Method and apparatus for detecting arrival at new city and producing information on new city

• US 20100274482A1
• Filed: 04/24/2009
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Feng, Kyte
• Granted Patent: US 8,798,903 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

An apparatus and method for a navigation system to detect arrival to a new city and provide information on the city such as dining, lodging, popular sightseeing place, etc. to the user. In addition, it can also provide the user a list of his or her friends in the new city according to an address book or from social networking websites. The navigation includes a detecting unit communicatively coupled with a position measuring device and a map information memory to detect whether the user is entering a new city by determining whether the user is moving across the new city border line. Further, the detecting unit indicates the user is entering a new city when the user is moving a predetermined distance away from an airport. Further, the new city information may not be shown if the user has visited the city before within a predetermined period.

Claims

1. A portable navigation system comprises:

a display unit;

a position measuring unit adapted to receive information about current location of a user;

at least one database to store and provide maps, map attributes, road networks, geographical features, and point-of-interest (POI) information; and

an information providing unit configured to provide a notification message with new city information therein to the user on said display unit when the user is entering a new city.

2. The portable navigation system of claim 1, wherein the portable navigation system further comprises a detecting unit communicatively coupled with the position measuring unit and the database to detect whether the user is entering the new city.

3. The portable navigation system of claim 2, wherein the detecting unit indicates the user is entering the new city when the user is moving across city border line, or the user is moving a predetermined distance away from an airport of the new city.

4. The portable navigation system of claim 1, wherein the portable navigation system further comprises a memory unit adapted to store a first visiting date of the new city, compare a second visiting date with the first visiting date of the new city, and if the new city has been visited repeatedly within a predetermined period of time, the new city information is not displayed to the user.

5. The portable navigation system of claim 3, wherein the portable navigation system provides a city selection table which allows the user to determine the size of city to receive new city information.

6. The portable navigation system of claim 5, wherein the notification message containing new city information is provided to the user when the user is entering the new city of the driver'"'"'s preferable size.

7. The portable navigation system of claim 1, wherein the new city information is stored in the database of the navigation system, or transmitted from a remote server, the Internet or other communication networks.

8. A method of providing new city information from a navigation device to a user comprises the steps of:

receiving a first position of the user;

storing the user'"'"'s first position when the device is turned off, retrieving the user'"'"'s second position when the device is again turned on and comparing the user'"'"'s second position with the user'"'"'s first position stored in the device;

determining whether the user is entering a new city;

providing a notification message to the user if the user is entering the new city and allowing the user to retrieve new city information in said notification message; and

displaying the new city information to the user on a display unit.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether the user is entering a new city comprises a step of determining whether the user is moving across city border line or whether the user is moving a predetermined distance away from an airport of the new city.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a detecting unit, which is communicatively coupled with a map information memory and a position measuring device, is adapted to determine the user is moving across city border line or whether the user is moving a predetermined distance away from an airport of the new city.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether the user is entering a new city comprises a step of providing a city selection table to the user to determine the size of the city to receive new city information.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of allowing the user to retrieve new city information comprises a step of retrieving the new city information from a database of a navigation system, or from a remote server, the Internet or other communication networks.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of displaying the new city information to the user comprises a step of storing a first visiting date of the new city, comparing a second visiting date with the first visiting date of the new city, and if the new city has been visited repeatedly within a predetermined period of time, the new city information is not displayed to the user.

14. An apparatus for providing new city information to a user comprises:

a user interface;

a position measuring unit to provide the user'"'"'s current position;

an information providing unit; and

a detecting unit,

wherein the position measuring unit stores the user'"'"'s first position where the apparatus is turned off and retrieves the user'"'"'s second position where the apparatus is again turned on, and the information providing unit is adapted to provide a notification message with new city information to the user on the user interface if the user is entering a new city.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the detecting unit, which is communicatively coupled with the position measuring unit and at least one map database, indicates the user is entering a new city when the user is moving across city border line, or the user is moving a predetermined distance away from an airport of the new city.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory unit adapted to store a first visiting date of the new city, compare a second visiting date with the first visiting date of the new city, and if the new city has been visited repeatedly within a predetermined period of time, the new city information is not displayed to the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus provides a city selection table which allows the user to determine the size of city to receive new city information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the notification message containing new city information is provided to the user when the driver is entering the new city of the user'"'"'s preferable size.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the new city information is stored in the database of the apparatus, or transmitted from a remote server, the Internet or other communication networks.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface comprises a voice recognition unit adapted to recognize the user'"'"'s response when the information providing unit provides the new city information to the user by voice.