NAVIGATION SYSTEM WITH WEB INTERFACE

• US 20090063037A1
• Filed: 08/31/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hertz Corporation (Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Navigation Solutions, LLC (Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stevens, Roger, Stevens, Ryan, Ruskin, Marc Brian
• Granted Patent: US 9,464,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• 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 user can selectively download complete databases of selected favorite chains (or other selected destinations or collections of destinations) from a server and store them on a portable media device. The user can also create his own address book with locations that he selects. The user can also create trip plans, containing locations selected by the user that are associated with specific trips. The address books and trip plans can also be stored on the portable media device. The user can then access the portable media device with the navigation system to select destinations stored there. The destinations are both more efficiently accessible by the user and more up to date, since the information on the server can be updated more frequently.

Claims

1. A method for operating a navigation system including the steps of:

a) connecting to a remote server over a network;

b) selecting from among a plurality of collections of related points of interest (POIs);

c) downloading the selected collection of related POIs from the remote server;

d) accessing the downloaded collection with a navigation system; and

e) choosing one of the related POIs in the downloaded collection for the navigation system to route to.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of collections of related POIs contains a plurality of locations of a different chain.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the plurality of collections of related POIs each contain only the plurality of locations of the associated chain.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said step b) is performed by selecting from among a plurality of icons, each representing the chain associated with the associated collection.

5. The method of claim 4 further including the steps of writing the selected collection of related POIs to a portable media device and, in said step d), accessing the portable media device.

6. The method of claim 5 further including the step of determining a route to the chosen POI.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of collections of related POIs each contain a plurality of locations related to a different event.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the plurality of locations are related to a different one-time event occurring in proximity to the plurality of locations.

9. A user interface for use with a navigation system comprising:

a server accessible over a wide area network;

the server storing a plurality of collections of points of interest (POIs), each collection having an associated chain, each collection containing POIs that are locations of the associated chain; and

the server communicating an identifier of the chain associated with each collection so that a user can select a collection based upon the associated chain, the server transmitting a selected one of the collections of POIs based upon selection by the user.

10. The user interface of claim 9 wherein the server communicates the identifier by communicating a logo associated with the chain.

11. The user interface of claim 9 further including a portable media device onto which the user can download the selected collection.

12. The user interface of claim 9 further including a navigation system, the selected one of the collections of POIs being readable by the navigation system, the navigation system being programmed to permit the user to select one of the POIs from the selected one of the collections of POIs, the navigation system then determining a route to the selected POI.

13. The user interface of claim 12 further including a portable media device onto which the user can download the selected collection and from which the navigation system can access the selected collection.

14. The user interface of claim 12 wherein the plurality of collections is a plurality of first collections, the user interface further including a plurality of second collections of POIs each associated with an event, each of the POIs in each second collection associated with the event associated with the associated second collection of the POI.

15. The user interface of claim 14 wherein the event with which each of the second collections is associated is a one-time event.

16. A method for operating a navigation system including the steps of:

a) accessing a remote server over a wide area network;

b) generating a plurality of locations using the remote server;

c) providing the plurality of locations to a navigation system;

d) accessing the plurality of locations with the navigation system;

e) selecting from among the plurality of locations with the navigation system; and

f) determining a route to a selected one of the plurality of locations.

17. The method of claim 16 further including the steps of writing the plurality of locations to a portable media device and, in said step d), accessing the portable media device.

18. The method of claim 16 further including the step of creating an address book associated with a user and storing the plurality of locations in the address book after said step b) and before said step c).

19. The method of claim 18 further including the step of accessing the address book in said step d).

20. The method of claim 18 further including the steps of writing the address book to a portable media device and, in said step d), accessing the portable media device.

21. The method of claim 16 further including the steps of:

creating a trip plan associated with a trip;

storing the plurality of locations in the trip plan after said step b) and before said step c; and

accessing the trip plan in said step d).