Method of Operating a Navigation System to Provide Route Guidance
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide a route guidance message for traveling a route comprising at least one road segment, the method comprising:
- obtaining data from a geographic database associated with the navigation system identifying a plurality of features visible from the road segment;
determining an importance rating for each of the identified features, wherein the importance rating considers a permanence of the identified feature or a seasonal dependency of the identified feature, wherein the permanence of the identified feature indicates whether a visible appearance of the identified feature is constant, wherein the seasonal dependency of the identified feature indicates whether the visible appearance of the identified feature is impacted by a season; and
providing the guidance message referencing the identified feature having a highest determined importance rating.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of operating a navigation system to provide a route guidance message for traveling a route is disclosed. A plurality of features visible from a road segment of the route is obtained from a geographic database associated with the navigation system. An importance rating for each of the identified features is determined. The guidance message references the identified feature having a highest determined importance rating. The importance rating considers a permanence or a seasonal dependency of the identified feature.
33 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide a route guidance message for traveling a route comprising at least one road segment, the method comprising:
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obtaining data from a geographic database associated with the navigation system identifying a plurality of features visible from the road segment; determining an importance rating for each of the identified features, wherein the importance rating considers a permanence of the identified feature or a seasonal dependency of the identified feature, wherein the permanence of the identified feature indicates whether a visible appearance of the identified feature is constant, wherein the seasonal dependency of the identified feature indicates whether the visible appearance of the identified feature is impacted by a season; and providing the guidance message referencing the identified feature having a highest determined importance rating. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A navigation system comprising:
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a processor; a geographic database associated with the processor; and a guidance application program executed on the processor to provide a guidance message for traveling a route comprising at least one road segment, wherein the guidance application program obtains data from the geographic database identifying a plurality of features visible from the road segment, determines an importance rating for each of the identified features and provides the guidance message referencing the identified feature having a highest determined importance rating, wherein the importance rating considers at least one attribute of the identified feature selected from a group consisting of a permanence attribute representing whether a visible appearance of the identified feature is constant, a seasonal dependency attribute representing whether the visible appearance is impacted by a season, a visibility attribute representing a level of visibility obstruction, a prominence attribute representing a prominence of the identified feature considering both a size of the identified feature and a distance of the identified feature from the road segment, a feature extent attribute representing a length of the identified feature, and a preferred name attribute representing whether a name describing a visually distinguishing aspect of the identified feature is available from the geographic database. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide a guidance message, the method comprising:
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obtaining data from a geographic database associated with the navigation system to identify a plurality of features visible from a road segment; determining a visual uniqueness rating for each of the identified features, wherein the visual uniqueness rating indicates how visually distinctive the identified feature is compared to surrounding features; and providing the guidance message referencing the identified feature having a greatest visual uniqueness rating. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification