Navigation device and method for exchanging data between resident applications

• US 7,606,663 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2004
• Issued: 10/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Gretton, Mark, Neef, Edwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US10/546,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,063 Days
• Field of Search: 701200-213, 701/300, 701/E17.11, 345/173, 702/5, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

Navigation software is integrated with other kinds of software running on the same device so that capabilities of the navigation software can be made available from within the other applications. Those applications can export street, city or postcode format address data to the navigation software. The address data can then be converted to a co-ordinate system based address by the navigation software, which can then automatically be set as the destination address used by the navigation software in calculating the route and/or automatically marked on a map generated and displayed by the navigation software.

Claims

1. A navigation device programmed with a map database, comprising:

a processor to run navigation software that enables a route to be planned to a destination; and

a display to display a menu option that, when selected, causes an automatic export of address data, usable by an application resident on the navigation device, to the navigation software resident on the navigation device for processing, and causes a conversion of the address data to a co-ordinate system based address by the navigation software,

wherein the co-ordinate system based address is then automatically set as the destination used by the navigation software in planning the route.

4. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the co-ordinate system based address is automatically returned to the application, or to a different application resident on the navigation device, and is stored as part of the data held by or accessible by the application or the different application.

5. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the co-ordinate system based address is automatically marked on a map generated and displayed by the navigation software.

6. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the navigation software makes available a geo-coding capability of the navigation software, to the application by receiving non-geocoded location data from the application, deriving corresponding geocoded location data and returning the derived corresponding geocoded location data to the application.

7. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the navigation software makes available a reverse geo-coding capability to another application by receiving geocoded location data from the another application, deriving corresponding non-geocoded location data in street, city format and returning that the derived non-geocoded location data in street, city format to the application.

8. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the application resident on the navigation device is a contacts application.

9. The navigation device of claim 1, wherein the application resident on the navigation device is a browser application.

10. The navigation device of claim 7, wherein the application resident on the navigation device is a messaging application.

11. The navigation device of claim 10, wherein the location data is part of presence data.

12. The navigation device of claim 8, wherein the menu option is an option to navigate to an address in the contacts application and selecting that option automatically deploys the navigation software and sets the address as the destination address.

13. The navigation device of claim 8, wherein the menu option is an option to show on a map an address in the contacts application and selecting that option automatically deploys the navigation software and causes the location of the address to be indicated on a map.

2. A navigation device that enables a route calculation to a destination, the navigation device comprising:

a touch screen; and

a processor to run a contacts application on the navigation device, wherein, when a user views a contact record of the contacts displayed on the touch screen, a selectable menu icon is displayed on the touch screen which, if selected, automatically causes the processor to export a contact address used in the contacts application, to a navigation application run by the processor on the device, which then geocodes the contact address and automatically sets the geocoded contact address as the destination used in the route calculation by the navigation application.

3. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein, if a web page includes an address in street, city or postcode format, then the address of the web page is set to the navigation application and the navigation application then displays a map showing the location of the address of the web page.

14. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein geo-coded data, incoming to the navigation device from an external source, is passed through to the navigation application and the location associated with the geocoded data is then displayed on a map generated by the navigation application.

15. The navigation device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further useable to run a messaging application, the geocoded data being part of data handled by the messaging application.

16. The navigation device of claim 15, wherein the geocoded data relates to presence data received by the navigation device.

17. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein the selectable menu item is a “

navigate to”

icon, and wherein selection of the “

navigate”

to icon initiates a conversion of address data of the address used in the contacts application to a co-ordinate system based address by the navigation application, without any further user interaction with the navigation device.

18. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein the selectable icon is sized to allow activation by a fingertip alone by being at least 0.7 cm² in area.

19. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein a WGC84 co-ordinate system based address is automatically returned to the contacts application, or a different application resident on the navigation device and is stored as part of the data held by or accessible by the contacts or different application.

20. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein the geocoded contact address is used by the navigation device in a location based service.

21. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein the navigation application makes available its geo-coding capability to the contacts application by receiving non-geocoded location data from the contacts application, deriving corresponding geocoded location data and returning the derived geocoded location data to the contacts application.

22. The navigation device of claim 2, wherein the navigation application makes available a reverse geo-coding capability to the contacts application by receiving geocoded location data from the navigation application, deriving corresponding non-geocoded location data in street, city format and returning the derived street, city format location data to the contacts application.

23. The device of claim 2, wherein the navigation application reverse geo-codes the geocoded data, incoming to the navigation device, to generate a street, city format address.

24. The navigation device of claim 23, wherein the street city format address is displayed as an annotation to a POI on a map generated by the navigation application.