Displaying road maps

• US 20040044469A1
• Filed: 11/27/2002
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Stelling, Christian, Hassler, Philipp, Bender, Thorsten
• Application Number:
  US10/307,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20040044469A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/00 Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram star maps G09B27/04; devices for holding or supporting maps A47B97/02; for computing purposes G06G1/14, G09B1/16; display boards G09F

Abstract

Displaying a road map in a transportation planning computer program includes receiving data for the road map, rendering the road map from the data, augmenting the road map with landmark information, and toggling between a route view of the road map and a symbolic view of the road map. The route view displays a driving route between two locations on the road map. The symbolic view displays straight lines between locations on the road map.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a road map in a transportation planning computer program, the method comprising:

receiving data for the road map;

rendering the road map from the data;

augmenting the road map with landmark information; and

toggling between a route view of the road map and a symbolic view of the road map, the route view comprising a driving route between two locations on the road map, and the symbolic view comprising straight lines between locations on the road map.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the road map includes rendering target locations and expected stop-over locations between the target locations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein rendering the road map includes rendering customer locations as the target locations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting the road map with landmark information includes augmenting the road map with points of interest along a route between two or more target locations.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein augmenting the road map with landmark information includes augmenting the road map with one or more of a gas station along the route, a location of a restaurant along the route, and a location of construction along the route.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying at least one of distance and travel time for a selected route on the road map.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a shipment associated with the transportation planning computer program; and

requesting data for a road map associated with the selected shipment;

wherein the data received for the road map comprises data associated with the selected shipment.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting the data from a geocoding service; and

receiving the data from the geocoding service.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising routing the data via a server that provides a generic interface to servers associated with plural geocoding services.

10. A graphical user interface (GUI) for a transportation planning computer program, comprising:

a window to display a road map that defines target locations, a route between the target locations, and a landmark along the route; and

a list of shipment options, at least one of the shipment options corresponding to the road map.

11. The GUI of claim 10, further comprising:

a first field to display a travel time between the target locations; and

a second field to display a distance between the target locations.

12. The GUI of claim 10, further comprising:

a button for toggling between a route view of the road map and a symbolic view of the road map, the route view comprising a driving route between two locations on the road map, and the symbolic view comprising straight lines between locations on the road map.

13. The GUI of claim 10, further comprising:

a control to zoom-in and zoom-out on the road map.

14. A machine-readable medium that stores executable instructions for displaying a road map, the instructions, when executed, causing a machine to:

receive data for the road map;

render the road map from the data;

augment the road map with landmark information; and

toggle between a route view of the road map and a symbolic view of the road map, the route view comprising a driving route between two locations on the road map, and the symbolic view comprising straight lines between locations on the road map.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the road map includes target locations and expected stop-over locations between the target locations.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the target locations comprise customer locations.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the landmark information comprises points of interest along a route between two or more target locations.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the landmark information comprises one or more of a gas station along the route, a location of a restaurant along the route, and a location of construction along the route.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that cause the machine to:

display at least one of distance and travel time for a selected route on the road map.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that cause the machine to:

select a shipment associated with the transportation planning computer program; and

request data for a road map associated with the selected shipment;

wherein the data received for the road map comprises data associated with the selected shipment.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that cause the machine to:

request the data from a geocoding service; and

receive the data from the geocoding service.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions that cause the machine to route the data via a server that provides a generic interface to servers associated with plural geocoding services.

23. An apparatus for displaying a road map, the apparatus comprising:

a memory that stores executable instructions; and

a processor that executes the instructions to;

receive data for the road map;

render the road map from the data;

augment the road map with landmark information; and

toggle between a route view of the road map and a symbolic view of the road map, the route view comprising a driving route between two locations on the road map, and the symbolic view comprising straight lines between locations on the road map.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the road map includes target locations and expected stop-over locations between the target locations.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the target locations comprise customer locations.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the landmark information comprises points of interest along a route between two or more target locations.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the landmark information comprises one or more of a gas station along the route, a location of a restaurant along the route, and a location of construction along the route.

28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor executes instructions to display at least one of distance and travel time for a selected route on the road map.

29. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor executes instructions to:

select a shipment associated with the transportation planning computer program; and

request data for a road map associated with the selected shipment; and

wherein the data received for the road map comprises data associated with the selected shipment.

30. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor executes instructions to:

request the data from a geocoding service; and

receive the data from the geocoding service.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the processor executes instructions to route the data via a server that provides a generic interface to servers associated with plural geocoding services.