Search function for portable navigation device

• US 20080167809A1
• Filed: 10/10/2007
• Published: 07/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Geelen, Pieter
• Application Number:
  US11/907,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20080167809A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle

Abstract

A personal navigation device is set out including a display, memory, a processor, a wireless signal receptor and a user input receiver. The memory includes several destination identifiers indicative of a number of recently visited destinations. A database is also included, the database itself including digitized map data and descriptive data identifying features represented within the digitized map data. The personal navigation device also includes software capable of performing navigation between a current location determined from the wireless signals received and a destination at least partially identified by said user input. The software further includes a facility for displaying one or more categories of destination which when selected causes the display of one or more destination identifiers of the recently visited destinations of that category in list format, and for performing a search within the descriptive data representative of the particular destination category in response to the user input.

Claims

1. A personal navigation device comprising a display, memory, processing means, wireless signal reception means, and means for receiving user input, said memory including at a plurality of destination identifiers indicative of a number of recently visited destinations, and one or more databases containing digitized map data and descriptive data identifying features represented within said digitized map data, said personal navigation device including software capable of performing navigation between a current location determined from said wireless signals received, and a destination at least partially identified by said user input, said software including a facility for displaying one or more categories of destination which when selected causes said display of one or more destination identifiers of said recently visited destinations of that category in list format, and for performing a search within the descriptive data representative of said particular destination category in response to said user input, further comprising:

means for causing a first search to be made of said descriptive data and a second search to be made of said destination identifiers, said first and second search being based on user input comprising one or more alphanumeric characters made during said display of said one or more destination identifiers of a particular category;

means for storing results of each of said first and second searches into said memory; and

means for displaying said results in a list, said list being available to said user for user selection of one or more of said results.

2. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for partially displaying said results, said partial display including a control whereby a user can cause the list to be displayed more completely on said display.

3. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying said results in subsets of most recently visited destinations and of the database of the descriptive data, the subsets being those entries which include said user input characters.

4. The personal navigation device according to claim 3, wherein said subsets are further listed according to most recently visited destinations.

5. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the software causes the display of only the results of the first search if three or more characters are entered by the user.

6. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for using said software to cause the display of the results of the first and second searches seamlessly and consecutively in expandable list format atop which are displayed the destination identifiers corresponding to most recently visited destinations from the first search followed by matching descriptive data of the particular destination type from the database.

7. The personal navigation device according to claim 6, wherein the displayed results from the first and second searches is scrollable when expanded in the case where search results comprise more destination identifiers and descriptive data than can be displayed on the screen.

8. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing at least one of cities, towns and villages as destination identifiers indicative of a number of recently visited destinations in said memory when an address, postcode or POI within a one of these localities is selected by a user when navigation thereto is required.

9. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising means for maintaining destination identifiers for most recently visited cities, towns and villages.

10. The personal navigation device according to claim 1, wherein only a predetermined number of destination identifiers indicative of most recently visited destination can be stored.

11. A method of operating a personal navigation device comprising a display, memory, processing means, wireless signal reception means, and means for receiving user input, said method comprising the steps of:

storing at least a predetermined number of destination identifiers indicative of a number of recently visited destinations in memory, together with one or more databases comprising digitized map data and descriptive data identifying features represented within said digitized map data,

displaying one or more categories of destination and causing the display of one or more destination identifiers of the recently visited destinations of that category in list format when selected by a user,

performing a first search of said descriptive data in response to a user input of one or more alphanumeric characters made during the display of said one or more destination identifiers of a particular destination category,

performing a second search of the destination identifiers, also using the user-entered character data, and

subsequently displaying the results from both searches in list format on the display of said device.

12. A computer program comprising computer program code means adapted to perform all the steps of the method of claim 11, when run on a computer.

13. The computer program of claim 12, embodied on or in a computer readable medium.