METHODS AND SYSTEMS OF PROVIDING INFORMATION USING A NAVIGATION APPARATUS

• US 20150241239A1
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: van Dok, Cornelis Klaas, Goverts, Sijtse Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 10,612,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A method of providing information relating to a path being travelled using a navigation apparatus, involves displaying a path bar including a linear representation of at least a portion of a path to be travelled using a navigation apparatus. The linear representation of the portion of the path is scrollable in the display window by a user to reveal a linear representation of another portion of the path. The method may involve automatically increasing a scale of the linear representation of the path displayed as a given location represented along the path is approached, wherein the location is a location of a safety camera or event affecting traffic flow along the path.

Claims

1. A method of providing information relating to a path to be travelled using a navigation apparatus, the method comprising:

displaying a linear representation of a portion of a path to be travelled in a display window of the navigation apparatus; and

scrolling the linear representation of the portion of the path in the display window to reveal a linear representation of another portion of the path in response to a received input from a user indicative of a scrolling action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the linear representation of the portion of the path is displayed simultaneously with a 2D or 3D navigation map.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the received input from the user is a touch based input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the path is a path to an end point, and wherein the displayed linear representation of the portion of the path to be travelled does not include the end point, and optionally wherein the linear representation of the portion of the path is scrollable in the display window to reveal a linear representation of a portion of the path including an end point of the path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the path is a path to an end point, the end point being selected from the group consisting of:

a destination of a pre-calculated route;

a location beyond the destination of a pre-calculated route; and

a location ahead along a road currently being travelled.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the path comprises a pre-calculated route to a destination, and the displayed linear representation of a portion of the path includes, or is scrollable to reveal, a linear representation of a portion of a path beyond the destination.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed linear representation of the portion of the path is scrollable to reveal a linear representation of another portion of the path that is of the same scale as the linear representation of the initially displayed representation of a portion of the path.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying information relating to one or more locations represented along the displayed representation of a portion of the path in association with the corresponding location or locations.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the or each location is indicated by marking the representation of the location along the displayed representation of the portion of the path, the method further comprising annotating the or each marked location or locations to provide the information relating to the location.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the information relating to a given location relates to one or more of the presence of a POI and the existence of an event or hazard associated with the location,

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically increasing a scale of the linear representation of the portion of the path that is displayed in the display window as a given location represented along the representation of the path is approached.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation apparatus is a portable navigation device (PND) or forms part of an integrated navigation system.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a navigation apparatus, cause the navigation apparatus to perform the method according to claim 1.

13. A navigation apparatus, comprising at least one processor and a memory including computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the navigation apparatus to:

display a linear representation of a portion of a path to be travelled in a display window on a display device of the navigation apparatus; and

scroll the linear representation of the portion of the path in the display window to reveal a linear representation of another portion of the path in response to a received input from a user indicative of a scrolling action on an input device of the navigation apparatus.

14. The navigation apparatus of claim 13, wherein the navigation apparatus is a portable navigation device (PND) or forms part of an integrated navigation system.