Method and system for transmitting and/or receiving at least one location reference, enhanced by at least one focusing factor

• US 9,441,984 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2008
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tomtom Global Content B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: Tomtom North America Incorporated (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Kuznetsov, Tsia
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Application Number:
  US13/127,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20110257883A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,814 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 701/409, 701/420, 701/445, 701/533
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/125 the stations being mobile

Abstract

A method and end user mapping device (200) are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the method includes receiving information from a remote server (302), at a device, the received information including at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor, computed at the remote server (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to at least one path of the at least one location reference; and reconstructing the at least one path of the at least one location reference at the device, based upon the received at least one location reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving information, by a device, from a remote server (302), the received information including at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor, the at least one focusing factor computed at the remote server (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to at least one path of the at least one location reference, and the at least one focusing factor comprising a search area suggestion from the remote server (302) for reconstructing the at least one path of the at least one location reference; and

reconstructing, by the device, the at least one path of the at least one location reference at the device, based upon the received at least one location reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor;

wherein a default focusing factor is set and wherein the at least one location reference is enhanced by at the least one focusing factor before transmission, by the remote server, only upon the at least one focusing factor being different from the default focusing factor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reconstructing includes using, by the device, the received information in determining a search area in reconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reconstructing includes using, by the device, the received information in determining a reduced search area in reconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the reconstructing includes using, by the device, the received at least one location reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor in regulating node filtering in reconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one focusing factor includes at least one heuristic value, computed, by the remote server, as a function of path node deviation, based upon the encoded information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein as the path node deviation is relatively increased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively decreased and as the path node deviation is relatively decreased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively increased.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one focusing factor is computed, by the remote server, based upon at least one pair of encoded points and a path distance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the received information includes at least one pair of points and a path distance.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is another server.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

using, by the device, the computed at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor to reconstruct the at least one path of the location reference, wherein a travel route is determined at the device to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria, the reconstructed at least one path of the at least one location reference.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the device, a new travel route, deviated from an original route to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria, the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor includes a path distance, the method further comprising:

using, by the device, the received path distance in regulating node filtering in location reconstruction of the at least one path of the location reference.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program segments for, when executed on a processor, causing a device to implement a method, the method comprising:

receiving information, by the device, from a remote server (302), the received information including at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor, the at least one focusing factor computed at the remote server (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to at least one path of the at least one location reference, and the at least one focusing factor comprising a search area suggestion from the remote server (320) for reconstructing the at least one path of the at least one location reference; and

reconstructing, by the device, the at least one path of the at least one location reference at the device, based upon the received at least one location reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor;

wherein a default focusing factor is set and wherein the at least one location reference is enhanced by the at least one focusing factor before transmission, by the remote server, only upon the at least one focusing factor being different from the default focusing factor.

14. A device (200), comprising:

a receiver (250, 322) to receive information from a remotely located server (302), the information including at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor, the at least one focusing factor computed at the server (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to at least one path of the at least one location reference, and the at least one focusing factor comprising a search area suggestion from the remote server (302) for reconstructing the at least one path of the at least one location reference; and

a processor (210) to reconstruct the at least one path of the at least one location reference at the device (200), based upon the computed at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor;

wherein a default focusing factor is set and wherein the at least one location reference is enhanced by at the least one focusing factor before transmission, only upon the at least one focusing factor being different from the default focusing factor.

15. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the processor (210) is configured to use the received information in determining a search area in reconstruction of the path of the location reference.

16. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the processor (210) is configured to use the received information in determining a reduced search area in reconstruction of the at least one path of the location reference.

17. The device (200) of claim 15, wherein the processor (210) is configured to use the received at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor in regulating node filtering in reconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

18. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the at least one focusing factor includes at least one heuristic value, computed as a function of path node deviation, based upon the encoded information.

19. The device (200) of claim 18, wherein as the path node deviation is relatively increased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively decreased and as the path node deviation is relatively decreased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively increased.

20. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the at least one focusing factor is computed based upon at least one pair of encoded points and a path distance.

21. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the received information includes at least one pair of points, and a path distance.

22. The device (200) of claim 14, wherein the device is another server.

23. The device (200) according to claim 14, wherein the processor (210) is configured to use the received at least one location reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor to reconstruct the at least one path of the location reference, wherein a travel route is determined at the device to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria, the reconstructed at least one path of the at least one location reference.

24. The device (200) according to claim 14, wherein the receiver (250, 322) is configured to receive a new travel route, deviated from an original route to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria, the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

25. The device (200) of claim 14, further comprising:

a wireless device (250) to establish a wireless connection with the server (302), the information being received from the server (302) upon establishing the connection.

26. The device (200) of claim 14, further comprising:

a memory (230) to store the received information.