Method and apparatus for point of interest evaluation

• US 9,933,273 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2012
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Pandya, Ritesh, Broadwater, Charles Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Application Number:
  US13/558,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20140032101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,077 Days
• Field of Search: 701431, 701426, 701410, 701454, 701533, 701516, 701461, 701469, 34099519, 3409322, 715781
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/48 for parking purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• 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: G01C 21/3811 Point data, e.g. Point of Interest [POI]
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 1/14 Temperature compensating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A system includes a navigation device and a processor in communication with the navigation device and an output. The processor is configured to receive a plurality of POIs. The processor is also configured to search for at least a first of the POIs in first proximity to a route in the navigation device. Further, the processor is configured to, subsequent to the search for a first POI in first proximity, for each instance of the first POI in first proximity to the route, search for at least a second of the POIs in second proximity to the first POI. The processor is also configured to output any instances wherein each of the POIs are found to be in second proximity to at least one of the other POIs of the plurality of POIs.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive user-input into a vehicle computing system defining two points of interest (POI)s;

search for a first POI in first proximity to a current route saved in the vehicle computing system;

subsequent to the first POI search, for each of a plurality of found first POIs, automatically search for a second POI in second, user-input, via the vehicle system, proximity to the first POI;

output, on a vehicle display, instances wherein the second POI is found to be in second proximity to the first POI; and

wherein the output is limited to instances wherein each of the POIs is within second proximity to a point central to at least two of the other POIs from the plurality of POIs.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first proximity is user-definable.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first proximity varies depending on one or more features of a portion of a route.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to expand the second proximity, if no instances of each of the POIs being within the second proximity to at least one of the other POIs of the plurality of POIs is found.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the output is limited to instances whereineach of the POIs is within second proximity to all of the others of the POIs from the plurality of POIs.

6. A system comprising:

a processor, configured to;

receive user-input, into a vehicle system, corresponding to two points of interest (POI)s,

search within a first proximity of a current route, saved in the vehicle system, for both of the input POIs,

output, via a vehicle display, a plurality of instances wherein both POIs are within a second, user-input proximity to each other and at least one of the POIs is within first proximity of the known route, and

wherein the output is limited to instances wherein each of the POIs is within second proximity to a point central to at least two of the other POIs from the plurality of POIs.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the output is limited to instances wherein both of the POIs are also within a first proximity of the known route.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

searching for at least a first of two user-input POIs, input using a vehicle computing system, in first proximity to a current route, saved in the vehicle computing system, utilizing a vehicle computing system;

subsequent to searching for a first POI, for each of a plurality of instances of a found first POI, automatically searching, using the vehicle computing system, for a second POI in second, user-input proximity to the first POI;

outputting instances on a vehicle display wherein the second POI is in second proximity to the first POI; and

wherein the output is limited to instances wherein each of the POIs is within second proximity to a point central to at least two of the other POIs from the plurality of POIs.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first proximity is user-definable.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first proximity varies depending on one or more features of a portion of a route.

11. The method of claim 8, further including expanding the second proximity, if no instances of each of the POIs being within the second proximity to at least one of the other POIs of the plurality of POIs is found.