Vehicle navigation system and method for displaying waypoint information

• US 20070203643A1
• Filed: 02/27/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoNavigare LLC
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kato, Manabu, Ramaswamy, Deepak, Horiguchi, Sadanori
• Granted Patent: US 7,640,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence

Abstract

A method for displaying waypoint information on the screen of a vehicle navigation system. The method includes the steps of displaying a route on the screen and inputting criteria which identify desired waypoints along the route as well as the desired time to reach the waypoint. The location of the desired waypoint along the route as a function of the desired time to reach the waypoint in traffic conditions is determined and that waypoint information is displayed on the screen. The method optionally utilizes two-way communication between the navigation system and waypoint content providers.

Claims

1. A method for displaying information on a vehicle navigation system having a screen comprising the steps of:

displaying a route on the screen,

receiving criteria to identify desired waypoint(s) along said route and the desired time range to reach said waypoint(s),

determining the location of each said waypoint along said route as a function of at least the desired time range to reach each said waypoint and traffic flow conditions along the route,

displaying said waypoint(s) on the screen.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the navigation system includes a data receiver and wherein said determining step further comprises the steps of:

receiving waypoint information by the data receiver,

storing said waypoint information in a database,

searching said database for waypoint(s) which correspond to the desired waypoint(s) and the desired time to reach each said waypoint.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said receiving step comprises the step of verbally receiving criteria to identify desired waypoint(s) and desired time to reach each said waypoint to a speech processor contained in the navigation system.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said receiving step comprises the step of reading an RFID tag contained in the vehicle.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said receiving step further comprises the step of receiving a maximum distance deviation from the route to the desired waypoint(s).

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the navigation system includes a database containing waypoint information and further comprising the steps of:

searching the database for the desired waypoint(s) which match the desired time range, and

in the event that the desired waypoint is not found in the database, displaying substitute waypoint information on the display.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the criteria is selected from the group of (1) the name of the waypoint, (2) the type of waypoint and (3) the food genre of a restaurant.

8. A method for displaying information on a vehicle navigation system having a screen and a data receiver comprising the steps of:

displaying a route on the screen,

receiving criteria which identifies desired waypoint(s) along said route,

receiving waypoint(s) by the data receiver,

comparing the received waypoint(s) with the desired waypoint(s), and

selectively displaying received waypoint(s) on the screen which correspond to the desired waypoint(s).

9. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein said receiving step comprises the step of verbally receiving criteria which identify desired waypoint(s) to a speech processor contained in the navigation system.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said verbally receiving step further comprises the step of sampling speech within the vehicle, searching the sampled speech for key words corresponding to waypoint information, and equating said key words to the desired waypoint(s).

11. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein said receiving step comprises the step of reading an RFID tag contained in the vehicle.

12. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein the received waypoint(s) comprise advertising.

13. The invention as defined in claim 12 and comprising the step of charging a fee to the advertiser for each waypoint(s) displayed on the screen from the advertiser.

14. The invention as defined in claim 13 and further comprising the step of varying the fee as a function of one or more factors selected from the group of:

a) road type currently traveled by the vehicle,

b) time of day,

c) duration that the waypoint(s) is displayed on the screen,

d) size of the display of the waypoint(s) on the screen,

e) geographic location of the vehicle, and

f) historical profile information of the vehicle occupant.

15. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein the screen provides a first image toward the driver of the vehicle and a second image towards the passenger side of the vehicle and wherein said displaying step comprises the step of displaying the waypoint(s) only as said second image.

16. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein said receiving step further comprises the step of tracking the eyeball gaze of an occupant of the vehicle.

17. The invention as defined in claim 8 and further comprising the step of limiting the size, number, manner and/or duration of waypoint(s) displayed on the screen as a function of one or more factors selected from the group of:

a) road type currently traveled by the vehicle,

b) weather conditions, and

c) vehicle speed.

21. The invention as defined in claim 17 wherein the received waypoint(s) comprise advertising.

22. The invention as defined in claim 21 and further comprising means for charging a fee for said advertising and means for varying the fee as a function of one or more factors selected from the group of:

a) road type currently traveled by the vehicle,

b) time of day,

c) duration that the waypoint(s) is displayed on the screen,

d) size of the display of the waypoint(s) on the screen,

e) geographic location of the vehicle, and

f) historical profile information of the vehicle occupant.

18. Apparatus for displaying information on a vehicle navigation system having a screen and a data receiver comprising:

means for displaying a route on the screen,

means for receiving criteria which identifies desired waypoint(s) along said route,

means for receiving waypoint(s) by the data receiver,

means for comparing the received waypoint(s) with the desired waypoint(s), and

means for selectively displaying received waypoint(s) on the screen which correspond to the desired waypoint(s).

19. The invention as defined in claim 18 wherein said receiving means comprises a speech processor and means for verbally inputting the desired waypoint(s) to said speech processor.

20. The invention as defined in claim 19 wherein said verbally receiving means further comprises means for sampling speech within the vehicle, means for searching the sampled speech for key words corresponding to waypoint information, and means for equating said key words to the desired waypoint(s).

23. The invention as defined in claim 18 wherein the screen provides a first image toward the driver of the vehicle and a second image towards the passenger side of the vehicle and wherein said displaying means comprises the means for displaying the waypoint(s) only as said second image.

24. The invention as defined in claim 23 and further comprising means for detecting the presence of a passenger in the passenger seat of the vehicle and for inhibiting said display means if no passenger is present.

25. The invention as defined in claim 18 and further comprising means for limiting the size, number, manner and/or duration of waypoint(s) displayed on the screen as a function of one or more factors selected from the group of:

a) road type currently traveled by the vehicle,

b) weather conditions, and

c) vehicle speed.

26. Apparatus for displaying information on a vehicle navigation system having a screen comprising:

means for displaying a route on the screen,

means for receiving criteria which identify desired waypoint(s) along said route and the desired time range to reach said waypoint(s),

means for determining the location of each said waypoint along said route as a function of at least the desired time range to reach each said waypoint and traffic flow conditions along the route,

means for displaying said waypoint(s) on the screen.

27. The invention as defined in claim 26 wherein the navigation system includes a data receiver and wherein said determining means further comprises:

means for receiving waypoint information by the data receiver,

means for storing said waypoint information in a database,

means for searching said database for waypoint(s) which correspond to the desired waypoint(s) and the desired time to reach each said waypoint.