U.S. patent application number 10/532287 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-24 for point-of-interest display system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Johnson Controls Technology Company. Invention is credited to Nisa M. Arnold-Huyser, John S. Bambini, Alan S. Hughes, Ian Milstead, Susan K. Sonday.
Application Number | 20080097698 10/532287 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32176488 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080097698 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Arnold-Huyser; Nisa M. ; et
al. |
April 24, 2008 |
Point-of-interest display system
Abstract
A point of interest display system (20) includes an updatable
database which interfaces with a microprocessor (50) which receives
data from a GPS receiver (40) providing the system with current
vehicle location and direction of travel information. A display
(26) provides the operator graphic display data information and
easily accessible control switches (24) allow the operator to
select upcoming highway exits, categories of points of interests,
and points of interest.
Inventors: |
Arnold-Huyser; Nisa M.;
(Zeeland, MI) ; Bambini; John S.; (Kentwood,
MI) ; Hughes; Alan S.; (Holland, MI) ;
Milstead; Ian; (Elmhurst, IL) ; Sonday; Susan K.;
(Holland, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
777 EAST WISCONSIN AVENUE
MILWAUKEE
WI
53202-5306
US
|
Assignee: |
Johnson Controls Technology
Company
Plymouth
MI
|
Family ID: |
32176488 |
Appl. No.: |
10/532287 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
October 20, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US03/33256 |
371 Date: |
February 24, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60419934 |
Oct 21, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
701/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08G 1/0962 20130101;
B60K 2370/771 20190501; G01C 21/3682 20130101; G08G 1/0969
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
701/300 |
International
Class: |
G06G 7/78 20060101
G06G007/78 |
Claims
1. A point-of-interest memory system for use in a vehicle
comprising: a database including roadway data including highway
identification information including exits and location
information, street names and address numbers and the location and
identification of points of interest, wherein said database has
data sets layered thereon according to road network information and
separately point-of-interest information such that said database
can be updated separately at different time intervals for
separately updating the road network information and
point-of-interest information.
2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein said database is
programmed into a programmable memory.
3. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein said programmable
memory is a removable memory device.
4. The system as defined in claim 3 wherein said removable memory
device is a flashcard.
5. The system as defined in claim 4 wherein said system includes: a
GPS receiver; a display; and a microprocessor coupled to said
memory, to said GPS receiver, and to said display for displaying
point-of-interest information to an operator of a vehicle in which
said system is installed.
6. The system as defined in claim 5 and further including at least
one operator-actuated switch coupled to said microprocessor to
allow the operator to select for individual display one of
addresses on a street on which the vehicle is traveling and
separately cross-streets ahead and behind the vehicle.
7. The system as defined in claim 6 wherein said display of
addresses further includes a display of the street name on which
the vehicle is traveling.
8. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein said display of cross
streets includes graphic lines depicting sides of a roadway and the
cross streets are positioned between said lines.
9. The system as defined in claim 8 wherein said display of cross
streets includes at least one arrow aligned with respect to the
displayed cross streets at a position indicating the position of
the vehicle with respect to said cross streets.
10. The system as defined in claim 9 wherein said display displays
two cross streets ahead of the vehicle.
11. The system as defined in claim 10 wherein said display includes
two arrows with an arrow positioned adjacent each graphic line
representing a side of a roadway.
12. The system as defined in claim 6 and further including at least
one operator actuated switch which permits the operator to select a
point of interest from a menu of available points of interest when
on a highway and said display displays the distance and direction
to said selected point of interest.
13. The system as defined in claim 6 wherein said operator-actuated
switch permits the operator to select a point of interest from a
menu of available points of interest and said display selectively
displays detailed information regarding a selected point of
interest.
14. The system as defined in claim 12 wherein said
operator-actuated switch permits the operator to selectively
display the exits on a highway on which the vehicle is traveling,
wherein said microprocessor is programmed to respond to operator
input signals from said switch to provide a scroll-forward display
of upcoming highway exits and for displaying points of interest
accessible at such highway exits
15. The system as defined in claim 5 and further including an
electronic compass coupled to said display.
16. The system as defined in claim 5 and further including an
outside temperature sensor coupled to said display.
17. The system as defined in claim 5 and further including a trip
computer coupled to said display.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a display system for a
vehicle and particularly to one which provides a display of
selected names of points of interest arranged by category and
elemental directions to a selected point of interest. One
embodiment provides a graphic display of cross-streets or addresses
as the vehicle travels along a local roadway.
[0002] There exist numerous vehicle navigation systems which
provide graphic map displays, which allow the vehicle operator,
through significant manipulation of controls, to plan a travel
route and obtain information about arrival destinations, typically
by address. Some systems provide navigation control through the use
of voice recognition programs and control circuits. All of these
systems are relatively expensive, complicated and difficult for a
vehicle operator to utilize, particularly when preoccupied with
surrounding traffic in congested areas. Some suggested simplified
navigation systems allow the vehicle operator to either identify
his or her current location by street address and forthcoming
intersection information, as well as basic points of interest
information. Such systems are relatively inexpensive but do not
provide the operator with the flexibility of providing
points-of-interest information in a user-friendly format nor
additional desirable features, such as easily accessible alternate
displays of forthcoming highway exits, street intersections, or
street addresses when traveling on a local street.
[0003] Thus, there remains a need for a display system for a
vehicle which is relatively inexpensive and is user-friendly to
operate using a minimum number of intuitive controls. Such a system
needs to provide desirable features, such as points of interest in
selected categories which can be easily accessed with minimal
operator intervention and yet provide the operator with sufficient
information to be able to locate and travel to such
points-of-interest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The system of the present invention satisfies this need by
providing a point-of-interest display system in which an updateable
database includes road network information, which can be updated at
relatively infrequent time intervals, and point-of-interest
information which can be user-updated at more frequent intervals,
as new points of interest become available. In a preferred
embodiment of the invention, the database is carried on the vehicle
in the form of a flashcard or other removable memory device or
loaded into flash memory residing in the vehicle via a data
communication system. The database interfaces with a microprocessor
on the vehicle which receives data from a current position
detector, such as a GPS receiver, providing the system with current
vehicle location and direction of travel information. A display
provides the operator textural and elemental graphic display
information, and one or more control switches are positioned in an
easily accessible location within the vehicle such that the
operator, by scrolling through displayed highway exits, can select
categories of points of interest, and points of interest within a
category upon the actuation of a minimal number of switches in an
intuitive sequence.
[0005] In one embodiment of the invention, two modes of operation
provide point-of-interest information either while the vehicle is
traveling on a limited access highway or, once the vehicle has
exited the highway, provides more specific point-of-interest
directions. In another embodiment of the invention, the operator
can, when on a local road, select the textural display of
forthcoming and past intersecting streets, which is updated as the
vehicle travels along the roadway. In yet another embodiment of the
invention, the navigation system provides a display of the street
addresses on which the vehicle is traveling and increments,
decrements, or otherwise updates the address as the vehicle moves.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of these features
are incorporated in a system which allows selection between the
features, either manually or automatically as the vehicle moves
between a limited access highway and a local roadway.
[0006] These and other features, objects and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent upon reading the following
description thereof together with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle having
a point-of-interest display system embodying the present
invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the system shown
in FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block electrical diagram showing one interface
connection of the system to the vehicle power system;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a block electrical circuit diagram of the
point-of-interest system including its major components;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing the menu operation for
operation of the system shown in FIGS. 1-4;
[0012] FIG. 6 is the display screen for the main menu;
[0013] FIG. 7 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when in a highway
point-of-interest mode of operation;
[0014] FIGS. 8A and 8B are alternate display screens illustrating
the information displayed to the vehicle operator when in a local
point-of-interest mode of operation;
[0015] FIG. 9 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when in a street-address mode of
operation;
[0016] FIG. 10 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when in a street-sign or
cross-street mode of operation;
[0017] FIG. 11 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when in a current-information
mode of operation;
[0018] FIG. 12 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when the lodging category has
been selected in the point-of-interest modes, shown in FIGS. 7, 8A
and/or 8B;
[0019] FIG. 13 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when the food category has been
selected in the point-of-interest modes shown in FIGS. 7, 8A and/or
8B;
[0020] FIG. 14 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when the gas category has been
selected in the point-of-interest modes shown in FIGS. 7, 8A and/or
8B;
[0021] FIG. 15 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when a particular point of
interest in the highway mode has been selected;
[0022] FIG. 16 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when the vehicle is out of the
coverage zone;
[0023] FIG. 17 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator during initial start up when the
GPS receiver is looking for satellites;
[0024] FIG. 18 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator when no point of interest was
found at a selected exit;
[0025] FIG. 19 is the display screen illustrating the information
displayed to the vehicle operator in the event a memory card has
not been inserted into the circuit;
[0026] FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of the operation of the system
during start up and shut down;
[0027] FIG. 21 is a flow diagram of the normal operation mode of
the system; and
[0028] FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C are a detailed flow diagram of the
programming of the system during operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0029] Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a vehicle 10,
such as an automobile, van, sports utility vehicle, truck, or the
like, which incorporates a point-of-interest display system of one
embodiment of the present invention. The point-of-interest display
system 20 is mounted in one embodiment in an overhead console 30,
although it can be mounted at any conveniently accessible location
within easy reach of the vehicle operator, such as in the
instrument panel. The point-of-interest system includes a switch
group 24 and a display section 26, shown in detail in FIG. 2. The
point-of-interest system can be mounted within a housing 22, which
includes both the display 26 and switch section 24, as well as a
memory card slot 28 for receiving a removable memory card 29, such
as a flashcard on which the point-of-interest and road network data
is programmed. Alternatively, separate mounting of the components
is possible.
[0030] The memory card 29 typically will be at least a 128 meg
card, although 256 or 512 meg cards may be preferred. The memory
card is removable from slot 28, such that data thereon, including
road network information and point-of-interest (POI) information,
can be separately programmed in layers thereon, such that the road
network and POI data can be refreshed at different, periodic
intervals. Memory card 29 includes nonvolatile memory and contains
a handshake code to communicate with a microprocessor 50 (FIG. 4)
of the system, so the microprocessor can read data on the memory
card 29. The system, as seen in FIG. 4, also includes a
programmable SRAM memory 31, which contains the program for the
sequential operation of the system, as shown in FIG. 5. The flow
diagram for the program is shown in FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C,
described below. In one embodiment memory card 29 can be obtained
from a car dealer with an update subscription service for
refreshing the data on the card either annually, in the case of
road network information, or more frequently as new points of
interest may become available, such as, for example, on a monthly
basis. Alternatively, the user may subscribe to a web site
providing download information for refreshing the data on memory
card 29 on a personal computer if desired. Card 29 may also be
updated through other means. Typically, the memory card will have
data sufficient for a regional area in which the vehicle normally
travels and will contain points of interest according to
categories, such as gas, food, and lodging, as well as all the
major (i.e., limited access) and secondary road identifications and
street addresses for secondary roads.
[0031] The map database is composed of at least two layers, at
least one of which includes data like points of interest that
change frequently. It is, therefore, desirable to update this
information frequently. Another layer or layers of data contain
information like the road network that may be undated less
frequently. The data layers are linked and each layer may be
updated either independently or in combination with other layers.
This allows the consumer to obtain updated information without
excessive download time when refreshing the data through the
Internet, since the update can be limited to the part of the data
that changes frequently.
[0032] Each layer is contained within a single file on the
flashcard 29 for a given geographical area. Every POI record,
whether for highway or local coverage, references a street name
record in the road network file. This reference is stored in the
POI file as an index into the street name table in the road network
file.
[0033] As the latest POI information is released and compiled,
every POI file that is created is associated with the latest road
network file available. In addition, any new points of interest
that are associated with roads that are not yet compiled into the
latest road network file are added to the POI file but are flagged
as being without a street name. All other POI attributes, such as
telephone number, latitude/longitude and name, are still available
in this case. Details of some aspects of the programming of they
system to provide the various modes of operation are disclosed in
application Ser. No. 60/419,934, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
DISPLAYING VEHICLE LOCATION AND POINT OF INTEREST INFORMATION, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and in
connection with the flow diagrams of FIGS. 22A-22C.
[0034] The system, as best seen in FIG. 4, includes a current
location detection device, such as GPS receiver 40, having an
antenna 42 for receiving global positioning satellite signals from
multiple satellites and providing current location data to one or
more microprocessor(s) 50, which can be a Motorola MC9512DJ64 or
its equivalent, through a universal asynchronous
receiver/transmitter connection 44. Other current location
detection sources of data, such as a Loran receiver, gyro compass,
or dead reckoning information sources, may also be employed but a
GPS receiver represents the current best mode of receiving such
data. The microprocessor receives vehicle location data from the
GPS receiver and point-of-interest and road network data from the
flashcard 29, which is inserted into slot 28 and coupled to the one
or more microprocessor(s) 50. An SRAM memory 31 is also coupled to
the microprocessor(s) 50 and contains the system program. The
microprocessor is also coupled to one or more operator-actuated
switches in the switch section 24 and to a display 26, such as a
dot matrix display, for selectively displaying information, such as
shown in FIGS. 2 and 6-19, to the vehicle operator.
[0035] The point-of-interest circuit 20 is coupled to the vehicle
power system, as shown in FIG. 3, and includes an ignition input
for receiving power when the ignition is either in the run or
accessory position, a B+ input drawing a maximum of 300 micro amps
when the system is deactivated, a coupling to the system ground and
a pulse width modulated dimming input circuit for dimming the
back-lighted switches of the switch bank 24 and the dot matrix
display 26 based upon the operator's selected lighting level for
instrument displays. In some installations, the system could be
coupled directly to the vehicle's power supply through the ignition
switch and vehicle ground. In another, dimming information is
received from the vehicle bus. The microprocessor 50 is also
coupled to other vehicle systems, such as a vehicle compass 46 for
displaying in the normal mode of operation, when the
point-of-interest system is not being employed, the outside
temperature, the compass heading, the time and date information, as
seen in FIG. 11. The microprocessor may also be coupled to and
employed for other vehicle control functions, such as a
Homelink.RTM. brand programmable transmitter 48, and may be coupled
to the vehicle bus 49 for receiving PWM dimming information,
ignition run, accessory information, and the like. An outside
temperature sensor and circuit 45 may be coupled to the
microprocessor(s) 50 or the vehicle bus 49, as shown in FIG. 4, to
provide the temperature display as seen in FIG. 11. Also, a trip
computer 47 may be coupled to the microprocessor(s) 50 or to the
vehicle bus 49, as shown in FIG. 4, to provide typical trip
functions, such as a resettable odometer, fuel consumption, average
speed, and estimated time of arrival information, which can be
displayed on display 26.
[0036] The user-friendly, intuitive switch controls 24 are seen in
FIG. 2 and incorporate a menu switch 60, a scroll forward switch
61, a scroll back switch 62, which are physically positioned on the
console pointing in a forward and rearward position, respectively,
with arrows thereon so as to intuitively indicate to the vehicle
operator that the actuation of the scroll switches advances the
display to a point of interest or highway exit forward or behind
the vehicle. The switch controls 24 also includes a select switch
63 for selecting a given entry highlighted by the movement of a
display cursor 27 (FIG. 8) through actuation of scroll switches 61
and 62 and a back switch 64, which allows the operator to move back
one entry. Additionally, keys 65, 66, and 67 are provided and are
aligned with display icons showing "gas", "food", and "lodges",
respectively, as seen in FIG. 2. When the system is employed with a
HomeLink.RTM. brand trainable transmitter, the switches can, when
the POI system is off (FIG. 6), provide the dual function of
operating any one of the three programmed transmitting frequencies
and codes for up to three different garage doors, home appliances,
security gates, or the like.
