Method of providing dynamic regionally relevant data to a mobile environment

• US 6,785,551 B1
• Filed: 04/07/2000
• Issued: 08/31/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Original Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Inventors: Richard, David Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SHARAD K
• Application Number:
  US09/545,690
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/456.1, 455/457, 455/422.1, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/3.06, 701/213, 701/200, 340/995.24, 340/988
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A dynamic method of delivering regionally relevant information to a plurality of geographically disperse and mobile environments, such as, for example, motor vehicles, allows passengers to immediately access regionally relevant information, such as weather, traffic, points of interest, restaurants, advertisements for local establishments, etc., without incurring expensive air-time from connecting through cellular infrastructure. The invention utilizes a filtering process referred to herein as dynamic geo filter/fencing (DGFF). This involves a receiver element in a mobile environment, such as a motor vehicle, taking a geo-code reading (e.g., latitude and longitude readings obtained from a GPS satellite via a GPS receiver) for identifying the location of the vehicle, then logically drawing a fence around that location reading, for example two miles square. At a separate location (e.g., a satellite uplink facility) regionally relevant data is tagged with the geo-code of the region to which the data is relevant, then broadcast (e.g., over a satellite link) to a wide footprint. The aforementioned receiver element receives the geo-coded regionally relevant information and filters it using the aforementioned logical fence according to the aforementioned DGFF process. Thus, received information bearing a geo-code within the logical fence is kept and processed, while information bearing a geo-code falling outside of the logical fence is not kept and processed. The inventive methodology is dynamic in that the fence automatically moves as the mobile environment moves, thereby automatically changing the nature and content of the information that is allowed to pass through the DGFF filter.

Claims

1. A method of providing regionally relevant information to a mobile environment, the method comprising:

receiving, at a receiver station of the mobile environment, transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information, wherein the information includes different information corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of regions with the information for each region having a respective geographically coded portion which identifies the region; and

automatically filtering said transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information based on a current position of said receiver station and a predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station in order to process the information having geographically coded portions corresponding to regions within the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station while ignoring the information having geographically coded portions corresponding to regions outside of the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined area is periodically updated when said current position changes.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the information includes placing this information in a format suitable for presentation to a user.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said regionally relevant information comprises traffic information, weather information, points of interest, historical information or advertisements.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said format comprises text.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said format comprises audio.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein said format comprises video.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein said format comprises graphics.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said mobile environment comprises a motor vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said mobile environment comprises a person.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein:

said transmitted regionally relevant information comprises data packets;

said data packets each comprise a header portion and a data portion;

said header portion comprises a geographically coded portion of said geographically coded regionally relevant information; and

said data portion comprises said regionally relevant information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said geographically coded portions comprise global positioning system geo-codes.

13. A method of providing regionally relevant information to a mobile environment, the method comprising:

assembling regionally relevant information at a central location;

associating, with said regionally relevant information, geographic coding information identifying a geographic region to which said regionally relevant information is relevant;

transmitting from said central location said geographically coded regionally relevant information to a coverage area;

said coverage area including receiver stations each part of a mobile environment and capable of receiving and automatically processing said transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information; and

said processing comprising filtering said transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information based on a current position of said receiver station and a predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station in order to process the information having geographic coding information corresponding to geographic regions within the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station while ignoring the information having geographic coding information corresponding to geographic regions outside of the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said predetermined area is periodically updated when said current position changes.

15. A system for providing regionally relevant information to a mobile environment comprising:

a receiver station of the mobile environment capable of receiving transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information, wherein the information includes different information corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of regions with the information for each region having a respective geographically coded portion which identifies the region; and

a filtering module of said receiver station that automatically filters said transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information based on a current position of said receiver station and a predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station in order to process the information having geographically coded portions corresponding to regions within the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station while ignoring the information having geographically coded portions corresponding to regions outside of the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said predetermined area is periodically updated when said current position changes.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein:

said transmitted regionally relevant information comprises data packets;

said data packets each comprise a header portion and a data portion;

said header portion comprises a geographically coded portion of said geographically coded regionally relevant information; and

said data portion comprises said regionally relevant information.

18. A system for providing regionally relevant information to a mobile environment, the method comprising:

a central broadcast facility that assembles regionally relevant information and associates with said regionally relevant information geographic coding information identifying a geographic region to which said regionally relevant information is relevant;

said central broadcast facility broadcasting said geographically coded regionally relevant information to a coverage area;

said coverage area including receiver stations each part of a mobile environment and capable of receiving and automatically processing said broadcasted geographically coded regionally relevant information; and

said processing comprising filtering said transmitted geographically coded regionally relevant information based on a current position of said receiver station and a predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station in order to process the information associated with geographic coding information corresponding to geographic regions within the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station while ignoring the information associated with geographic coding information corresponding to geographic regions outside of the predetermined area around said current position of said receiver station.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said predetermined area is periodically updated when said current position changes.