Abstract:
A safety navigation system applying wireless communication technology and a method therefor are provided, wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed to learn about road sections that are inconvenient for driving or cannot be passed through, so as to decelerate when driving on the road section or avoid the road section altogether when planning routes, thereby ensuring a driver&#39;s safety.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 095109356 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Mar. 17, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a navigation system and method therefor, and more particularly to a safety navigation system and method therefor wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed, thereby achieving the purpose of safe navigation. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    At present, an in-vehicle navigation system positions a vehicle and shows its location on a map mainly according to information received by a GPS receiver or other device, plans the optimal path to the destination according to the user&#39;s requirements, displays the position of the vehicle by way of graphic representation, and sends guide instructions to the user in a timely way by voice or through graphics according to the generated route and the position of the vehicle. However, in the event of road blockage, road construction, traffic control, or poor weather, the information cannot be reflected in the navigation system in time, and so the in-vehicle navigation system cannot always provide the best navigation service to the user. As such, it is necessary to send real-time traffic information to vehicles traveling on the road, thereby allowing the in-vehicle navigation system to provide a real-time dynamic route planning service. 
         [0006]    Additionally, a radio data system (RDS) is used to provide real-time road information. The RDS is developed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and is used to provide voice and data communication through the FM wave band without establishing a particular connection channel. After the RDS medium appeared, the Traffic Management Center (TMC) was developed to send precise real-time road information via the RDS. Currently, TMC is widely used in commercial applications in Europe and the United States. However, even though TMC provides real-time road information, a driver unfamiliar with local driving routes still cannot easily change his/her route, so TMC does not fully achieve its potential. 
         [0007]    Therefore, the in-vehicle navigation system and TMC must be used simultaneously in order to fully achieve the application efficacy. It can be appreciated that when TMC is integrated with the in-vehicle navigation system, the navigation system may select other driving routes according to the road information provided by TMC, enabling the driver to keep away from road sections where an accident or traffic block has occurred. However, the application solution of integrating the in-vehicle navigation system and TMC hasn&#39;t appeared yet, thus, even though the driver uses these two systems simultaneously, he/she must still manually enter the road information provided by TMC and request the navigation system to re-plan the route, which is quite inconvenient while driving. 
         [0008]    Additionally, although TMC can be used to obtain real-time road information, it is limited to this only. Certain road sections where traffic problems often occur, such as traffic jams, traffic accidents, or dense fog, are not avoided from the very beginning of route planning, so the driver may easily suffer setbacks when driving on those road sections where problems often occur. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    According to one aspect of the invention, a system is provided for safety navigation. The system includes a data signal receiving module, a data signal transfer module, a database, a specific road section determination module, a route planning module, and a suggestion module. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for safety navigation. The method includes the following steps: receiving a data signal through wireless communication; analyzing the data signal to obtain road information and then storing the road information in the database; reading all the road information stored in the database and defining a specific road section via statistical analysis; re-planning a route going through or not going through the specific road section; and displaying the re-planned route. 
         [0011]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety navigation system and a method therefor, wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed, so as to be able to decelerate when encountering road sections that are inconvenient for driving or to avoid road sections that are blocked. Through the safety navigation system and method therefor in the present invention, the road sections that are inconvenient for driving or are blocked are learned about while driving, such that when planning routes, the speed is reduced for road sections that are inconvenient for driving and road sections that are blocked are avoided when planning the route, thereby ensuring a driver&#39;s safety. 
