Tom Tom International B.v.

Tomtom Navigation B.v.

Tomtom Software Ltd

Tomtom Traffic B.v.

Breght Boschker

Rob Van Seggelen

Jeroen Trum

Erik Thomassen

Sjoerd Aben

Teun De Haas

Kornelis Meinds

Theo Kamalski

Gary Pallett

Henk Van Der Molen

The invention relates to a navigation device comprising a display for displaying a digital map to a user, a processor configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user using the display, and a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus. The user interface is arranged to allow a user to select a continuous region present in the digital map by providing one or more indications on the digital map displayed to the user. The processor is arranged to determine digital map data relating to the selected continuous region, and to carry out one or more mapping or navigation operations using the determined digital map data. The processor may calculate a route using a path selected on the map by a user.

Navigation or mapping apparatus and method

The present invention provides a method of determining a route between two locations in a navigation device by calculating the cost of paths between the two locations using a cost function. The cost function applies different weighting factors for the same type of attribute to line segments when the line segments are located in different areas of a map. As such, when the cost of a path is being assessed, the same type of attribute may be associated with different levels of penalty or bonus in different areas. This means that the route determined is less likely to avoid line segments that have a certain negative attribute in areas where the attribute has a less adverse affect.

Non-uniform weighting factor as route algorithm input

A communications apparatus includes a processing resource arranged to support, when in use, a main application and a user interface. The apparatus, in at least one embodiment, also includes a data store and a user interface host entity arranged to access, when in use, a user interface template selectable in response to a received message. The user interface template includes an expression of a number of user interface elements. The user interface is arranged to translate the user interface template selected from the expression of the number of user interface elements into a user interface instantiation.

Communications apparatus, system and method of providing a user interface

This invention relates to a navigation device () comprising a processor (); and a store () containing map data, wherein the map data comprises a temporally-variable feature and the processor () is arranged, in a route planning process, to determine a status of the temporally-variable feature according to temporal information.

Navigation device and method

When preparing a representation of map display information for use by a navigation device, a set of source map data () is subject to a similarity analysis step () to try to identify elements in the source map data () that are similar in terms of their shape and/or their appearance when displayed. A classification and transformation parameter generation step () then classifies elements in the map into groups of similar elements as determined by the similarity analysis () and also determines the parameters and conditions under which the identified map elements can be considered to be similar. This is then used to generate a map database that includes a library of predefined map display elements having parametrable aspects, which map display elements can then be used to construct a desired map for display.

Map storage for navigation systems

In a system that uses tile-based road network rendering for displaying map information to a user, a tile is rendered for display by rendering a tileby using a first texture comprising one or more map features to be displayed for the tile of the map in combination with a second texture to apply a texture to a graphics primitive or primitives representing the tile such that at least one map feature, such as a water feature, being displayed on the tileis bordered by a border regionthat represents a border to that map feature. In this way, a more visually appealing depiction of the map featurecan be achieved.

Methods of and apparatus for displaying map information

The invention relates to a navigation device () comprising a display () for displaying a digital map to a user, a processor () configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user using the display, and a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus. The user interface is arranged to allow a user to select a continuous region present in the digital map by providing one or more indications on the digital map displayed to the user. The processor () is arranged to determine digital map data relating to the selected continuous region, and to carry out one or more mapping or navigation operations using the determined digital map data. The processor may calculate a route using a path selected on the map by a user.

Disclosed is a method and devicefor determining an expected usage of the device, determining a charge level of a batteryassociated with the device, and tuning the charge level of the battery by at least one of charging the battery based on the determined expected usage of the device and the determined charge level of the battery, and discharging the battery by changing an operation of the device based on the determined charge level of the battery and the determined expected usage of the device.

System and method for extending the physical life of batteries in mobile devices

When map data is to be processed for display in a mapping or navigation apparatus, the application processor () of the apparatus first checks to see whether any existing data in a local cache memory () represents a similar map part to the new data that is to be processed. This is done by means of a similarity analysis (). If the map data already in the cache () is determined to be sufficiently similar to the map data that is to be displayed, new map data from a main map storage () is not loaded and processed, but instead the existing data in the cache () is processed for display of the map part in question. This has the benefit of a reduced system load, since already processed data does not need to be reloaded and reprocessed.

Map rendering for navigation systems

In a system that uses tile-based road network rendering for displaying map information to a user, a tile is rendered for display by rendering a front tile () with an appropriate texture to depict, e.g., the 'ground' and a see-through shape () representing a feature that is below the ground level, and rendering a rear tile () that has drawn on it an image region () representing the intended below ground level feature, surrounded by a color or texture () that represents a border for that feature, to appear behind and slightly offset relative to the front tile (), such that the image region () and its corresponding border () on the rear tile () can be seen through the see-through shape () in the front tile (). In this way, a more visually appealing depiction of the below ground level feature can be achieved.

A navigation device is disclosed including a processor; and a store containing map data. In at least one embodiment, the map data includes a temporally-variable feature and the processor is arranged, in a route planning process, to determine a status of the temporally-variable feature according to temporal information.

A mapping or navigation device comprises or is connectable to position determining apparatus, the position determining apparatus being operable to determine one or more locations of the mapping or navigation device, the one or more determined locations forming at least one route, wherein the mapping or navigation device is configured to determine at least one portion of the at least one route, where the at least one portion is determined according to at least one property associated with at least one location comprised in the portion, and the mapping or navigation device is configured to form at least one anonymized route from the at least one determined route, wherein the at least one anonymized route does not include the at least one portion of the at least one route.

Mapping or navigation apparatus and method of operation thereof

The invention relates to a navigation device () comprising a display () for displaying a digital map to a user, a processor () configured to access digital map data and cause a digital map to be displayed to a user using the display, and a user interface operable by a user to enable the user to interact with the apparatus. The user interface is arranged to allow a user to provide, on the displayed digital map displayed to the user, an indication of a selected region present in the digital map which the user wishes to include or exclude from a route calculation process. The processor () is arranged to determine digital map data relating to the selected region indicated by the user, and to calculate a route including or excluding the region.

A method of generating a route across an electronic map representative of an area, the method comprising using a processing circuitryto generate a set of cost functionsassociated with at least one route planning profilesand comprising the steps of: ) collecting information relating to at least one example route associated with the at least one route planning profile; 2) processing, with a cost function generating process, the information relating to the at least one example route to generate one or more cost functionsto be used with the at least one route planning profile; and 3) using the or each cost functionto generate a route across the electronic map for that route planning profile

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Hilversum, Netherlands

Breght Boschker