Navigation Technologies Corporation

Allstate Insurance Company

Navteq North America, LLC

Philip Robare

William N Gale

Aaron I Crane

Senthil K Natesan

Mark Huber

Disclosed herein are systems and/or methods for determining an insurance status for one or more drivers and/or vehicles. The system may identify a driver of a vehicle, such as by facial recognition or a retinal scan. Based on the identification, the system may determine the insurance status of the driver. If there is an issue with the insurance status, the system may prompt the driver to take some action. The system may also institute limitations upon the vehicle if there is an issue with the insurance status. In some instances, the system may determine the insurance status for multiple drivers in the area, and may warn a driver if he or she is in the vicinity of one or more underinsured drivers and/or vehicles.

Driver identity detection and alerts

A system and method for providing geographic data to end users' computing platforms. A server maintains downloadable geographic data that are organized into pre-computed parcels that correspond to pre-determined sub-areas into which the entire geographic region serviced by the server is divided. The server responds to requests from the end users' computing platforms for navigation services and data by sending selected pre-computed parcels of geographic data to the end users' computing platforms. The end users' computing platforms store the pre-computed parcels received from the server in a cache memory. The end users' computing platforms use the data in the pre-computed parcels to provide navigation-related features locally.

Navigation system with distributed computing architecture

A method for displaying a zooming operation on a display screen of a computing platform. The method includes retrieving data from a geographic data storage system, possibly located on another system, displaying a starting image that shows geographic features at a first scale with a first level of detail and then displaying an ending image that shows the same geographic features at a second scale with a second level of detail. Between the displaying of the starting image and the displaying of the ending image, at least one intermediate image is displayed. The intermediate image combines two component images of at least some of the same geographic features shown in the starting or ending image. The two component images in the intermediate image are at the same scale and are registered with respect to each other so that the same geographic features represented in the two component images coincide. One of the two component images in the intermediate image includes at least a portion of the starting image and is formed using data from a first layer of a geographic database. The other of the two component images in the intermediate image is formed using data from a second layer of the geographic database.

Method of handling context during scaling with a display

Method of handling context during scaling with a map display

A database architecture for using geographic data to provide navigation-related functions is disclosed. The navigation-related functions are provided by navigation program applications. A geographic database is stored on a medium and includes data representing geographic features and has a plurality of indexes into the data. A data access layer accepts requests from the navigation program applications for geographically-referenced data, accesses the geographic database and provides responses to the requests from the navigation program applications for geographically-referenced data. Logic rules are associated with the geographic database. The data access layer includes a deductive database engine that accesses and combines the logic rules to determine how to use to the indexes to access the data from the medium and to convert the data from a format in which they are stored on the medium into a format that the navigation program applications can use. The database architecture can be used in vehicle navigation systems including navigation systems that use data obtained via a wireless communications link from an off-board data supplier.

Deductive database architecture for geographic data

A method for forming a geographic database that can be used in a navigation system in which geographic data are transmitted in portions, as needed, from the geographic database to remotely located end users' computing platforms and used by the remotely located end users' computing platforms to provide navigation-related services and features to the end users as the end users travel along roads in a geographic region. The method includes the step of forming a plurality of separate collections of data from a primary copy of the geographic database. Each separate collection includes data that represent all roads of a corresponding respective separate rank, wherein a rank of a road represents a functional classification of the road such that roads that permit generally faster travel have a higher rank than roads that permit generally slower travel. The method further includes the step of augmenting each of the plurality of separate collections with data that represent those portions of roads having ranks other than the rank corresponding to the collection but that are accessible within a threshold of the roads of the rank associated with the given collection.

Method and system for forming a database of geographic data for distribution to navigation system units

A navigation system and method in which geographic data are transmitted in portions, as needed, to end users' computing platforms from a central geographic database and used by the end users' computing platforms to provide navigation-related features to end users as the end users travel along roads in a geographic region. Each portion of data transmitted to each end user includes (a) data that represent road portions located in proximity to the road portion upon which the end user is located and that have a same rank as the road portion upon which the end user is located and (a) data that represent road portions having ranks other than the rank of the road portion upon which the end user is located but that are accessible within a predetermined threshold by vehicle from the road portions located in proximity to the road portion upon which the end user is located that have the same rank as the road portion upon which the end user is located, wherein a rank of a road corresponds to a classification such that roads having a higher rank are traversable generally faster and carry generally higher volumes of traffic than roads of a lesser rank.

Growing community of inventors

Chicago, IL, United States of America

Philip Robare