[0037] The operation of the system seen in FIGS. 1-4 is best
understood by reference to the program flow diagram of FIGS. 22A,
22B, and 22C together with the menu diagram with FIG. 5 in
connection with the displayed information, as seen in FIGS. 2 and
6-19. Initially, when this system is powered up, as shown in FIG.
20, the system searches for satellites and displays a message, as
shown by FIG. 17. In the event a memory card or flashcard 29 has
not been inserted, the system displays the message shown in FIG.
19, either that the "memory card is not inserted" or the message
shown in FIG. 16, that "the vehicle is out of the current data
coverage zone." Assuming the memory card is in place and the
vehicle is in the data coverage zone and satellite signals have
been received, the display screen of FIG. 6 is displayed allowing
the operator the option of selecting points of interest (POI) by
scrolling, utilizing switches 61 and 62, current information which
provides any combination of the compass heading, time, date, and/or
outside temperature information of FIG. 11 or trip computer
information (not shown). The operator may also select the street
sign selection showing either the address of a street on which the
vehicle is traveling, if on a secondary road, as shown by FIG. 9,
or, if the scroll button is advanced and street signs has
previously been selected, to the street sign display of FIG.
10.
[0038] Assuming the vehicle is on a limited access highway and the
operator has selected "points of interest" by scrolling to move the
cursor 27, shown in FIG. 6, to the "points of interest" selection,
the operator enters select by actuating switch 63, and the highway
point-of-interest mode, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, is displayed on
display 26. Such display provides information as to points of
interest according to categories of gas, food, or lodging, which
are displayed as shown by display icons 71, 73, and 75 in FIGS. 2
and 7. Display 26 also displays the forthcoming exit which the
vehicle is approaching, as indicated by display area 72 (FIG. 7),
the name of the street associated with the exit, as indicated by
display element 74, and the distance to the exit, as shown by
display element 76. To the left of display icons 71, 73, and 75 is
a numerical display 80 for indicating the number of gasoline
stations available at that exit (i.e., 4 for exit 102a), a
numerical display 82 indicating the number of restaurants available
at that exit (i.e., 10), and a numerical display 84 indicating the
number of lodges or sleeping accommodations available at that exit
(i.e., 3). By actuating scroll switches 61 or 62, the operator can
scroll forward to display, for example, the information available
at the next exit (No. 103, for example) or the previous exit (No.
101, for example) if at exit 102 a desired POI is not available.
Thus, while in the highway POI mode, the vehicle operator can look
ahead or behind for points of interest and, as discussed below,
select and review available points of interest at a selected exit.
This enables the operator to find, for example, a favorite
restaurant while traveling when meal time is approaching.
[0039] As the vehicle travels along the highway, the operator can
actuate any one of the three keys 65, 66, or 67 aligned above the
display 81 of "gas", display 83 of "food", or display 85 of
"lodges", respectively, to select details of the establishments in
the available categories at a selected exit. Thus, if the gas key
65 is actuated, the display of FIG. 14 appears, and the "gas" icon
81 is illuminated. The display of FIG. 14 provides three service
stations available at the selected exit and their distance. A
similar display presentation for restaurants is shown in FIG. 13
and for lodging is shown in FIG. 12.
[0040] The operator then can scroll to the desired establishment,
such as a Marathon station, as shown in FIG. 14, by actuation of
switches 61 and 62 and select the establishment aligned with the
cursor 27 to be presented with a more detailed route to
point-of-interest display, as shown in FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, the
operator has scrolled up to the Marathon station and actuated the
select switch 63. The detail display 87 shows the distance to the
Marathon station (i.e., 5.7 miles), and an arrow 88 shows the
general direction of the station. The street address 89 of the
service station, as well as its telephone number 89'. As the
vehicle travels to the exit from which the POI was selected in the
highway mode, this information is dynamically updated. Thus, arrow
88 changes direction and the distance information 87 of FIG. 15 is
continuously updated. The distance displayed is the combined
distance to the exit and from the exit to the Marathon station.
