Patent · US Expired

Vehicle navigation apparatus employing node selection, comparison and elimination techniques

US5109344A · kind A · utility

46Cited by
10References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 25, 1989
Grant dateApr 28, 1992
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 25, 2009

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01C21/30
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A vehicle navigation apparatus which selects possible target nodes stored in memory based on the present position of the vehicle and then eliminates those nodes not possible to reach after comparing the bearing from the present position of the vehicle to each selected node with the present bearing of the vehicle. The navigation apparatus determines that the vehicle is traveling on a road-not-in-memory when the number of possible nodes is reduced to zero. The navigation apparatus repeatedly searches, after each predetermined travel distance, for possible nodes within a progressively widening search circle, the radius of which is related to the distance traveled. When a target is found which is stored in memory the apparatus determines that the vehicle has returned to travel on a road stored in memory.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.