Abstract:
A driving route planning system includes a data processing center for collecting real-time traffic information and storing the collected real-time traffic information in a database. The data processing center includes a transmission interface for emitting the stored real-time traffic information receiving requests. The system further includes an electronic device including an electronic route guiding program for planning driving routes, a communication interface for connecting to the data processing center to receive the traffic information transmitted from the data processing center and emit real-time traffic information updating request to the data processing center, and a storage unit for receiving the real-time traffic information received by the communication interface. The electronic route guiding program, when planning a driving route, compares an overlap situation between the real-time traffic information stored in the storage unit and the planned driving route, and takes the overlap situation as a basis to re-plan the driving route.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to navigation techniques, and more particularly, to a driving route planning system and method applicable to an electronic device having an electronic navigation function.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Global positioning system (GPS) is a 24-hour passive wireless positioning system used for covering the whole earth. GPS is developed, controlled and managed by US Defense Department, for the use of a varieties of mobile entities, such as airplanes, aircrafts, battle ships, commercial ships, mobile cars and pedestrians, all of which have a GPS receiver for providing accurate information about position, velocity and time.  
         [0005]     In general, a modern car navigation equipment has a road positioning function and a road navigating function. The road positioning function makes the use of a global satellite positioning system and an inertial navigation system (including a location detector and a velocity detector) to calculate the location coordinate of a car having the car navigation equipment, and compare the location coordinate with road information stored in a road database, so as to calculate the road on which the car is driving and where the car is accurately.  
         [0006]     The road navigation function allows a user to set a position of departure and a destination, and adopts a preferred route selection algorithm to determine a “recommended driving route”, which is the best (or the shortest) route for the user to drive the car from the position of departure to the destination. The road navigation function further records a driving route on which the car has driven and suggests the user whether or not to make a turn when the car reaches a crossroad in accordance with the “recommended driving route” and the road positioning function. Moreover, the road navigation function keeps to monitor whether the car is on the “recommended driving route” or not, and determines another “recommended driving route” to the destination from a current position where the car is staying currently in accordance with the current position and a current driving direction in which the car is heading if the car is monitored not on the “recommended driving route”.  
         [0007]     How fast can the user arrive to the destination if driving the car along the “recommended driving route” is influenced by varieties factors, such as a road congestion factor, a traffic control/road construction factor, and a road interruption factor.  
         [0008]     The road congestion factor can be categorized into an expected part and an unexpected part. For example, the expected part means that a road congestion happens in a certain area such as a highway during a certain period such as a long weekend, and the unexpected part means another road congestion resulted from a car accident.  
         [0009]     The traffic control/road construction factor is usually followed with a predetermined plan, so a road under the predetermined plan is temporarily blocked or has fewer open lanes within a predetermined period.  
         [0010]     The road interruption factor means that a road is interrupted due to an act of Providence such as an earthquake, which may interrupt a road completely.  
         [0011]     The above three factors greatly reduce the velocity at which the user is allowed to drive the car, or even traps the user from driving the car to anywhere. However, the above-mentioned car navigation equipment, when determining the “recommended driving route”, takes only a shortest route between the position of departure and the destination into consideration, without further considering whether any road in the “recommended driving route” is blocked or not. In result, the user still has to spend much time to arrive the destination, even though the car navigation equipment has determined a “shortest” “recommended driving route”, which includes the blocked road.  
         [0012]     Therefore, how to develop a driving route planning system capable of acquiring traffic information timely and determining and adjusting a recommended driving route in accordance the traffic information has becoming one of the most important errands in the art.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     In views of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a driving route planning system and method for adjusting a driving route at any time when receiving real-time traffic information, to reduce time to driving a car. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a driving route planning system and method for a user to avoid congested roads and improve a traffic congested situation by adjusting a driving route.  