[0041] When the vehicle exits the highway, for example, at exit
102A, as shown in FIG. 7, the microprocessor detects from GPS
signal and stored road network data programmed in the memory 31
that it is on a secondary road and automatically switches to one of
the local point-of-interest displays shown in FIGS. 8A or 8B,
which, unless a POI has previously been selected as seen in FIG.
15, automatically displays the categories of points of interest
available, the number of points of interest in each category
through the icons 71, 73, and 75, and the nearest points of
interest within a selectable range of, for example, two to four
miles of the nearest points of interest regardless of the category.
Again, the operator can select any one of the categories by
actuating the switches 65, 66, and 67 after which the selected
category will be displayed as shown in FIGS. 12-14, and a go-to
point of interest can be selected by movement of the cursor through
actuation switches 61 and 62 and entry of a highlighted point of
interest by select switch 63 to obtain the information for that
point of interest, as represented, for example, by FIG. 15. If a
POI had previously been selected, the display of FIG. 15 remains
displayed to the operator.
[0042] If there are no points of interest found at a forthcoming
exit, the display of FIG. 18 is displayed to the vehicle operator
indicating that, at that exit, no selected category points of
interest are available. The operator can either scroll forward to
exits ahead of the vehicle or scroll backward using switches 61, 62
to a previous exit to look for a desired point of interest and
determine which is the closest point of interest which satisfies
the operator's needs. If on a local road and no POI are found
within an initial search range, the system will expand the search
range until a POI is found and display either the FIG. 8A or FIG.
8B display to the operator.
[0043] In addition to the point-of-interest mode of operation, the
operator can enter the street sign mode from the main menu by
pushing the menu switch 60 and scrolling to street signs (FIG. 6).
By actuating the select switch 63, the display of FIG. 9 is
presented to the operator, which shows the direction 91 of travel
of the vehicle, the road 92 on which the vehicle is traveling, and
a street address display 93, which shows the street numbers and
which increments or decrements as the vehicle travels along the
street, to provide the operator with the ability to locate a point
of interest which may have previously been identified by street
number or is otherwise known to the operator. This display is
particularly helpful where the point of interest is set back from
the road, such as, for example, in a shopping mall or the like, and
the address is not readily visible from the road. As is well known,
the displayed address is interpolated from two known locations and
the current vehicle position with respect to such locations as
determined by the GPS information.
[0044] If the operator scrolls forward utilizing switch 61 while in
the street sign mode displaying addresses, as shown in FIG. 9, the
system enters the display of cross streets, as shown in FIG. 10, in
which two streets ahead of the vehicle (e.g., Second Avenue and
Third Avenue in FIG. 10) are presented, as are arrows 94 indicating
the location of the vehicle between Second Avenue and recently
passed First Avenue. This provides the operator with an easily
recognizable display of cross streets on a roadway defined by
converging graphic lines 95, which includes arrows 94 to provide a
clear graphic diagram to the vehicle operator as to the vehicle's
location with respect to forthcoming cross streets. In the event
that the area does not provide cross-street information or street
addresses for a given location of the vehicle, a display is
provided to the operator, indicating that such information is not
available and the operator must return to the main menu and enter
the highway or local point-of-interest mode for guidance. The
operator can always select the current information display of FIG.
11 by actuating the back button 64 when in any of the other modes
until the information is displayed or actuate the menu button and
actuate cursor switches 61, 62 to align cursor 27 with current
information and actuate the select switch 63 to provide the
compass, temperature, time, and date information display of FIG.
11.
[0045] FIG. 5 illustrates the various operational modes described
above by the actuation of the select, menu, back, scroll, and POI
switches to select points of interest, select a category contained
within the points of interest, identify a particular establishment
in that category, and go to the point-of-interest display, which
provides detailed information as to how to approach the selected
point of interest. The flow diagram 100 of FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C
represents the programming of the microprocessor through the
program contained in memory 31 of FIG. 4 to detect the actuation
states of the various operator-actuated switches look at the data
from the GPS receiver 40 and the flash memory 29 and display the
resultant selected display information. The figure numbers of the
display figures are included in the flow diagram 100.
