System and method for reducing the amount of repetitive data sent by a server to a client for vehicle navigation

• US 6,671,617 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2002
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intellisist, Inc. dba Spoken Communications (Avaya Incorporated)
• Inventors: Phillips, Marc, Odinak, Gilad, Chaubey, Nishith K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US10/273,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20030078722A1
• Time in Patent Office: 440 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/208, 701/211, 701/213, 701/24, 701/25, 701/26, 342/357.06, 342/357.08, 342/357.09, 342/357.13, 340/988
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for reducing the amount of repetitive data sent by a server to a client for vehicle navigation. The system includes a computer-based vehicle unit located in a vehicle, a gateway configured to wirelessly send and receive trip information to and from the vehicle unit, and a computer-based server in communication with the gateway over a network. The vehicle unit wirelessly receives signals from a computer-based server that includes the desired navigation information in packet form. The vehicle unit includes a user interface component that presents the received navigation information and records user requests. The server processes the requests, generates a trip plan according to the navigation information and sends the generated trip plan back to the vehicle unit via a gateway when a request has been completed.

Claims

1. A computer program product residing on a computer-readable medium, the product comprising:

means for initiating a trip request;

means for receiving trip voice instructions;

means for determining vehicle coordinates;

means for sending vehicle coordinates and the received voice instructions to a server over a network;

means for generating a trip plan according to vehicle navigation information stored in a memory associated with the server, the vehicle coordinates, and the trip voice instructions, wherein the generated trip plan includes a table of locations of the trip plan and each location entry in the table includes an associated voice prompt;

means for comparing present vehicle coordinates to the trip plan table; and

if, according to the comparison, the vehicle coordinates are within a threshold value from a location in the table, means for retrieving at least one of a voice prompt or voice prompt tag identifier, means for sending the retrieved at least one of a voice prompt or voice prompt tag identifier to the vehicle, and means for presenting the sent voice prompt or a previously stored voice prompt associated with the sent voice prompt tag identifier.

2. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for performing a vehicle navigation method comprising:

initiating a trip request, including trip request information;

determining vehicle coordinates;

sending vehicle coordinates and the entered trip request information to a server over a network;

generating a trip plan according to navigation information stored in a memory associated with the server, the vehicle coordinates, and the trip request information, wherein the generated trip plan includes a table of locations of the trip plan with associated navigation prompts;

sending the generated trip plan table to the vehicle over the network;

comparing present vehicle coordinates to the trip plan table; and

if, according to the comparison, the vehicle coordinates are within a threshold value from a location in the table, presenting the navigation prompt associated with the location in the table that is within the threshold value of the vehicle'"'"'s location.

3. The product of claim 2, wherein trip request information includes voice instructions.

4. The product of claim 3, wherein generating comprises determining a destination by interpreting the trip voice instructions by performing voice recognition processing.

5. The product of claim 2, wherein the navigation prompts include voice prompts.

6. The product of claim 2, further comprising determining if the vehicle is adhering to the trip plan, wherein determining adherence comprises:

determining distance of the vehicle coordinates to the trip plan; and

if the vehicle coordinates are not within a threshold value from the trip plan, sending present vehicle coordinates to the server, generating a new trip plan and trip plan table based on the sent present vehicle coordinates, and sending the new trip plan table to the vehicle.

7. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for performing a vehicle navigation method comprising:

initiating a trip request;

entering trip voice instructions;

determining vehicle coordinates;

sending vehicle coordinates and the entered voice instructions to a server over a network;

generating a trip plan according to navigation information stored in a memory associated with the server, the vehicle coordinates, and the trip voice instructions, wherein the generated trip plan includes a table of locations of the trip plan with associated voice prompts;

sending the generated trip plan table to the vehicle over the network;

comparing present vehicle coordinates to the trip plan table; and

if, according to the comparison, the vehicle coordinates are within a threshold value from a location in the table, presenting the voice prompt associated with the location in the table that is within the threshold value of the vehicle'"'"'s location.

8. The product of claim 7, wherein generating comprises determining a destination by interpreting the trip voice instructions by performing voice recognition processing.

9. The product of claim 7, further comprising determining if the vehicle is adhering to the trip plan, wherein determining adherence comprises:

determining the distance of the vehicle coordinates to a trip plan location; and

if the vehicle coordinates are not within a threshold value from the trip plan location, sending present vehicle coordinates to the server, generating a new trip plan and trip plan table based on the sent present vehicle coordinates, and sending the new trip plan table to the vehicle.

10. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for performing a vehicle navigation method comprising:

initiating a trip request;

entering trip voice instructions;

determining vehicle coordinates;

sending vehicle coordinates and the entered voice instructions to a server over a network;

generating a trip plan according to navigation information stored in a memory associated with the server, the vehicle coordinates, and the trip voice instructions, wherein the generated trip plan includes a table of locations of the trip plan with associated one or more identifiers;

sending the generated trip plan table to the vehicle over the network;

comparing present vehicle coordinates to the trip plan table;

if, according to the comparison, the present vehicle coordinates are within a threshold value from a location in the table, retrieving one or more voice prompts previously stored at the vehicle, wherein the one or more retrieved voice prompts correspond to the one or more identifiers associated with the location in the table within the threshold value from the present vehicle coordinates; and

presenting the retrieved one or more voice prompts.

11. The product of claim 10, wherein:

retrieving comprises when a voice prompt is not previously stored at the vehicle, sending a request to the server for the non-stored voice prompt and sending the non-stored voice prompt from the server to the vehicle; and

presenting comprises presenting the sent voice prompt.

12. The product of claim 11, wherein retrieving further comprises saving the sent voice prompt according to the corresponding identifier.

13. The product of claim 10, further comprising purging saved voice prompts according to a scheduled purge request.

14. The product of claim 10, further comprising purging saved voice prompts according to a user purge request.

15. The product of claim 10, further comprising purging saved voice prompts according to a server generated purge request.

16. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium for performing a vehicle navigation method comprising:

initiating a trip request;

entering trip voice instructions;

determining vehicle coordinates;

sending vehicle coordinates and the entered voice instructions to a server over a network;

generating a trip plan according to vehicle navigation information stored in a memory associated with the server, the vehicle coordinates, and the trip voice instructions, wherein the generated trip plan includes a table of locations of the trip plan and each location entry in the table includes an associated voice prompt;

comparing present vehicle coordinates to the trip plan table; and

if, according to the comparison, the vehicle coordinates are within a threshold value from a location in the table, retrieving at least one of a voice prompt or voice prompt tag identifier, sending the retrieved at least one of a voice prompt or voice prompt tag identifier to the vehicle, and presenting the sent voice prompt or a previously stored voice prompt associated with the sent voice prompt tag identifier.