WO2009002015A1

WO2009002015A1 - Path search system using compulsive research point, terminal, and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2009002015A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002748
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chan-Young Choi; Yeong-Sam Jeong; Min-Hui Park; Jin-Kyung Park
Original assignee: Sk Marketing & Company Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-06-27
Filing date: 2008-05-16
Publication date: 2008-12-31
Also published as: KR20080114184A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a path search system using a compulsive research point and a terminal, and a control method thereof. Destination information and position information are received from the terminal, and an optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal is generated. The compulsive research point is correspondingly included in the path to thus provide path information to the terminal. When being positioned at the compulsive research point, the terminal compulsively requests a research, and the path research is performed. Accordingly, compulsive research is performed at the predetermined compulsive research point so that a condition change is reflected under the condition in which the traffic state is substantially changed and path guidance is provided.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

PATH SEARCH SYSTEM USING COMPULSIVE RESEARCH POINT, TERMINAL, AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0063515 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on June 27, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a path search system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a path search system using a compulsive research point for providing path information to a mobile phone or a navigation terminal, a terminal, and a control method thereof.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Recently, techniques for minimizing service and time costs by providing a path guidance service to a road user by using real-time section traffic information and increasing road efficiency by dividing vehicles for preventing centralization of traffic volume on limited roads, have been developed. The traffic information is generated by processing collection information provided by a plurality of probe cars.

Among the prior arts, a service for receiving position information and destination information of a terminal and guiding along an optimal path to a destination by a server is widely used.

In this method, a path search process is performed for a path request between a departure and a destination by a path request user through mobile communication by applying traffic information and map information, an optimal path that is generated by applying a weight vector to the path search process is calculated, and the optimal path is transmitted to the path request user, wherein a road characteristic within a predetermined search distance between the departure and the destination is applied to the weight vector. However, this center-based path guidance service provides a less accurate arrival time when the traffic conditions are abruptly changed, for example, in the case of long-distance traffic information path guidance, a commuting time frame with greatly changed traffic information conditions and an accident generated time frame, since the traffic information that is applied at the path guidance start time is applied to the arrival time frame when the user arrives at the destination without any research.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a path search system using a compulsive research point for providing a path guidance service by applying a traffic condition change when traffic conditions are substantially changed, a terminal, and a control method thereof.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a path search system for receiving destination information and position information from a terminal to perform a path search process, and providing path information to a destination to the terminal. The path search system includes: a research point storage unit for storing position information of a point for generating compulsive research; a map database for storing map information on a predetermined area; and a path searcher for referring to predetermined traffic information and the map information to generate an optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal, including a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path in the optimal path, and providing the same to the terminal.

The path searcher generates the optimal path to the destination from the compulsive research point, includes a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path, and provides the same to the terminal when the terminal requests research from the compulsive research point.

The path search system further includes a data collector for receiving position information targeting traffic information from the outside, a data generator for generating communication information on a predetermined section from the position information targeting traffic information, and a traffic information provider for generating the traffic information by processing the communication information.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal for requesting a path search by transmitting destination information and position information to an external path search system. The terminal includes: a path information storage unit for storing path information including a compulsive research point for generating compulsive research; a display for displaying the path; a GPS receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, evaluating a position of the GPS receiver, and outputting the position; a communicator for performing a communication function with the path search system; and a controller for displaying the path information to the display and requesting research from the path search system when the current position information output by the GPS receiver is the compulsive research point.

The terminal further includes a trace information storage unit for storing GPS trace information on the path on which the terminal moves, and the controller uses the GPS trace information as the position information.

The terminal further includes an input unit for receiving a destination from the user.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a control method of a path search system for performing a path search by receiving destination information and position information from a terminal, and providing path information to the destination to the terminal. The method includes: (a) receiving destination information and position information from the terminal; (b) generating an optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal; and (c) including a compulsive research point that is a point for compulsively requesting research in the generated path, and providing path information to the terminal.

The control method further includes (d) repeating (b) and (c) when receiving a research request from the terminal. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a control method of a terminal for requesting a path search by transmitting destination information and position information to an external path search system is provided. The control method includes: a GPS receiver receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and evaluating a position of the GPS receiver; transmitting destination information and current position information to the path search system according to a user's selection, and requesting a path search; receiving path information including a predetermined compulsive research point from the path search system; and requesting research from the path search system when the current position corresponds to the compulsive research point while moving on the path.

