Method of generating a suggested navigation route based on touch input received from a user and related portable electronic device

• US 20140074401A1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Published: 03/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: MiTAC International Corporation (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Otani, Takuya
• Granted Patent: US 8,892,360 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• 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

Abstract

A method of generating a suggested navigation route with a portable electronic device includes presenting a map to a user on a touch-sensitive screen of the portable electronic device, and receiving touch input from a user stroking the touch-sensitive screen from a touch-down location corresponding to a starting point on the map to a release location corresponding to an ending point on the map for indicating a location of a preferred route, the preferred route beginning with the starting point and finishing with the ending point. The method further includes generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets for the suggested navigation route according to the preferred route in order to closely approximate the preferred route, presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen, and providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the suggested navigation route.

Claims

1. A method of generating a suggested navigation route with a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

presenting a map to a user on a touch-sensitive screen of the portable electronic device;

receiving touch input from a user stroking the touch-sensitive screen from a touch-down location corresponding to a starting point on the map to a release location corresponding to an ending point on the map for indicating a location of a preferred route, the preferred route beginning with the starting point and finishing with the ending point;

generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets for the suggested navigation route according to the preferred route in order to closely approximate the preferred route;

presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen; and

providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the suggested navigation route.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the suggested navigation route is generated according the starting point, the ending point, and points along the preferred route located in between the starting point and the ending point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen, the method further comprises:

the user touching a portion of the suggested navigation route and dragging the portion of the suggested navigation route away from an original position of the portion of the suggested navigation route to create a modified suggested navigation route;

presenting the modified suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen; and

providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the modified suggested navigation route.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets for the suggested navigation route according to the preferred route comprises:

dividing the preferred route into a plurality of vectors sequentially located from the starting point to the ending point; and

for each vector of the plurality of vectors, selecting one or more streets that have traffic flow in a direction nearest a direction of the vector, wherein additional streets are selected until selected streets intersect with the vector.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein when selecting the one or more streets that have traffic flow in the direction nearest the direction of the vector, larger streets are assigned more weight than smaller streets in selection for the suggested navigation route.

6. A portable electronic device for generating a suggested navigation route based on touch input received from a user, the portable electronic device comprising:

a touch-sensitive screen for presenting a map to the user and for receiving touch input from a user stroking the touch-sensitive screen from a touch-down location corresponding to a starting point on the map to a release location corresponding to an ending point on the map for indicating a location of a preferred route, the preferred route beginning with the starting point and finishing with the ending point;

routing software for generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets for the suggested navigation route according to the preferred route in order to closely approximate the preferred route; and

a user interface for presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen and providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the suggested navigation route.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the routing software generates the suggested navigation route according the starting point, the ending point, and points along the preferred route located in between the starting point and the ending point.

8. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein after presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen, the touch-sensitive screen receives input from the user touching a portion of the suggested navigation route and drags the portion of the suggested navigation route away from an original position of the portion of the suggested navigation route to create a modified suggested navigation route, and the user interface presents the modified suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen and provides navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the modified suggested navigation route.

9. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein when generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets for the suggested navigation route according to the preferred route, the routing software divides the preferred route into a plurality of vectors sequentially located from the starting point to the ending point, and for each vector of the plurality of vectors, the routing software selects one or more streets that have traffic flow in a direction nearest a direction of the vector, wherein additional streets are selected until selected streets intersect with the vector.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein when selecting the one or more streets that have traffic flow in the direction nearest the direction of the vector, the routing software assigns larger streets more weight than smaller streets in selection for the suggested navigation route.

11. The portable electronic device of claim 6 being a personal digital assistant.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 6 being a mobile phone.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 6 wherein the routing software generates the suggested navigation route by selecting streets with higher product-moment correlation with respect to each segment of the preferred route, wherein the product-moment correlation corresponding to each segment of the preferred route is calculated by:

dividing the preferred route into a plurality of vectors respectively corresponding to segments of the preferred route, the vectors sequentially located from the starting point to the ending point; and

for each vector of the plurality of vectors, calculating a product-moment correlation for streets located near the corresponding segment of the preferred route, wherein the product-moment correlation value for a street closer in location to the vector and more similar in direction to the vector is higher than the product-moment correlation value for a street farther in location from the vector or more dissimilar in direction to the vector; and

a user interface for presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen and providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the suggested navigation route.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein when calculating a product-moment correlation for a street with respect to each segment of the preferred route, only the one direction that traffic flows in is considered if the street is a one-way street, and both directions that traffic flows in is considered if the street is a two-way street.

15. A method of generating a suggested navigation route with a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

presenting a map to a user on a touch-sensitive screen of the portable electronic device;

receiving touch input from a user stroking the touch-sensitive screen from a touch-down location corresponding to a starting point on the map to a release location corresponding to an ending point on the map for indicating a location of a preferred route, the preferred route beginning with the starting point and finishing with the ending point;

generating the suggested navigation route by selecting streets with higher product-moment correlation with respect to each segment of the preferred route, wherein the product-moment correlation corresponding to each segment of the preferred route is calculated by;

dividing the preferred route into a plurality of vectors respectively corresponding to segments of the preferred route, the vectors sequentially located from the starting point to the ending point; and

for each vector of the plurality of vectors, calculating a product-moment correlation for streets located near the corresponding segment of the preferred route, wherein the product-moment correlation value for a street closer in location to the vector and more similar in direction to the vector is higher than the product-moment correlation value for a street farther in location from the vector or more dissimilar in direction to the vector;

presenting the suggested navigation route to the user on the touch-sensitive screen; and

providing navigation assistance to the user for guiding the user along the suggested navigation route.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein when calculating a product-moment correlation for a street with respect to each segment of the preferred route, only the one direction that traffic flows in is considered if the street is a one-way street, and both directions that traffic flows in is considered if the street is a two-way street.