Methods for obtaining a navigation track between a first and a second location based on location information shared between peer devices and related devices and computer program products

• US 7,865,297 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2007
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ruckart, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US11/709,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20080208444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence

Abstract

A first device is operated to obtain a navigation track between a first location and a second location by establishing a peer-to-peer communication connection with a second device and receiving a message that contains information associated with the first location and/or the second location from the second device. The information is associated with a navigation module on the first device. The information associated with the at least one of the first location and the second location is processed using the navigation module to obtain the navigation track between the first location and the second location.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first device to obtain a terrestrial navigation track between a first location and a second location, comprising:

establishing a peer-to-peer communication connection with a second device;

receiving a message that contains information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location from the second device, the information being associated with a navigation module on the first device; and

processing the information associated with the at least one of the first location and the second location using the navigation module to obtain the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location, the terrestrial navigation track comprising an identifiable thoroughfare.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the terrestrial navigation track.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the information comprises:

accessing a navigation information repository on the first device to determine the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the information comprises:

accessing a remote navigation information repository via a communication connection therewith to determine the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location is a current location of the first device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

updating the determined terrestrial navigation track responsive to changes in the current location of the first device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location is a current location of the second device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second location is a current location of the first device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein neither of the first location and second location is a current location of the first device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location comprises at least one of global positioning system information, cellular technology location information, an address, and a name.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the global positioning system information is encoded in a global positioning system eXchange format.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location comprises at least one waypoint between the first location and the second location;

and

wherein the obtained terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location includes the at least one waypoint.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises at least one of a short message service text message, a hyperlink, an electronic mail, a directory listing, an advertisement, an instant message, and a voice over Internet protocol call;

and

wherein the information is at least one of an attachment to the message and embedded in the message using at least one delimiter that distinguishes the information from other content of the message.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before processing the information:

saving the information at the first device; and

ending the communication connection with the second device.

15. A computer program product for operating a first device to obtain a terrestrial navigation track between a first location and a second location, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer executable program code embodied therein, the computer executable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to establish a peer-to-peer communication connection with a second device;

computer readable program code configured to receive a message that contains information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location from the second device, the information being associated with a navigation module on the first device; and

computer readable program code configured to process the information associated with the at least one of the first location and the second location using the navigation module to obtain the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location, the terrestrial navigation track comprising an identifiable thoroughfare.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a navigation module that is configured to process information associated with the at least one of a first location and a second location to obtain a terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location, the terrestrial navigation track comprising an identifiable thoroughfare; and

a communication module that is configured to establish a peer-to-peer communication connection with another electronic device and to receive a message that contains the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location therefrom, the information being associated with the navigation module.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the navigation module is further configured to access a navigation information repository on the electronic device to determine the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location.

18. The device of claim 16 wherein the navigation module and communication module are further configured to access a remote navigation information repository via a communication connection therewith to determine the terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location.

19. The device of claim 16 wherein the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location comprises at least one of global positioning system information, cellular technology location information, an address, and a name;

and

wherein the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location is at least one of an attachment to the message and embedded in the message using at least one delimiter that distinguishes the information from other content of the message.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the information associated with at least one of the first location and the second location comprises at least one waypoint between the first location and the second location;

and

wherein the obtained terrestrial navigation track between the first location and the second location includes the at least one waypoint.