The position information is GPS trace information for the path on which the terminal moves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a path search system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a path search system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a path search method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a case of a research process when a compulsive research point is included. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, traffic information is generated and provided based on the GPS method, and particularly, traffic information is generated based on position information targeting the traffic information. Here, the position information targeting the traffic information is information for generating traffic information, and is information measured by a traffic information collecting terminal and provided to the system. The position information targeting the traffic information is GPS data that are acquired with reference to a traffic information generation point from among GPS data that are acquired according to the GPS method. In detail, the position information targeting the traffic information includes at least one of GPS data for the predetermined traffic information generation point, GPS data of a predetermined position that corresponds to the predetermined distance from the traffic information generation point, and GPS data that corresponds to a predetermined area having a radius with reference to the traffic information generation point or the predetermined position. Particularly, the GPS data corresponding to the predetermined area from among the position information targeting the traffic information can be GPS data when a moving object enters the predetermined area, when it passes through the middle of the predetermined area, or when it initially digresses from the predetermined area.

FIG. 1 shows a traffic information generating system using a GPS according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a traffic information collecting terminal 200 generates position information targeting traffic information based on data transmitted from GPS satellites 101 , 102, and 103, and transmits the position information to a path search system 300. The path search system 300 generates traffic information for a predetermined section based on the position information targeting the traffic information transmitted from the terminal 200. Here, the GPS satellites 101 , 102, and 103 measure the positions of all moving objects on the earth by calculating distance and distance-variable speed, and the traffic information collecting terminal 200 receives the GPS data from at least three GPS satellites 101 , 102, and 103 and is installed in a moving object such as a probe car to measure the current position of the probe car based on the GPS data. Here, the terminal 200 is exemplified to be installed in a vehicle, and the terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention is not restricted to installation in the vehicle. A GPS antenna for receiving radio waves from the GPS satellites 101 , 102, and 103 is connected to the traffic information collecting terminal 200. The traffic information collecting terminal 200 generates position information targeting the traffic information based on the GPS data that are received from the GPS satellites at regular time intervals (e.g., 1 second). The path search system 300 generates information on the communication on the road for each section by collecting and processing the position information targeting the traffic information transmitted from the traffic information collecting terminal 200 of the moving object. Particularly, the path search system 300 generates per-section traffic information by mapping the collected position information on the stored electronic map.

The path search system 300 searches for an optimal path to the destination according to the position information and destination information input from the user terminal 400 by using the generated traffic information.

Here, the terminal 400 can be a terminal possessed by the user or installed in the vehicle.

A path search system 300 for collecting position information targeting traffic information from the terminals, generating traffic information based on the position information, and providing path information by using the traffic information will now be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a path search system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the path search system 300 includes a map database 340, a path searcher 360, a data collector 310, a data generator 320, a traffic information provider 330, and a research point storage unit 390. The path search system 300 further includes an information database 350 for storing the collected position information targeting the traffic information, and a traffic information database 370 for storing traffic information generated by processing the per-section communication information.

The data collector 310 collects the position information targeting the traffic information from the traffic information collecting terminals 200, and processes the same. For example, the data collector 310 eliminates errors caused by a communication problem or the driver's abnormal riding from the collected position information targeting traffic information.

The data generator 320 generates source data by mapping the collected position information on the digital electronic map of the collection information map DB 380. For this purpose, the data generator 320 stores a numerical map configured by nodes and links per traffic information collecting unit, matches the collected position information targeting traffic information on the numerical map, and generates per-section communication information based on the map-matched result. Here, the generated per-section communication information are raw source data, and the source data are processed into data that can be provided by the traffic information provider 330.

The traffic information generator 330 processes the source data that is per-section communication information into data that can be provided. For example, the traffic information generator 330 filters the source data that are inappropriate for information processing, and generates a 5-minute period link and per-rotation communication information based on the filtered source data. The traffic information generator 330 compensates the 5-minute communication information based on a correction value that is determined according to a specific rule, and provides pattern information to a specific section that lacks data. The traffic information generator 330 converts the processed data into a predetermined format as traffic information. The traffic information provider 330 provides the processed traffic information to the users, and stores it to the traffic information database 370 and manages it.

The map database 340 stores unit node map information that matches unit nodes and links of map data including a plurality of map nodes and a plurality of map links for linking the map nodes.

The research point information storage unit 390 stores per-road compulsive research points, which are generally generated according to the following references. The compulsive research point is determined as a predetermined point before branching into an IC or a JC on an expressway.

The compulsive research point is determined as a previous branch crossroad point of a heavy congestion generated link on an urban district road.

The compulsive research point is determined as a point before an expressway entrance point on a general national road, a point that is away from a huge crossroad, and a crossroad point with other major roads.

Here, the previous point generally represents a distance that is not influenced by a path guidance pronunciation point and is available to receive a changed path guidance service after research. The compulsive research point can be selected, changed, or deleted according to various methods if needed.

