic data storage device exclusively all route-relevant traffic reports are stored, so that the route-relevant traffic messages are characterized in that they are included in the route traffic data storage device. If a traffic message is then no longer route-relevant at a later point in time, it is deleted from the route traffic data storage device.

As an alternative to using a separate route traffic data storage device, the route-relevant traffic reports can also be stored together with all other received traffic reports in the general traffic data storage device. To distinguish the route-relevant traffic reports from the other traffic reports, these are identified by a route relevance identifier in the traffic data storage device. If a traffic message is then no longer route-relevant at a later point in time, then the route relevancy identifier is deleted from this traffic message.

In such cases, where a rerouting is triggered by omission or timing of a traffic message on the desired route during the passage of the bypass route, it is particularly advantageous if the decision on the whereabouts on the bypass route or the return to the desired route using two Wegkostenfaktoren is calculated, wherein the first travel cost factor for the route from the current location to the destination point when returning to the desired route and a second travel cost factor for the route from the current location to the destination point is calculated when remaining on the bypass route. The route with the respective lower travel cost factor is set as the new active route. In principle, a large number of influences can be taken into account when calculating the travel cost factors. In this case, also user-defined and stored route guidance preferences can be taken into account. If, for example, the operator determines that the shortest route should be calculated and tracked for the route guidance, this can result in a different travel cost factor than if the user selected the speed-optimized route as preference for the route guidance. Since a large number of influences can be taken into account in the calculation of the travel cost factors in a simple manner, the use of travel cost factors for the route selection of a re-routing process is particularly advantageous.

To track a detour route, in a variety of cases, roads of a minor road class, such as federal and / or highways, are used. Traffic messages concerning this type of road class have very little timeliness. However, this actuality duration, as for example in the case of a traffic report about animals on the road, is generally clearly below the time duration for ordinary traffic reports or the update interval of traffic reports. Therefore, it is particularly advantageous to automatically delete traffic messages associated with traffic disturbances on the bypass route from the traffic data storage device independently of the traffic messages received by the traffic data receiving device as soon as the route section of the bypass route that concerns the traffic incident has been passed. This will be a rerouting depending on traffic reports with a very low temporal relevance when updating the traffic data storage device excluded.

Since rerouting requires a considerable amount of computing power and the announcement of a rerouting process on the output devices of the navigation system can sometimes confuse the operator, it is particularly desirable to minimize the number of rerouting processes. Particularly at the end of a detour route, re-routing is obviously not very meaningful due to the elimination or timing of a traffic announcement on the desired route that caused the detour route to be tracked. It is conceivable, for example, that during a long route, the traffic message about an already bypassed full closure on the desired route only falls short before reaching the destination. In this case, nevertheless, a rerouting would be carried out due to the change in the traffic data stored in the traffic data storage device. Therefore, in a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention for the avoidance of a traffic incident on the desired route, a reversal condition on the bypass route is calculated, stored and checked checking. As soon as the inversion condition is no longer met, this traffic message relating to the desired route is no longer marked as route-relevant, which can be done by deleting the traffic message from the route traffic data storage device or by deleting the route relevancy identifier at this traffic message. By deleting the marking of the traffic message as route-relevant, a rerouting depending on this traffic message when updating the traffic data storage device is excluded. This means in other words that a change or the deletion or the timing of this traffic message can no longer trigger time-consuming rerouting.

In cases where only a very short bypass route is to be followed or where a detour route on a street is being tracked should, on the reversing, such as on a highway, not readily possible, the inversion condition for suppressing a rerouting can not be fulfilled very early after leaving the desire route. Therefore, it is advantageous to perform the check of the inversion condition as many times as possible, in particular roulously after each change in position of the vehicle.

The definition of the inverse condition is basically arbitrary. However, the definition of the inversion condition as a reversal point on the bypass route is particularly advantageous since it allows a check of the inversion condition based on the position data of the position determination unit in a very simple manner.

