Agenda replicator system and method for travelers

• US 7,536,256 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Issued: 05/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NNG LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kelley, Edward E., Wilbrink, Tijs
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US10/632,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20050027442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,119 Days
• Field of Search: 701/202, 701/35, 701/200, 701/210, 701/49, 701/209, 705/6, 709/203, 340/990, 340/993, 340/995.12
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation

Abstract

In automotive GPS navigation systems, a traveler'"'"'s agenda with multiple desired destinations can be entered in a largely automatic fashion by downloading an agenda table created using the agenda replicator system and methods disclosed herein. The replicator system includes computer hardware and software systems, operable by a user, to acquire and store, apart from a vehicle and its GPS navigation system, personal travel agenda information for later transfer to a storage subsystem of the vehicle'"'"'s GPS navigation system. The hardware system may be implemented as a desktop or laptop computer, or even a personal digital assistant. The software system includes program components for controlling the hardware and providing a data structure in which personal travel information selected by the user is placed in an agenda table. The replicator system includes means for transferring the information from this data structure into a storage subsystem of the vehicle'"'"'s GPS navigation system. In this manner, the agenda replicator system allows an agenda table to be created by the user while in an office or other convenient location, and then be easily transferred to the storage subsystem of the vehicle'"'"'s navigation system. The disclosed replicator system and methods also allow the user to specify personal preferences in the agenda table. These in turn allow the route-planning subsystem to do a better job of selecting routes to follow when traveling from one destination to the next.

Claims

1. A method for transferring information from a portable agenda replication device to a vehicle navigation system, the method including:

accepting entry of an agenda comprising a destination and a requested time of arrival at the destination;

storing the agenda in a computer readable storage mechanism;

retrieving the agenda from the storage mechanism;

transmitting the retrieved agenda to the vehicle navigation system, and

instructing the vehicle navigation system to use the agenda to determine a route to follow to the destination based upon the requested time of arrival, and also based upon at least one of;

(a) a cellphone coverage preference, (b) a road condition preference, or (c) a scenic route preference; and

using the portable agenda replication device to update the agenda in the middle of a multiple-stop trip by determining whether a travel agenda table stored in the vehicle navigation system matches that stored in the portable agenda replication device and, in the event there is not a match, updating a calendar item in the vehicle navigation system with agenda information from a calendar item in the portable agenda replication device and, once a determination is made that the agenda information in the vehicle navigation system matches the information stored in the portable agenda replication device, selecting all items in the travel agenda table stored in the vehicle navigation system that do not have a calculated route associated therewith;

wherein, when a location is dropped from the agenda or a new entry is added to the agenda, the route is automatically recalculated by the vehicle navigation system in response to the vehicle navigation system receiving the updated agenda from the portable agenda replication device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing personal preference information associated with the destination;

the personal preference information comprising at leastone of a date of departure, a desired time of departure, a cell phone preference, a scenic route preference, a toll road preference, and an express route preference.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing personal preference information associated with the destination;

the personal preference information comprising at least one of a date of departure, a desired time of departure, a cell phone preference, a scenic route preference, a toll road preference, and an express route preference.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying at least a portion of the agenda on a display unit associated with the vehicle navigation system.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein displaying further comprises displaying at least a first portion of a planned route between a current location of the vehicle navigation system and the destination.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the agenda comprises a first desired destination;

a requested time of arrival at the first desired destination, a second desired destination and a requested time of arrival at the second desired destination.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein information is transferred from the portable agenda replication device to the vehicle navigation system over a communications path comprising a wireless communications link including at least one of (a) a short-range optical connection between a first transmitter receiver associated with the portable agenda replication device and a second transmitter receiver associated with the vehicle navigation system, or (b) a wireless connection between a first RF transmitter receiver associated with the portable agenda replication device and a second RF transmitter receiver associated with the vehicle-navigation system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the wireless communications link is a radio frequency link selected from the group of radio frequency links consisting of short-range low-power communication links and long-range cell phone-based communication links.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the portable agenda replication device is a portable battery-powered computer system that is sufficiently light in weight to be carried by hand.