EP0393632A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for road path searching applicable to car navigation system and operation method thereof
Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co Ltd
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Filing: 1990-04-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-04-18
Abstract
Abstract A road path searching apparatus applicable to a car navigation system is disclosed. Road map data with different detailedness for defining a predetermined area is stored previously in a memory device. First, nodes Nai and Nbj adjacent to each of the search nodes Pa and PB are detected based on map data of high detailedness (step 13). When nodes Nai and Nbj exist on a map of lower detailedness (steps 14, 18), a map of one level lower detailedness is selected as a map to be used in the searching process (step 19). Accordingly, as following searching process is performed based on the map data of lower detailedness, time required for processing is reduced.
Inventors
- 👤 Yutaka Tamura
- 👤 Yoshio Hosokawa
- 👤 Satoshi Noro
- 👤 Kazuhiko Kondo
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 10:10
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/26; G01C21/34; G01C21/3446; G01C21/38; G01C21/3804; G01C21/3807; G01C21/3815; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F17/00; G06F17/40; G06F30/00; G06F30/10; G06F30/15; G06F30/18
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, and designating means (11) for designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, adjacent node detecting means (13) for detecting first and second adjacent nodes adjacent to said first and second positions, respectively, based on said first data group, existence detecting means (14, 18) for detecting existence, in said second data group, of node data which corresponds to at least one of the first and second adjacent nodes detected by said adjacent node detecting means, and determining means (20, 21, 22) responsive to said existence detecting means, for determining the node data detected by said adjacent node detecting means as node data defining the path to be searched for.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
206 words
A path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, and designating means (11) for designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, adjacent node detecting means (13) for detecting first and second adjacent nodes adjacent to said first and second positions, respectively, based on said first data group, existence detecting means (14, 18) for detecting existence, in said second data group, of node data which corresponds to at least one of the first and second adjacent nodes detected by said adjacent node detecting means, and determining means (20, 21, 22) responsive to said existence detecting means, for determining the node data detected by said adjacent node detecting means as node data defining the path to be searched for.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
73 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining means comprises: plurality detecting means (20) for detecting that a plurality of first or second adjacent nodes detected by said adjacent node detecting means exist, and selecting means (21) responsive to said plurality detecting means, for selecting one nearest to said second or first position, respectively, out of the respective first or second adjacent nodes detected by said adjacent node detecting means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said existence detecting means comprises: means (14) for looking for node data corresponding to the first adjacent node detected by said adjacent node detecting means in said second data group, and means (18) for looking for node data corresponding to the second adjacent node detected by said adjacent node detecting means in said second data group.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said path to be searched for comprises a road path on which a car runs, and said respective first and second positions comprise a starting point and a destination, respectively.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
169 words
A path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all the node data in said second data group, and designating means (31) for designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, distance detecting means (32) for detecting distance between said first and second positions, selecting means (38) responsive to said distance detecting means for selecting either of said first or second data group, and searching means (39, 40, 41, 42) for searching for the path between said first and second positions based on the data group selected by said selecting means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
169 words
A path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all the node data in said second data group, and designating means (31) for designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, distance detecting means (32) for detecting distance between said first and second positions, selecting means (38) responsive to said distance detecting means for selecting either of said first or second data group, and searching means (39, 40, 41, 42) for searching for the path between said first and second positions based on the data group selected by said selecting means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
105 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said selecting means selects the second data group, and wherein said searching means comprises: neighboring node detecting means (40) for detecting first and second neighboring nodes which exist near respective said first and second positions, respectively, in said second data group, means (41) for looking for a path between said first position and said first neighboring node and a path between said second position and said second neighboring node based on said first data group, and means (42) for looking for a path between said first and second neighboring nodes based on said second data group.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising screen means (4) for displaying said predetermined area, and wherein said selecting means comprises comparing means (33, 35) for comparing the predetermined length based on a diagonal line of said screen means and the distance detected by said distance detecting means, and wherein said second data group is selected in response to said comparing means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
A path searching apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said path to be searched for comprises a road path on which a car runs, and respective said first and second positions comprise a starting point and a destination, respectively.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
204 words
In a path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, and wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group comprises data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, a method for operating said path searching apparatus comprising: a step (11) of designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (13) of detecting first and second adjacent nodes respectively adjacent to respective said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (14, 18) of detecting existence of the node data corresponding to at least one of the detected first and second adjacent nodes in said second data group, and a step (20, 21, 22) of determining the detected adjacent node data as node data defining the path to be searched for in response to the existence detecting result.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
204 words
In a path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, and wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group comprises data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, a method for operating said path searching apparatus comprising: a step (11) of designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (13) of detecting first and second adjacent nodes respectively adjacent to respective said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (14, 18) of detecting existence of the node data corresponding to at least one of the detected first and second adjacent nodes in said second data group, and a step (20, 21, 22) of determining the detected adjacent node data as node data defining the path to be searched for in response to the existence detecting result.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
67 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein said step of determining comprises: a step (20) of detecting existence of the first or second plurality of adjacent nodes detected, and a step (21) of selecting one nearest to said second or first position, respectively, out of the detected respective first or second adjacent nodes, in response to the existence of the first or second plurality of adjacent nodes.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
175 words
In a path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, and wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, a method of operating said path searching apparatus, comprising: a step (31) of designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (32) of detecting distance between said first and second positions, a step (38) of selecting either of said first or second data group in response to the detected distance, and a step (39, 40, 41, 42) of searching for the path between said first and second positions based on the selected data group.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
175 words
In a path searching apparatus for searching for a path between a first position and a second position in a predetermined area, comprising: storage means (2) for storing node data for defining roads provided on said predetermined area, and wherein said storage means stores a first data group (MC) including node data for defining said roads in more detail and a second data group (MB) including node data for defining said roads in less detail, and said first data group includes data which coincides with all of the node data in said second data group, a method of operating said path searching apparatus, comprising: a step (31) of designating said first and second positions based on said first data group, a step (32) of detecting distance between said first and second positions, a step (38) of selecting either of said first or second data group in response to the detected distance, and a step (39, 40, 41, 42) of searching for the path between said first and second positions based on the selected data group.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
106 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein the second data group is selected in said step of selecting, and said step of searching comprises: a step (40) of detecting first and second neighboring nodes which exist near respective said first and second positions, respectively, in said second data group, a step (41) of looking for a path between said first position and said first neighboring node and a path between said second position and said second neighboring node based on said first data group, and a step (42) for looking for a path between said first and second neighboring nodes based on said second data group.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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