The path searcher 360 refers to traffic information and map information of the traffic information provider 330 to generate the optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal, and includes a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path to provide the same to the terminal. When the terminal requests research at the compulsive research point, the path searcher 360 generates the optimal path to the destination from the compulsive research point, includes a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path, and provides the same. In this instance, the compulsive research point is included in the generated path when there is a compulsive research point in the corresponding path, and it is not included therein if not.

Here, for better comprehension and ease of description, the constituent elements of the system 300 are divided according to their functions, and they can be divided into other groups based on functions.

A terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the terminal includes a GPS receiver 410, a controller 430, a communicator 450, a path information storage unit 460, a trace information storage unit 420, an input unit 470, and a display 480.

The GPS receiver 410 receives signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, evaluates the position of the GPS receiver 410, and outputs the position. The communicator 450 communicates with the terminal 400 through a wireless network so as to enable communication with the path information providing system 300. The path information storage unit 360 stores path information for showing the path to the destination on corresponding area map information, and here it includes compulsive research point information. In this instance, if necessary, the path information storage unit 360 can store the compulsive research point into a predetermined storage unit of the terminal, and determines whether the path information includes the compulsive research point to thus reconfigure the path information. In this instance, the load of the path search system can be reduced.

The input unit 370 receives the destination from the user, and can further receive various selections and provide corresponding services. The display 380 displays the optimal path to the destination on the map.

The trace information storage unit 420 stores the GPS trace of the movement by the terminal, and in detail, it transmits GPS trace information when attempting to transmit the position of the current terminal while storing about 40 to 60 past GPS traces. In this case, the trace information storage unit 420 can provide more accurate position information compared to the case of transmitting the current latitude and longitude on the coordinate system. The controller 330 transmits the position information and destination information to the path search system 300 through the communicator 450, displays the path information provided by the path search system 300 on the display 480, and requests research from the path search system 300 to determine whether the current terminal position is the compulsive research point.

A path search method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a path search method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. When receiving position information targeting traffic information from the traffic information collecting terminal 200, the data collector 310 of the system 300 converts the position information into a format to be processed, and transmits the same to the data generator 320. The data generator 320 searches the mapping point corresponding to position information on the unit node map information of the numerical map for collecting traffic information, maps the received position information targeting traffic information on the searched matching point, checks whether a moving object has passed through a predetermined section between unit nodes according to the corresponding map matching information, and calculates the distance and time spent for passing through section when it has passed through the section.

The data generator 320 generates section communication information including a passing speed by using the calculated distance and traffic time.

The traffic information provider 330 generates traffic information by using the generated per-section communication information, and stores the generated traffic information in the traffic information database 370 or provides it to the path searcher 360.

When the user inputs the destination to the input unit 470 so as to receive a path guidance service (S401), the controller 430 transmits current GPS trace information, terminal default information, and destination information to the path search system 300 through the communicator 450. Here, the GPS trace information includes position information following the current position and 49 past GPS traces and the GPS trace information is variable if needed, and the current position can be transmitted when there is no past GPS trace. The path searcher 360 refers to the traffic information to generate the optimal path to the destination from the position and destination information of the terminal 400.

The path searcher 360 refers to the research point storage unit 390 to determine whether a compulsive research point is positioned on the generated path. When the compulsive research point is positioned on the corresponding path, the path searcher 360 includes information of all compulsive research points included in the corresponding path in the path information, and transmits the generated path information to the terminal 400 (S403). The controller 430 of the terminal 400 stores the received path information in the path information storage unit 460, and displays it to the display 480 (S405). The user then drives while referring to it.

The controller 430 compares the current position and the compulsive research point included in the path information to determine whether the current position is the compulsive research point (S407). In this instance, if needed, the controller 430 can additionally receive the compulsive research point, or can store it in the terminal 400 and compare it with the current position of the terminal.

When the current position is the compulsive research point, the controller 430 requests research, and transmits GPS trace information (S409). The path searcher 340 refers to the current traffic information again to generate the optimal path to the destination from the position of the current terminal from the current position and destination information of the terminal 400, and refers to the research point storage unit 390 to determine whether a compulsive research point is positioned on the generated path. When the compulsive research point is positioned on the corresponding path, the path searcher 360 includes information on all the compulsive research points included in the corresponding path in the path information and transmits the generated path information to the terminal 400 (S409).

The controller 430 of the terminal 400 stores the received path information in the path information storage unit 460 (S411), and displays it to the display 480 (S413). The user then drives while referring to it.

Also, the controller 430 determines whether the destination has been reached (S415), the controller 430 terminates the operation when the destination has been reached, and it repeats the process starting from the step of S405 when the destination has not been reached.

