ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS WITH ENHANCED FUNCTIONALITY

• US 20110207423A1
• Filed: 02/23/2010
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PACCAR Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PACCAR Incorporated
• Inventors: Tarte, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 8,472,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/186.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0075 where the receiving frequencies of the stations are stored in a permanent memory, e.g. ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/12 Radio receiver combined with a GPS receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side

Abstract

An entertainment systems having enhanced functionally and methods therefor are provided. Embodiments of the system allow an operator to assign multiple groups of radio stations to the radio station presets of the system according to different geographical regions located along a calculated route. As the system travels along the calculated route, the radio station presets of the system are updated to correspond to the present location of the system.

Claims

7. In an entertainment system having a plurality of current radio station presets, a method, comprising:

obtaining a calculated navigational route from a start location to an end location;

assigning at least first and second regions to the calculated navigational route, each region defined by a boundary;

receiving from operator input two or more radio station frequencies for each region;

assigning the radio station frequencies associated with the first region to the current radio station presets, wherein the first region is indicative of the current location of the system.

1. A system, comprising:

a radio recevier having a group of radio station presets;

a location acquisition unit that obtains location data;

at least one input device for inputting groups of radio station frequency data;

a memory that stores a calculated route having a plurality of defined geographic regions and the plurality of groups of radio station frequency preset data, each group of radio station frequency preset data associated with one geographic region of the plurality of geographic regions along the calculated route; and

at least one controller that monitors the location data from the location acquisition unit, selects a group of radio station frequency preset data based on current location data obtained from the location acquisition unit, and assigns said group of radio station frequency preset data to the group of radio station presets.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the location acquisition unit includes a GPS receiver.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying the calculated route.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising at least one input device linked to the groups of radio station frequency preset data.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the input device is a depressible button.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the display is a touch screen display and wherein the input device is a virtual icon displayed by the display.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising

monitoring the current location of the entertainment system;

and

if the current location of the entertainment system changes from the first region to the second region, reassigning the current radio station presets to radio station frequencies associated with the second region.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein obtaining a calculated navigational route from a start location to an end location includes

inputting start and end location data;

and

calculating the navigational route.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein obtaining a calculated navigational route from a start location to an end location includes

retrieving a previously calculated route between the start location and end location from memory.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein assigning at least first and second regions to the calculated navigational route includes operator input.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the boundary comprises at least one latitudinal boundary line.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein assigning at least first and second regions to the calculated navigational route includes

partitioning the calculated navigational route into the at least first and second regions so that each region is defined by a boundary.

11-1. The method of claim 7, wherein the boundary comprises at least one longitudinal boundary line.