Since the inversion condition is primarily designed to avoid rerouting operations at an advanced time of following the bypass route, in which rerouting would anyway confirm the bypass route as the active route, it is particularly advantageous to define the reversal point in such a way that that at the turning point the travel cost factor for the route from the departure point to the destination point along the desired route is the same as the travel cost factor for the route from the current point of view to the destination point along the circumference route. Such a definition of the turning point has the advantage that the turning point is particularly easy and quick to calculate. For example, after calculating the travel cost factor from the departure point to the destination point along the desired route, the reversal point can be determined such that starting from the destination the travel cost factors of the individual route segments along the bypass route are summed until the sum is for the first time greater than the previously determined travel cost factor between the destination and departure point on the desired route. However, this definition of the turning point is particularly well suited for calculating a turning point on a long bypass route. In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the reversal point is defined such that the sum of the travel cost factor for the route from the reversal point to the departure point along the bypass route and the travel cost factor for the route from the reversal point to the destination along the desired route is the same Travel cost factor for the route from the reversal point to the destination point along the bypass route. By the described calculation of the reversal point of this is determined with the greatest possible accuracy, resulting in particular on short bypass routes to the fact that a rerouting and an associated reversal on the bypass route takes place only if it is certainly no unnecessary detour in purchasing accepted. Since the departure point and the destination point are fixed, the said reversal point calculation can also be made by calculating the sum of the travel cost factor for the route from the departure point to the destination point along the bypass route and the travel cost factor from the departure point to the destination point along the desired route and the turning point is set as the point on the bypass route where the travel cost factor to the destination is just half the sum of the travel cost factors. Here, too, it is advantageous to first calculate the sum of the two mentioned travel cost factors and to halve the received value, in order subsequently to add up the travel cost factors of the individual route segments along the bypass route, starting from the destination until the halved total value of the travel distance factors is first exceeded. At which point of the route segment in which the halved total value of the travel cost factor is exceeded for the first time, the reversal point is set, is basically arbitrary.

In principle, a large number of parameters can be taken into account for the calculation of a travel cost factor. However, it is particularly advantageous if, for the calculation of the travel cost factors, the length of the route elements of a route and a cost parameter assigned to the route element, which are determined in particular by the road class of the route. element is considered. This ensures that, especially when calculating a reversal point, a weighted evaluation of the individual route elements along a route is ensured. For example, when driving around a highway on a highway bypassing a bypass on a highway, which may also due to the road on many segments a speed limit, it makes sense to set the reversal point at a greater absolute distance to the departure point, as if the The route is only along a multi-lane federal highway. Such a procedure is of great importance for effective route guidance.

In many cases, by means of a detour route, a traffic disruption on the desired route can be circumvented locally, in order subsequently to return to the desired route and to pursue the desired route to the destination. This situation occurs especially when, for example, a congestion avoidance should take place on a highway. If, therefore, it is found that the bypass route and the desired route run along the same rest route from a return point to the destination point, then in a particularly advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention in the calculation of the travel cost factors, in particular for the determination of the reversal point, the destination point of the routes will be replaced by the return point. This results in several advantages. Firstly, the calculation of the travel cost factors can be carried out faster and with less computational effort, since both the desired route and the bypass route contain significantly fewer route segments overall, which in turn leads to a faster calculation of the reversal point. Second, this avoids that a traffic disturbance between the return point and the destination point, which is received and stored only after leaving the desired route, has an influence on the travel cost factor of the bypass route, which may result in erroneous calculations. reversal point and resulting unnecessary rerouting.

In order to ensure as far as possible a forward-looking tracking of a route and in order to reduce dangerous moments, it is particularly useful that the data stored in the traffic data storage device be

Traffic data can be output with an optical and / or acoustic output device. In this case, the traffic data relating to the desired route and traffic data relating to the bypass route can be marked optically and / or acoustically differently in a particularly advantageous manner. This considerably simplifies the recording and / or interpretation of the output of traffic data stored in the traffic data storage device for the user. For example, the output can be made such that traffic disturbances on the desired route are visually and / or acoustically separated from the traffic disturbances on the bypass route, the traffic disruptions for which a bypass route has been calculated being particularly marked. This allows the user to quickly determine where a traffic congestion is to be avoided and what type of traffic congestion should be avoided.

