Pre-Loading Waypoint Data

• US 20100153007A1
• Filed: 12/15/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Crowley, Michael J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,062,982 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3889 Transmission of selected map data, e.g. depending on route

Abstract

A method of downloading map data to a portable electronic device entails determining a route, identifying waypoints along the route, and downloading and caching map data for the waypoints along the route. The map data for areas around each of the waypoints (intersections, decision points) are thus preloaded prior to the device arriving at or near each waypoint. This ensures that the device has locally cached all the map data needed to render a navigationally useful map of the area around each waypoint.

Claims

1. A method of downloading map data to a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

determining a route;

identifying waypoints along the route; and

downloading and caching map data for the waypoints along the route.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein determining a route comprises receiving a starting point and a destination point.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein determining a route comprises predicting a direction of travel based on an average heading.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein determining a route comprises predicting the route based on historical travel patterns and by correlating the historical travel patterns with a current time and date.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising determining a device speed to determine how far in advance to preload the map data.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

determining network conditions; and

preloading the map data for the waypoints based on the network conditions.

7. A machine readable storage medium comprising instructions in code which, when loaded into memory and executed on a processor of a portable electronic device, is adapted to perform the steps of:

determining a route;

identifying waypoints along the route; and

downloading and caching map data for the waypoints along the route.

8. The machine readable medium as claimed in claim 7 comprising code for determining when to preload the map data based on a device speed calculated from a reading taken by a positioning subsystem onboard the device.

9. A portable electronic device comprising:

a positioning subsystem for determining a current location of the device;

a radiofrequency transceiver for requesting map data based on the current location of the device and for receiving the map data for map tiles corresponding to the current location of the device;

a display for displaying an onscreen map based on the map data that has been received using the radiofrequency transmitter; and

a processor operatively coupled to memory for determining a route, identifying at least one waypoint along the route, and preloading in the memory of the device further map data for a map tile corresponding to at least one waypoint that is geographically beyond the map tile corresponding to the current location of the device.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor determines the route by determining a current direction of travel of the device.

11. The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor determines the route by receiving starting and destination points.

12. The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor determines the route based on historical travel patterns.

13. The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the positioning subsystem is a GPS chipset for determining the current location, current speed and current heading of the device, the GPS chipset providing current location, current speed and current heading data to the processor to enable the processor to determine when the preload map tiles for successive waypoints along the route.

14. The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor cooperates with the radiofrequency transceiver to determine network conditions and to preload the map data for the waypoint along the route based on the network conditions.