US5987381A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automobile navigation system using remote download of data
Assignee: TomTom International BV
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Filing: 1997-03-11
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Granted: 1999-11-16
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Expires: 2017-03-11
Abstract
Abstract A method of enabling an on-board vehicle navigation system to compute a route from a current position of the vehicle to a desired destination is provided. A user of the navigation system in a vehicle utilizes a cellular telephone or any other wireless, two-way audio communications link to contact an operator in a remote communications center. The user informs the operator of his desired destination. The operator in the communications center accesses a computer database to determine the exact location of the desired destination in terms of latitude/longitude, street address, or other similar information. The operator then causes the information specifying the exact location to be transmitted from the communications center to the on-board vehicle navigation system over a data link. The on-board vehicle navigation system receives the location information and uses it to compute a route from the vehicle's current position to the desired destination.
Inventors
- 👤 Hidekazu Oshizawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 14:51
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/09; G08G1/0962; G08G1/0968; G08G1/096805; G08G1/096827; G01; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/26; G01C21/34; G01C21/36; G01C21/3605; G08G1/096855; G08G1/096872; G08G1/096877; G08G1/096883
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 50
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of enabling an on-board navigation system in a vehicle to compute a route from a current position of the vehicle to a desired destination, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a voice transmission from a user, the voice transmission including information identifying the desired destination; accessing a destination database to determine the location of the desired destination based on the information identifying the desired destination; and sending a data transmission to the on-board navigation system, the data transmission including information specifying the location of the desired destination and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information, such that the information specifying the location of the desired destination and the secondary information are usable by the on-board vehicle navigation system to compute the route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of enabling an on-board navigation system in a vehicle to compute a route from a current position of the vehicle to a desired destination, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a voice transmission from a user, the voice transmission including information identifying the desired destination; accessing a destination database to determine the location of the desired destination based on the information identifying the desired destination; and sending a data transmission to the on-board navigation system, the data transmission including information specifying the location of the desired destination and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information, such that the information specifying the location of the desired destination and the secondary information are usable by the on-board vehicle navigation system to compute the route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the location comprises a latitude and longitude of the desired destination.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the location comprises a street address of the desired destination.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a voice transmission from a user is carried out using a radio frequency (RF) link.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a voice transmission from a user is carried out by cellular telephone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the secondary information comprises real-time traffic information.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of providing route information to an on-board automobile navigation system, the method comprising the steps of: receiving an audio transmission from a user of the on-board automobile navigation system, the audio transmission including information indicating the desired destination; determining a current position of the automobile; computing a route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination based on a street map database; sending a non-audio data transmission to the on-board automobile navigation system, the non-audio data transmission including information identifying the route and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information, wherein the information identifying the route and the secondary information are usable by the on-board automobile navigation system to determine and output a series of navigation instructions to the user.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of providing route information to an on-board automobile navigation system, the method comprising the steps of: receiving an audio transmission from a user of the on-board automobile navigation system, the audio transmission including information indicating the desired destination; determining a current position of the automobile; computing a route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination based on a street map database; sending a non-audio data transmission to the on-board automobile navigation system, the non-audio data transmission including information identifying the route and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information, wherein the information identifying the route and the secondary information are usable by the on-board automobile navigation system to determine and output a series of navigation instructions to the user.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of determining a current position of the automobile comprises the step of receiving a data transmission from the on-board automobile navigation system including information indicating the current position of the vehicle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of receiving an audio transmission from a user is carried out using a radio frequency (RF) link.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of receiving an audio transmission from a user is carried out by cellular telephone.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the secondary information further comprises real-time traffic information.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
96 words
In an on-board navigation system in an automobile, a method of determining a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the method including the steps of: determining the current position of the automobile; receiving a data transmission from a remote communication center, the data transmission including coordinates of the desired destination and additional information, the additional information including crime rate information; and using the received coordinates, the additional information and the current position of the automobile to compute the route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
96 words
In an on-board navigation system in an automobile, a method of determining a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the method including the steps of: determining the current position of the automobile; receiving a data transmission from a remote communication center, the data transmission including coordinates of the desired destination and additional information, the additional information including crime rate information; and using the received coordinates, the additional information and the current position of the automobile to compute the route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
62 words
A method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of, prior to receiving the data transmission from the communication center: inputting audio information from a user, the audio information including information for identifying the desired destination; and sending an audio transmission to the communication center based on the input audio information, the audio transmission including the information identifying the desired destination.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method according to claim 13, wherein the step of sending an audio transmission to the communication center is carried out using a radio frequency (RF) link.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method according to claim 13, wherein the step of sending an audio transmission to the communication center is carried out by cellular telephone.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of generating audible navigation instructions to the user based on the computed route.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein the coordinates comprise a latitude and longitude of the desired destination.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein the coordinates comprise a street address of the desired destination.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein the additional information further comprises real-time traffic information.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
164 words
A method of enabling an on-board navigation system in an automobile to compute a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the method comprising the steps of: establishing a two-way audio link between a user of the on-board navigation system and a communications center; receiving at the communications center via the audio link, audio information identifying the desired destination from the user; accessing a destination database in the communications center to determine coordinates of the desired destination based on the audio information identifying the desired destination; establishing a non-audio data link between the on-board navigation system and the communications center; transmitting from the communications center the coordinates of the desired destination and crime rate information to the on-board navigation system via the data link; and using the on-board navigation system to compute the route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination based on the received coordinates of the desired destination and the crime rate information.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
164 words
A method of enabling an on-board navigation system in an automobile to compute a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the method comprising the steps of: establishing a two-way audio link between a user of the on-board navigation system and a communications center; receiving at the communications center via the audio link, audio information identifying the desired destination from the user; accessing a destination database in the communications center to determine coordinates of the desired destination based on the audio information identifying the desired destination; establishing a non-audio data link between the on-board navigation system and the communications center; transmitting from the communications center the coordinates of the desired destination and crime rate information to the on-board navigation system via the data link; and using the on-board navigation system to compute the route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination based on the received coordinates of the desired destination and the crime rate information.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method according to claim 20, wherein the coordinates comprise latitude and longitude information.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
13 words
A method according to claim 20, wherein the coordinates comprise a street address.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 20, wherein the step of establishing a two-way audio link comprises the step of establishing a radio frequency (RF) link.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method according to claim 20, wherein the step of establishing a two-way audio link comprises the step of establishing a cellular telephone link.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
71 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system, comprising: means for determining a current position of a vehicle; means for receiving a data transmission from a communication center, the data transmission including coordinates of a desired destination and crime rate information; and means for computing a route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination based on the received coordinates, the crime rate information and the current position of the vehicle.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
71 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system, comprising: means for determining a current position of a vehicle; means for receiving a data transmission from a communication center, the data transmission including coordinates of a desired destination and crime rate information; and means for computing a route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination based on the received coordinates, the crime rate information and the current position of the vehicle.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
59 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 25, further comprising: means for initiating a bi-directional audio link between a user of the navigation system and the communications center; means for inputting from the user voice information identifying the desired destination; and means for transmitting audio information identifying the desired destination to the communications center over the audio link.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
20 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 26, wherein the bi-directional audio link comprises a radio frequency (RF) link.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 26, wherein the bi-directional audio link comprises a cellular telephone link.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
17 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 25, wherein the coordinates comprise latitude and longitude information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
16 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 25, wherein the coordinates comprise a street address.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
25 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 25, further comprising means for outputting audible navigation instructions to the user based on the computed route.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
114 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; a sensor subsystem coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to compute a current position of the vehicle based on inputs received from the sensor subsystem and a street map database stored in the memory; wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a data transmission from a remote communication center, the data transmission including information locating a desired destination and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information; and compute a route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination based on the received data transmission and the current position of the vehicle.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
114 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; a sensor subsystem coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to compute a current position of the vehicle based on inputs received from the sensor subsystem and a street map database stored in the memory; wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a data transmission from a remote communication center, the data transmission including information locating a desired destination and secondary information, the secondary information including crime rate information; and compute a route from the current position of the vehicle to the desired destination based on the received data transmission and the current position of the vehicle.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
25 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 32, wherein the information locating the desired destination comprises a latitude and longitude of the desired destination.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
24 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 32, wherein the information locating the desired destination comprises a street address of the desired destination.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
21 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 32, wherein the information locating the desired destination comprises a street segment identifier.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
20 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 32, wherein the information locating the desired destination comprises a node identifier.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
18 words
An on-board vehicle navigation system according to claim 32, wherein the secondary information comprises real-time traffic information further.
Claim 44
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for enabling an on-board navigation system in an automobile to compute a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the apparatus comprising: means for establishing a two-way audio link between a user of the on-board navigation system and a communications center; means for receiving at the communications center audio information identifying the desired destination provided by the user; means for accessing a destination database in the communications center to determine a location of the desired destination based on the audio information identifying the desired destination; means for establishing a data link between the communications center and the on-board navigation system; and means for transmitting from the communications center the coordinates of the desired destination and crime rate information to the on-board navigation system via the data link.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for enabling an on-board navigation system in an automobile to compute a route from a current position of the automobile to a desired destination, the apparatus comprising: means for establishing a two-way audio link between a user of the on-board navigation system and a communications center; means for receiving at the communications center audio information identifying the desired destination provided by the user; means for accessing a destination database in the communications center to determine a location of the desired destination based on the audio information identifying the desired destination; means for establishing a data link between the communications center and the on-board navigation system; and means for transmitting from the communications center the coordinates of the desired destination and crime rate information to the on-board navigation system via the data link.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
38 words
An apparatus according to claim 38, further comprising means for computing the route from the current position of the automobile to the desired destination based on the coordinates received from the communications center and the crime rate information.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the information identifying the desired destination comprises latitude and longitude information.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the information identifying the desired destination comprises a street address.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the means for establishing a two-way audio link comprises a radio frequency communication system.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the means for establishing a two-way audio link comprises a cellular telephone system.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-15 | 2003-05-17 | 2003-11-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-15 | 2007-05-17 | 2007-11-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-15 | 2011-05-17 | 2011-11-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |