Navigation device and method for exchanging data between resident applications

• US 20070150173A1
• Filed: 02/26/2004
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom NV
• Inventors: Gretton, Mark, Neef, Edwin
• Granted Patent: US 7,606,663 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

Navigation software is integrated with other kinds of software running on the same device so that capabilities of the navigation software can be made available from within the other applications. Those applications can export street, city or postcode format address data to the navigation software. The address data can then be converted to a co-ordinate system based address by the navigation software, which can then automatically be set as the destination address used by the navigation software in calculating the route and/or automatically marked on a map generated and displayed by the navigation software.

Claims

1. A navigation device programmed with a map database and navigation software that enables a route to be planned between two user-defined places, wherein the device is further programmed to be able to display a menu option that, if selected, causes the automatic export of street, city format or postcode format address data used by an application resident on the device to the navigation software resident on the device for processing.

2. The device of claim 1 in which selection of the menu option initiates the conversion of the address data to a co-ordinate system based address by the navigation software.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the co-ordinate system based address is then automatically used as the destination used by the navigation software in calculating the route.

4. The device of claim 2 in which the co-ordinate system based address is automatically returned to the application or a different application resident on the device or elsewhere and stored as part of the data held by or accessible by that application.

5. The device of claim 2 in which the co-ordinate system based address is automatically marked on a map generated and displayed by the navigation software.

6. The device of claim 1 in which the navigation software makes available its geo-coding capability to the application by receiving non-geocoded location data from the application;

deriving corresponding geocoded location data and returning that geocoded location data to the application.

7. The device of claim 1 in which the navigation software makes available a reverse geo-coding capability to another application by receiving geocoded location data from that other application;

deriving corresponding non-geocoded location data in street, city format and returning that street, city format location data to the application.

8. The device of claim 1 in which the application resident on the device is a contacts application.

9. The device of claim 1 in which the application resident on the device is a browser application.

10. The device of claim 7 in which the application resident on the device is a messaging application.

11. The device of claim 10 in which the location data is part of presence data.

12. The device of claim 8 in which the menu option is an option to navigate to an address in the contacts application and selecting that option automatically deploys the navigation software and sets the address as the destination address.

13. The device of claim 8 in which the menu option is an option to show on a map an address in the contacts application and selecting that option automatically deploys the navigation software and causes the location of the address to be indicated on a map.

14. A method of displaying navigation information, the method being deployed in a device programmed with a map database and navigation software that enables a route to be planned between two user-defined places, the method comprising the step of displaying a menu option that, if selected, causes the automatic export of street, city format or postcode format address data from an application resident on the device to the navigation software resident on the device for processing.

15. Computer software adapted to enable a navigation device, programmed with a map database and navigation software to calculate a route between two user-defined places, to be able (i) to display a menu option that, if selected, causes the automatic export of street, city format or postcode format address data from an application resident on the device to the navigation software resident on the device for processing.