Support for alternative names in a geographic database used with a navigation program and methods for use and formation thereof

• US 6,336,111 B1
• Filed: 02/15/2000
• Issued: 01/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Navigon AG (Garmin Limited)
• Original Assignee: David S. Lampert, Richard A. Ashby
• Inventors: Lampert, David S., Ashby, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US09/504,976
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.4, 707/1-6, 707/100, 701/200, 701/201, 701/208, 701/213, 701/209, 340/990, 340/995
• US Class Current: 707/715
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2237 Vectors, bitmaps or matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/919 Geographic
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A method and system for supporting alternative names of geographic locations with a navigation application program that uses a geographic database stored on a computer-readable medium. The alternative names of geographic locations include names in a plurality of different languages. Included are one or more language filters. Each of the one or more language filters associates the data records in the geographic database that are used as names for geographic locations with one or more of the plurality of different languages. A routine uses the one or more language filters so that the navigation application program can use names for geographic locations that are valid in an access language selected from among the plurality of different languages.

Claims

1. A computer usable medium having a map database embodied thereon, wherein the map database comprises:

a plurality of data records representing geographic features in a geographic region;

alternative names for said geographic features represented by said plurality of data records, wherein said alternative names include names in a plurality of different languages,

wherein said plurality of data records are separated into a plurality of parcels each of which includes a portion of the plurality of data records and wherein the portion of the plurality of data records in each parcel represents those geographic features located within a separate distinct geographic area into which the geographic region is divided,

a plurality of internal language filters, each of which is associated with a respective one of said plurality of parcels, wherein each of said plurality of internal language filters provides for selecting those alternative names for the geographic features represented by the plurality of data records in its respective parcel that are valid in a selectable language.

2. The invention of claim 1 further comprising:

an external language filter that associates each of the alternative names for geographic features in said plurality of parcels to at least one of the plurality of languages.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said external language filter further comprises, with respect to each of said alternative names, an indication of which of said plurality of parcels contains the data record that represents the geographic location known by the alternative name.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said alternative names include exonyms and synonyms.

4. A computer usable medium having computer readable program data structure means embodied thereon for use in a map database, wherein the map database includes a plurality of data records representing geographic features in a geographic region, wherein said plurality of data records include alternative names for said geographic features represented by said plurality of data records and wherein said alternative names include names in a plurality of different languages, said computer readable program data structure comprising:

a first language filter adapted for selecting those alternative names for the geographic features represented by the plurality of data records that are valid in a selectable language, wherein said alternative names include both exonyms and synonyms.

5. In a navigation system that includes a navigation application program run on a processor and a geographic database stored on a computer readable medium, wherein the geographic database includes data records that represent features in a geographic region, an improvement comprising:

data that indicates names of locations represented by said data records, wherein said data that indicates names include names in a plurality of languages and wherein at least some of said locations represented by data records have names in more than one of said plurality of languages;

an index associating each of the data that indicates names with said plurality of languages, wherein said index indicates which one or more of said plurality of languages is valid for each of said data that indicates names;

a language selection routine associated with said navigation application program and adapted to select at least one of said plurality of languages; and

a language access routine adapted to use said index to select those data that indicates names which are valid in said selected one of said plurality of languages for use by said navigation application program.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said geographic database is parcelized into a plurality of parcels such that each of said parcels includes a plurality of said data records, and wherein said index comprises:

a plurality of internal indices, each of which is associated with a respective one of said plurality of parcels, and wherein each of said plurality of internal indices associates each of the data that indicates names represented by the plurality of data records included in its respective parcel to at least one of the plurality of languages.

7. The invention of claim 5 wherein said geographic database is parcelized into a plurality of parcels such that each of said parcels includes a plurality of said data records, and wherein said index comprises:

an external index that associates each of the data that indicates names represented by data records in each of said parcels to at least one of the plurality of languages.

8. The invention of claim 7 further comprising:

a plurality of internal indices, each of which is associated with a respective one of said plurality of parcels, and wherein each of said plurality of internal indices associates each of the data that indicates names represented by the plurality of data records included in its respective parcel to at least one of the plurality of languages.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein said names of locations comprise base names, synonyms for base and exonyms for base names.

9. A computer usable medium having computer readable program data structure means embodied therein for use in a map database, wherein the map database includes a plurality of data records representing named geographic locations in a geographic region, wherein said plurality of data records are spatially parcelized into a plurality of parcels each of which includes a portion of the plurality of data records and wherein each portion includes data records that represent geographic locations encompassed within a separate one of a plurality of rectangular areas which together comprise the geographic region,

wherein each of the geographic locations is represented by a respective one of said plurality of data records corresponding to a base name of the geographic location;

and

wherein each alternative name by which the geographic location is known in any of a plurality of different languages is represented by a separate one of the plurality of data records corresponding to said alternative name.

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein each data record that represents a location and which corresponds to a name other than the base name is included in the same parcel as the data record that represents the location and which corresponds to the base name of the location.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein a data record that represents a location and which corresponds to a name other than the base name includes pointers to corresponding common attributes in the data record that represents the location and which corresponds to the base name of the location.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said alternative names include base names, exonyms and synonyms.