[0046] Turning initially to FIG. 22A, the main menu 110 of FIG. 6
is displayed and the program looks at block 112 to determine if a
highlighted entry has been selected and, if it has, whether the
point of interest has been selected at block 114. If a point of
interest display has been selected, the program moves to block 102
(FIG. 22B) and displays the point-of-interest menu of FIG. 7 or
FIG. 8, depending on the location of the vehicle, either on a
limited access highway or on a local roadway. If no entry has been
selected in block 112, the program cycles through the main menu
until such time as something has been selected by scrolling to and
highlighting a desired entry. If no point of interest has been
selected, the program detects at block 116 whether the street sign
has been selected and, if not, at block 118, whether the current
information has been selected. If current information has been
selected, the display of FIG. 11 is presented, as shown by block
120. If street signs has been selected, the display of current
address of FIG. 9 is presented as shown by block 122. If street
signs is not selected and current information is, the program
automatically updates from the data received from the compass,
temperature sensor, and internal clock the information displayed in
FIG. 11. The program then continues to detect at blocks 124 and 126
(FIG. 22B) whether or not menu or back has been selected. If not,
it remains with the current display of FIG. 11.
[0047] If, at block 118, current information has not been selected,
the program tests at block 128, whether the off selection has been
entered and, if not, the program returns to the main menu 110. If
off has been selected at block 128, the display is turned off, as
indicated by block 134 (FIG. 22A), and the system is idle until
such time as any switch has been depressed, as indicated by block
136. When this occurs, the program returns to the main menu block
110 of FIG. 22A.
[0048] If a point of interest display has been actuated as
indicated by an affirmative decision in block 114, the program
moves to block 102 (FIG. 22B), displaying either the FIG. 7 or FIG.
8 menu, as indicated above. If a point of interest is not selected
as indicated by a no decision in block 104, the program continues
to look to see if menu or back has been selected at 130, 132 and,
if not, cycles through the loop, including blocks 102 and 104,
until such time as either a lodging point-of-interest key 67 (FIG.
2) has been actuated as indicated by block 105, a gas
point-of-interest key 65 (FIG. 2) has been actuated, or a food
point-of-interest key 66 has been selected as indicated by blocks
105-107, respectively, in FIG. 22B. If one of these categories has
been selected as indicated by block 108, the point of interest
distance, direction, and location of FIG. 15 is displayed. The
program then detects whether a menu or back select switches have
been actuated at blocks 140 and 142 and, if so, the program returns
to either the main menu or displays the point-of-interest menu, as
indicated in block 102.
[0049] If "street signs" is selected as indicated in block 116
(FIG. 22A) and the address of FIG. 9 is displayed, the program
tests to determine if a menu select or back select switch has been
actuated as indicated by blocks 144 and 146 (FIG. 22B). If the menu
select switch has been actuated, the program returns to the main
menu of block 110. If not and the back select switch has been
actuated by an affirmative decision in block 142, the program also
returns to the main menu. If the back select switch has not been
actuated, the program tests to determine if the down arrow at block
148 has been actuated. If it has, the program displays the street
sign mode of FIG. 10, as shown at block 150 and continues to
display that until such time as either the menu select switch at
block 152 has been actuated or the back select switch at block 154
has been actuated or the up arrow as indicated by block 156 has
been actuated. If the down arrow select switch has not been
actuated at block 148, the program returns to the current address
display as shown at block 122. If the arrow up select switch has
been actuated as indicated by an affirmative decision at block 156
or the back select switch activated, the program returns to the
current address display of FIG. 9 indicated at block 122.
[0050] Thus, the flow diagram of the program of FIGS. 22A-22C
illustrates the operation performed by the program during a
sequence of operation through the menu as shown also in FIG. 5, as
well as at the same time updating the location information from the
GPS receiver and selected point-of-interest information, including
distance to and/or direction to the selected point-of-interest
information being displayed.
[0051] It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that
various modifications to the preferred embodiment of the invention
as described herein can be made without departing from the spirit
or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *