Computing-time-efficient route determination along several preset path points with given connecting routes in-between

1. A process for determining a route along at least three mutually consecutive preset path points with connecting routes in-between; wherein a plurality of connecting routes is given between at least a pair of mutually consecutive path points, and respective costs are assigned to each connecting route; said method comprising:

generating a tree comprising edges, as well as nodes that are connected by edges, each node being assigned to a defined path point and each edge corresponding to a connecting route; and

determining the route based on a selection of edges of the tree,

wherein

said tree has a plurality of tree levels on which the nodes are distributed;

the nodes of a tree level are assigned to a common path point; and

different nodes of a tree level are assigned to different values of a characteristic of a path point.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein:

each connecting route has a time duration assigned thereof; and

different nodes of a tree level are assigned to different time data.

3. The process according to claim 2 , wherein, for at least a plurality of nodes in each case, a node-specific time indication, node-specific costs and a reference to a node preceding in the tree are stored.

4. The process according to claim 3 , wherein, for at least a plurality of nodes, in each case, the following are stored:

a total time duration from a reference point to the respective node as a node-specific time indication; and

the total costs from the reference point to the respective node as node-specific costs.

5. The process according to claim 3 , wherein the stored reference references refers to a preceding node by which the time indication is reached at the lowest cost.

6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the reference comprises a connecting route index.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tree is generated iteratively.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein:

the tree is generated iteratively; and

in an iteration, combinations of the individual node-specific time indications of a path point and the connecting routes to a following path point in the tree are determined which have the lowest node-specific costs in the case of identical resulting time indications.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein:

the tree is generated iteratively; and

in an iteration, nodes of a path point following in the tree are determined by combining the nodes of a path point with the connecting routes to form the path point that follows;

wherein the nodes of the path point that follows have the lowest node-specific costs for the individual time indications.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a time demand exists for at least one of the path points.

11. The process according to claim 2 , wherein:

a time demand exists for at least one of the path points; and

at least one node of a path point, which is characterized by its time indications, is selected as a function of time demand.

12. The process according to claim 11 , wherein the tree is continued only by the selected at least one node of a path point.

13. The process according to claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the route comprises:

selecting a node of a level of the tree which is the last for which there is a time demand;

wherein the selection takes place by comparing the time demand with time indications of the nodes.

14. The process according to claim 13 , wherein the step of determining the route further comprises selecting the edges from the selected node to the root node, utilizing stored references.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the route of a vehicle is determined.

16. A system for determining a route along at least three mutually consecutive preset path points with connecting routes in-between; wherein a plurality of connecting routes is given between at least a pair of mutually consecutive path points, and respective costs are assigned to each connecting route, said system comprising:

means for generating a tree comprising edges and nodes connected by edges, wherein each node is assigned to a defined path point and each edge corresponds to a connecting route; and

means for determining the route based on a selection of edges of the tree,

wherein

said tree has a plurality of tree levels on which the nodes are distributed;

the nodes of a tree level are assigned to a common path point; and

different nodes of a tree level are assigned to different values of a characteristic of a path point.

17. An onboard computer of a vehicle comprising the system according to claim 16 .

18. A process for determining a route along at least three mutually consecutive preset path points; said process comprising:

determining connecting routes between a first pair of path points independently of a determination of other connecting routes between other pairs of path points; and

determining the route based on the connecting routes of the at least three mutually consecutive path points, wherein the first pair of path points each comprise a plurality of nodes of a tree level of a tree that includes the connecting routes and the first and other pair of path points.

19. The process according to claim 18 , further comprising:

newly determining connecting routes between the first pair of path points; and

newly determining the route based on the newly determined connecting routes.