System, method and article of manufacture to provide output according to trip information

• US 6,600,982 B1
• Filed: 08/23/2000
• Issued: 07/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cragun, Brian John
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/644,818
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/200, 701/201, 701/202, 701/204, 701/205, 701/211, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 340/994, 340/996, 455/456
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/5899 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/5899 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• 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: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70

Abstract

A method, system and article of manufacture adapted to control output from one or more output devices connected to a data processing system disposed in a vehicle is provided. Illustrative output devices include a radio, a compact disc player, an internet-enabled device and the like. The output is adjusted according to the remaining travel time from a current position of the vehicle relative to a destination point or the elapsed time from an origination point.

Claims

1. A method for controlling output to at least one output device from a vehicular data processing system according to a travel time, the method comprising:

parsing trip information comprising a destination position and a route of travel from an origination position to the destination position;

parsing a programming profile selection, wherein the programming profile selection indicates a desired output from the data processing unit according to at least one of an elapsed travel time from the origination position and a remaining travel time to the destination position from a current position; and

providing the desired output to the at least one output device connected to the data processing system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically changing the desired output according to the programming profile selection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the route of travel is defined by a plurality of distance values and a plurality of angle values relative to the destination position.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing system is disposed on a vehicle and wherein the at least one output device comprises a device disposed on the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing system and the at least one output device are disposed on a vehicle and wherein the programming profile selection contains a reference to an executable program which, when executed by the data processing system, operates the output device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired output comprises at least one of audio information and visual information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired output is selected from the group consisting of a radio broadcast signal, an Internet transmission, a compact disc (CD) signal and any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired output is an Internet transmission.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the remaining travel time is determined according to a position of the data processing unit.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises a parsing a selection from a menu of a plurality of programming profile records stored on the data processing unit.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises accessing a program record data structure containing at least one address for an output signal and execution time information for the output signal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises determining execution of one of a first plurality of program records, a second plurality of program records, and a third plurality of program records and wherein the programming profile selection includes a priority flag designating an execution priority between the first plurality of program records and the second plurality of program records.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises parsing a priority value designating an execution priority between at least a first plurality of program records and a second plurality of program records, wherein the program records contain at least one address for an output signal and execution time information for the output signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein execution of the first plurality of program records is determined according to the elapsed travel time and the execution of the second plurality of program records is determined according to the remaining travel time.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the remaining travel time is an estimated time to arrival (ETA) determined by an ETA determination process, comprising:

determining current positional information for a current position of the data processing system;

retrieving historical positional information for the current position, wherein the historical positional information includes trip information of at least one previous trip; and

retrieving historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information, wherein the historical travel time information indicates an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a current day of a week.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

if the priority value designates the execution priority for the first plurality of program records, providing the desired output according to the elapsed travel time; and

if the priority value designates the execution priority for the second plurality of program records, providing the desired output according to the remaining travel time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second plurality of program records are arranged as an ordered sequential list having a first program record and a last program record, and wherein providing the desired output according to the remaining travel time comprises:

determining which current program record of the second plurality of program records to execute such that a duration of sequential execution of the second plurality of program records beginning with the current program record end and ending with the last program record is substantially equal to the remaining travel time.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically estimating the remaining travel time.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of periodically estimating comprises calculating the travel time according to a predetermined formula using trip information collected during a current trip.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the remaining travel time is an estimated time to arrival (ETA) determined by an ETA determination process, comprising:

determining current positional information for a current position of the data processing system;

retrieving historical positional information for the current position, wherein the historical positional information includes trip information of at least one previous trip; and

retrieving historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information, wherein the historical travel time information indicates an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a current day of a week.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a similar day of a week.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of determining current positional information comprises receiving global positioning system (GPS) information.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of determining current positional information comprises:

receiving a current GPS position indicating the position of the data processing system; and

determining a current angle between an axis originating at the destination position and an axis of a coordinate system centered on the destination position.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of determining historical positional information comprises:

locating a historical distance value substantially equal to the current distance; and

locating a historical angle value substantially equal to the current angle.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the programming profile selection indicates a desired output from the data processing unit according to both the elapsed travel time and the remaining travel time.

28. A signal bearing medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor of a vehicular data processing system, performs a method for controlling output to at least one output device from the vehicular data processing system according to a travel time, the method comprising:

parsing trip information comprising a destination position and a route of travel from an origination position to the destination position;

parsing a programming profile selection, wherein the programming profile selection indicates a desired output from the data processing unit according to at least one of an elapsed travel time from the origination position and a remaining travel time to the destination position from a current position; and

providing the desired output to the at least one output device connected to the data processing system.

29. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, further comprising periodically changing the desired output according to the programming profile selection.

30. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the route of travel is defined by a plurality of distance values and a plurality of angle values relative to the destination position.

31. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the data processing system is disposed on a vehicle and wherein the at least one output device comprises a device disposed on the vehicle.

32. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the data processing system and the at least one output device are disposed on a vehicle and wherein the programming profile selection contains a reference to an executable program which, when executed by the data processing system, operates the output device.

33. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the desired output comprises at least one of audio information and visual information.

34. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the desired output is selected from the group consisting of a radio broadcast signal, an Internet transmission, a compact disc (CD) signal and any combination thereof.

35. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the desired output is an Internet transmission.

36. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the remaining travel time is determined according to a position of the data processing unit.

37. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises a parsing a selection from a menu of a plurality of programming profile records stored on the data processing unit.

38. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises accessing a program record data structure containing at least one address for an output signal and execution time information for the output signal.

39. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises determining execution of one of a first plurality of program records, a second plurality of program records, and a third plurality of program records and wherein the programming profile selection includes a priority flag designating an execution priority between the first plurality of program records and the second plurality of program records.

40. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the step of parsing the programming profile selection comprises parsing a priority value designating an execution priority between at least a first plurality of program records and a second plurality of program records, wherein the program records contain at least one address for an output signal and execution time information for the output signal.

41. The signal bearing medium of claim 40, wherein execution of the first plurality of program records is determined according to the elapsed travel time and the execution of the second plurality of program records is determined according to the remaining travel time.

42. The signal bearing medium of claim 41, wherein the remaining travel time is an estimated time to arrival (ETA) determined by an ETA determination process, comprising:

determining current positional information for a current position of the data processing system;

retrieving historical positional information for the current position, wherein the historical positional information includes trip information of at least one previous trip; and

retrieving historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information, wherein the historical travel time information indicates an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position.

43. The signal bearing medium of claim 42, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a current day of a week.

44. The signal bearing medium of claim 40, further comprising:

if the priority value designates the execution priority for the first plurality of program records, determining the desired output according to the elapsed travel time; and

if the priority value designates the execution priority for the second plurality of program records, determining the desired output according to the remaining travel time.

45. The signal bearing medium of claim 44, wherein the second plurality of program records are arranged as an ordered sequential list having a first program record and a last program record, and wherein determining the desired output according to the remaining travel time comprises:

determining which current program record of the second plurality of program records to execute such that a duration of sequential execution of the second plurality of program records beginning with the current program record end and ending with the last program record is substantially equal to the remaining travel time.

46. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, further comprising periodically estimating the remaining travel time.

47. The signal bearing medium of claim 46, wherein the step of periodically estimating comprises calculating the travel time according to a predetermined formula using trip information collected during a current trip.

48. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the remaining travel time is an estimated time to arrival (ETA) determined by an ETA determination process, comprising:

determining current positional information for a current position of the data processing system;

retrieving historical positional information for the current position, wherein the historical positional information includes trip information of at least one previous trip; and

retrieving historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information, wherein the historical travel time information indicates an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position.

49. The signal bearing medium of claim 48, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a current day of a week.

50. The signal bearing medium of claim 48, wherein the step of retrieving historical travel time information comprises:

locating a time record for a time interval that includes a current time of day; and

locating the average travel time value for a similar day of a week.

51. The signal bearing medium of claim 48, wherein the step of determining current positional information comprises receiving global positioning system (GPS) information.

52. The signal bearing medium of claim 48, wherein the step of determining current positional information comprises:

receiving a current GPS position indicating the position of the data processing system; and

determining a current angle between an axis originating at the destination position and an axis of a coordinate system centered on the destination position.

53. The signal bearing medium of claim 52, wherein the step of determining historical positional information comprises:

locating a historical distance value substantially equal to the current distance; and

locating a historical angle value substantially equal to the current angle.

54. The signal bearing medium of claim 28, wherein the programming profile selection indicates a desired output from the data processing unit according to both the elapsed travel time and the remaining travel time.

55. A data processing system adapted to be disposed in a vehicle, comprising:

a positioning system receiver configured to receive current position information indicating a current position of the data processing system;

a memory containing at least output signal information;

output signal execution logic configured to execute the output signal information according to trip information comprising a destination position and a route of travel and at least one of;

(a) an elapsed travel time from an origination position to the current position; and

(b) a remaining travel time to the destination position from the current position; and

at least one output device configured to provide output according to the executed output signal information.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising an input device to receive from a user destination position information and route of travel information.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the memory contains an address for the output signal information indicating a location from which the output signal information is retrieved by the output signal execution logic.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the output signal information is defined as a plurality of data structures arranged in a desired order of execution and wherein the first data structure contains timing information utilized by the output signal execution logic to determine a duration of execution for each of the plurality of data structures.

59. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising trip recorder logic to collect the historical trip information.

60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the memory further contains at least one of a network browser and a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program.

61. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the output signal information comprises information pre-selected by a user.

62. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the output signal information comprises at least one of audio information and video information.

63. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one output device comprises a network device configured to communicate with a network.

64. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one output device comprises a network device configured to communicate with the Internet.

65. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one output device is selected from a group consisting of a radio, a network device, a compact disc (CD) player, a Minidisk player and any combination thereof.

66. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the output signal information comprises a first signal information portion and a second signal information portion and wherein one portion is given an execution priority according to a priority value set by a user.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the first signal information portion is executed according to the elapsed travel time and the second signal information portion is executed according to the remaining travel time.

68. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising arrival time estimator logic configured to determine the remaining travel time as an estimated time to arrival (ETA).

69. The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the arrival time estimator logic is configured to use the current position information and historical trip information.

70. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising:

a data structure located in the memory and comprising historical trip information of at least one previous trip including historical positional information and historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information, wherein the historical travel time information indicates an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position; and

arrival time estimator logic configured to determine the remaining travel time as an estimated time to arrival (ETA) to the destination point using the current position information and the historical trip information.

71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the historical trip information contained in the data structure further comprises historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information and indicating an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position.

72. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the historical trip information contained in the data structure further comprises historical travel time information associated with the historical positional information and indicating an average travel time value to the destination position from the current position within a current time interval.

73. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the output signal execution logic is configured to execute the output signal information according to both the elapsed travel time and the remaining travel time.