Various aspects of the method of the invention are illustrated schematically in the drawings and will be exemplified below.

Show it:

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a desire route and a

Bypass route at a first inversion condition;

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a desire route and a

Bypass route at a second inversion condition

FIG. 1 shows a desired route 1 between a starting point 2 and a destination point 3. During the following of the route section 4, a traffic disturbance 5 is detected by means of a traffic data receiving device On the route chosen, bypassing the traffic congestion makes sense in many cases.

For this purpose, a bypass route 6 for bypassing the traffic incident 5 on the desired route is calculated by means of a route calculation unit. Furthermore, the traffic data relating to the traffic disturbance 5 on the desired route is stored in a traffic data storage device. If, on approaching the departure point 7, the traffic disturbance 5 on the desired route is still contained in the traffic data received by the traffic data receiving device, the bypass route 6 is set as the active route. By means of a route guidance device, maneuvering instructions for following the route along the bypass route 6 are calculated and output via an optical and / or acoustic output device. Furthermore, a first travel cost factor 8 for the part of the desired route 1 between the departure point 7 and the destination point 3 is calculated.

While following the bypass route, a second travel cost factor 9 is calculated for the part of the bypass route 6 between the current position 10 and the destination point 3. In addition, all traffic data concerning either the desired route or the bypass route are selected and considered to be relevant in the route

Traffic data storage device stored, each change in the traffic data storage device is determined by elimination or timing of a route relevant to the route, relevant traffic message.

At the beginning of the bypass route 6, it may make sense to reverse and return to the desired route 1 if the traffic incident 5 that caused the tracking of the bypass route 6 is no longer current. In the further course of the bypass route 6, a reversal to the desired route 1 becomes less and less sensible until a reversal finally even means an unnecessary detour. Therefore, when traveling down the bypass route 6, a reversal condition is established and ensures that a rerouting and an associated reversal occur only if this does not detour. This inversion condition is checked during the course of following the bypass route 6 in a roulatory manner.

The definition of the inversion condition can be made via a reversal point 1 1, from which a reversal under any circumstances makes sense. For example, the point at which the travel cost factor 9 along the bypass route is for the first time smaller than the travel cost factor 8 along the desired route is defined as reversal point 1 1. If, during the passage of the route section 12, the omission or time lapse of the traffic disturbance 5 is detected and if the reversal point 11 has not yet been reached at this point in time and the reversal condition is met, then a rerouting is performed. If, however, the reversal point 11 has already been exceeded at this point in time and thus the reversal condition is no longer met, the traffic data relating to the traffic disturbance 5 has already been automatically deleted from the traffic data storage device. Thus, the traffic jam 5 can no longer trigger a rerouting. This eliminates unnecessary re-routing.

Fig. 2 shows the same traffic situation as Fig. 1, but with the difference that a part of the remaining route 14 for the desired route and the bypass route is identical. Therefore, the travel cost factors 8 and 9 are calculated not based on the destination of the desired route and the bypass route but on the return point 15 at which the bypass route returns to the desired route.

In addition, a third travel cost factor 16 is calculated for the part of the bypass route between the departure point and the current position on the bypass route. In this case, the reversal point 11 is determined as the point on the bypass route where the travel cost factor 9 is smaller than the sum of the travel cost factors 8 and 16. The reversal point is also used in this case as the basis for the inversion condition, which is also checked at each change in position along the bypass route. Here, too, a rerouting is triggered if, when the inversion condition is met, the pathway or the time sequence of the traffic disturbance 5 on the desired route 1 is detected by means of the traffic data stored in the traffic data storage device. If the reversal condition is not met, ie if the reversal point 1 1 is exceeded, the traffic disturbance 5 on the desired route 1 is classified as no longer relevant to the route and the corresponding traffic data from the traffic data storage device is deleted, with no re-routing being triggered.

