Communication device for emulating a behavior of a navigation device

• US 7,783,471 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2007
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Tebbutt, James, Vismans, David, Salters, Michiel
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US11/711,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,273 Days
• Field of Search: 703/24, 703/26, 707/203, 717120-122, 701/208
• US Class Current: 703/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment

Abstract

The invention provides a communication device for emulating a behavior of a navigation device in response to executing a device firmware program installed on the navigation device. The communication device comprises a provider for providing information relating to the device firmware program, a determiner for determining whether a current firmware program installed on the communication device corresponds to the device firmware program installed on the navigation device and a processor for executing the current firmware program on the communication device in order to emulate the behavior of the navigation device if the current firmware program corresponds to the device firmware.

Claims

1. A communication device for emulating a behavior of a navigation device in response to executing a device firmware program installed on the navigation device, the communication device comprising:

a provider for providing information relating to the device firmware program;

a determiner for determining whether a current firmware program installed on the communication device corresponds to the device firmware program installed on the navigation device; and

a processor for executing the current firmware program on the communication device in order to emulate the behavior of the navigation device if the current firmware program corresponds to the device firmware.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, the processor being further configured to establish a network connection to a remote network entity via a communication network to obtain an updated version of the current firmware program if the current firmware program does not correspond to the device firmware program, the processor being further configured to execute the updated version of the current firmware program to emulate the behavior of the navigation device.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, the provider being configured to connect to the navigation device for retrieving information indicating the device firmware program.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, the determiner being configured to determine whether the current firmware program installed on the communication device corresponds to the device firmware upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the device firmware program or upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the current firmware program.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, the processor being further configured to control the navigation device upon a basis of the emulation of the behavior of the navigation device.

6. A method for emulating a behavior of a navigation device in response to executing a device firmware program installed on the navigation device, the method comprising:

providing information relating to the device firmware program from the navigation device;

determining whether a current firmware program corresponds to the device firmware installed on the navigation device; and

executing the current firmware program on a communication device in order to emulate the behavior of the navigation device if the current firmware program corresponds to the device firmware.

7. The method according to claim 6, comprising establishing a network connection to a remote network entity via a communication network to obtain an updated version of the current firmware program if the current firmware program does not correspond to the device firmware program and executing the updated version of the current firmware program to emulate the behavior of the navigation device.

8. The method according to claim 6, comprising connecting to the navigation device for retrieving information indicating the device firmware program.

9. The method according to claim 6, comprising determining whether the current firmware program to the device firmware program upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the device firmware program or upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the current firmware program.

10. A computer program for performing the method according to claim 6 when the computer program runs on a computer.

11. A programmably arranged communication device for emulating a behavior of a navigation device in response to executing a device firmware program installed on the navigation device, the programmably arranged communication device being configured to execute a first computer program for providing information relating to the device firmware program, to execute a second computer program for determining whether a current firmware program available to the programmably arranged communication device corresponds to the device firmware program installed on the navigation device and to execute the current firmware program on the communication device in order to emulate the behavior of the navigation device if the current firmware program corresponds to the device firmware program.

12. The programmably arranged communication device according to claim 11, the second computer being configured to determine whether the current firmware program installed on the communication device corresponds to the device firmware upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the device firmware program or upon a basis of a table of contents file comprising information indicating the current firmware program.