Method and system for saving and retrieving spatial related information

• US 20100274479A1
• Filed: 05/05/2010
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Artax LLC (IPValuation Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Sheha, Michael A., Goddard, Mark, Sheha, Angie, Petilli, Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 7,903,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• 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 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for storing, referencing, retrieving, and graphically displaying spatial and non-spatial related information of a mobile computing device, such as a laptop computer or a cellular telephone. The spatial-related information may be obtained by using positioning tracking systems such as a global positioning system, whereas the non-spatial related information may include communication activities associated with the mobile computing device, such as phone calls, e-mails, text messages, pages, etc. The present invention also provides methods and apparatus of sharing event information between mobile communication devices as well as related navigational information for traveling to an event from a real-time position of a mobile communication device.

Claims

1-33. -33. (canceled)

34. A machine-readable medium storing a set of executable instructions for causing a processor of a system to perform a method of planning a route, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving presence information including a start time, an end time, an origin point, and a destination point;

determining at least one stop point associated with the presence information, each of the at least one stop point associated with a duration indicating an expected period of time to be spent at the stop point;

adding each of the at least one stop point to the route, each of the at least one stop point between the starting point and the destination point;

determining a route between the origin point and the destination point, the route including each of the at least one stop point;

providing direction in response to the route; and

estimating a travel time for the route in response to the duration associated with each of the at least one stop.

35. The machine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the route is optimized to have a shortest distance.

36. The machine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the route is optimized to have a shortest travel time.

37. The machine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises of receiving supplemental location information to be added to the route.

38. The machine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

comparing the travel time with a duration between the start time and the end time of the presence information; and

updating the presence information in response to the comparison.

39. A system for planning a route, comprising:

means for receiving presence information including a start time, an end time, an origin point, and a destination point;

means for determining at least one stop point associated with the presence information, each of the at least one stop point associated with a duration indicating an expected period of time to be spent at the stop point;

means for adding each of the at least one stop point to the route, each of the at least one stop point between the starting point and the destination point;

means for determining a route between the origin point and the destination point, the route including each of the at least one stop point;

means for providing direction in response to the route; and

means for estimating a travel time for the route in response to the duration associated with each of the at least one stop.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the route is optimized to have a shortest distance.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the route is optimized to have a shortest travel time.

42. The system of claim 39, further comprises means for receiving supplemental location information to be added to the route.

43. The system of claim 39, further comprises:

means for comparing the travel time with a duration between the start time and the end time of the presence information; and

means for updating the presence information in response to the comparison.

44. A machine-readable medium storing a set of executable instructions for causing a processor of a system to perform a method of tracking the location of a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device adapted to communicate with the system and provide its own position information, the method comprising the steps of:

periodically receiving a plurality of locations of the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device, each of the plurality of locations being associated with a time stamp;

defining a trip in response to the locations and their associated time stamps

dividing the trip into a plurality of presences, each of the plurality of presences being associated with at least one of the plurality of locations;

calculating a duration associated with each of the plurality of presences in response to the time stamp associated with the at least one location associated to the presence;

defining a status of each of the plurality of presences in response to the duration; and

characterizing the trip in response to the status of each of the plurality of the presences.

45. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises displaying the plurality of locations on a display of the system.

46. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises displaying the trip in the plurality of presences and the status of each of the plurality of presences on a display of the system.

47. The machine-readable medium of claim 46, wherein the trip is displayed without displaying the plurality of locations.

48. The machine-readable medium of claim 47, wherein the locations of each of the plurality of presences are referred to by the status of the presence.

49. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the status is one of “

En Route,” and

“

At Location.”

50. The machine-readable medium of claim 49, wherein the status of a presence is “

En Route”

if at least two of the locations within the presence are at a significant distance.

51. The machine-readable medium of claim 49, wherein the status of a presence is “

At Location”

if the locations within the presence are in close proximity to each other.

52. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein defining the trip in response to the locations and their associated time stamps comprises sorting the locations by their time stamps and connecting the sorted locations.

53. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises associating temporal boundaries for each of the plurality of presences in response to the time stamps associated with the locations in each of the plurality of presences.

54. A system of tracking the location of a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device adapted to communicate with the system and provide its own position information, the method comprising the steps of:

means for periodically receiving a plurality of locations of the mobile communication device from the mobile communication device, each of the plurality of locations being associated with a time stamp;

means for defining a trip in response to the locations and their associated time stamps

means for dividing the trip into a plurality of presences, each of the plurality of presences being associated with at least one of the plurality of locations;

means for calculating a duration associated with each of the plurality of presences in response to the time stamp associated with the at least one location associated to the presence;

means for defining a status of each of the plurality of presences in response to the duration; and

means for characterizing the trip in response to the status of each of the plurality of the presences.

55. The system of claim 54, further comprises means for displaying the plurality of locations on a display of the system.

56. The system of claim 54, further comprises means for displaying the trip in the plurality of presences and the status of each of the plurality of presences on a display of the system.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the trip is displayed without displaying the plurality of locations.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the locations of each of the plurality of presences are referred to by the status of the presence.

59. The system of claim 54, wherein the status is one of “

En Route,” and

“

At Location.”

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the status of a presence is “

En Route”

if at least two of the locations within the presence are at a significant distance.

61. The system of claim 59, wherein the status of a presence is “

At Location”

if the locations within the presence are in close proximity to each other.

62. The system of claim 54, wherein the means for defining the trip in response to the locations and their associated time stamps comprises means for sorting the locations by their time stamps and means for connecting the sorted locations.

63. The system of claim 54, further comprises means for associating temporal boundaries for each of the plurality of presences in response to the time stamps associated with the locations in each of the plurality of presences.