Motorola Corporation

Garmin Switzerland Gmbh

Kungwel Liu

Bernhard P Weisshaar

Merlin J Smith

Mark Clayton

Parvathy Bhaskaran

Richard Mark Clayton

Susan S Chen

Patrick A Stadler

Subhash Uppalapati

Juan C Uribe

Chetan V Kale

Ryan J Kummet

Minan Miin-Nan Lee

Garurank P Saxena

Techniques are described for virtual traffic sensors (VTS). In an implementation, an electronic device provides a variety of functionality including at least functionality to determine position. The electronic device may be further configured to ascertain locations of one or more virtual traffic sensors. In at least some embodiments, locations of virtual traffic sensors are determined by the electronic device using a variety of VTS criteria. Using a determined position, the electronic device may detect proximity to the virtual traffic sensors. The electronic device may collect traffic related data when in proximity to the one or more virtual traffic sensors. The electronic device may then communicate the collected traffic data over a suitable network connection to a service provider.

Virtual traffic sensors

A method and apparatus for collecting and analyzing cellular identification (ID) numbers at various geographic locations to estimate cellular tower locations. The method may include collecting cellular ID numbers obtained by collection mobile devices at a plurality of geographic locations then calculating minimum bounding circles encompassing a set of geographic location points with the same cellular identification numbers. If the cellular ID number of a set of location points indicates that the cellular tower is omni-directional, a center of the minimum bounding circle is an estimated cellular tower location. If the cellular ID number indicates that the cellular tower is multi-sector, the apparatus may calculate the estimated cellular tower location as the location at which lines that extend from the centers of a plurality of related minimum bounding circles intersect with each other to form equal angles.

Method and apparatus for estimating cellular tower location

A method is provided for improved navigation guidance in a portable navigation device () having a first navigation operating mode () for requesting () and receiving () routelet data and navigation route data and operating in accordance with the routelet data () and a second operation navigation mode () for operating in accordance with the navigation route data (). The method includes in the first navigation operating mode (), the steps of transmitting a routelet request () comprising location data, speed data and direction data, the location, speed and direction data determined () in response to a present location, a present speed and a present direction of travel, respectively, of the portable navigation device (), receiving routelet data () and operating in accordance with the received routelet data ().

Method for initiating navigation guidance in a distributed communications system

In an information appliance system, a user devicecomprises a client platform (, FIG.) that includes a service framework (, FIG.) to discover and connect with a variety of services, both remote and local, transient and persistent, and to disconnect from them when they are no longer of interest or become unavailable. The service frameworkprovides a standard, consistent, simplified way for services to make themselves available and for service-using entities to locate and connect with the services of interest to them. From the perspective of the client platform, all services, whether local or remote, are presented as local services to the application. Each remote service is represented as a local service through the use of a local proxy that insulates the service user from the complexities of communicating with a remote server. Various methods of operating a service framework are also described.

Service framework with local proxy for representing remote services

A method of enabling the transmission of data in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of monitoring a plurality of communication interfaces; determining that a communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces has become available; informing an application that the communication interface has become available; and transmitting data associated with the application on the communication interface.

Method of enabling the transmission of data in a wireless communication network

An embodiment of the invention includes an information appliance system () having an information appliance device () with a focus manager (). Among other things, the focus manager is disposed to manage a plurality of asynchronous entities (). Focus manager () receives an asynchronous request (), stores it in a queue () and assigns it a priority level (). Based on the priority level (), an asynchronous entity () takes over control of user interface device resources from an entity (), utilizes the resources, and returns them to the entity ().

Managing asynchronous requests for user interface resources in an information system

A method of optimizing the transmission of data in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of acquiring a first communication interface of a plurality of communication interfaces to transmit data associated with a first application for a first period of time; transmitting a first block of data on the first communication interface for a second period of time which is less than the first period of time; and transmitting a second block of data associated with a second application on said first communication interface for at least a portion of the first period of time remaining after the second period of time.

Method of optimizing the transmission of data in a wireless communication network

In an information appliance system , a user device comprises a client platform ( , FIG. ) that includes a service framework ( , FIG. ) to discover and connect with a variety of services, both remote and local, transient and persistent, and to disconnect from them when they are no longer of interest or become unavailable. The service framework provides a standard, consistent, simplified way for services to make themselves available and for service-using entities to locate and connect with the services of interest to them. When a service is requested from a remote server, a service frontend ( , FIG. ) on the client platform attempts to find its corresponding service backend ( , FIG. ) on a server providing the requested service and, if it finds it, the frontend and backend coalesce in a fully formed service that is made available to a requesting service-using entity. As a result, platform resources and security are maintained. Various methods of operating a service framework are also described.

Service framework supporting remote service discovery and connection

In an information appliance system , a user device comprises a client platform ( , FIG. 5) that includes a service framework ( , FIG. 5) to discover and connect with a variety of services, both remote and local, transient and persistent, and to disconnect from them when they are no longer of interest or become unavailable. The service framework provides a standard, consistent, simplified way for services to make themselves available and for service-using entities to locate and connect with the services of interest to them. The service framework comprises service event notification registries ( , FIG. 7) in which service-requesting entities register templates defining the types of services they want to locate and connect with. However, the service framework , rather than connecting with any service that matches a desired service type, can further control a remote service lookup operation in accordance with various transport characteristics in the template, such as signal strength, quantity of data to be transferred, range, available bandwidth, communications cost, service location, time of day, vehicular velocity, and so forth. This conserves the platform's memory and bandwidth resources by not connecting with services that would not satisfy a user's request or that would be unduly transitory. Various methods of operating a service framework are also described.

Growing community of inventors

Chandler, AZ, United States of America

Kungwel Liu