Patent Grant
7889101
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for generating a location based reminder for a navigation system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for generating a reminder message by applying predefined activation rules so that a reminder operation will be triggered by a relationship among a reference location, a primary location and other conditions to display and/or voice announce the reminder message associated with a particular location.
A navigation system performs travel guidance for enabling a user to easily and quickly reach the selected destination. A typical example is a vehicle navigation system where a vehicle is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation function to guide a driver to a destination through a calculated route. Such a navigation system detects the position of the user's vehicle, and reads out map data pertaining to an area at the current vehicle position from a data storage medium, for example, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a hard disc, etc. of the navigation system, or from a remote data server.
Typically, during a map mode, the navigation system displays a map image on a monitor screen while superimposing thereon a mark representing the current location of the user's vehicle. During a route guidance mode, the navigation system further displays a calculated route to the destination on the map image in a highlighted manner. At an intersection, if a turn is necessary, the navigation system notifies the user which direction to turn at the intersection such as by displaying an arrow image and generating voice instructions.
Today, such navigation systems installed in vehicles have been widely used for route guidance because GPS (Global Positioning System) signals from GPS satellites are available to anyone for detecting an absolute position. Portable navigation devices have also been widely used because of their portability, improved memory capacity, relatively low price, etc. With use of the navigation function incorporated in such a navigation system, it is desirable to achieve new and useful functionalities for expanding applications of the navigation system.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a navigation system to generate a reminder message based on a particular location associated with a user of the navigation system, etc.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a navigation system to generate a reminder message by applying predefined activation rules so that the reminder operation will be triggered by the relationship among various conditions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a navigation system to generate a reminder message which is displayed and/or voice announced where the reminder message associated with a particular location.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a navigation system to generate a reminder message which is displayed and/or voice announced where the reminder operation will be triggered by the relationship among a reference location, a primary location, an effective time, etc.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a navigation system to generate a reminder message based on the reminder message data which is created directly by operating the navigation system or indirectly via a personal computer and transferred to the navigation system.
One aspect of the present invention is a method for generating a location based reminder by a navigation system. The method includes the steps of: creating reminder message data which include a reminder message, a primary location, a secondary location, and a validation rule where the primary location is a location associated with the reminder message, a secondary location is a location where a user conducts an activity defined by the reminder message, and the validation rule defines condition for generating the reminder message; comparing a reference location with the primary location where the reference location is a destination for a route guidance operation of the navigation system or a current vehicle and/or user position; applying the validation rule in the reminder message data to determine whether a relationship between the primary location and the reference location satisfies the condition in the validation rule for generating the reminder message; displaying the reminder message associated with the primary location when the condition defined in the validation rule is satisfied where the display includes one or more candidate secondary locations; and conducting a route guidance operation to reach a location selected by the user.
The method of the present invention further includes a step of accepting a user's selection of one of the candidate secondary locations for the route guidance operation.
In the method of the present invention, the reminder message data further include data related to an effective time which specifies a time range or a time limit for generating the reminder message which will be evaluated in combination with the validation rule. The method of the present invention further includes a step of determining whether the effective time has been met before displaying the reminder message associated with the primary location.
In the method of the present invention, when the secondary location in the reminder message data defines a POI type, and the navigation system searches and displays the candidate secondary locations belonging to the POI type when displaying the reminder message. Then, the candidate secondary locations belonging to the POI type will be displayed in an order of distance from the reference location or in an order of alphabet when displaying the reminder message.
In the method of the present invention, the reminder message data include two or more different effective times for generating the reminder message and two or more different conditions in the validation rule for triggering a reminder operation so that the reminder message will be generated depending on the different times and conditions.
In the method of the present invention, the step of conducting a route guidance operation includes a step of selecting a candidate secondary location as a destination (final destination) or a waypoint (intermediate destination) for the route guidance operation by the navigation system.