Claims

claims Method for operating a navigation system in a vehicle, comprising: a road network database, a position determination unit which determines the current position (10) from positioning signals, in particular satellite signals or position sensor signals, a route calculation unit for calculating routes by means of the road network database, wherein the route calculation unit calculates and stores a desired route (1) from a starting point (2) to a destination point (3), at least one route guidance device which calculates the maneuvering instructions for following the routes along the desired route (1), at least one optical and / or acoustic output device, for issuing maneuvering instructions, - At least one traffic data receiving device that receives traffic reports from a traffic data reporting service, traffic messages that relate to a route of the navigation system can be selected as routenrelevant and marked as relevant for routing in a traffic data storage device, and wherein the route-relevant traffic messages are taken into account in the further route planning, with the following Method steps: a) receiving updated traffic reports and selecting at least one traffic message concerning the desired route (1); b) marking the selected traffic message as the desired route (1) concerning; c) calculating at least one bypass route (6), the bypass route (6) allowing the assigned traffic disturbance (5) to be bypassed on the desired route (1); d) setting the bypass route (6) as a new active route and calculating maneuvering instructions for following the bypass route (6) by means of the route guidance unit; e) reception of updated traffic reports, all traffic conventions relating to either the desired route (1) or the bypass route (6); f) updating the traffic data storage device by storing the newly selected, route-relevant traffic reports, wherein each change of the route-relevant traffic reports by changing or omission or timing of the desired route (1) traffic report is detected; g) triggering a check of the route planning (rerouting) upon detection of the change or the elimination or elapse of time of a route of the request (1) traffic message. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that a separate route traffic data storage device is provided for the purpose of identifying the route-relevant traffic reports, wherein all route-relevant traffic reports are stored exclusively in the route traffic data storage device or all traffic-relevant traffic reports which are marked in FIG the general traffic data storage device are stored, are marked with a route relevance identifier. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when rerouting a first Wegkostenfaktor (8) for the route from the current location to the destination point (3) on return to the desired route (1) and a second Wegkostenfaktor (9) for the Route is calculated from the current location to the destination point (3) remaining on the bypass route (6), and the route is set with the lower travel cost factor as a new active route. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that after setting a bypass route (6) as a new active route, which serves to bypass a traffic incident (5) on the desired route (1), calculates a reversal condition, stored and rolling is checked, this traffic route avoiding the route is marked as no longer relevant to the route, as soon as the inversion condition is no longer met. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the rolling check of the inversion condition is performed after each change in position of the vehicle. 6. The method according to any one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the inversion condition is defined by the fact that a turning point (1 1) on the bypass route (6) has not yet happened. 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that for the turning point (1 1) applies that the travel cost factor (8) for the route from the departure point (7) to the destination point (3) along the desired route (1) is the same the travel cost factor (9) for the Route from the current position (1 1) to the destination point (3) along the bypass route (6). 8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that for the reversal point (11) that the sum of the travel cost factor (16) for the route from the reversal point (1 1) back to the departure point (7) along the bypass route (6) and the travel cost factor (8) for the route from the reversal point (1 1) to the destination point (3) along the desired route (1) is the same as the travel cost factor (9) for the route from the reversal point (11) to Target point (3) along the bypass route (6). 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the Wegkostenfaktoren (8, 9,16) elements of the length of the elements of a route and the route element assigned Cost parameter, which is determined in particular by the road class of the link element is calculated. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that after setting a bypass route (6) as a new active route to allow the avoidance of a traffic incident (5) on the desired route (1), it is analyzed whether the bypass route (6) and the Wish route (1) from a return point (15) to the target point (3) along the same residual route (14), wherein upon determination of a return point (15) in the calculation of the travel cost factors (8, 9, 16) for the inventive method the destination point (3) is replaced by the return point (15). 11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the traffic data stored in the traffic data storage device can be output with an associated label on the optical and / or acoustic output device, wherein route-related traffic data related to the bypass route (6) with a first identifier, and wherein traffic data relating to the desired route (1) are output with a different, second identifier.