Voice instructions during navigation

• US 9,230,556 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2012
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: van Os, Marcel, Barbour, Sarah G., Law, Brady A., Moore, Bradford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Desir, Pierre-Louis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tzeng, Forrest F
• Application Number:
  US13/632,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20130325481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,192 Days
• Field of Search: 704/246, 704/251, 704/270, 704/275
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3632 Guidance using simplified or iconic instructions, e.g. using arrows G01C21/365 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/433 using audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/444 Spatial browsing, e.g. 2D maps, 3D or virtual spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 : Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 : Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 : Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 : Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 : Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 : Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 : Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/00 : Stereophonic arrangements stereophonic pick-ups H04R9/16, H04R11/12, H04R17/08, H04R19/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 : Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method of providing navigation on an electronic device when the display screen is locked. The method receives a verbal request to start navigation while the display is locked. The method identifies a route from a current location to a destination based on the received verbal request. While the display screen is locked, the method provides navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination. Some embodiments provide a method for processing a verbal search request. The method receives a navigation-related verbal search request and prepares a sequential list of the search results based on the received request. The method then provides audible information to present a search result from the sequential list. The method presents the search results in a batch form until the user selects a search result, the user terminates the search, or the search items are exhausted.

Claims

1. A method of providing navigation on an electronic device comprising a display screen, the method comprising:

receiving a request to navigate to a destination;

identifying a plurality of routes from a current location of the electronic device to the destination based on the received request;

when the request is not a verbal request and the device is in an unlocked mode, (i) presenting the plurality of routes to a user to select one of the plurality of routes, (ii) receiving a selection of one of the routes, and (iii) providing navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination through the selected route; and

when the request is a verbal request and the device is in a locked mode, (i) automatically selecting a single route from the plurality of routes without user input, (ii) displaying a map on the display screen with an overview of the selected route on the map, and (iii) after a predetermined delay and without any additional user input, displaying an animation for transitioning from displaying the overview of the selected route to providing navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination through the selected route, wherein the overview of the selected route comprises a representation of the entire route that is displayed on the map from the current location to the destination of the route.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing navigational directions comprises:

determining whether an option is set to provide audio-only navigation while the device is in the locked mode; and

providing navigational directions only in audible form when the option is set and the device is in the locked mode.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising, ceasing to provide navigational directions when the device is in the locked mode and the option is not set.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to navigate to a destination comprises one of a request for directions to a particular destination, a search request, and a request to start navigation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the verbal request is received when a sound level of the verbal request is above a pre-determined threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the verbal request is received when a control is activated on the electronic device.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

converting a received verbal request to text; and

displaying the text on the display screen in order to show how the verbal request is interpreted by the device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a request to navigate to a destination comprises:

receiving a search request; and

automatically initiating navigation to a single search result based on the search request.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein providing navigational directions comprises providing navigational directions in audible and visual forms when the device is in the locked mode.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the device is locked, wherein when the device is determined to be locked, navigation functions can be accessed only through verbal requests until the electronic device receives a command to unlock the device and when the device is determined to be unlocked, navigation functions can be accessed through verbal requests and non-verbal requests.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein a zoom level of the displayed map is automatically adjusted in order to display the entire route on the display screen.

7. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program for providing navigation on an electronic device comprising a display screen, the program executable by at least one processing unit of the electronic device, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving a request to navigate to a destination;

identifying a plurality of routes from a current location of the electronic device to the destination based on the received request;

when the request is not a verbal request and the device is in an unlocked mode, (i) presenting the plurality of routes to a user to select one of the plurality of routes, (ii) receiving a selection of one of the routes, and (iii) providing navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination through the selected route; and

when the request is a verbal request and the device is in a locked mode, (i) automatically selecting a single route from the plurality of routes without user input, (ii) displaying a map on the display screen with an overview of the selected route on the map, and (iii) after a predetermined delay and without any additional user input, transitioning from displaying the overview of the selected route to providing navigational directions on the electronic device from the current location of the electronic device to the destination through the selected route, wherein the route overview comprises the entire selected route from the current location of the device to the destination that is highlighted on the map.

8. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for providing navigational directions comprises a set of instructions for providing navigational directions only in audible form when the device is in the locked mode and an option is set to provide audio-only directions while the device is in the locked mode.

9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, the program further comprising sets of instructions for, when the device is in the locked mode:

determining whether audio data of the received verbal request is in a previously stored set of audio data; and

providing turn-by-turn directions for navigating along the route from the current location of the electronic device to the destination only when the received audio data is in the previously stored set of audio data.

10. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, the program further comprising a set of instructions for recognizing verbal requests when a sound level of the verbal request is above a pre-determined threshold.

11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, the program further comprising a set of instructions for recognizing verbal requests when a control is activated on the electronic device.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for automatically selecting a single route from the plurality of routes when the device is in the locked mode comprises a set of instructions for automatically selecting the route based on a default setup.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for automatically selecting a single route when the device is in the locked mode comprises a set of instructions for selecting the single route based on whether the route uses freeways.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for automatically selecting a single route when the device is in the locked mode comprises a set of instructions for selecting the single route based on a set of user preferences.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the program further comprises sets of instructions for:

converting a received verbal request to text; and

displaying the text on the display screen of the device in order to show how the verbal request is interpreted by the device.

20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the request to navigate to a destination comprises sets of instructions for:

receiving a search request; and

automatically initiating navigation to a single search result based on the search request.

21. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the previously stored set of audio data is a set of audio data that belongs to a set of authorized users of the electronic device.

23. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the map on the display screen with the overview of the selected route on the map comprises sets of instructions for:

displaying a two-dimensional map with the overview of the selected route on the map when the selected route covers more than a predetermined distance; and

displaying a three-dimensional map with the overview of the selected route on the map when the selected route covers less than or equal to the predetermined distance.