Further, in the present invention, the step of creating the reminder message data includes a step of directly inputting the reminder message data by operating the navigation system or indirectly inputting the reminder message data by a personal computer and transferring the reminder message data to the navigation system.
Another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for a navigation system which generates a reminder message based on a location associated with a navigation system by applying predefined validation rules so that the reminder operation will be triggered by the relationship among the reference location, primary location and other conditions to display and/or voice announce the reminder message associated with a particular location. The apparatus of the present invention achieves this effects by implementing the various steps of the method of the present invention described above. The navigation system stores the reminder message data which is created directly by operating the navigation system or indirectly via a personal computer and transferred to the navigation system so that the reminder message will be generated when the vehicle reaches a location associated with the message.
According to the present invention, the navigation system stores the reminder message data for generating the location based reminder by the navigation system. The reminder message data include the message content, primary location, secondary location, effective time, validation rule, etc., created by the user or persons or organizations associated with the user. When the condition associated with the primary location such as a current vehicle position is satisfied in applying the validation rule, the navigation system generates the reminder message on the display which is typically accompanied by a voice message as well.
The reminder message includes one or more secondary location at which the user is able to conduct the activity defined by the reminder message. The user is able to set the secondary location as one of the destination for the route guidance operation by the navigation system so that the user can reach the secondary location correctly and quickly. The reminder message data may be set directly by a navigation system or indirectly via various other external devices and transferred to the navigation system via wired or wireless communication, or inserting a memory card, etc. By the process and configurations described above, the present invention is able to provide useful and enjoyable functions to the navigation system.
The method and apparatus of the present invention for producing a location based reminder with use of a navigation system is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is designed to provide the process and structure for flexibly and conveniently displaying and announcing a reminder message based on a particular location and other condition with use of the positioning capability of navigation system. A location, such as a current location of a user or a location of the destination, acts as one of the triggering events to generate a message, i.e., a location based reminder. For example, when a user comes close to a particular laundry, the navigation system will show a message which reminds the user to pick up laundry. In another example, when the user inputs a destination for a route guidance operation, the navigation system will show a reminder message that is related to the specified destination.
Thus, the method and apparatus of the present invention is able to provide a flexible, convenient and easy way to notify the user a certain errand, job, meeting, etc. scheduled by the user or other persons or organization related to the user through the navigation system. Information for producing the location based reminder can be directly input to the navigation system or indirectly through a communication means, or inserting a memory card, etc. It should be noted that the present invention is described mainly for the case where the method and apparatus is applied to a vehicle navigation system, however, the method and apparatus under the present invention can be implemented to other devices, such as portable devices or personal computers, etc.
The navigation system applies activation (validation) rules for triggering an operation for generating a reminder message at an appropriate time at an appropriate location. The reminder message can be activated based on a specified time range, and a particular location, for example, a street address, an intersection, a POI name, a POI type, a phone number, an address book entry, a latitude/longitude point, etc. It may also be activated by a particular area, such as a city name, a scenic byway, a specified radial distance from a location, etc. It may further be activated by a range of road segments, such as along a street, a collection of street names, a group of nearby freeway ramps, etc. The reminder message and associated parameters noted above may be created by the user, for example, in a manner of data structure and components shown in
When the condition associated with particular locations, time, etc., is satisfied, the reminder message is displayed and voice announced along with suggested locations. Such a reminder message will be displayed on the screen with a text format as well as accompanying an icon indicating a type of message. As noted above, the reminder message will also be made by a voice announcement so that the user does not have to see the screen of the navigation system, which promotes the safe driving when the user is driving a vehicle.
At the lower portion of the display example 11, a reminder message window 29 showing a reminder message “Sam: Please buy milk”) is displayed. This message is displayed because the navigation system has determined that the condition for activating the reminder has been met. Such a condition is determined by evaluating the information preset or otherwise input in the navigation system such as a time range and the location information derived from the map database of the navigation system.
More specifically, message contents, a primary location, a secondary location, an effective time, and other information created in the reminder message data (
In the display example 11 of
When the user activates the reminder message window 29 indicating “Sam: Please buy milk”, the navigation will show the detailed information concerning the reminder as shown in a display example 12 in
In this example, the list 33 of the suggested locations includes supermarkets and drug stores to buy milk indicated by the reminder message. Such suggested locations are listed, for example, in the order of distance which may be measured from the current vehicle position or from the specified destination (in the example of display example 11, “Home”). The user may scroll the list to see more suggested locations by pressing the scroll button 45.
The order of listing the suggested locations in the list 33 will be specified by pressing the assigned keys, such as a “Dist” button 8A or a “Name” button 8B. When the “Dist” button 8A is pressed, the navigation system will arrange the entries in the suggested locations list 33 by the order of distance. When the “Name” button 8B is pressed, the navigation system will arrange the entries in the suggested locations list 33 by an alphabetical order.
When the user presses a “More” button 8C, a display example 22 shown in
By pressing a “Details” button 43 on the display example 12, the navigation system will show a display example 20 in
In the display example 12 of
Thus, in the display example 12 in
In the display example 13 or display example 17 in
More specifically, in the display example 26, a “Same POI Category” button 61A and a “Same POI Name” button 61B are displayed on the screen. The user may search for more locations in the same POI category as that of the current POI (shown in the display example 13 or 17) by pressing the “Same POI Category” button 61A. Alternatively, the user may search for more locations in the same POI name as that of the current POI (shown in the display example 13 or 17) by pressing the “Same POI Name” button 61B.
Referring back to the display example 13 in
Referring to
Thus, when the user presses the “View Message” button 37, the navigation system will show a display example 16, which provides the content of the reminder message and a list 33 of suggested locations similar to the display example 12. In this example 16, place names selling the milk are listed which are arranged in the order of distance which may be measured from the current vehicle position or from the primary destination. When the user presses the “More Locations” button 40 on the display example 15, the navigation system will show the display example 26 in
When the user presses the “Map” button 41 in the display example 15, the navigation system will show the display example 18 in
In the display example 16, the user may scroll the list 33 to see more suggested locations for achieving the activity specified in the reminder message by pressing the scroll key 45. When the user presses the “Details” button 43, the navigation system will show a display example 20 shown in
When the user presses the “Go” button 35 next to each entry of the suggested locations list 33 in the display example 16, the navigation system will go to the display example 17 shown in
Referring back to the display example 16 in
When the user presses the “Go” button 42 on the display example 13 or 17 in
Referring now to a display example 19 of
Namely, the display example 20 includes an “Edit” button 53, a “Delete” 52 key, a “Later” key 54, an “Add as Waypoint” button 50, and a “Replace Destination” button 51. The user may press the “Edit” button 53 to modify or edit the reminder message data through a screen shown by a display example 25 in
Referring back to the display example 20, by pressing the “Delete” key 52, the navigation system will show a display example 21 in
In the display example 20 of
A display example 23 of
In the display example 23, even though there is not the “View Message” button 37 shown in the display examples 17 and 19, after a brief delay, the navigation system will automatically proceed to show the message contents by a display example 24. The display example 24 may also be displayed when the user presses the “Go” button 42 through the display example 23. The display example 24 includes a message window 49 in which a “Waypoint” button 55, a “Replace” button 56 and a “Later” button 57 are respectively displayed in addition to the message contents.
When the user selects the “Waypoint” button 55, the navigation system will show the display example 13 in
Various methods may be used to record the reminder message data in the navigation system. One method for such message recordation is to use an external storage device that can be connected to the navigation system either by inserting the storage device or through a wired or wireless communication. For instance, a USB memory, a memory card, a cellar phone with bluetooth connection, etc, can be used as an external storage device that transfers the reminder message data to the navigation system.
A web page may be made available to create and send the reminder message data to a particular navigation system, or to revise or cancel the existing reminder message data in the navigation system. Such a web page may be accessible by a personal computer or a portable device such as a cellular phone or a PDA. The user may directly input the reminder message data in the navigation system itself through the keyboard formed of the navigation system.
In the display examples described with reference to
As the vehicle or user moves, the current location thereof will change which is constantly checked by the navigation system with reference to the GPS signals, gyro signals, etc.
In the example of
The user may press a “Details” button to show detailed information regarding the reminder message, then, the navigation system displays a screen such as shown in
The order of listing the suggested locations in the list 33 will be specified by pressing the assigned keys, such as a “Dist” button or a “Name” button. When the “Dist” button is pressed, the navigation system will arrange the entries in the suggested locations list 33 by the order of distance. When the “Name” button is pressed, the navigation system will arrange the entries in the suggested locations list 33 by an alphabetical order.
In the example of
In
In the step 63, the navigation system compares the reference location with the primary location (assigned location). The primary location is used to determine whether a condition has been satisfied to issue a location based reminder. At the time of creating the reminder message, a primary location will be specified based on the type of reminder, such as a user's home if the reminder is to do some errands when the user is on the way home in the neighborhood of his/her home.
In the step 64, the navigation system will check whether the reference location (destination or current location) is within a predetermined distance range from the primary location. If the reference location is not within a predetermined range from the primary location, the procedure will go back to the step 62 and keeps checking the reference location to see whether the reference location comes within the predetermined distance range from the primary location. On the other hand, if the reference location is within the predetermined distance range from the primary location, the reminder message associated with the primary location will be generated in the step 65.
In the step 65, only the fact that there is a reminder message related to the primary location may be shown rather than the overall message such as the case in the display example 17 in
In the step 66, the navigation system will show a secondary location (suggested location) or a list of secondary locations associated with the primary location, such as shown in the suggested (secondary) locations list 33 on the display example 12 in
The reminder name 71 is an assigned name for identifying a set of data for producing a particular location based reminder in the present invention. The message content 73 is a main message in the reminder message data such as “Please buy milk” which will be displayed and/or played back with audible sound at an appropriate time. The message content 73 is typically in a text form that informs the driver or the user of the vehicle through the screen of the navigation system but can be accompanied by the audible sounds as noted above.
The primary location (assigned location) 75 is a location that is relevant in determining a location and timing for issuing a reminder message. For example, a primary location will be a user's home if the reminder is to do some errands when the user is going back home in the neighborhood of his/her home. In another example, a primary location (assigned location) will be a friend's house if the reminder is to buy ice cream or cold drinks for the party at the friend's house.
The secondary (suggested) location 77 is the data of locations that are suggested when the activation rule is triggered, i.e., the reminder message is displayed. The suggested location 77 shows the location for achieving the activity requested by the reminder message. For example, if the reminder message is “Pease buy milk”, the data for the suggested location will be a list of super markets so that the user can select one of them to buy the milk. The suggested locations will be specified by the user when creating the reminder message data or the navigation system will search the locations based on the information (ex. POI type) specified by the user.
The effective time 79 is the data to define a time frame or a time point for applying the validation rule in the location based reminder. For example, the effective time 79 defines a time range or a time limit for the reminder massage be effective, such as from Feb. 25-28, 2008 for picking up laundries, etc. The validation rule 81 is the data that defines how and when the location based reminder will be generated such as a distance range from a primary location or suggested locations, a current time for comparing with the effective time 79, etc.
As shown in
Similarly, the secondary location 77 has the subcategory data of street address, intersection, POI name/type, and area, etc. In the primary location 75 and the secondary location 77, “Area” in the subcategory data may include longitude/latitude data for a bounding box (polygon), a city name, or a specified radial distance from a particular location, etc. Further, “Range of Segment” in the subcategory may include collection of street names, a group of nearby freeway ramps, or along a street.
