Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6104316?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=6,631,400
Timestamp: 2014-09-17 10:37:08
Document Index: 258980053

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n4', 'art.\n7', 'art.\n8', 'art.\n9', 'art.\n10', 'art.\n11', 'art.\n12']

Patent US6104316 - Computerized navigation system - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsThe invention provides a method and system for providing route guidance information from a base unit to a remote unit in response to a request from the remote unit. The remote unit may be a mobile unit or a fixed unit. A query is formatted at the remote unit, the query including the request, and communicated...http://www.google.com/patents/US6104316?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6104316 - Computerized navigation systemAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6104316 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/150,412Publication dateAug 15, 2000Filing dateSep 9, 1998Priority dateJun 24, 1994Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2192545A1, CA2192545C, DE69526346D1, DE69526346T2, DE69536080D1, EP0766811A1, EP0766811B1, EP1160543A1, EP1160543B1, EP1750094A2, EP1750094A3, EP1750094B1, US5543789, US5808566, US6107944, US6614363, US20030112156, WO1996000373A1Publication number09150412, 150412, US 6104316 A, US 6104316A, US-A-6104316, US6104316 A, US6104316AInventorsDavid A. Behr, Randall B. JonesOriginal AssigneeNavigation Technologies CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (40), Non-Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (38), Classifications (43), Legal Events (6) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetComputerized navigation systemUS 6104316 AAbstract The invention provides a method and system for providing route guidance information from a base unit to a remote unit in response to a request from the remote unit. The remote unit may be a mobile unit or a fixed unit. A query is formatted at the remote unit, the query including the request, and communicated from the remote unit to the base unit. The requested route guidance information is calculated at the base unit in response to the query, using a database located at the base unit. A response to the query is formatted at the base unit, the response including the route guidance information. The response is communicated from the base unit to the remote unit for display.
What is claimed is: 1. A method of providing navigation information from a base unit to a plurality of remote units, including a plurality of mobile units each of which communicates with the base unit via a wireless communication link, the method comprising the steps of:from said plurality of remote units, formatting query messages requesting navigation services, wherein said query messages are formatted according to a protocol specifying an arrangement of data bits and control bits, and further wherein each query message includes a plurality of fields, including a subscriber identifier field, a query message identifier field, and at least one more field specifying a request for navigation information services, wherein data included in each subscriber identifier field of each query message uniquely identify which of said plurality of remote units formatted the message of which the subscriber identifier field is a part, and wherein said query message identifier field uniquely identifies the query message of which said message identifier field is a part; from each of said plurality of remote units, transmitting said formatted query messages to the base unit; at said base unit, receiving each of said query messages; at said base unit, with respect to each of said query messages that requests a navigation information service, formatting a reply message, wherein each reply message is formatted according to a protocol specifying an arrangement of data bits and control bits, and further wherein each reply message includes a plurality of fields, including a field that contains navigation information that fulfills said request for service in the query message to which said reply message is in response; and from said base unit, transmitting each of said reply messages to the remote units of said plurality of remote units, from which respective query messages were sent. 2. The invention of claim 1 further comprising the step of:at said base unit, prior to the step of formatting a reply message, with respect to each of said query messages, analyzing each of said query messages for ambiguities; and resolving ambiguities, if any, in each of said query messages. 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said query messages include a compression marker field, wherein the compression marker field includes data specifying a compression method, if any, used in the query message of which said compression marker field is a part.
4. The invention of claim 3 wherein compression methods that can be specified by the compression marker field include LZ compression and current-dictionary-bit-compression.
5. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said query messages include a time stamp field, wherein said time stamp field includes data specifying the time at which the query message of which said time stamp field is a part was sent.
6. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said query messages include a destination limit field, wherein said destination limit field includes data specifying a limit for point of interest searches associated with the query message of which said destination limit field is a part.
7. The invention of claim 1 wherein each query message includes a message length field that includes data specifying the length of the query message of which said message length field is a part.
8. The invention of claim 1 wherein each query message includes a cyclical redundancy check field that includes data specifying the computed cyclical redundancy of the query message of which said cyclical redundancy check field is a part.
9. The invention of claim 1 wherein each reply message includes a message length field that includes data specifying the length of the reply message of which said message length field is a part.
10. The invention of claim 1 wherein each reply message includes a cyclical redundancy check field that includes data specifying the computed cyclical redundancy of the reply message of which said cyclical redundancy check field is a part.
11. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said reply messages include a compression marker field, wherein the compression marker field includes data specifying a compression method, if any, used in the reply message of which said compression marker field is a part.
12. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said reply messages include a time stamp field, wherein said time stamp field includes data specifying the time at which the reply message of which said time stamp field is a part was sent.
