Travel routes interface

• US 8,630,800 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2012
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Connolly, Emmet J., Gardner, Marty R., Manoharan, Rani S.
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US13/365,176
• Time in Patent Office: 712 Days
• Field of Search: 701408-413, 701/425, 701/426, 701/438, 701465-467, 701/527, 701/532, 701/533, 340/994, 340/995.1, 340/995.14, 340/995.19, 340/995.24
• US Class Current: 701/426
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving a travel query, where the travel query comprises a starting location, a destination location, and a specified transit time; and using the starting location, destination location, and the specified transit time to provide a travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location within the specified transit time, wherein the travel route includes one or more points of interest.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user, a travel query that comprises a starting location, a destination location, and a user specified transit time, wherein the user specified transit time is an amount of time available to the user for traveling from the starting location to the destination location;

selecting, based on the starting location, the destination location, and the user specified transit time, one or more points of interests, each point of interest being associated with a respective recommended amount of time to visit the point of interest, wherein the one or more points of interest are selected so that an overall transit time for traveling a travel route from the starting location to the destination location and including the recommended amount of time to visit each of the one or more points of interest, is within the user specified transit time; and

providing the travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location within the user specified transit time, wherein the travel route includes the one or more points of interest.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the starting location corresponds to a user location.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest that were previously identified by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest suggested by social contacts of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest identified by one or more different users.

6. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user, a travel query that comprises a starting location, a destination location, and a user specified transit time, wherein the user specified transit time is an amount of time available to the user for traveling from the starting location to the destination location;

selecting, based on the starting location, the destination location, and the user specified transit time, one or more first points of interests, each point of interest being associated with a respective recommended amount of time to visit the point of interest, wherein the one or more first points of interest are selected so that an overall transit time for traveling a first travel route from the starting location to the destination location, and including the recommended amount of time to visit each of the one or more first points of interest, is within the user specified transit time;

providing the first travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location within the specified transit time, wherein the first travel route includes the one or more first points of interest;

receiving user input adjusting the specified transit time;

in response to the adjustment, selecting, based on the adjusted user specified transit time, one or more second points of interests, each point of interest being associated with a respective recommended amount of time to visit the point of interest, wherein the one or more second points of interest are selected so that a duration for traveling a second travel route from the starting location to the destination location, and including the recommended amount of time to visit each of the one or more second points of interest, is within the adjusted user specified transit time; and

providing the second travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location based in part on the adjusted specified transit time, wherein the second travel route includes the one or more second points of interest.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein adjusting the transit time comprises increasing a time period, and wherein one or more points of interest are added to the second travel route in response to the increased time period.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein adjusting the transit time comprises decreasing a time period, and wherein one or more points of interest are removed from the second travel route in response to the decreased time period.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the transit time is adjusted using a slider control.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the transit time is adjusted by selecting a time period provided on a map interface.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the transit time is adjusted by inputting a time period in an input field.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the starting location corresponds to a user location.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more first points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest that were previously identified by the user.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more first points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest suggested by social contacts of the user.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more first points of interest are identified based in part on points of interest identified by one or more different users.

16. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user, a travel query that comprises a starting location, a destination location, and a user specified transit time, wherein the user specified transit time is an amount of time available to the user for traveling from the starting location to the destination location;

selecting, based on the starting location, the destination location, and the user specified transit time, one or more first points of interests, each point of interest being associated with a respective recommended amount of time to visit the point of interest, wherein the one or more first points of interest are selected so that an overall transit time for traveling a first travel route from the starting location to the destination location, and including the recommended amount of time to visit each of the one or more first points of interest, is within the user specified transit time;

providing the first travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location within the specified transit time, wherein the first travel route includes the one or more first points of interest;

receiving user input de-selecting one or more first points of interest provided with the first travel route;

in response to the de-selection, selecting one or more second points of interests to replace the de-selected first points of interest, each point of interest being associated with a respective recommended amount of time to visit the point of interest, wherein the one or more second points of interest are selected so that an overall transit time for traveling a second route from the starting location to the destination location, and including the recommended amount of time to visit each of the one or more second points of interest, is within the user specified transit time; and

providing the second travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location, wherein the second travel route includes the one or more different second points of interest.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving user input de-selecting one or more second points of interest provided with the second travel route; and

in response to the de-selection, providing a third travel route for traveling from the starting location to the destination location, wherein the third travel route includes one or more different points of interest in lieu of the de-selected points of interest.