         [0012]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The present invention will become fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, which thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is an architectural view of the safety navigation system and the method therefor according to present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart of the navigation method of the safety navigation system and the method therefor according to present invention; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 3   a ,  3   b , and  3   c  are schematic views of a route planned by the navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3   d  is a traffic event list according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are TMC data formats according to the embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is an SMS data format according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    The object of the present invention is achieved through two parts: a system and a method. Firstly,  FIG. 1  shows a system architectural view of a safety navigation system and a method therefor, and the system operation of the present invention is illustrated with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system of the present invention comprises a data signal receiving module  1   10 , a data signal transfer module  120 , a database  130 , a specific road section determination module  140 , a route planning module  150 , and a suggestion module  160 . The data signal receiving module  110  is responsible for receiving a data signal transmitted by wireless communication technology. The data signal transfer module  120  is responsible for analyzing the data signal received by the data signal receiving module  110  to obtain the road information recorded therein, wherein the road information comprises at least a traffic event and a road section where the traffic event has occurred, and then the road information is stored into the database  130 . The database  130  is responsible for storing the road information including the traffic event and the road section where the traffic event occurs. After the road information analyzed by the data signal transfer module  120  is stored in the database  130 , the specific road section determination module  140  is responsible for reading all road information stored in the database  130 , statistically analyzing all the road information, determining the specific road sections where the various traffic events occur, classifying the specific road sections into at least the road sections that are inconvenient for driving and the road sections that cannot be passed through, and enabling the route planning module  150 . The route planning module  150  is responsible for re-planning a route passing or not passing through each specific road section according to the specific road sections determined by the specific road section module  140  and submitting the planned route to the suggestion module  160  to display the route planning. The suggestion module  160  is responsible for displaying the route planned by the route planning module  150 , wherein the so-called road sections that are inconvenient for driving include the road section under such conditions as, for example, heavy rain, snow, dense fog, more than a predetermined number of traffic accidents, more than a specific number of casualties in traffic accidents, road construction, traffic lane reduction, constant traffic jams, etc. 
         [0022]    Please refer to  FIG. 2  of a flow chart of the safety navigation system and the method therefor according to present invention. When the driver uses the navigation device  100  with the system of the present invention, firstly, the data signal receiving module  110  receives a data signal transmitted by a radio signal transmitting station  190  through radio communication (Step  210 ). When the data signal receiving module  110  receives the data signal, the data signal transfer module  120  analyzes the data signal to obtain road information including the traffic event and the road section where the traffic event has occurred (Step  220 ). After being analyzed, the road information is stored in the database  130  (Step  230 ). Then, the specific road section determination module  140  reads all the road information stored in the database  130 , statistically analyzes all the road information according to predetermined criteria, and then determines and classifies the road section where the traffic event has occurred into either a road section that is inconvenient for driving or a road section that cannot be passed through (Step  240 ). Subsequently, the route planning module  150  re-plans a route passing or not passing through each specific road section according to the specific road sections determined by the specific road section determination module  140  (Step  250 ), and the suggestion module  160  display the re-planned route (Step  260 ). 
         [0023]    Next, the operation system and method of the present invention are illustrated through an embodiment using TMC to obtain real-time road information. As shown in  FIG. 3   a , after the driver activates the navigation system of the present invention, the system plans a route  311  displayed on the navigation map  310  and provides it to the driver as a reference. Meanwhile, the system of the present invention begins receiving the data signal transmitted through TMC, wherein the format of the data signal transmitted through TMC is as shown in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b . After being received, the first data signal  400  is analyzed, and divided into four blocks: a first block  410 , a second block  420 , a third block  430 , and a fourth block  440 . According to the initial definition of the data signal transmitted by TMC, it is ensured that the third block  430  contains an event information code  434  and the fourth block contains a required road section information code  441 . After the data signal has been analyzed, the event information code  434  and the road section information code  441  of the data signal are obtained. Based upon a look-up table, it can be known that the event information code  434  indicates a traffic accident, and the road section information code  441  indicates that the road section where the event has occurred is the first road section  321  ahead. Thus, the event of a traffic accident and the road section where the traffic accident occurs are stored in the database, and a first symbol  331  is displayed at the first road section  321  to indicate that the traffic event has occurred there. Then, all the data stored in the database is read and statistically analyzed, and it can be known that traffic events have occurred on the adjacent second road section  322  from a traffic even list  350 , so the second road section  322  is determined to be a specific road section. Since a traffic accident has occurred on the second road section  322 , as shown in  FIG. 3d , the second road section  322  is classified as a road section that is inconvenient for driving according to the predetermined criterion of the present invention. Further, the traffic event that occurred on the first road section  321  is an accident, such that the first road section  321  cannot be passed through by any vehicle, and thus, the second road section  322  is selected as an optimal route. Furthermore, if the second road section  322  where a traffic accident has occurred is classified as the road section that cannot be passed through according to the predetermined criterion of the present invention, the third road section  323  is selected as the final planned route  312 , and the first symbol  331  and the second symbol  332  respectively appear on the first road section  321  and the second road section  322  to suggest the driver not to travel there, as shown in  FIG. 3   b.    
         [0024]    Besides the aforementioned functions of the present invention, the database  130  also stores the occurrence time of each road event or the speed limit of the specific road section in advance. The specific road section determination module  140  is further used to change the criterion for determining a specific road section, so as to filter and select the read road information, and then statistically analyze the filtered road information. The route planning module  150  is further responsible for reducing the speed limit for the road section that is inconvenient for driving (Step  251 ). Therefore, the present invention further comprises the follow steps. In Step  230 , the database  130  stores the road information together with the occurrence time of a traffic event. If the traffic event has an end time, the database  130  also stores the end time in the road information. In Step  240 , the criterion for the specific road section determination module  140  to determine a specific road section is defined as follows: whether or not a traffic event has occurred on the road section, the number of traffic events that have occurred on the road section, the severity level of the traffic event that have occurred on the road section, the occurrence time or the end time of the road events stored in the database  130 , etc, and the route is re-planned after statistically analyzing the road information filtered according to the aforementioned criterion. If the re-planned route involves a road section inconvenient for driving, the speed limit for that specific road section is reduced. 
         [0025]    Next, the additional operation system and method of the present invention are also illustrated through the above-mentioned embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 3   c , the road information of the second road section  322  received and analyzed in the present invention is heavy rain. Because the heavy rain reduces the visual field for driving, the present invention classifies the second road section  322  as a road section inconvenient for driving and a reducing maximum speed limit symbol  341  is displayed for requesting the driver to reduce the speed limit at the second road section  322  from the predetermined 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr. When the driver drives the car at a speed of more than 40 km/hr, the present invention will inform the driver that the speed limit has been exceeded. Further, if the criterion for determining a road section to be a specific road section is that the total number of traffic events is  20 , the planned route  313  passes through the adjacent second road section  322 . However, if the criterion for determining a road section to be a specific road section is changed so that the total number of traffic events is 5, as shown in  FIG. 3   d , since the total number of traffic events that have occurred on the second road section  322  is more than 5, the present invention determines and classifies the second road section  322  as the road section inconvenient for driving. Therefore, the route  313  planned by the present invention passes through the second road section  322 , as shown in  FIG. 3   c , and the maximum speed limit for the second road section  322  is reduced from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr, and the driver is informed of this. If the criterion for determining the specific road section is set to be the number of traffic accidents, since the number of traffic accidents that have occurred on the second road section  322  adjacent to the first road section  321  is less than  5 , the route  313  planned by the present invention still passes through the second road section  322 , as shown in  FIG. 3   d.    
         [0026]    If the driver cancels the setting of the accumulated number of traffic events and sets it instead to determine a specific road section according to traffic accidents or traffic jams, as shown in  FIG. 3   d , the present invention classifies the second road section  322  as a road section that cannot be passed through, because traffic accidents or traffic jams have occurred there. Therefore, the planned route  313  passes through the third road section  323 , instead of the second road section  322 . If the driver does not adjust the criterion of the total number of traffic events that have occurred on the specific road section, but changes the occurrence time to be within the latest year, the planned path still passes through the second road section  322  as shown in  FIG. 3   c , because the occurrence time for all of the traffic events occurred there are all over one year, as shown in  FIG. 3d . If today is Aug. 25, 2004 then the planned route  313  can pass through the second road section  322  because the end time of a “road blockage” traffic event  354  is passed and the total number of traffic events occurred on the second road section  322  is less than 5 times. 
         [0027]    The determination criterion classifies traffic events into four levels, namely, traffic jams, dense fog, traffic accidents, and fatal traffic accidents. If a traffic event occurs on the first road section  321  resulting in the road&#39;s being closed and the severity thereof is determined to be the second level according to the determination criterion, i.e., the road section with dense fog or where a traffic accident has occurred, as shown in  FIG. 3   b . In addition, three traffic accidents have occurred on the second road section  322 , thus, the route planned by the present invention passes through the third road section  323  instead of the second road section  322 . If the severity level is changed to a fatal traffic accident, the route planned by the present invention passes through the second road section  322 , as shown in  FIG. 3   c , because no traffic accident with death has ever occurred on the second road section  322 . 
         [0028]    Besides TMC, Global Packet Radio System (GPRS), or Short Messaging Service (SMS), other radio communication technologies may also be used to transmit road information in the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 5 . Taking SMS as an example, a second data message  500  transmitted by SMS comprises a traffic event information code  511  and a road section information code  512  where the traffic event has occurred. After the present invention receives and analyzes the second data message  500 , the traffic event code  511  and the road section information code  512  are converted into traffic events that have occurred and the road section where the traffic events have occurred according to the look-up table, and then provided to the navigation system to plan a safe route through the same method as that mentioned above. 
         [0029]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.