Tomtom Navigation B.v.

Tom Tom International B.v.

Thomas Gerhard Helmut Schickinger

Felix Godafoss König

Kees Wesselius

Stanislav Zheltov

Jose F Santiago Nunez

Michael Marte

William Breen

Heiko Schilling

Leon Van Helvoort

A method is disclosed for determining a route taken by a user at a decision point in a navigable network in an area covered by an electronic map. The map comprises a plurality of segments representing navigable segments of the navigable network in the area covered by the electronic map. A user is travelling along a main route from an origin to a destination. An upcoming decision point is identified, and one or more alternative routes between the decision point and the destination generated. Data indicative of each route is stored in a route pool, associated with data indicative of the outgoing segment at the decision point that forms part of the route. Each route passes along a different outgoing segment, and which segments are all different to an outgoing segment included in a continuation of the main route. When the user has passed through the decision point, it is determined whether the current position of the user lies on the outgoing segment forming the continuation of the main route. If so, the main route continues to be used as the main route after passing through the decision point. If not, it is determined whether the current position is on an outgoing segment associated with one of the stored alternative routes. If so, then this alternative route is used as the new main route after the decision point. If not, a new alternative route from the decision point to the destination passing along the outgoing segment on which the current position is found is generated, and used as the new main route after passing the decision point.

Alternative routes

A method is disclosed for generating routes in an area covered by an electronic map. The map comprises a plurality of segments representing navigable segments of a navigable network in the area covered by the electronic map. A main route from an origin to a destination is generated through the network in a manner which favors segments which are segments of a predefined sub-network. When the user commences travel, the method involves identifying a first decision point along the main route being travelled that is a decision point of the sub-network. An alternative route is generated between the decision point and the destination, in a method involving favoring segments of the sub-network, and in which the outgoing segment of the main route being travelled to the first decision point is blocked.

A method of performing routing in relation to a multi-modal transportation network involves representing a multi-modal transportation network using a plurality of segments, each being indicative of a navigable segment of the network, and each segment having data representative of a traversal time for the segment associated therewith. The plurality of segments of the multi-modal transportation network includes a first subset of segments indicative of a public transport network, and a second subset of segments indicative of a road network which may be joined, left and traveled through by a user substantially freely at any time. The traversal time data associated with segments of the public transport network associated with interchange points with the road network is based on a transit time indicative of a time taken to travel along the segment, and an additional waiting time. A route search is performed between an origin and a destination within the multi-modal transportation network using the traversal time data associated with the segments of the network in order to obtain one or more multi-modal route through the transportation network.

Methods and systems for obtaining a multi-modal route

Growing community of inventors

Berlin, Germany

Thomas Gerhard Helmut Schickinger