Method of operating a navigation system to provide geographic location information

• US 8,301,364 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2010
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HERE Global B.V. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Navteq B.V.
• Inventors: Rolf, Daniel, Sieyers, Torsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US12/694,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20110184636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 701/35, 701/201, 702/2, 707/1, 707/3, 707/100, 707/706, 707/10, 345/601, 375/240.26
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases

Abstract

A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide geographic location information is provided. The method comprises receiving a query text string representing a query for a geographic location from a user and obtaining data records that represent a plurality of candidate geographic locations. The method computes a text matching score that indicates how much of the query text string matches a record text string of the candidate geographic location and applies a usage pattern weight to the text matching score to obtain an overall score value for the candidate geographic location. The candidate geographic locations are ranked based on the overall score values.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide geographic location information, the method comprising:

receiving a query text string representing a query for a geographic location from a user;

obtaining data records that represent a plurality of candidate geographic locations from a geographic database stored on a computer readable medium, each of the data records comprising a record text string;

computing a text matching score for each of the candidate geographic locations, wherein the text matching score indicates how much of the query text string matches the record text string;

for each of the plurality of candidate geographic locations, applying a usage pattern weight of one of the candidate geographic locations to the text matching score of one of the candidate geographic locations to obtain an overall score value for the one of the candidate geographic locations, wherein the usage pattern weight is increased when users have selected the one of the candidate geographic locations and decreased with a time fade out; and

ranking by computer the candidate geographic locations based on the respective overall score values,

wherein the overall score value s₀ is calculated from the usage pattern weight w′

(f) and the text matching score s_f according to;

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing the candidate geographic locations that have the highest overall score values;

receiving a selection of the one of the candidate geographic locations from the user; and

increasing the usage pattern weight for the one of the candidate geographic locations that was selected.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

recording the selection of the one of the candidate geographic locations on a computer readable storage medium.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the time fade out is an exponential time fade out.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the data record that represents the candidate geographic location comprises a street field with a street text string and a city field with a city text string.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the text matching score comprises a street field score and a city field score.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the usage pattern weight comprises a usage pattern street field weight and a usage pattern city field weight.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the users select the one the candidate geographic locations by traveling to the one of the candidate geographic locations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined half-life of the usage pattern weight is one week.