Patent ID: 7349802
Filing Date: 2008-03-25
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for detecting a vehicle location in a navigation system, comprising: a GPS receiver for receiving a navigation message transmitted by a GPS satellite; a map data storage unit for storing a digital map data therein; a sensor unit for detecting a travel direction and a traveled distance of a vehicle and lateral and longitudinal inclinations of a road on which the vehicle travels; a control unit for comparing the value of DOP (Dilution of Precision) of the navigation message received by the GPS receiver with a predetermined threshold, setting reference vehicle location information from vehicle location information detected using the navigation message if the value of DOP is less than the predetermined threshold, or determining the reference vehicle location information by storing vehicle location information map-matched to the digital map data when the just previous value of DOP was less than the predetermined threshold, by accumulating detection signals from the sensor unit, and by using the stored vehicle location information and the accumulated detection signals from the sensor unit if the value of DOP is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, estimating the vehicle location using the determined reference vehicle location information and the detection signals from the sensor unit, and map-matching the estimated vehicle location to the digital map data stored in the map data storage unit; and a display unit for displaying the digital map data and vehicle location map-matched by the control unit on a screen thereof.