Patent EP0487280B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
EP0487280B1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method and apparatus for displaying road conditions

Assignee: Denso Ten Ltd
•
Filing: 1991-11-18
•
Granted: 1998-04-29
•
Expires: 2011-11-18
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

No abstract record available.

Inventors

  • 👤 Yasuhiro Nakatani
  • 👤 Atsushi Ichimura
  • 👤 Toshio Tanaka
  • 👤 Hiroshi Takeuchi
  • 👤 Yoichi Okano

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-25 12:17
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/26; G01C21/34; G01C21/36; G01C21/3697; B; B60; B60G; B60G2400/00; B60G2400/80; B60G2400/82; B60G2400/824; B60G2401/00; B60G2401/16; B60G2600/00; B60G2600/04; B60G2800/00; B60G2800/01; B60G2800/012; B60G2800/24; B60G2800/70; B60G2800/90; B60G2800/91; B60G2800/912; B60G2800/9124

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim 200 words
An apparatus for providing guidance concerning road condition, comprising: means for detecting a unit travelling link among a plurality of unit links in a road information (13), on which a vehicle is travelling; and means (14,10-1) for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a travelling direction of said vehicle; characterised in that the apparatus further comprises means (10-3) for calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to a forthcoming end of said unit travelling link on the basis of said instantaneous vehicle position and said travelling direction; means (10-4) for detecting a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit travelling link; means (16) for calculating an intersecting angle  1 at said forthcoming end of the said unit travelling link with said intersecting unit link when said number of said intersecting unit links is one; means for calculating a curvature at the end of said unit travelling link on the basis of the intersecting angle  1 and the length l 1 of the next unit link connected to the end of the unit travelling link; and means (17) for displaying information concerning the curvature at the intersection of said link.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 35 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for calculating the curvature calculates the curvature utilizing the equation radius of curvature r1 = k . l 1  1 where k denotes a constant value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 32 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information providing means comprises means (16) for displaying information concerning intersecting condition of said unit travelling link and the intersecting links at the intersection thereof.
Claim 4
Independent Claim 24 words
An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information is displayed as a graphic pattern representing the condition of the intersection.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 42 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising means for discriminating a degree of danger on the basis of the information concerning the instantaneous travelling speed of the vehicle and the intersecting angle for providing an alarm for a driver.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 27 words
Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the means for providing an alarm generates an alarm in the form of a graphic alarming display and/or an audible alarm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 115 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a unit travelling link train is defined by a plurality of unit links serially connected to one end of a previous unit link locating the vehicle moving direction; and wherein the means for calculating the curvature calculates the curvature utilizing the equation radius of curvature r1 = k . L A  A wherein k denotes a constant value, L A denotes a total length of each one of the unit links L i , i.e. L A = Σl i and  A denotes a total intersection angle of each one of the intersecting angles  i , i.e.  A = Σ i .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 212 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit travelling link is a link of a link train, the apparatus further comprising means for detecting instantaneous position of the vehicle and a travelling direction of said vehicle on said unit link in said link train; means for determining an end position of the last link unit of said link train positioned at a place a predetermined distance γ ahead of said instantaneous position of the vehicle; means for detecting and calculating at least a number of intersecting unit links connected, an intersecting angle formed, and a curvature of at least one of said unit links connected to an end of each one of said unit links of said travelling link train; means for displaying at least one of said information concerning at least one of the number of intersecting unit links connected, an intersecting angle formed between said unit link and adjacent unit link connected, and a curvature of a unit link connected to each one of the ends of said unit links in said link train, respectively, in an order in which each one of said unit links are arranged from said instantaneous position of the vehicle to said position said predetermined distance ahead of said instantaneous position thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 38 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information concerning the curvature comprises a stored graphic sign which is selected from a plurality of stored graphic signs in accordance with the calculated curvature and curve direction.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 182 words
A method for providing guidance concerning road condition, comprising the steps of: detecting a unit travelling link among a plurality of unit links in a road information, on which a vehicle is travelling; and detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a travelling direction of said vehicle; characterised in that the method further comprises the steps of: calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to a forthcoming end of said unit link on the basis of said instantaneous vehicle position and said travelling direction; detecting a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link; calculating intersecting angle  1 at said forthcoming end of the said unit link with said intersecting unit links when said number of said intersecting unit links is one; calculating a curvature at the end of said unit travelling link on the basis of the intersecting angle  1 and the length l 1 of the next unit link connected to the end of the unit travelling link; and displaying information concerning the curvature at the intersection of said links.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 44 words
A method as set forth in claim 10, which further comprises a step of discriminating a degree of danger on the basis of the information concerning the instantaneous travelling speed of the vehicle and said intersecting angle for providing an alarm for a driver.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 99 words
A method according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising the steps of: detecting a number of intersecting links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link when a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to a forthcoming end of the unit travelling link on the basis of the instantaneous vehicle position and the travelling direction becomes below a predetermined distance ℓ 0 ; and displaying information indicative of forthcoming intersection accompanying information concerning intersecting condition of said link and said intersecting unit links at the intersection thereof, when the number of said intersecting unit links is plural.
Claim 13
Independent Claim 35 words
A method according to any of claims 10 or 11, wherein the curvature is calculated utilizing the equation radius of curvature r1 = k . l 1  1 where k denotes a constant value.
Claim 14
Independent Claim 113 words
A method according to any of claims 10 to 12 wherein a unit travelling link train is defined by a plurality of unit links i each connected to one end of a previous unit link locating the vehicle moving direction; and wherein the curvature is calculated utilizing the equation radius of curvature r1 = k . L A  A wherein k denotes a constant value, L A denotes a total length of each one of the unit links L i , i.e. L A = Σl i and  A denotes a total intersection angle of each one of the intersecting angles  i , i.e.  A = Σ i .
Claim 15
Independent Claim 39 words
A method according to any of claims 10 to 14, further comprising selecting a stored graphic sign from a plurality of previously stored signs in accordance with the calculated curvature and curve direction, and displaying the selected graphic sign.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

No citation records indexed.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag