Method and system for providing navigation systems with updated geographic data

• US 6,362,779 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2000
• Issued: 03/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (HERE Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Navigation Technologies Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Crowley, Paul, Bouzide, Paul M., Meek, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US09/660,329
• Time in Patent Office: 560 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.13, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/212, 340/990, 340/995
• US Class Current: 342/357.77
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network

Abstract

A system and method for providing updated geographic data for use by a navigation application program. The navigation application program is at a first version level and uses geographic data in a geographic database. An updated geographic database is provided to the navigation application program. The updated geographic database is at a second version level which is later than the first version level. Also provided to the navigation application program are one or more replacement routines. These replacement routines may be stored with the updated geographic database on a computer-readable medium or may be provided separately. The one or more replacement routines are used by the navigation application program either at initialization or during runtime. The one or more replacement routines are called to access or use the data in the updated geographic database. The one or more replacement routines are preferably in an interpretive language and executed by a virtual processor. The virtual processor may be part of the navigation application program. The one or more replacement routines can be used by the navigation application program thereby enabling the navigation application program which is at the first version level to use the updated geographic data which is at second version level.

Claims

1. A method of providing updated geographic data content for a plurality of navigation systems, wherein said plurality of navigation systems include navigation systems having different hardware platforms, the method comprising the steps of:

providing separate copies of a geographic database containing said updated geographic data content to said plurality of navigation systems;

providing replacement routines in an interpretive computer language with said copies of said geographic database; and

in each of said plurality of navigation systems, operating a virtual CPU software program to execute at least one of said replacement routines to access said updated geographic data content in said geographic database.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said separate copies of the geographic database are stored on computer-readable media.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said computer-readable media include CD-ROM disks.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said computer-readable media include DVD disks.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said copies of the geographic database are stored on computer-readable media, and wherein the method further comprises:

providing a separate copy of said computer-readable media to each of said plurality of navigation systems.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said copies of the geographic database and copies of said replacement routines are stored on computer-readable media, and wherein the method further comprises:

providing a separate copy of said computer-readable media to each of said plurality of navigation systems, wherein each copy of said computer-readable media contains a copy of said geographic database containing said updated geographic data content and a copy of at least one of said replacement routines.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of operating a virtual CPU to execute at least one of said replacement routines is performed during an initialization performed by each of the navigation systems.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of operating a virtual CPU to execute at least one of said replacement routines is performed during runtime by each of the navigation systems.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said replacement routines are provided by wireless data transmission.

10. A method of providing updated geographic data content for a plurality of navigation systems, wherein said plurality of navigation systems include navigation systems having different application software version levels, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a separate copy of a geographic database containing said updated geographic data content to each of said plurality of navigation systems;

providing copies of replacement routines in an interpretive computer language to said plurality of navigation systems; and

in each of said plurality of navigation systems, operating a virtual CPU software program to execute at least one of said replacement routines to access said updated geographic data content in said geographic database.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing a separate computer-readable medium to each of said plurality of navigation systems, wherein said computer-readable medium contains the copy of the geographic database provided thereto.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable medium provided to each of said plurality of navigation systems also contains at least one of said replacement routines.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said computer-readable medium comprises a CD-ROM disk.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said computer-readable medium comprises a DVD disk.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing a separate computer-readable medium to each of said plurality of navigation systems, wherein said computer-readable medium contains at least one of said replacement routines.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of operating a virtual CPU to execute at least one of said replacement routines is performed during an initialization performed by each of the navigation systems.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of operating a virtual CPU to execute at least one of said replacement routines is performed during runtime by each of the navigation systems.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein said copies of said replacement routines are provided by wireless data transmission.

19. An updated geographic data product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

a geographic database stored on said computer readable medium, said geographic database having updated content and an updated data structure, said geographic database being at a release version level later than an initial version level; and

at least one replacement routine stored on said computer readable medium, said at least one replacement routine being written in an interpretive computer language and adapted to be executed by a virtual CPU software program run on a navigation system to replace routines in navigation applications of version levels earlier than said release version level.

20. The invention of claim 19 further comprising:

at least one table stored on said computer-readable medium and relating a listing of said at least one replacement routine stored on said computer-readable medium with release version levels of navigation applications to which said at least one replacement routine applies.