EP2300778A1

EP2300778A1 - Method for operating a navigation apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP2300778A1
Application number: EP09775938A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Uwe Schindler; Christian Hassel
Original assignee: Navigon AG
Current assignee: Garmin Switzerland GmbH
Priority date: 2008-07-11
Filing date: 2009-07-07
Publication date: 2011-03-30
Also published as: WO2010003400A1; DE102008032637A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation apparatus, comprising – an input device where user commands and/or location information, particularly departure points and/or destination points, can be input, - a road system database, in which the road system of a defined geographical region is described, wherein the road system database enables direct or indirect access to parking space information for the direct or indirect description of parking possibilities, - a route calculation unit for calculating a planned route, while taking the location information and road system database into consideration, wherein the route leads from the departure point to the destination point, - a position determination unit, which calculates a current location to be indicated and/or a direction of movement to be indicated, - an output device, where data for the user can be output, wherein a) after inputting the destination point, the parking space information in the road system database is searched, wherein at least one parking possibility is ascertained in the vicinity of the destination point, b) calculating a modified route, which leads from the departure point or from the present position to the parking possibility in the vicinity of the destination point, c) outputting maneuvering instructions for guiding the user along the modified route to the parking possibility in the vicinity of the destination point.

Description

Method for operating a navigation device

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation device according to the preamble of claim 1.

Known navigation devices, which may be, for example, permanently installed or mobile navigation devices or even telephones with suitable navigation software, are used to guide the user from a starting point to a destination point. The basis of the route calculation is a road network database in which the road network of a specific geographical area, for example Germany, is stored in machine-readable form. In addition, this road network database contains parking space data for direct or indirect description of parking facilities. This parking lot data may be, for example, the location of parking lots or the entrances of parking garages.

In the known navigation devices, the parking space search or parking lot selection after reaching a certain destination, such as a trade fair or a shopping center, is not satisfactory. Thus, the user is often forced to reach his destination manually by appropriate input commands to the navigation system Parking options to search and then navigate. This means, in other words, that the user must perform a second goal search for suitable parking after reaching his destination, which can lead to the fact that he has to move away again after detection of a suitable parking possibility of his actual destination and the appropriate parking must approach.

Based on this prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a new method for operating a navigation device, is calculated by entering a destination an optimal approach to a Fahrzeugabstellmöglichkeit, at the same time the input effort for the user is minimal.

This object is achieved by a method according to the teaching of claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

According to the method according to the invention, after entering the destination point, the road network database is searched for parking possibilities in the vicinity of the destination point and at least one such parking facility is detected. If, for example, a destination is entered as the destination, the navigation device automatically searches for a parking space near the trade fair location so that the user can approach this parking space directly.

After at least one parking facility has been found near the destination point, a modified route is calculated that leads from the start point or from the current position of the user to this parking location in the vicinity of the destination point. Subsequently, maneuvering instructions are generated and output at the output device to guide the user along the modified route to the parking facility near the destination point. As a result, so is by ensures that the user is no longer led directly to his destination, but to a parking space near the destination. Because the direct approach of the destination is often not useful, namely, if a parking of the vehicle at the destination itself is not possible.

In order to be able to determine the parking possibilities in the vicinity of a destination in a simple manner, a circle with a predetermined diameter can be placed around the destination point. Subsequently, all parking options are selected from the road network database, which are within this radius. It makes sense in many cases, if the

Diameter of the circumference can be configured by the user.

Of course, there may be situations of use in which the user wants to approach the destination directly, without taking into account the parking possibilities in the area of the destination. Will the

For example, users settle or pick up a passenger at the destination point, a parking of the vehicle is not necessary at all. In order to be able to map these different situations of use, it is particularly advantageous if a confirmation menu is displayed on the navigation device after at least one parking option has been detected in the vicinity of the destination point. In this confirmation menu, the user can see the parking space for selection. Only then, when the user confirms this parking option by selection, the modified route to the parking facility is calculated and the corresponding maneuvering instructions for guiding the user are output along the modified route.

At what time you searched for the parking spaces near the destination or the confirmation menu is displayed, is basically arbitrary. According to a first variant of the method, the determination of the parking possibility or the display of the confirmation menu takes place immediately after the input of the destination, so that the driver can be informed in particular after departure and the corresponding input of the destination via the modified route.

