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  Navigation device with touch screen : waypointsUSPTO Application #: 20060195259Title: Navigation device with touch screen : waypoints Abstract: A navigation device programmed with a map database and software that enables a route to be planned between two user-defined places. The device may also be programmed to be able to display on a touch sensitive display a main navigation mode screen showing a map and to allow a user to set a desired location as a location to be stored in device memory by touching the screen, for example at the desired location shown on the map. The navigation device is especially advantageous for an in-car navigation device since it allows the user to easily and reliably input the current location as a waypoint such as, a reference point for future navigation, even while the device is mounted in a vehicle. (end of abstract) Agent: Synnestvedt Lechner & Woodbridge LLP - Princeton, NJ, US Inventors: Ayal Pinkus, Edwin Neef, Sven-Erik Jurgens, Mark Gretton USPTO Applicaton #: 20060195259 - Class: 701211000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Data Processing: Vehicles, Navigation, And Relative Location, Navigation, Employing Position Determining Equipment, For Use In A Map Data Base System, Having Audio Or Visual Route Guidance The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060195259. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of, and claims the priority of, pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/546,741 filed on Aug. 25 2005 entitled "Navigation Device with Touch Screen", the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The parent application claims the priority of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2004/000803 filed on Feb. 26, 2004; GB Patent Application No. 0304358.5 filed on Feb. 26, 2003; and, GB Patent Application No. 0305175.2 filed on Mar. 7, 2003, the entire contents of all of which are hereby incorporated in total by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to a touch screen controlled navigation devices that can display navigation data, and in particular in-car navigation system devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] GPS based devices are well known and are widely employed as in-car navigation systems. Reference may be made to the Navigator series software from the present assignee, TomTom B. V. This is software that, when running on a PDA (such as a Compaq iPaq) connected to an external GPS receiver, enables a user to input to the PDA a start and destination address. The software then calculates the best route between the two end-points and displays instructions on how to navigate that route. By using the positional information derived from the GPS receiver, the software can determine at regular intervals the position of the PDA (typically mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle) and can display the current position of the vehicle on a map and display (and speak) appropriate navigation instructions (e.g. `turn left in 100 m`). Graphics depicting the actions to be accomplished (e.g. a left arrow indicating a left turn ahead) can be displayed in a status bar and also be superimposed over the applicable junctions/turnings etc in the roads shown in the map itself. Reference may also be made to devices that integrate a GPS receiver into a computing device programmed with a map database and that can generate navigation instructions on a display. The term `navigation device` refers to a device that enables a user to navigate to a pre-defined destination. The device may have an internal system for receiving location data, such as a GPS receiver, or may merely be connectable to a receiver that can receive location data. [0004] PDAs often employ touch screens to enable a user to select menu options or enter text/numbers using a virtual keyboard. Generally, touch input is meant to occur using a thin stylus since the size of individual virtual keys or other selectable items is relatively small. When navigating from a screen relating to one function or type of functions in an application to a different function or type of functions, then the presumption is that stylus selection of virtual keys, control panels, check boxes etc. will be undertaken since the related touch control zones are relatively small. [0005] However, with some individual applications, such as a calculator application, each numeric may key be large enough to be selectable using a finger, as opposed to the stylus. However, where a large number of keys needs to be displayed at the same time (e.g. for a QWERTY or other format virtual keyboard with all alphabet letters), then a far smaller virtual keyboard has to be used; individual keys have then to be selected with the stylus. Hence, prior art devices may mix large, numeric keys available on one screen with much smaller keys on a different screen, even though the keys are of equal importance. Core functions cannot be said to be uniformly and consistently designed for effective and reliable finger operation, because the assumption is that users will operate a stylus on most occasions. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] In a first aspect of this invention, there is a navigation device programmed with a map database and software that enables a route to be planned between two user-defined places. [0007] The device may be further programmed to be able to display on a touch sensitive display a main navigation mode screen showing a map and to allow a user to set a desired location as a location to be stored in device memory by touching the screen within a zone large enough to be reliably selected by a single finger. [0008] This is especially advantageous for an in-car navigation device since it allows the user to easily and reliably input the current location as a waypoint, that is a reference point for future navigation, even whilst the device is mounted in a vehicle. [0009] These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood by references to the following drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] FIG. 1 is a screen shot from a navigation device implementing the present invention; the screen shot shows a plan map view and a status bar running along the bottom of the display; [0011] FIG. 2 is a screen shot from the navigation device implementing a 3-D view; [0012] FIG. 3 is a screen shot from the navigation device showing various route planning functions that enable a user to require the device to plot a new route to the destination that (i) is an alternative route; (ii) avoids a roadblock immediately ahead; (iii) avoids predefined roads or (iv) is a reversion to the original route; [0013] FIG. 4 is a screen shot from the navigation device showing a virtual ABCD format keyboard. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0014] The present invention may be implemented in software from TomTom B. V. called Navigator. Navigator software runs on a touch screen (i.e. stylus controlled) Pocket PC powered PDA device, such as the Compaq iPaq. It provides a GPS based navigation system when the PDA is coupled with a GPS receiver. The combined PDA and GPS receiver system is designed to be used as an in-vehicle navigation system. The invention may also be implemented in any other arrangement of navigation device, such as one with an integral GPS receiver/computer/display, or a device designed for non-vehicle use (e.g. for walkers) or vehicles other than cars (e.g. aircraft). The navigation device may implement any kind of position sensing technology and is not limited to GPS; it can hence be implemented using other kinds of GNSS (global navigation satellite system) such as the European Galileo system. Equally, it is not limited to satellite based location/velocity systems but can equally be deployed using ground-based beacons or any other kind of system that enables the device to determine its geographic location. [0015] Navigator software, when running on a PDA, results in a navigation device that causes the normal navigation mode screen shown in FIG. 1 to be displayed. This view provides driving instructions using a combination of text, symbols, voice guidance and a moving map. Key user interface elements are the following: a 2-D map 1 occupies most of the screen. The map shows the user's car and its immediate surroundings, rotated in such a way that the direction in which the car is moving is always "up". Running across the bottom quarter of the screen is the status bar 2. The current location of the device, as the device itself determines using conventional GPS location finding and its orientation (as inferred from its direction of travel) is depicted by an arrow 3. The route calculated by the device (using route calculation algorithms stored in device memory as applied to map data stored in a map database in device memory) is shown as darkened path 4 superimposed with arrows giving the travel direction. On the darkened path 4, all major actions (e.g. turning corners, crossroads, roundabouts etc.) are schematically depicted by arrows 5 overlaying the path 4. The status bar 2 also includes at its left hand side a schematic 6 depicting the next action (here, a right turn). The status bar 2 also shows the distance to the next action (i.e. the right turn--here the distance is 220 meters) as extracted from a database of the entire route calculated by the device (i.e. a list of all roads and related actions defining the route to be taken). Status bar 2 also shows the name of the current road 8, the estimated time before arrival 9 (here 2 minutes and 40 seconds), the actual estimated arrival time 10 (11.36 am) and the distance to the destination 11 (1.4 Km). The GPS signal strength is shown in a mobile-phone style signal strength indicator 12. [0016] If the user touches the centre of the screen 13, then a navigation screen menu is displayed; from this menu, other core navigation functions within the Navigator application can be initiated or controlled. Allowing core navigation functions to be selected from a menu screen that is itself very readily called up (e.g. one step away from the map display to the menu screen) greatly simplifies the user interaction and makes it faster and easier. [0017] The area of the touch zone which needs to be touched by a user is far larger than in most stylus based touch screen systems. It is designed to be large enough to be reliably selected by a single finger without special accuracy; i.e. to mimic the real-life conditions for a driver when controlling a vehicle; he or she will have little time to look at a highly detailed screen with small control icons, and still less time to accurately press one of those small control icons. Hence, using a very large touch screen area associated with a given soft key (or hidden soft key, as in the centre of the screen 13) is a deliberate design feature of this implementation. Unlike other stylus based applications, this design feature is consistently deployed throughout Navigator to select core functions that are likely to be needed by a driver whilst actually driving. Hence, whenever the user is given the choice of selecting on-screen icons (e.g. control icons, or keys of a virtual keyboard to enter a destination address, for example), then the design of those icons/keys is kept simple and the associated touch screen zones is expanded to such a size that each icon/key can unambiguously be finger selected. In practice, the associated touch screen zone will be of the order of at least 0.7 cm2 and will typically be a square zone. In normal navigation mode, the device displays a map. Touching the map (i.e. the touch sensitive display) once (or twice in a different implementation) near to the screen center (or any part of the screen in another implementation) will then call up a navigation menu (see FIG. 3) with large icons corresponding to various navigation functions, such as the option to calculate an alternative route, and re-calculate the route so as to avoid the next section of road (useful when faced with an obstruction or heavy congestion); or recalculate the route so as to avoid specific, listed roads. [0018] The actual physical structure of the device itself may be fundamentally no different from any conventional handheld computer, other than the integral GPS receiver or a GPS data feed from an external GPS receiver. Hence, memory stores the route calculation algorithms, map database and user interface software; a microprocessor interprets and processes user input (e.g. using a device touch screen to input the start and destination addresses and all other control inputs) and deploys the route calculation algorithms to calculate the optimal route. `Optimal` may refer to criteria such as shortest time or shortest distance, or some other user-related factors. Continue reading... Full patent description for Navigation device with touch screen : waypoints Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Navigation device with touch screen : waypoints patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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