Weather-sensitive route mapping

• US 20110307168A1
• Filed: 06/13/2011
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Kieff, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US13/067,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20110307168A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968

Abstract

A wireless phone navigation system that obtains and uses weather system data to alert and re-route a user around inclement weather located at a point on the user'"'"'s navigated route, as predicted to be at a time in the future that the user would otherwise be expected to traverse that part of the navigated route. A weather polygon is drawn around a perimeter of a weather system obtained from current weather data. The weather polygon (or other shape) may be drawn based on configurable weather items to be avoided, e.g., rain, ice conditions, snow on ground, etc. The re-routing may be based on a prediction of a future position of a weather system with respect to where on a navigated route a user will be at that future time.

Claims

1. A method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system, comprising:

obtaining current weather data relating to travel to a given destination;

defining a polygon shape around a perimeter of a weather system in said current weather data to form a weather polygon;

establishing a location of said weather polygon; and

routing a trip to said given destination which minimizes traverse of said weather polygon.

2. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, wherein:

said perimeter of said weather system is defined based on a configurable severity criteria within said weather system.

3. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 2, wherein said severity criteria including choices among weather elements corresponding to:

rain;

ice conditions; and

snow on ground.

4. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

predicting a direction of movement of said location of said weather polygon toward said routed trip.

5. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, wherein:

said location of said weather polygon is a center of said weather polygon.

6. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

weighting said location of said weather polygon toward a perimeter of said weather polygon which contains a higher density of severe weather than a density of remaining portions of said weather polygon.

7. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, wherein said wireless navigation device comprises:

a wireless phone.

8. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

predicting an intersection of said location of said weather polygon and any future portion of said routed trip.

9. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

predicting an intersection of a perimeter of said weather polygon and any future portion of said routed trip.

10. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly revising a shape of said weather polygon as said wireless navigation device traverses said routed trip.

11. The method of providing to a wireless navigation device navigation which avoids a weather system according to claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly revising a location of said weather polygon as said wireless navigation device traverses said routed trip.