         [0014]     To achieve the above-mentioned and other objectives, a driving route planning system and method is provided according to the present invention. The driving route planning system includes a data processing center for collecting real-time traffic information and storing the collected real-time traffic information in a database. The data processing center includes a transmission interface for emitting the stored real-time traffic information receiving requests. The driving route planning system further includes an electronic device including an electronic route guiding program for planning driving routes, a communication interface for connecting to the data processing center to receive the traffic information transmitted from the data processing center and emit real-time traffic information updating request to the data processing center, and a storage unit for receiving the real-time traffic information received by the communication interface. The electronic route guiding program, when planning a driving route, compares an overlap situation between the real-time traffic information stored in the storage unit and the planned driving route, and takes the overlap situation as a basis to re-plan the driving route.  
         [0015]     According to one embodiment, that the transmission interface of the data processing center receives the request means that the communication interface of the electronic device emits traffic information updating request actively, enabling the data processing center to transmit the traffic information stored in the database via the transmission interface to the electronic device. According to another embodiment, that the transmission interface of the data processing center emits the traffic information stored in the database means that the data processing center emits real-time traffic information actively via the transmission interface to the electronic device.  
         [0016]     The driving route planning method is applied to an electronic device having an electronic route guiding program, for enabling the electronic device to have a driving route planning function. The method includes establishing a data processing center for collecting real-time traffic information and storing the collected real-time traffic information in a database; enabling the electronic device to execute the electronic route guiding program to plan a driving route; and enabling the electronic device to acquire the real-time traffic information stored in the database of the data processing center and compare an overlap situation between the acquired real-time traffic information and a planned driving route and take the overlap situation as a basis to re-plan the traffic route.  
         [0017]     According to one embodiment, before acquiring the real-time traffic information stored in the database of the data processing center, the electronic device is enabled to emit traffic information updating requests to enable the data processing center to transmit the traffic information stored in the database to the electronic device. According to another embodiment, that the transmission interface of the data processing center emits the traffic information stored in the database means that the data processing center emits real-time traffic information actively via the transmission interface to the electronic device.  
         [0018]     The present invention makes the use of a data processing center to collect real-time traffic information. Therefore, an electronic navigation device can acquire corresponding traffic information happening at any time, and adjust a driving route accordingly, and a user can avoid congested route and saves driving time. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a driving route planning system according to the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart of a real-time traffic information collecting process of a driving route planning method according to the present invention; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a driving route planning process of the driving route planning method according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]     The following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention, these and other advantages and effects can be apparently understood by those in the art after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present invention can also be performed or applied by other different embodiments. The details of the specification may be on the basis of different points and applications, and numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a driving route planning system  1  of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention. The driving route planning system  1  comprises a data processing center  100  and at least an electronic device  200 . Only one electronic device  200  is introduced herewith as an example to demonstrate the driving route planning system  1 . Another driving route planning system of the present invention can comprise more than one electronic device  200 . According to the preferred embodiment, the electronic device  200  is a personal digital assistant (PDA) having a global positioning system (GPS) function, a cellular phone, a smart cellular phone, a GPS system for cars, or a notebook computer. The data processing center  100  is used for collecting and storing real-time traffic information. According to the preferred embodiment, the data processing center  100  is a server. The data processing center  100  comprises a collecting module  110 , a transforming module  120 , a database  130  and a transmission interface  140 .  
         [0025]     The collecting module  110  is used for collecting the real-time traffic information. According to the preferred embodiment, the collecting module  110  collects the real-time traffic information by the transmittance of data and traffic reports by drivers. According to the preferred embodiment, the collected real-time traffic information mean abrupt or temporarily adjusted real-time traffic information.  
         [0026]     The transforming module  120  is used for transforming the real-time traffic information collected by the collecting module  110  into transformed data having certain formats recognizable by the driving route planning system  1 , and for storing the transformed data into the database  130 . According to the preferred embodiment, the real-time traffic information stored in the database  130  comprise longitude and latitude data where traffic accidents happen and traffic descriptions corresponding to the traffic accidents. The traffic descriptions comprise varieties of specific descriptions, such as descriptions of traffic congestion and traffic control, which are stored in the database  130  in the form of different codes. For example, a code “1” represents “traffic congestion”, and another code “2” represents “traffic control”.  
         [0027]     The transmission interface  140  is used for transmitting the real-time traffic information stored in the database  130  to the electronic device  200 .  
         [0028]     The electronic device  200  comprises at least a processing unit  210 , an electronic route guiding program  220 , a communication interface  230 , an input unit  240 , a storage unit  250 , a GPS MODULE  260  and a display unit  270 . Note that the electronic device  200  further comprises other components, which are omitted herewith for simplicity, and only the components directly relating to the present invention are shown in  FIG. 1 . The electronic device  200  has a GPS navigation function through the installation of the electronic route guiding program  220  and the GPS MODULE  260 . The GPS MODULE  260  can be selectively embedded in or connected externally (wirelessly or in wired manner) to the electronic device  200 . The electronic route guiding program  220  is stored in a memory (not shown) of the electronic device  200 . By controlling the processing unit  210  to execute the electronic route guiding program  220 , the electronic device  200  can provide positioning and driving route planning processes. The GPS MODULE  260  is used for processing received signals emitted from a satellite  2 ′, and transmitting a positioning result obtained after execution of the positioning process to the processing unit  210 . Then the processing unit  210 , in accordance with the positioning results, enables the electronic route guiding program  220  to read an electronic map corresponding to the positioning result from an electronic map database  221 , and controls the display unit  270  to display the electronic map. Thus, a user of the electronic device  200  knows where he is now. Before the electronic route guiding program  220  actuates a driving route planning function, the user is allowed to input the position of departure and destination through the use of the input unit  240  (a device such as a touch panel, key buttons and a keyboard for the user to input control signals) During an input process, the electronic route guiding program  220  provides a driving route planning input table (not shown), which is controlled by the processing unit  210  and displayed on the display unit  270 , for the user to input the control signals easily. After the control signals are input, the electronic route guiding program  220  plans a preferred driving route in accordance with input data input by the user and geographic information stored in the electronic map database  221 , and displays the preferred driving route on the display unit  270 , for the user&#39;s reference. Since GPS&#39;s applying to an electronic device, the processing unit&#39;s controlling the electronic device, and the electronic route guiding program are prior arts, further descriptions are hereby omitted. Only components related to the present invention are described in the following paragraphs.  
         [0029]     The driving route planning function provided by the electronic route guiding program  220  disclosed by the present invention further has a real-time traffic information updating process, which means that the processing unit  210  enables the communication interface  230  to transmit a traffic information updating request to the data processing center  100  in response to the processing unit&#39;s  210  determining that the input unit  240  has received an real-time traffic information updating request, to enable the data processing center  100  to know the request and transmit the real-time traffic information stored in the database via the transmission interface  140  to the electronic device  200 . After received by the communication interface  230 , the received real-time traffic information will be stored in the storage unit  250 . Then the processing unit  260  enables the electronic route guiding program  220  to check whether the real-time traffic information is located in the driving route in accordance with the positioning result emitted from the GPS MODULE  260 , the real-time traffic information stored in the storage unit  250 , the destination input previously and the geographic information stored in the electronic map database  221 , so as to plan a preferred driving route and display the preferred driving route on the display unit  270           . Therefore, any route related to traffic accidents, traffic congestion or traffic control are all excluded from the planned driving route, and the user can arrive to the destination as early as possible.  
         [0030]     Note that an updating mechanism to update real-time traffic information of the electronic device  200  of the driving route planning system  1  of the present invention further comprises, in addition to the electric device&#39;s  200  actively receiving real-time traffic information, the data processing center&#39;s  100  actively transmitting traffic accidents, traffic congestion and traffic controls via the transmission interface  140  to the electronic device  200  in varieties of forms such as a short message service (SMS) or a broadcast. Moreover, the updating mechanism can adopt Internet, wireless application protocol (WAP), global radio packet service (GPRS), WiFi, cellular digital packet data(CDPD) and unstructured supplementary service data (US SD) as a connection mechanism, depending on communication protocols adopted by the communication interface  230  of the electronic device  200  and the transmission interface  140  of the data processing center  100 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart a real-time traffic information collecting process of a driving route planning method according to the present invention. According to the embodiment, a data processing center  100  is established for collecting real-time traffic information continuously.  
         [0032]     The process starts in step S 210 . In step S 210 , the process enables the data process center  100  to receive traffic information just happening through the use of upload data by users and reports concerning traffic information made by media such as a radio station. The process proceeds to step S 220 .  
         [0033]     In step S 220 , the process enables the data processing center  100  to transform the received traffic information to data having a certain format recognizable by the driving route planning system  1 . According to the embodiment, a position where a traffic accident happens is transformed into longitude and latitude information, and traffic descriptions corresponding to the traffic accident are transformed into a code. The process proceeds to step S 230 .  
         [0034]     In step S 230 , the data processing center  100  stores the longitude and latitude information and the code in the database  130 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a driving route planning process of the driving route planning method according to the present invention. According to the embodiment, the driving route planning method is applied to the electronic device  200 , which comprises the electronic route guiding program  220 .  
         [0036]     The process starts in step S 310 . In step S 310 , the process enables the electronic device  200  to execute the electronic route guiding program  220  to plan a driving route. According to the embodiment, when a user actuates a driving route planning function of the electronic device  200 , the electronic route guiding program  220 , which is embedded in the electronic device  200 , takes a reference of corresponding data provided by the electronic map database  221 , calculates and plans a driving route, and displays the driving route on the display unit  270 , for the user&#39;s reference. The process proceeds to step S 330 .  
         [0037]     In step S 330 , the process enables the display unit  270  of the electronic device  1  to display remind messages “whether or not to update traffic information”, and allows a user to set with the input unit  240 . If data input by the user indicate “to update traffic information”, the process enables the communication interface  230  of the electronic device  200  to receive the real-time traffic information collected by the data processing center  100 , and store the received traffic information in the storage unit  250 . The process then proceeds to step S 340 ; On the contrary, if the data input by the user indicate “not to update traffic information”, the driving route planning process is ended.  
         [0038]     In step S 340 , the process enables the electronic device  200  to compare the received real-time traffic information with a driving route planned in step S 310 , to determine whether the real-time traffic information is in the planned driving route. According to the embodiment, the electronic device  200  determines whether the real-time traffic information comprise any traffic accident, traffic congestion or traffic control, and whether the location is overlapped with the planned driving route. If the electronic device  200  determines that the location is not overlapped with the planned driving route, the user can drive along the driving route planned previously, or else the process proceeds to step S 350 .  
         [0039]     In step S 350 , the process enables the display unit  270  of the electronic device  200  to display a remind message for the user to determine whether to re-plan the driving route. If the user chooses to re-plan the driving route, the process returns to step S 310 , or else the driving route planning process is ended.  
         [0040]     Note that a user, when driving a car, is allowed to connect to the data processing center  100  at any time to download real-time traffic information and inspect whether the real-time traffic information relates to remaining routes in the planned driving route, so as to adjust the planned driving route in time. Moreover, the data processing center  100  can transmit real-time traffic information to the electronic device  200  actively.  
         [0041]     According to the paragraphs described previously, the present invention makes the use of a data processing center to collect real-time traffic information. Therefore, an electronic navigation device can acquire corresponding traffic information happening at any time, and adjust a driving route accordingly, and a user can avoid congested route and saves driving time.  
         [0042]     The foregoing descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only illustrated to disclose the features and functions of the present invention and not restrictive of the scope of the present invention. It should be understood to those in the art that all modifications and variations according to the spirit and principle in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the appended claims.