FIG. 5 shows a case of a research process when a compulsive research point is included. Referring to FIG. 5, the path is changed by performing a research process at the compulsive research point. In this case, a shorter path is guided by applying the traffic congestion, and the driver can reach the destination quicker than by the prior art.

Accordingly, a research process is compulsively performed at the compulsive research point and accurate path information appropriate for the current traffic conditions is received to thus guide the driver.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is possible to generate position information targeting traffic information according to the embodiment of the present invention based on position data and traffic information that can be provided when the position data for respective positions of the moving objects are generated by using a method other than the GPS system.

The above-described embodiments can be realized through a program for realizing functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments or a recording medium for recording the program in addition to through the above-described device and/or method, which is easily realized by a person skilled in the art.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, a path search system using a compulsive research point for providing a path guidance service by applying a condition change to the condition in which the traffic state is substantially changed by compulsively performing research at a predetermined compulsive research point, a terminal thereof, and a control method thereof are provided.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A path search system for receiving destination information and position information from a terminal to perform a path search process, and providing path information to a destination to the terminal, the path search system comprising: a research point storage unit for storing position information of a point for generating a compulsive research; a map database for storing map information on a predetermined area; and a path searcher for referring to predetermined traffic information and the map information to generate an optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal, including a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path in the optimal path, and providing the same to the terminal.

2. The path search system of claim 1 , wherein the path searcher generates the optimal path to the destination from the compulsive research point, includes a compulsive research point corresponding to the generated path, and provides the same to the terminal when the terminal requests research from the compulsive research point.

3. The path search system of claim 2, further comprising: a data collector for receiving position information targeting traffic information from the outside; a data generator for generating communication information on a predetermined section from the position information targeting traffic information; and a traffic information provider for generating the traffic information by processing the communication information.

4. The path search system of any one of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein the compulsive research point is set to be a predetermined point before it is branched into an IC or a JC on an expressway.

5. The path search system of claim 4, wherein the compulsive research point is set to be a branch crossroad point of a heavy congestion generation link on an urban district road.

6. The path search system of claim 5, wherein the compulsive research point is determined as a point that back from the expressway entrance point on a general national road, a point that is away from a huge crossroad, and a crossroad point with other major roads.

7. A terminal for requesting a path search by transmitting destination information and position information to an external path search system, the terminal comprising: a path information storage unit for storing path information including a compulsive research point for generating compulsive research; a display for displaying the path; a GPS receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, operating a position of the GPS receiver, and outputting the position; a communicator for performing a communication function with the path search system; and a controller for displaying the path information to the display and requesting research from the path search system when the current position information output by the GPS receiver is the compulsive research point.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the terminal further includes a trace information storage unit for storing GPS trace information on the path on which the terminal moves, and the controller uses the GPS trace information as the position information.

9. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the terminal further includes an input unit for receiving a destination from the user.

10. A control method of a path search system for performing a path search by receiving destination information and position information from a terminal, and providing path information to the destination to the terminal, the control method comprising:

(a) receiving destination information and position information from the terminal; (b) generating an optimal path to the destination from the position of the terminal; and

(c) including a compulsive research point that is a point for compulsively requesting research in the generated path, and providing path information to the terminal.

11. The control method of claim 10, further including

(d) repeating (b) and (c) when receiving a research request from the terminal.

12. The control method of claim 11 , wherein the compulsive research point is set to be a predetermined point before it is branched into an IC or a JC on an expressway.

13. The control method of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the compulsive research point is set to be a previous branch crossroad point of a heavy congestion generation link on an urban district road.

14. The control method of claim 13, wherein the compulsive research point is determined as a point that is back from the expressway entrance point on the general national road, a point that is away from a huge crossroad, and a crossroad point with other major roads.

15. A control method of a terminal for requesting a path search by transmitting destination information and position information to an external path search system, the control method comprising: a GPS receiver receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and evaluating a position of the GPS receiver; transmitting destination information and current position information to the path search system according to a user's selection, and requesting a path search; receiving path information including a predetermined compulsive research point from the path search system; and requesting research from the path search system when the current position corresponds to the compulsive research point while moving on the path.

16. The control method of claim 15, wherein the position information is GPS trace information for the path on which the terminal moves.

17. In a recording medium for recording a control method of a terminal for requesting a path search by transmitting destination information and position information to an external path search system, a recording medium for storing a program comprising functions of: a GPS receiver receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and evaluating a position of the GPS receiver; transmitting destination information and current position information to the path search system according to a user's selection, and requesting a path search; receiving path information including a predetermined compulsive research point from the path search system; and requesting research from the path search system when the current position corresponds to the compulsive research point while moving on the path.