Method for identifying a place, and terminal and central unit therefor

• US 6,556,918 B2
• Filed: 06/16/1999
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services Inc. (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mannesmann AG (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Inventors: Stangier, Peter, Kolb, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Louis-Jacques, Jacques H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Broadhead, Brian J.
• Application Number:
  US09/331,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: 701/209, 701/208, 701/210, 701/200, 704/7, 707/534
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096894 where input is assisted by the navigation device, i.e. the user does not type the complete name of the destination, e.g. using zip codes, telephone numbers, progressively selecting from initial letters

Abstract

A convenient, trouble-proof, economical identification of a place, especially for remote-controlled navigation of a vehicle through a traffic network, is made possible by a terminal unit, a central station and a method for identifying a name via the terminal unit, especially for identifying an interrogated name of a starting location or destination or current location of a route in a navigation terminal unit based on a plurality of characters which are a component of the name and are interrogated in the terminal unit as a character string. It it is determined whether or not the interrogated character string corresponds to the start of a character string contained in a list of exceptions. This latter character string being contained in a plurality of names. The user is asked to enter additional characters of the name when it is determined that the interrogated character string is contained in the exception list, while a process for unambiguous identification is introduced without further characters of the name being entered when it is determined that the interrogated character string is not contained in the exception list.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a name of a starting location or destination or current location of a route in a navigation terminal unit based on a plurality of characters which are a component of the name, comprising the steps of:

storing a positive list of names in a central station;

entering the characters into the terminal unit;

interrogating the characters in the terminal unit as a character string;

determining whether the interrogated character string corresponds to a start of a further character string contained in a list of exceptions, the further character string being contained in a plurality of names, the determining being carried out in the terminal unit;

storing the exception list in the terminal unit, the exception list is a list of character strings which form beginnings of the names in the positive list, the names being in a quantity such that a transmission of the names from the central station to the terminal unit would cause an effort lying above a limit value;

asking a user to selectively enter additional characters of the name when it is determined that the interrogated character string is contained in the exception list;

introducing a process for unambiguous identification without further characters of the name being entered when it is determined that the interrogated character string is not contained in the exception list; and

transmitting at least a portion of the names from the positive list of the central station which begin with the interrogated character string when it is determined that the interrogated character string is contained in the exception list to the terminal unit for further selection when a terminal unit user selects not to enter any additional characters of the name requested by the user.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein character strings which form beginnings of one of five and six names are contained in the exception list.

3. A method according to claim 1, including transmitting all of the names beginning with the entered character string from a positive list from a central station to the terminal unit when it is determined that the interrogated character string is not contained in the exception list but a name is still not unambiguously identified.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein character strings up to seven characters are contained in the exception list.

5. A method according to claim 1, including transmitting at least one of from the terminal unit to the central station and from the central station to the terminal unit via radio.

6. A method according to claim 1, including transmitting at least one of from the terminal unit to the central station and from the central station to the terminal unit via packet mode.

7. A method according to claim 1, including transmitting at least one of from the terminal unit to the central station and from the central station to the terminal unit via short message.

8. A terminal unit, comprising:

a storage with a program stored in the storage for carrying out a method for identifying a name of a starting location or destination or current location of a route in the navigation terminal unit based on a plurality of characters which are a component of the name, the method including entering the characters into the terminal unit, interrogating the characters in the terminal unit as a character string, determining whether the interrogated character string corresponds to a start of a further character string contained in a list of exceptions, the further character string being contained in a plurality of names, asking a user to enter additional characters of the name when it is determined that the interrogated character string is contained in the exception list, and introducing a process for unambiguous identification without further characters of the name being entered when it is determined that the interrogated character string is not contained in the exception list, the exception list being held in the storage and being a list of character strings which form beginnings of the names in the positive list, the names being in a quantity such that a transmission of the names from a central station to the terminal unit would cause an effort lying above a limit value;

a process for running the program so that the determining is carried out; and

a communications device for communicating with the central station.

9. A central station according to claim 8, wherein the communications device is a radio device.

10. A central station, comprising:

a storage containing a positive list of names;

a program stored in the storage for carrying out a method for identifying a name of a starting location or destination or current location of a route in a navigation terminal unit based on a plurality of characters which are a component of the name, the method including entering the characters into the terminal, interrogating the characters in the terminal unit as a character string, determining whether the interrogated character string corresponds to a start of a further character string contained in a list of exceptions, the further character string being contained in a plurality of names, asking a user to enter additional characters of the name when it is determined that the interrogated character string is contained in the exception list, and introducing a process for unambiguous identification without further characters of the name being entered when it is determined that the interrogated character string is not contained in the exception list, the exception list being a list of character strings which form beginnings of the names in the positive list, the names being in a quantity such that a transmission of the names from the central station to the terminal unit would cause an effort lying above a limit value;

a process for running the program; and

a communication device for communicating with at least one terminal unit.

11. A central station according to claim 10, wherein the communications device is a radio device.