NAVIGATION OR MAPPING APPARATUS & METHOD

• US 20130212509A1
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Van Seggelen, Rob, Boschker, Breght Roderick
• Application Number:
  US13/640,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20130212509A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

The invention relates to a navigation device (200) comprising a display (240) for displaying a digital map to a user, a processor (210) configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user using the display, and a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus. The user interface is arranged to allow a user to provide, on the displayed digital map displayed to the user, an indication of a selected region present in the digital map. The processor (210) is arranged to determine digital map data relating to the selected region indicated by the user, and to carry out one or more operations relating to the selected region using the determined digital map data.

Claims

1. A navigation or mapping apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a display for displaying a digital map to a user;

a processor configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user using the display; and

a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus;

wherein the user interface is arranged to allow a user to select a continuous region present in the digital map by providing one or more indications on the displayed digital map in use; and

wherein, when a selection of a continuous region is received from a user in use, the processor is arranged to determine digital map data corresponding to at least part of the selected region, and to perform one or more operations in relation to the selected region using the determined digital map data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication is in the form of a boundary on the digital map displayed, and wherein the processor is arranged to infer therefrom a selected region comprising the boundary and a region bounded thereby.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the indication is in the form of a shape on the displayed digital map covering the selected region, and having a boundary defining an extent of the selected region.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is arranged to determine a subset of the digital map data corresponding to locations included in the selected region.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the indication of the selected region is in the form of a shape or line drawn by the user on the displayed map.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display is a touch display and the selected region is indicated by the user touching a part of the display.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display is a touch display and the apparatus is arranged to allow the user to indicate the selected region using a single or multi touch gesture conducted on the display.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is arranged to cause a graphical representation of a boundary to be provided on the displayed map to the user, which representation may be manipulated by the user to set an indication of the selected region or wherein the processor is arranged to cause a graphical representation of a boundary of changing size to be provided on the displayed map, wherein the user may provide an indication to the apparatus when the boundary reaches a desired size to set the indication of the selected region.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is arranged to receive an input from the user indicative of the desire to set an indication of a selected region, and to cause a graphical representation of a boundary to be provided on the displayed map to the user in response to such an indication.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is arranged to perform one or more of the following operations using the determined data:

a search for a given item or items in the selected region, monitoring the selected region in respect of a given change in the region, causing an alert to be provided in relation to determining the occurrence of a given event or the presence of an item within the selected region, setting a region in respect of which certain functions are to be performed by the apparatus, and displaying navigation data relating to the selected region.

18. A portable navigation device (PND) comprising the apparatus in accordance with claim 1.

19. An integrated navigation system comprising the apparatus of claim 1.

11. A method of operating a navigation or mapping apparatus, the method comprising controlling the navigation or mapping apparatus to perform a method comprising the steps of:

accessing digital map data and using the accessed digital map data to display a digital map;

receiving from a user via a user interface of the apparatus a selection of a continuous region present in the displayed digital map, wherein the region is selected by the user providing one or more indications on the displayed digital map;

determining digital map data corresponding to at least a part of the selected region; and

carrying out one or more operations in relation to the selected region using the digital map data.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the indication of the selected region received from the user is in the form of a boundary on the digital map displayed, and wherein the method further comprises inferring from the boundary a selected region comprising the boundary and a region bounded thereby or wherein the indication of the selected region received from the user is in the form of a shape on the displayed digital map covering the selected region, and having a boundary defining an extent of the selected region.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the display is a touch display and the selected region is indicated by the user touching a part of the display.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the display is a touch display and the indication of the selected region received from the user in the form of a single or multi touch gesture conducted on the display, the method further comprising inferring the selected region from the gesture.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the method comprises providing a graphical representation of a boundary on the displayed map, which representation may be manipulated by the user to set an indication of the selected region or providing a graphical representation of a boundary of changing size on the displayed map, and receiving an indication from the user when the boundary reaches a desired size to set the indication of the selected region.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the method comprises receiving an input from the user indicative of the desire to set an indication of a selected region, and providing the graphical representation of a boundary on the displayed map to the user in response to such an indication, wherein the input from the user comprises an indication of a discrete point on the display, and the method comprises providing the graphical indication of a boundary centred upon the discrete point.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the method comprises one or more of the following operations using the determined digital data:

searching for a given item or items in the selected region, monitoring the selected region in respect of a given change in the region, causing an alert to be provided in relation to determining the occurrence of a given event or the presence of an item within the selected region, setting a region in respect of which certain functions are to be performed by the apparatus, and displaying navigation data relating to the selected region.

20. A non-transitory computer program product comprising computer readable instructions executable to perform a method according to claim 11.