Method and system for providing a preview of a route calculated with a navigation system

• US 6,249,742 B1
• Filed: 06/20/2000
• Issued: 06/19/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Navigon AG (Garmin Limited)
• Original Assignee: Navigation Technologies Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ashby, Richard, McDonough, William, Friederich, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/597,507
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/202, 701/208, 701/23, 701/25, 701/209, 707/1, 707/100, 707/102, 707/104, 340/995
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A navigation system uses a geographic database to determine a solution route to a destination and provides detailed maneuvering guidance for following the solution route. In addition, the navigation system includes a preview function that provides a summary of the solution route prior to providing the detailed maneuvering guidance for following the solution route. The preview function is included in the programming of the navigation system. The preview function uses a feature incorporated in the geographic database wherein the portion of the geographic database used by the navigation system when determining a solution route includes references to another portion of the database that includes the actual text of the names of the roads represented thereby. As the navigation system uses the data in the geographic database to determine the solution route, data representing the roads in the solution route are saved, including the references to the other portion of the geographic database that includes the actual text of the names of the roads. After the solution route is determined, the preview function evaluates the data representing the roads in the solution route and provides a list of route preview data structures. The list of route preview data structures includes the references to the portion of the geographic database that includes the actual text of the names of the roads. The list of route preview data structures is used to provide the user of the navigation system with a preview that contains a summary of the solution route. The preview provided to the user can include the names of the roads in the solution route. The names can be obtained from the geographic database using the references contained in the list of route preview data structures. When obtaining the names, the references can be reordered to facilitate accessing the text of the names quickly. By providing a preview of the calculated route, the user is familiarized with the route prior to being given detailed guidance for following the route.

Claims

1. In a navigation system that includes hardware and software components and that uses a geographic database stored on a computer-readable medium, a combination comprising:

a route calculation feature wherein a data output representing a solution route between an origin and a destination is determined by using a first portion of the geographic database that contains routing data, and

a route guidance feature wherein detailed maneuvering instructions for following the solution route are provided one at a time to a user of the navigation system by using a second portion of the geographic database that contains maneuvering data;

a route preview feature wherein a summary of the solution route is provided to the user prior to the detailed maneuvering instructions, wherein the route preview feature includes;

a first routine that obtains the data output representing the solution route;

a second routine that evaluates entries in the data output representing the solution route to determine whether a route preview event is indicated; and

a third routine that stores data for each entry in the data output that represents the solution route for which a route preview event is indicated, wherein the data stored for each entry includes a reference to a data entity that contains a name by which a road in the solution route associated with the entry is known.

16. The invention of claim 1 wherein said second routine determines that a route preview event is indicated if a change of road names occurs in the solution route.

17. The invention of claim 1 wherein said second routine determines that a route preview event is indicated if a controlled access road is entered in the solution route.

18. The invention of claim 1 wherein said second routine determines that a route preview event is indicated if a roundabout is entered in the solution route.

19. The invention of claim 1 wherein said route preview features further comprises:

a fourth routine that reorders the references to the data entities that contain names in media order.

20. The invention of claim 1 wherein said route preview features further comprises:

a fourth routine that reorders the references to the data entities that contain names in alphabetical order.

2. A method of providing a route preview of a route calculated by a navigation application, the method comprising:

calculating a solution route between an origin and a destination using a geographic database, wherein said solution route is represented by a first list of data entities from said geographic database, wherein the data entities in said first list represent segments of roads that form a continuous route that conforms to known legal traffic restrictions between said origin and said destination; and

as said solution route is being calculated, storing an indication of a name by which each road segment represented in said first list is known.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of:

providing a user of said navigation application with a preview of said solution route, wherein said preview includes names by which the roads in said solution route are known.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said indication is a reference to a portion of the geographic database that contains names of geographic features.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

providing a list that contains data representing each road included in said solution route to a function;

evaluating the data representing each road included said solution route;

forming route preview data structures based upon said step of evaluating, wherein the route preview data structures contain indications of the names by which roads in said solution route are known; and

using the route preview data structures to provide a preview of the solution route to a user of the navigation application.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of:

prior to using the route preview data structures to provide a preview of the solution route to the user, obtaining from the geographic database the name of the road associated with each of the indications contained in the route preview data structures.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of:

prior to obtaining the name of the road associated with each of the indications contained in the route preview data structures from the geographic database, reordering the indications.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of reordering arranges the indications in media order.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of reordering arranges the indications in numeric order.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of reordering arranges the indications in so that the names are obtained in alphabetical order.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of obtaining the name of the road associated with each of the indications contained in the route preview data structures is performed according to an order formed by the reordering step.

12. A method of operation for a navigation system that includes hardware and software components and that uses a geographic database stored on a computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

using a first portion of the geographic database that contains routing data to determine a solution route between an origin and a destination, wherein the solution route is represented by an output that contains routing data;

using a second portion of the geographic database that contains maneuvering data to provide a user of the navigation system with detailed maneuvering instructions one at a time for following the solution route;

providing a preview of the solution route to the user before the maneuvering instructions are provided, wherein the preview is formed by

evaluating the data representing the solution route to determine entries for the preview; and

storing references to a third portion of the geographic database that contains names of the roads represented by the routing data in the first portion, wherein the references are contained in said data representing the solution route.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said evaluating step comprises:

if a change of names occurs in the solution route, forming an entry for the preview that describes the change of names.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said evaluating step comprises:

if a controlled access road is entered in the solution route, forming an entry for the preview that indicates that a controlled access road is entered.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein said evaluating step comprises:

if a roundabout is entered in the solution route, forming an entry for the preview that indicates that a roundabout is entered.