Apparatus and method for displaying route in personal navigation terminal

• US 7,617,044 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jae-Myeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu; Yonel
• Application Number:
  US11/312,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20060178822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 701200-202, 701208-209, 701213-215, 701/23, 701/25, 340/988, 340/995.1, 342/357.06, 342/357.12
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

Disclosed is a route guidance apparatus of a personal navigation terminal, which includes a road structure information storage unit for storing information related to road structures, a user preference information storage unit for storing at least one road structure preference representing a preference of a user for the road structures, and a controller for determining a current location of the personal navigation terminal, computing routes to a destination from the current location, and selecting a user-preferred route preferred by a user from among the routes based on the at least one road structure preference. In the route guidance apparatus, a personal navigation terminal displays routes based on user preferences reflecting user characteristics instead of simply displaying the shortest route, thereby causing a user to take a proper route according to one'"'"'s own characteristics and degree of fatigue.

Claims

1. A route guidance apparatus of a personal navigation terminal, the route guidance apparatus comprising:

a road structure information storage unit for storing information related to road structures, the road structures including at least two of crosswalks, uphill roads, downhill roads, viaducts, underpasses, railway crossings, tunnels, construction zones, and alleys with no sidewalks;

a user preference information storage unit for storing at least one road structure preference representing a preference of a user related to the at least one road structure; and

a controller for determining a current location of the personal navigation terminal, computing routes to a destination from the current location, and selecting a user-preferred route from among the routes based on the at least one road structure preference.

2. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a route guidance unit for displaying the user-preferred route.

3. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining the current location of the personal navigation terminal.

4. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user preference information storage unit stores the at least one road structure preference according to user characteristics and body conditions.

5. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller computes routes using public transportation to the destination from the current location and routes excluding public transportation to the destination from the current location.

6. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the user preference information storage unit further stores at least one public transportation preference representing a preference of a user for different means of public transportation.

7. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller selects means of public transportation having a high public transportation preference, and computes the routes using public transportation to the destination from the current location.

8. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller computes distance indices according to road structures included in each route to the destination with reference to the at least one road structure preference, adds the distance indices according to the road structures and general road lengths, calculates total distance indices for each route, and selects a route having a smallest total distance index as the user-preferred route.

9. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the information for the road structures includes information for lengths, slopes, heights and depths of the road structures.

10. The route guidance apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein distance indices according to the road structures increase in proportion to lengths, slopes, heights and depths of the road structures while decreasing in inverse proportion to user preference for the road structures.

11. A route guidance method of a personal navigation terminal, the route guidance method comprising the steps of:

storing at least one road structure preference representing a preference of a user for at least one road structure, the road structures including at least two of crosswalks, uphill roads, downhill roads, viaducts, underpasses, railway crossings, tunnels, construction zones, and alleys with no sidewalks;

determining a current location;

computing routes to a destination from the current location; and

selecting a user-preferred route from among the routes based on the at least one road structure preference.

12. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a step of displaying the user-preferred route.

13. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of computing the routes to the destination from the current location comprises the sub-steps of:

determining if a user takes public transportation;

computing routes using the public transportation to the destination from the current location when the user takes the public transportation; and

computing routes excluding the public transportation to the destination from the current location when the user does not take the public transportation.

14. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of selecting the user-preferred route comprises the sub-steps of:

computing distance indices according to the road structures included in each route to the destination with reference to the at least one road structure preference;

adding the distance indices according to the road structures and general road lengths, and calculating total distance indices for each route; and

selecting a route having a smallest total distance index as the user-preferred route.

15. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the information for the road structures includes information for lengths, slopes, heights and depths of the road structures.

16. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 15, wherein distance indices according to the road structures increase in proportion to lengths, slopes, heights and depths of the road structures while decreasing in inverse proportion to user preference for the road structures.

17. A route guidance method of a personal navigation terminal, the route guidance method comprising the steps of:

storing at least one user preference for road structures and public transportation;

determining a current location of the personal navigation terminal;

when a public transportation preference is received from the user, determining to use the public transportation;

computing routes using the public transportation and routes excluding the public transportation to the destination from the current location;

selecting a user-preferred route from among the computed routes with reference to the at least one user preference;

displaying the user-preferred route and receiving a selection whether to use the public transportation from the user after the selected user-preference route; and

displaying an undated user-preferred route according to the selection regarding whether to use the public transportation.

18. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of computing the routes using the public transportation comprises the sub-steps of:

searching for public transportation stops adjacent to the current location and the destination;

determining means of public transportation based on preference of the user for the public transportation;

selecting a public transport stop according to means of public transportation preferred by the user, and computing public transportation routes; and

computing the routes using the public transportation to the destination from the current location by means of the public transportation routes.

19. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the means of public transportation includes at least one of a subway, a bus and a taxi.

20. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the road structures include at least one of crosswalks, uphill roads, downhill roads, viaducts, underpasses, railway crossing, tunnels, construction zones, and alleys with no sidewalk.

21. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the information for the road structures includes information for lengths, slopes, heights and depths of the road structures.

22. A route guidance method of a personal navigation terminal, the route guidance method comprising the steps of:

storing at least one user preference for road structures and a public transportation;

determining a current location of the personal navigation terminal;

computing and displaying a shortest route to a destination from the current location based on the road structures and the public transportation;

when the road structures are received from the user after computing the shortest route, computing a user-preferred route based on the received road structures; and

displaying the computed user-preferred route.

23. The route guidance method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the step of computing and displaying the shortest route to the destination from the current location comprises the sub-steps of:

determining if the user takes the public transportation;

computing a shortest route using the public transportation to the destination from the current location when the user takes the public transportation;

computing a shortest route excluding the public transportation to the destination from the current location when the user does not take the public transportation; and

displaying the computed shortest routes.