POINT OF INTEREST SEARCH, IDENTIFICATION, AND NAVIGATION

• US 20120041673A1
• Filed: 08/10/2010
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Vandivier, Karl Douglas, Wisniewski, Dean T., Schneider, Mark, Brace, Jennifer L., Aldighieri, Paul, Patel, Vilay, Broadwater, Charles Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,335,643 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/426
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence

Abstract

A computer-implemented navigation method for identifying one or more points of interest (POI) in a geographic location includes calculating a navigation route and receiving a reference point input. The reference point input may be unrelated to the navigation route and usable for identifying one or more POIs. The method further includes receiving one or more search parameters for searching for one or more POIs with respect to the reference point and identifying the one or more POIs based on the search parameters and reference point. The method also includes presenting the one or more POIs on a vehicle computer display.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented navigation method for identifying one or more points of interest (POI) in a geographic location, the method comprising:

calculating a navigation route;

receiving a reference point input, unrelated to the navigation route, for identifying one or more POIs;

receiving one or more search parameters for searching for one or more POIs with respect to the reference point;

identifying the one or more POIs based on the search parameters and reference point; and

presenting the one or more POIs on a vehicle computer display.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving sorting criteria for sorting the POIs;

sorting a selection of the one or more POIs based on the sorting criteria; and

displaying the one or more sorted POIS for selection.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the reference point is at least one of another POI, a zip code, a city, a state, address, or a border line.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 further comprising receiving the one or more POIs as one or more waypoints on the navigation route.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the reference point is not a waypoint on the navigation route.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the one or more search parameters include at least one of a distance parameter, a direction parameter, and a time parameter.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein receiving one or more search parameters includes receiving at least two search parameters, the method further comprising identifying the one or more POIs with respect to the reference point based on the at least two search parameters.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the reference point and one or more search parameters via at least one of a tactile input or a voice input.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a limit for a number of POIs for presentation on the vehicle computer;

identifying the one or more POIs based on the search parameters;

determining if the identified one or more POIs exceed the limit; and

based on said determining, determining if additional search parameters are required.

10. A navigation system for navigating to one or more points of interest, the system comprising:

at least one vehicle computer configured to;

receive a reference point, unrelated to a navigation route, for identifying one or more POIs;

receive one or more search parameters for searching for one or more POIs with respect to the reference point;

receive sorting criteria for sorting the POIs;

identify the one or more POIs based on the search parameters, the sorting criteria and the reference point;

receive a selection of the one or more POIs sorted based on the sorting criteria;

calculate the navigation route to the selected one or more POIs in response to the selection; and

present the navigation route.

11. The navigation system of claim 10 wherein the sorting criteria includes at least one of a rating, a price, a time, alphabetical order, or reverse alphabetical order.

12. The navigation system of claim 10 wherein the at least one vehicle computer is configured to calculate the navigation route to the one or more sorted POIs during navigation of a navigation route.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the vehicle computer is further configured to modify an original navigation route to include the navigation route to the one or more sorted POIs, wherein the original navigation route is calculated before calculating the navigation route to the one or more sorted POIs.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising at least one display, wherein the vehicle computer is further configure to present the navigation route to the one or more sorted POIs and the original navigation route on the display.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the at least one vehicle computer is further configured to:

receive one or more POIs stored in memory;

determine one or more identified POIs correlating with the stored POIs; and

present the one or more POIs correlating with the stored POIs on a vehicle computer.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the at least one vehicle computer configured to receive one or more search parameters is further configured to:

receive at least two search parameters; and

identify the one or more POIs based on the at least two search parameters and the sorting criteria.

17. A system comprising:

a vehicle computer configured to;

calculate a navigation route;

receive a reference point, unrelated to the navigation route, for identifying points of interest (POIs);

search POIs using search parameters relative to the reference point;

retrieve POIs stored on the vehicle computer;

based on the search, identify POIs discovered in the search correlating with the stored POIs; and

present the correlating POIs on a vehicle computer display.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the vehicle computer is further configure to:

receive input for defining one or more search parameters; and

predict the search parameter as the input is being received.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the vehicle computer is further configured to receive the one or more POIs as a waypoint on the navigation route.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the at least one vehicle computer is further configured to:

receive at least two search parameters relative to the reference point; and

identify the one or more POIs correlating with the stored POIs based on the at least two search parameters.