Alternatively to the determination of the parking possibility or for the display of the confirmation menu immediately after the input of the destination point, these actions can also initially be postponed until the user has approached the destination point up to a predetermined distance. For example, if the distance between the user's current location and the destination point is only 5 kilometers, the search for parking near the destination or the confirmation menu display may be automatically triggered to allow the driver to select appropriate parking.

There are a variety of options for setting up the confirmation menu. According to a preferred variant, the parking option closest to the destination point and a list of several parking options in the vicinity of the destination point are displayed for selection by the user in the confirmation menu as an alternative to one another. As a result, the user has the option of either directly selecting the closest possible parking location to the destination point or, alternatively, of displaying a list of several parking spaces in the vicinity of the destination point. In this list, the user can then specify and select the desired parking space.

To determine the distance between the current position and the destination point, either the airline distance or the route distance along the modified route can be determined.

For the selection of suitable parking facilities from the road network database corresponding parking space data are necessary. This parking space data may preferably be stored as POI data (point of interest) in the road network database. In known road network databases, for example, parking lots and parking garages are identified by corresponding POI data records. As an alternative to the evaluation of POI data, the parking space data may also be stored in the road network database as street elements which have a parking lot attribute.

According to an expanded variant of the method, the parking space data for the description of parking facilities are stored on a data server which is located outside the actual navigation device. From this data server, the parking space data can then be downloaded via a wireless data connection, for example by mobile phone.

The storage and forwarding of the parking space data from a data server makes it in particular also easily possible to transfer the availability of the parking space capacity at the corresponding parking facility in each case currently in the navigation device. In this way, the user can be informed in each case currently, whether at the corresponding parking still parking spaces are currently available.

As far as the availability of parking spaces is transferred to the various parking facilities, those parking facilities for which availability data are available should preferably be issued for selection, as these parking facilities currently ensure that there are parking spaces at all.

In order to be able to lead the user as easy and comfortable as possible to his actual destination after reaching the parking facility near the destination point, it is particularly advantageous if the remaining route from the parking facility to the destination point is switched to a second operating mode, in particular to pedestrian navigation becomes.

For certain destinations, the calculation of a modified route to a parking facility from the outset makes little sense. This is the case, for example, if a parking space or a car park or a service area has been entered as destination. Also with target point In forest areas or in rural areas, eg in villages, calculating a modified route to a parking space near the destination point does not make sense. In order to avoid unnecessary calculations, it is therefore provided according to a preferred variant of the method that the category of the destination point is checked before the modified route is calculated. Depending on the identified destination point category, in particular if a parking lot POI or a parking garage POI or a service area POI is identified as destination, then the calculation of the modified route can be suppressed.

Various aspects of the invention are illustrated schematically in the drawings and are explained below by way of example.

Show it:

1 shows the selection menu of a navigation device for specifying a destination point;

2 shows the navigation device according to FIG. 1 after input of the destination point and the subsequent insertion of a confirmation menu for parking space search;

3 shows a navigation device with a second variant of a confirmation menu;

4 shows a submenu of the navigation device after selecting an option of the confirmation menu according to FIG. 3.

1 and 2, the user interface of a navigation device on which the method according to the invention is carried out is illustrated in an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a destination is first input by the user and selected on the display 1. In the example shown, this is a POI, namely the Hanover Fair. By Clicking the selection button 2 triggers the navigation from the current position to the destination point.

Preferably, it is now checked at this time whether parking facilities in a certain predefined radius / area are available for the given destination point. The test can take place at any time after entering the navigation destination. Thus, it is often advantageous if initially the user is guided on a highway and then continued only with the further embodiment of the method according to the invention.

Once the user has reached the highway, the user may be presented with a confirmation menu as shown in FIG.

The confirmation menu shown in Fig. 2 asks the user whether or not he wants to be guided to a parking lot near the destination. In particular, this request can also be made dependent on the category of the destination POI. The user is presented with a selection in a window 3 and the question text 4 is displayed as to whether he wants to be guided to a parking space or not. By clicking on the keys 5 (Yes key) or 6 (No key), the user can make his selection. It is advantageous if the window 3 disappears after a predeterminable time, without a user input was made. In this case, the no-choice should preferably be made automatically, so that the user is navigated directly to his destination and not to a parking lot near the destination. The window 3 should be able to be restored at any time by the user by suitable manual selection, so that the user can also make a selection later. An acoustic control of the selection process is useful.

