Method of creating varied exercise routes for a user

• US 20130304377A1
• Filed: 05/09/2012
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Van Hende, Iwan
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence

Abstract

A method of creating an exercise route for a user of a personal navigation device includes receiving a selection of a length of an exercise route to be generated, and generating a first plurality of suggested exercise routes, each suggested exercise route of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes being generated according to a current position of the personal navigation device, one or more waypoints to be visited along the suggested exercise route, and the selected length of the exercise route, wherein each of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes has a starting point and ending point substantially equal to one another and equal to the current position of the personal navigation device. The method further includes receiving, from the user, selection of a selected suggested exercise route from the first plurality of suggested exercise routes, and displaying routing instructions for the selected suggested exercise route.

Claims

1. A method of creating an exercise route for a user of a personal navigation device, the method comprising:

storing a database in a memory of the personal navigation device, the database comprising geographic data;

receiving a selection of a length of an exercise route to be generated;

generating a first plurality of suggested exercise routes, each suggested exercise route of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes being generated according to a current position of the personal navigation device, one or more waypoints to be visited along the suggested exercise route, and the selected length of the exercise route, wherein each of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes has a starting point and ending point substantially equal to one another and equal to the current position of the personal navigation device, wherein locations of the one or more waypoints to be visited along each suggested exercise route of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes are automatically calculated by the personal navigation device such that the first plurality of suggested exercise routes are spaced equidistant from one another;

displaying the first plurality of suggested exercise routes to the user on a display of the personal navigation device;

receiving, from the user, selection of a selected suggested exercise route from the first plurality of suggested exercise routes; and

displaying routing instructions on the display of the personal navigation device for the selected suggested exercise route.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each suggested exercise route comprises two waypoints to be visited, a distance from the current position of the personal navigation device to each of the two waypoints being equal to approximately one-fourth of a distance corresponding to the selected length of the exercise route.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein an angle between a first auxiliary line drawn between the current position of the personal navigation device and a first waypoint of the two waypoints and a second auxiliary line drawn between the current position of the personal navigation device and a second waypoint of the two waypoints is equal to approximately 60 degrees.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein after displaying the first plurality of suggested exercise routes to the user on the display of the personal navigation device the method further comprises:

receiving a request from the user to generate a second plurality of suggested exercise routes; and

generating the second plurality of suggested exercise routes according to the current position of the personal navigation device, one or more waypoints to be visited along the suggested exercise route, and the selected length of the exercise route in response to receiving the request from the user to generate the second plurality of suggested exercise routes, wherein each of the second plurality of suggested exercise routes has a starting point and ending point substantially equal to one another and equal to the current position of the personal navigation device, and the second plurality of suggested exercise routes are different than the first plurality of exercise routes.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more waypoints of the second plurality of suggested exercise routes are shifted by a predetermined angle with respect to the one or more waypoints of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes, such that angles between first auxiliary lines drawn between the current position of the personal navigation device and each waypoint of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes and second auxiliary lines drawn between the current position of the personal navigation device and each waypoint of the second plurality of suggested exercise routes is equal to the predetermined angle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the predetermined angle is 17 degrees.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein locations of the one or more waypoints to be visited along each suggested exercise route of the first plurality of suggested exercise routes are specified by the user as selected points of interest.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the selected points of interest are selected as a category of points of interest to be visited along each suggested exercise route, each suggested exercise route being generated in order to visit a maximum number of points of interest included in the category of points of interest.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected length of the exercise route to be generated is indicated by a period of time the user wishes to exercise along with an estimated speed at which the user will travel while exercising.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected length of the exercise route to be generated is indicated by a distance the user wishes to exercise.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected length of the exercise route to be generated is indicated by an amount of calories the user wishes to burn while exercising.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the user, selection of a type of exercise to be performed on the exercise route, wherein generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes comprises generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes according to the selected type of exercise.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the type of exercise to be performed on the exercise route is selected from the group consisting of walking, running, mountain biking, city biking, and race biking

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of a terrain type from the user, wherein generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes comprises generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes according to the selected terrain type.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of a difficulty level from the user, wherein generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes comprises generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes according to the selected difficulty level.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of a total elevation gain from the user, wherein generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes comprises generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes according to the selected total elevation gain such that the first plurality of suggested exercise routes involve an elevation gain substantially equal to the selected total elevation gain.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving a favorite suggested exercise route from the first plurality of suggested exercise routes; and

displaying routing instructions for the saved favorite suggested exercise route on the display of the personal navigation device upon receiving selection of the saved favorite suggested exercise route from the user.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a rest stop request from the user, wherein generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes comprises generating the first plurality of suggested exercise routes including one or more rest stops.

2-3. -3. (canceled)