Location based services using altitude

• US 20080234928A1
• Filed: 03/23/2007
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Palm, Inc. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsuoka, Yoshimichi
• Application Number:
  US11/728,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20080234928A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/204
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

A mobile computing device comprises a housing configured to be carried by a user, a position determination circuit configured to generate device position data comprising device altitude data, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive destination position data for a destination. The destination position data comprises destination altitude data. The processing circuit is configured to provide an indication to a user based on the device altitude data and destination altitude data

Claims

1. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a housing configured to be carried by a user while in use;

a position determination circuit configured to generate device position data comprising device altitude data; and

a processing circuit configured to receive destination position data for a destination, the destination position data comprising destination altitude data, and to provide an indication to a user based on the device altitude data and destination altitude data.

2. The mobile computing device of claim 1, further comprising mobile telephony circuitry configured for mobile telephony communications.

3. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the position determination circuit comprises a global positioning system receiver configured to generate the device altitude data based on signals from satellites.

4. The mobile computing device of claim 3, wherein the position determination circuit is configured to detect the unavailability of satellites and to switch from generating altitude data based on signals from satellites to generating altitude data based on an altimeter coupled to the mobile computing device.

5. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the position determination circuit is configured to receive the device altitude data from a remote server via a cellular transceiver.

6. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the position determination circuit comprises an altimeter configured to generate the device altitude data.

7. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the destination position data comprises a destination building and a destination position within the building.

8. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the destination position data comprises a destination roadway which is one roadway of a layered roadway.

9. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises directions to the destination.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the directions comprise step-by-step directions to the destination.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the directions comprise an estimated time of travel to the destination.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the directions comprises directions from a current device altitude to a destination altitude.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises a current position along a predetermined route.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver, wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive the destination position data from a remote computer via the wireless transceiver.

15. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a position determination circuit configured to generate device position data comprising latitude, longitude and altitude data for the device; and

a processing circuit configured to receive waypoint position data from a database of waypoint data, the waypoint position data comprising latitude, longitude and altitude data, and to provide output data to a user based on the device altitude data and waypoint altitude data.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine whether the device is on a first or a second roadway of a layered roadway.

17. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the output data comprises a distance or time from a device position to a waypoint position which is calculated based at least in part on the device altitude data and waypoint altitude data.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 15, further comprising a telephony transceiver configured for telephony communication and an operating system configured to store personal information management applications and to synchronize personal information management data with a remote server.

19. A navigation system, comprising:

a database of waypoints, each waypoint comprising three-dimensional position data;

a source of position data configured to provide three-dimensional position data for the navigation system as it moves through a geographic region;

a display; and

a processing circuit configured to receive the three-dimensional position data for the waypoint and the three-dimensional position data for the navigation system, to use the three-dimensional waypoint and position data to generate navigation data and to display the navigation data on the display.

20. The navigation system of claim 19, wherein the navigation system comprises a smartphone.