13. The invention of claim 1 wherein at least some of said reply messages include a type field and a message field, wherein said type field of a reply message includes data specifying a type of message included in the message field of said reply message.
14. The invention of claim 1 wherein said step of formatting a reply message further comprises the step of:including in a subscriber identifier field of said reply message, the data included the subscriber identifier field of the query message to which said reply message is in response. 15. The invention of claim 1 wherein said step of formatting a reply message further comprises the step of:including in a message identifier field of said reply message, the data included the message identifier field of the query message to which said reply message is in response. Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of Ser. No 08/494,198, filed Jun. 23, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,566, which was a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/265,094, filed Jun. 24, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,789.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention generally relates to a system and method for providing route guidance and tracking information from a base unit to a mobile unit over wireless and wireline devices. The invention more particularly relates to an apparatus and method for providing to a mobile unit route guidance and tracking information which has been calculated at a base unit in response to a query from the mobile unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention therefore provides a method of providing route guidance information from a base unit to a mobile unit in response to a request from the mobile unit. The method comprises the steps of formatting a query at the mobile unit, the query including the request, communicating the query from the mobile unit to the base unit, and calculating the route guidance information at the base unit in response to the query. The method further comprises the steps of formatting a response to the query at the base unit, the response including the route guidance information, and communicating the response from the base unit to the mobile unit. The remote guidance information may include navigation instructions from an origin to a destination, information about one or more points of interest within the region of an origin or other geographically referenced information.
The base unit includes a geographical database, such as the Navigation Technologies Corp. navigable map database. The geographical database stores a variety of geographical and position-oriented attributes, such as street addresses, turn restrictions and points of interest. The points of interest are preferably organized according to different parameters, including point of interest type, such as "restaurant" or "museum;" point of interest name; city; driving distance; or driving time. The base unit further includes a server for receiving queries from one or more mobile units, resolving ambiguities in the queries, determining a response to the query, accessing the geographical database as needed. The server formats a response to the query and communicates the response to the mobile unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by making reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify identical elements, and wherein:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system 10 embodying the invention. The system 10 includes a base unit 12 and a plurality 14 of remote units arranged to communicate with the base unit 12. The plurality 14 of remote units may include, for example, a desktop personal computer 16, a laptop personal computer 18, or a pager 20. The plurality 14 of remote units may include any number of mobile units. The base unit 12 is preferably located at a single, central location. One remote unit may be permanently located at a single site, such as desktop personal computer 16. Another remote unit may also be mobile or transportable, such as laptop personal computer 18 or pager 20. As used herein, the term "mobile unit" includes both remote units which may be permanently located at a single site or remote units which are mobile or transportable.
The microprocessor 48 operates in response to program instructions and data stored in the memory 40. The position locator 42 provides the geographical position of the laptop PC 18. For example, the position indicator 42 may perform RF (radio frequency) triangulation or may be responsive to GPS (Global Positioning System), LORAN C signals or other satellite positioning systems for providing latitude and longitude positioning information. The position locator 12 thus provides a position determining means for determining the geographical position of the mobile unit. The laptop PC 18, in response to the program instructions stored in the memory 40, provides a request over the commercial telephone system to the base unit 12. The request may be, for example, for the route between an origin and a destination. The origin may be specified either by manipulating the keyboard 44 or by providing the latitude and longitude information produced by the position locator 42. The base unit 12 provides a response to the request to the laptop PC 18. The response is displayed on the display 46.
Thus, the system 10 provides geo-referenced information over wireless and wireline devices to mobile and remote users. It is to be understood that the communications technologies and the mobile units illustrated in FIG. 1 may be combined in ways other than those illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the desktop personal computer 16 may include an RF interface such as the RF interface 50 of the pager 20. Similarly, the modem 34 of the laptop PC 18 may be adapted for coupling directly to a telephone line such as telephone line 24.
In addition, other types of mobile units, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) may be included in the system 10. Moreover, mobile units may access the base unit indirectly by communicating directly with a third-party information provider, such as Prodigy�, which in turn conveys queries to and responses from the base unit 12. In accordance with the invention, the system 10 operates independently of particular hardware configurations of the plurality 14 of remote units and of the communications system.
If the query requested calculation of a route between an origin and a destination, the query is routed to the route calculator 66. In a manner well known in the art, the route calculator 66 determines a route between a specified origin and destination using the map database 72. The map database 72 may be, for example, the navigable map database maintained by Navigation Technologies Corp. The map database 72 preferably includes an accurate and complete representation of geographic information such as addresses, street names, navigation attributes (including turn restrictions, oneway streets, physical dividers, relative heights, freeway sign text, and so forth), as well as point of interest categories, such as parks, schools, hospitals, restaurants, and golf courses associated with the geographic information. In determining the route, the route calculator 66 preferably takes into account routing restrictions such as toll road avoidance, turn restrictions at a specified time of day, and others. Such routing restrictions may be specified by an operator at the base unit 10 in response to a temporary condition or may be added to the map database 72 when the restrictions become nationally available. The route calculator 66 thus forms a calculating means at the base unit for calculating a route between the origin and the destination. The map database may be divided into geographic areas such as metropolitan areas.
If the query requests information about points of interest in the area surrounding an origin, the query is conveyed to the surroundings explorer 70. The surroundings explorer 70 preferably provides an optimized method for searching for points of interest satisfying specified criteria or parameters such as time or distance. For example, the surroundings explorer 70 may locate all McDonald's� restaurants within a specified driving distance or driving time of a specified origin, or it may locate the McDonald's� restaurant nearest the specified origin. The origin and search parameters are specified in the query received from the mobile unit. In response to the query the surroundings explorer 70 accesses the map database 72 and searches outward from the specified origin. The surroundings explorer 70 analyzes paths in the map database 72 over which a mobile unit, in a car for example, could legitimately travel. The surroundings explorer 70 examines the associated point of interest information for entries satisfying the specified search parameters. The surroundings explorer 70 thus determines which points of interest satisfy the query. The information is conveyed from the surroundings explorer 70 to the I/O interface 62 and a response is formatted, the response including the information. The response is then communicated from the base unit 12 to the remote unit which requested the information.
The functions performed by the base unit 10, as described above and illustrated in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1, are preferably performed in a data processing system. The data processing system may be in one or more units and preferably includes a processor for executing program instructions, a memory for storage of the program instructions and data such as the map database 72. The data processing system further includes other equipment such as digital logic for implementing the I/O interface 62 for receiving queries and sending responses. The data processing system may include a display and a keyboard for providing an operator interface.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of the invention. The method begins at step 100 where communication is established between the mobile unit and the base unit 12. Performance of this step is largely dependent on the specific hardware implementation of both the base unit 12 and the mobile unit. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, the desktop personal computer 16 would establish communications using the modem 22 to place a telephone call over the telephone line 24 to the base unit 12. The telephone interface 74 of the base unit 12 and the modem 22 would establish communication in a manner well known in the art. Similarly, the laptop personal computer 18 would establish communications with the base unit 12 by completing a telephone call through the cellular telephone system 38.
The system and method of the invention are independent of the particular hardware and communication channels in which the invention is implemented.
The method continues at step 102, in which a query is formatted at the remote unit. The query is formatted in accordance with the protocol of the invention, to be described in further detail in conjunction with FIG. 3.
The query comprises a serial stream of data and control bits. The control bits, for example, identify the remote user originating the query. The data bits specify the precise request being made of the base unit. For example, the data bits may specify an origin point and a destination point, from which the route calculator 66 (FIG. 1) of the base unit 12 is to calculate the route. Certain communications transport protocols, specific to the particular hardware implementation of the system 10, may prepend or append characters or other control bits to the control and data bits which form the query. For example, the modem 22 of the desktop PC 16 may include handshaking bits or signals to be used by the telephone interface 74 of the base unit 12 for processing the query. At step 104, the query is transmitted from the mobile unit to the base unit 12.
The method continues at step 112, where the query type is identified. The query may be one of several different types, including a route query, a point of interest query, a language query, or a metro area query. A route query asks the base unit 12 to identify a route between a specified origin point and a specified destination point. A route query includes the origin and the destination. A point of interest query requests a list of points of interest which satisfy specified criteria. For example, a point of interest query might request a list of all restaurants of a specific type, such as McDonald's�, within a specified distance or a specified driving time of a specified origin. A language query requests a list of available languages for display of information at the mobile unit or specifies the language (such as English or Dutch) in which the routing information is to be displayed at the remote unit. A metro area query requests a list of available metropolitan areas or specifies the metropolitan area within the map database 72 (FIG. 1) to be used for responding to the query. For example, a query which has as its origin "77 W. Chestnut Street" in Chicago must specify the Chicago metropolitan area rather than, for example, the Cincinnati metropolitan area, in order to prevent confusion. If a query cannot be identified, an error message is generated at step 110 and the query must be repeated. After the query type has been determined at step 112, the query can be routed to the route calculator 66, the distance and travel estimator 68 or the surroundings explorer 70 (FIG. 1) for processing.
Only a single query message 120 is needed to transmit a query from a mobile unit to the base unit 12.
This query message 120 provides for both current location tracking information as well as route calculation requests. The query message 120 includes a plurality of fields 122. Each field of the plurality 122 of fields is separated by a delimiter,. preferably the vertical bar "|" (ASCII code 0x7C). The start of the query message 120 begins with a delimiter character.
The end of each message is marked by a delimiter character immediately followed by a newline character (ASCII code 0x0A), represented in FIGS. 3 and 4 as "\n".
Any characters between the ending newline character and the starting delimiter are preferably ignored by the base unit 10 and the mobile unit.
The query message 120 further includes a subscriber identifier field 130. The information provided in this field may be used for billing and audit information. The query message 120 further includes a message identifier field 132. The characters in this field are used to tag response messages transmitted from the base unit 10 to the requesting mobile unit. The base unit 12 will place the characters in the message ID field 132 in any return message so that the mobile unit may determine what original message the base unit 12 is responding to.
The query message 120 further includes an identifier field 134, which provides identification information uniquely identifying the mobile unit which transmitted the query message 120. The identification field 134 is used for tracking and communications addressing.
The query message 120 further includes a destination type field 146 which specifies the type of destination. For example, the destination may be an address or a point of interest category recognizable by the base unit 12. For example, the point of interest categories may include "restaurants", "airport", or "museum." As one example, the destination type field 146 may be "restaurant," and the destination field 144 may be "McDonald's�."
In accordance with the invention, the response message 160 may be transmitted in a continuous stream of data, known as burst mode, or in a plurality of discrete responses to queries for data, known as normal mode.
The mode of data transmission may be specified by the mobile unit, for example, in an additional field included in the query message 120. In burst mode, the base unit 12 will transmit data as fast as possible, without waiting for requests from the mobile unit. In normal mode, the base unit 12 sends a packet, then waits for the mobile unit to request the next packet before sending the next packet.
Further in accordance with the invention, the response transmitted from the base unit 10 to a mobile unit may include maneuver arms information. Maneuver arms are graphical vectors used by the mobile unit for displaying a graphical representation of an intersection to be traversed. Three types of visual information are transmitted by the base unit. These include a geometric representation of the intersection, including vectors defining the streets approaching an intersection and the angles at which the streets approach the intersection. The transmitted information further includes which of the streets is included in the route to be travelled so that, for example, that street may be highlighted in a graphical display. The transmitted information further includes information about street signs located at the intersection.
Transmitting only a representation of intersections to be traversed, rather than extraneous information, greatly reduces data transmission and storage requirements. Thus, a relatively low bandwidth channel may be used for transmitting queries and responses between the base unit 10 and the mobile unit. For example, a channel having a bandwidth as low as 1,200 bits per second may be used. In contrast, transmitting extraneous information may require a bandwidth as high as 1 megabit per second. Since the amount of data transmitted is relatively small, the entire response, including maneuver arms information, may be transmitted in a reasonable time, even at a low bandwidth. In addition, since only pertinent information about intersections is transmitted, only a small amount of memory, such as memory 26 of the desktop personal computer 16 (FIG. 1) is required at the mobile unit.
The response message 160 further includes a type field 176 and message field 178. The type field 176 specifies the type of the message contained in the message field 178. For example, the type field 176 may have a first value specifying that the message field 178 contains route tracking address translation information.
Such a message would result from the base unit 12 having received a route tracking query. The message in the message field 178 is then the address corresponding to the current position (latitude, longitude). The type field 176 may have a second value specifying that the message field 178 includes route guidance information. This message would result from the base unit 12 having received a route calculation request. The message is the set of driving instructions. The instructions will contain several lines of text, each separated by carriage return/newline characters. There may be several messages of this type communicated for a single route. Each message will correspond to a single maneuver if arms are requested, or be the complete text if arms are not requested.
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G01C21/00, G08G1/0969, G08G1/09, G08G1/0968, G01C21/34, G08G1/0967Cooperative ClassificationG01C21/26, G08G1/096741, G01C21/3626, G08G1/096816, G08G1/096822, G08G1/096894, G08G1/096716, G08G1/096838, G01C21/32, G08G1/096861, G08G1/096872, G08G1/096775, G08G1/096883, G01C21/3679, G08G1/096811, G08G1/096844European ClassificationG08G1/0968D3, G08G1/0968B2, G01C21/36P, G01C21/26, G08G1/0968A1B, G01C21/36G, G01C21/32, G08G1/0968B1, G08G1/0967B1, G08G1/0968C3, G08G1/0967C1, G08G1/0968A1A, G08G1/0967A1, G08G1/0968C1, G08G1/0968D1, G08G1/0968A1Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJul 22, 2013ASAssignmentEffective date: 20130423Owner name: HERE GLOBAL B.V., NETHERLANDSFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:NAVTEQ B.V.;REEL/FRAME:030845/0623Jan 23, 2012ASAssignmentFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NAVTEQ NORTH AMERICA, LLC;REEL/FRAME:027588/0051Effective date: 20111229Owner name: NAVTEQ B.V., NETHERLANDSNov 14, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12Aug 23, 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