If the user hits the selection for accessing a parking space near the destination by pressing the button 5, this becomes a new destination taken over and a modified route calculated there. Then, maneuvering instructions are issued to the user to guide the user to parking near the original destination.

The application example shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 represents the embodiment of the method according to the invention in the search for a parking space with destination approximation. According to the example, the user navigates from Berlin to Würzburg into Weißenburgstrasse. Three kilometers before he reached the Weißenburgstraße is displayed on the display device of the navigation system shown in Fig. 3 window 7 with the buttons 8 and 9 and acoustically asked: "Would you like to search for a parking space in the target area?".

If the user himself wishes to retain control of the parking space to be approached, he can press the button 9 and thus specify the option for his own parking space selection.

As soon as the user presses the button 9 "Select parking lot", the list 10 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed with seven options (six parking spaces closest to the destination and the option "remoter parking 12").

If the user decides for the entry "Talavera 1 km" from the list 10, immediately after the selection the route is modified so that instead of directly into the Weißenburgstrasse it leads over the intermediate destination Talavera Route was diverted to the selected parking lot ".

After reaching the car park Talavera the user can park his vehicle, with his original destination, namely the Weissenburgstrasse, is still displayed on the display device of the navigation device. At the same time, it is additionally possible to hire a pedestrian soft navigation to guide the user on foot from the parking lot to the actual destination point.

Claims

claims

Method for operating a navigation device, comprising an input device, at which operator commands and / or location information, in particular starting points and / or destination points, can be entered,

a road network database, which describes the road network of a specific geographical area, the road network database allowing direct or indirect access to parking space data for the direct or indirect description of parking facilities,

a route calculation unit for calculating a planned route taking into account the location information and the road network database, the route leading from the starting point to the destination point,

a position determination unit in which a location to be displayed and / or a direction of movement to be displayed are calculated,

an output device on which data can be output for the user, characterized in that a) after entering the destination point, the parking space data in the road network database is searched, wherein at least one parking location near the destination point is determined, b) calculation of a modified route c) issuing maneuvering instructions to guide the user along the modified route to parking near the destination

Target point.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that all parking possibilities are detected in the vicinity of the target point, which are located within a radius of predetermined diameter around the target point.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that after the determination of the at least one parking possibility in the vicinity of the destination point, a confirmation menu is displayed in which the parking near the destination is displayed to the user for selection, wherein the calculation of the modified route and the output of the maneuvering instructions for guiding the user along the modified route by selecting the confirmation menu are triggered.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the determination of the at least one parking possibility in the vicinity of the target point and / or the display of the confirmation menu takes place immediately after the input of the target point.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the determination of at least one parking possibility in the vicinity of the target point and / or the display of the confirmation menu falls below a predetermined distance between the current position and the target point.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in the confirmation menu alternatively to each other a) the closest to the destination point parking on the one hand and b) a list (10) of several parking near the

Destination point, on the other hand, for selection by the user.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the distance between the current position and the destination point is determined based on the airline distance or on the basis of the route distance.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the parking lot data for immediate description of parking facilities as POI data, in particular for the description of parking spaces or car parks, are stored in the road network database.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the parking lot data for the indirect description of parking facilities as road elements having a parking lot attribute are stored in the road network database.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the parking space data for the description of parking via a ü, in particular wireless, data connection from a database are loaded from a data server.

1 1. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that with the parking lot data also availability data for describing the currently freely available parking facilities are loaded from the data server.

12. The method of claim 1 1, characterized in that parking facilities for which availability data are available, preferably for selection by the user output.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that after reaching the parking facility in the vicinity of the destination for the remaining route to the destination to a second operating mode, in particular pedestrian navigation, is switched.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that prior to the calculation of the modified route, the category of the destination point is checked, wherein, depending on the determined destination point category, in particular when determining a parking space

POI or a parking garage POI or a service area POI as the destination point, the calculation of the modified route is suppressed.