In determining whether the reference location (destination or current location) is within a predetermined distance range from the primary location or suggested location, the distance range may be as narrow as the address point itself, or it may be as wide as a city. Thus, in the former case, the condition would not be satisfied unless the reference location overlaps with the exact location of the primary location or the suggested location. In the latter case, the condition would be satisfied as soon as the reference location is within a range of the city having the primary location or the suggested location.
The validation rule 81 utilizes the data such as the assigned location 75, the suggested location 77, and the effective time 79 to determine the timing of generating the location based reminder message. Other criteria, such as an estimated time of arrival, weather condition, and/or traffic condition may also be taken into consideration. For instance, the navigation system will prompt the user to go to a park for a stroll only when the weather is fine but not when it is raining. Likewise, the navigation system may show a message for buying a certain item only when the there is not traffic congestion or accident near the current location and/or the suggested location.
A plurality of reminder messages can be assigned to a single location such as buying medicine and picking up printed photographs at a drug store. A single reminder message can be assigned to a plurality of locations such as distributing a program of the next private concert for each member of the guitar circle. A plurality of reminder messages can be assigned to a plurality of locations such as buying a flower at a florist and buy a book at a book store for visiting a sick friend.
A single reminder may contain a plurality of suggested locations along with priority rules for a selection method or for an efficient sequence of visits to a plurality of locations. The plurality of messages may contain the same assigned location or an overlapping area, in which case a predetermined priority method may be employed. Alternatively, the user may be presented with options to select the desired message or to determine the preferable sequence of visits.
The reminder data may also contain information on the time or duration, which can be used to define the effective time of the message, such as “effective after 10:30 AM today”, “valid until 7:00 PM tomorrow”, “between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM on weekdays”, “this weekend”, “on Tuesdays”, “on the third Monday of the month”, “during construction at Magnolia/Bake intersection”, etc. The reminder data may contain additional validation rules, such as “if rainy”, “if traffic congestion causes at least 30 minutes of delay in an estimated time of arrival”, “if the destination is within 20 miles from the current position”, etc. The user may optionally search for a nearby POIs of a suggested location. The navigation system may also be equipped with a function to receive information on traffic incidents and conditions around the suggested location.
In the example of
The user can select and type in the reminder name in the reminder name input field 91, which is used to identify the particular reminder message. The message content input field 92 is for inputting the main message such as “Please buy milk” to be displayed on the navigation screen. The assigned (primary) location category has a plurality of buttons from which the user selects an appropriate button to specify the location data.
The “Address button” 93A is selected to specify the address of the primary location in the input window 94, the “POI Name” button 93B is selected to specify a POI name of the primary location in the input window 94. The “Book” button 93C is used to enter a primary location from an address book of the navigation system, and the “POI Type” button 93D is used to enter a category of POI, such as a grocery store, restaurant, etc. in the input window 94. The “Area” button 93E allows the user to specify an area such as a city name in the input window 94. The “More” button 93F is provided to enter other relevant information.
With respect to the suggested (secondary) location, the “Address” button 93G is selected to specify the address of the secondary location in the input window 95, and the “POI Name” button 93H is selected to specify a POI name of the secondary location in the input window 95. The “Book” button 93I is used to enter a secondary location from the address book of the navigation system, and the “POI Type” button 93J is used to enter a category of POI, such as a grocery store, restaurant, etc. in the input window 95. The “Area” button 93K allows the user to specify an area such as a city name in the input window 95. The “More” button 93L is provided to enter other relevant information.
The effective time for activating the reminder message is specified through the “Date” button 96A to enter a date, and the “Time” button 96B to enter the time. The “More” button 97 is provided for entering other types of relevant information. The validation input filed 98 is used to enter the validation rule as to how and when the location based reminder will be generated such as a distance range from the primary location or suggested locations, a current time for comparing with the effective time 79, etc. After entering the intended data for the reminder message, the user will press a “Submit” button 99 to send the reminder message data created in the foregoing to the navigation system.
Examples of operational steps involved in the embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the flow charts of
In the flow chart of
Then, in the step 102, the navigation system will receive the reminder message data through, for example, a data transceiver 249 (
In the step 103, the message content (main message) such as “Please buy milk” in the reminder message data is stored in the navigation system. In the step 104, the primary location (assigned location) in the reminder message data is stored in the navigation system. As noted above, the primary location is a location compared with a reference location by which the reminder message will be triggered to be displayed on the screen or otherwise generated by the navigation system. In the example described with reference to
In the step 105, the secondary location (suggested location) in the reminder message data is stored in the navigation system. The secondary location is one or more locations that the user can conduct the activity (ex. buy milk) stated in the reminder message. The secondary location can also be a location compared with a reference location by which the reminder message will be triggered to be displayed on the screen or otherwise generated by the navigation system. In the example described with reference to
In the step 106, the effective time in the reminder message data is stored in the navigation system. The effective time is the data that define a time frame or a time point as a factor for applying the validation rule in the operation of the location based reminder. For example, the effective time defines a time range or a time limit for the reminder massage be effectively generated. Thus, suppose the effective time is a time range which is within this week, the reminder message will no longer be generated in the next week.
In the step 107, the validation rule and other data in the reminder message data is stored in the navigation system. The validation rule is the data that defines how and when the location based reminder should be generated such as a distance range of the reference location from the primary location or suggested locations. The other data include the reminder name which is an assigned name for identifying the set of reminder message data for producing the location based reminder in the present invention. After storing all the reminder message data in the above steps, the process ends in the step 108.
The process of
As the procedure starts, the user inputs a destination in the navigation system at the step 112. The destination may be any type of place selected through various input methods, such as an address book, POI name or category, telephone number, or inputting an address or intersection, pointing a cursor on a map image, etc. In the example of
As noted above, the user's input is not limited to a destination (final destination) but may be a waypoint (intermediate destination) as well. When the user has input a destination or waypoint, the navigation system checks whether the destination is at or near the primary location or secondary location in the step 113 as defined by the validation rule. If it is negative in the step 113, the navigation system will move to the step 116A wherein the destination or waypoint will be set as a place to go via the route guidance operation.
On the other hand, if the condition is met in the step 113, i.e., the destination is within the distance defined by the validation rule from the primary location or secondary location, the navigation system will display and/or voice announce the reminder message associated with the destination or waypoint in the step 114. In the step 115, the navigation system will determine whether the route is to be changed by checking the user's action. The user may choose to ignore the reminder message and proceed to the initially input destination or waypoint. In the display example 11 shown in
When the user wants to see more details of the reminder message, the user selects the “View Message” key or its equivalent on the display examples 11, 12, 15 and 16 in
In the step 117, the navigation system will calculate a route to the original destination (from the step 116A) or to the replaced destination (from the step 116B) or to the waypoint (from the step 116C). Then, the navigation system conducts the route guidance operation to guide the user to the destination or waypoint through the calculated route. The user will finish the activity specified by the reminder message at the destination or the waypoint and the process ends in the step 118.
The flow chart shown in
In the step 133, while the vehicle is travelling, the navigation system constantly checks whether the vehicle is located near the primary or secondary location. When the navigation system detects that the current vehicle position is within a predetermined distance from the primary or secondary location defined by the validation rule, it will display and/or voice announce the reminder message in the step 134. As an example, when the user happens to drive near a regular laundry, the navigation system will produce the message “Pick up the jacket at Deluxe Cleaner” to remind the user to pick up the jacket at the laundry.
In the step 135, the navigation system determines what the user intends to do in response to the reminder message and the secondary (suggested) location attached to the reminder message. In other words, the navigation system prompts the user to select either to go to the suggested location to do the activity specified by the message or not. The user may choose to ignore the message and proceed to the initially input destination or waypoint in which case the procedure moves to the step 137.
Assuming that the vehicle is in the route guidance mode in the step 132 noted above wherein already at least one destination has been set, the navigation system continues the route guidance in the step 137 and the process ends at the step 138. When the user selects to set the secondary location as a destination in step 135, the procedure will move to the step 136A in which the secondary location is set as a destination. When the vehicle has already been in the route guidance mode, the original destination will be replaced by the secondary location (final destination).
When the user selects to set the secondary location as a waypoint in the step 135, the procedure will move to the step 136B in which the secondary location will be set as a waypoint (intermediate destination). In the step 137, the navigation system calculates the route to the secondary (suggested) location for route guidance and starts the route guidance operation. Finally, the user will complete the activity (ex. buy milk) specified by the reminder message at the destination or the waypoint and the process of
Several examples of cases implementing the method of generating a location based reminder message in the present invention will be described with reference to
In this case, a single message is sent by the spouse of a user similar to the examples described above with reference to
A display example of the case 1 is shown in
The effective time is also checked. In this example, the reminder will not be effective when the time has passed two days from the reminder setting date. In the display example of
The following settings are made as the reminder message data in the navigation system:
A display example of the case 2 is shown in
The following settings are made as the reminder message data in the navigation system:
A display example of the case 3 is shown in
The following settings are made as the reminder message data in the navigation system:
A display example of the case 4 is shown in
The following settings are made as the reminder message data in the navigation system:
The following settings are made as the reminder message data in the navigation system:
In this scenario, the suggested location and message content in the reminder message will vary depending on the expected time of arrival. Namely, if the expected time of arrival is before 6:30 PM, the message “Get a takeout dinner for four” will be displayed, while the message “Call ahead and pick up a pepperoni pizza” will be displayed if the expected time is between 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM. The message “Call wife to discuss dinner arrangement” will be shown if the expected time of arrival is after 7:00 PM. The suggested location also varies depending on the expected time as indicated by the suggested locations 1-3.
The block diagram of
In
The CPU 239 performs the operation described in detail with reference to the flow charts of
In the block diagram, the navigation system includes a data storage medium 231 such as a hard disc, CD-ROM, DVD, nonvolatile memory device or any other storage means for storing the map data and other relevant data used for the navigation system. The navigation system includes a control unit 232 for controlling an operation for reading the information from the data storage medium 231, and a position measuring device 233 for measuring the present vehicle position or user position. For example, the position measuring device 233 has a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a moving distance, a gyroscope for detecting a moving direction, a microprocessor for calculating a position, a GPS (global positioning system) receiver for receiving GPS signals, and etc.
The block diagram of
In
A program to perform the operation described with reference to the flow charts in
Alternatively, the user may set the reminder message data through a personal computer 261, which is connected to the internet (web) 265 or any other network to transmit the necessary data for operation of the location based reminder to the navigation system 267. Other devices may be used to set the location based reminder data as well, for instance, a cellular phone 263 may be used for this purpose. The reminder message data may be transmitted via the internet 265 or by a wireless communication between the cellular phone 263 and the navigation system 267 such as by bluetooth connection. Other devices, such as a portable memory device or a personal digital assistance (“PDA”) device, may also be used to set the reminder message data as well.
As has been described above, according to the present invention, the navigation system stores the reminder message data for generating the location based reminder by the navigation system. The reminder message data include the message content, primary location, secondary location, effective time, validation rule, etc., created by the user or persons or organizations associated with the user. When the condition associated with the primary location such as a current vehicle position is satisfied in applying the validation rule, the navigation system generates the reminder message on the display which is typically accompanied by a voice message as well.
The reminder message includes one or more secondary location at which the user is able to conduct the activity defined by the reminder message. The user is able to set the secondary location as one of the destination for the route guidance operation by the navigation system so that the user can reach the secondary location correctly and quickly. The reminder message data may be set directly by a navigation system or indirectly via various other external devices and transferred to the navigation system via wired or wireless communication, or inserting a memory card, etc. By the process and configurations described above, the present invention is able to provide useful and enjoyable functions to the navigation system.
Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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