Robert Boschgmbh

Ralf Duckeck

Peter Bragas

Peter Braegas

Heinz-Werner Pfeiffer

Gunter Luber

Otmar Pilsak

Rainer Cornelius

Claus Mardus

Peter Bre,uml/a/ Gas

Rudolf Messerschmitt

Kishore Krishnan

In order to provide a method for operating a navigation device, which also receives TMC data using two tuners for ascertaining an optimum travel route, using which an optimal travel route is ascertainable using the largest amount of TMC data possible, after a first search by the second tuner, the TMC data found are compared with those of the first tuner and to use the second tuner for searching for another transmitter having other TMC data. Furthermore, a navigation device of an appropriate design is provided.

Method for operating a navigation device and a corresponding navigation device

A method for transmitting encoded traffic messages via a data channel, which is reserved for transmitting encrypted traffic messages, a certain subset of traffic messages being in general transmitted via the data channel in unencrypted form. For the encryption of the traffic messages, in each case only one of at least two components of the traffic message being encrypted. The unencrypted component containing information, or information is assigned to the unencrypted component as to whether the first component of the traffic message is encrypted, traffic message transmitter and receiver. Particularly important traffic messages may be transmitted via encrypted channels in a manner that also allows receivers that are not designed to decrypt encrypted messages to output these traffic messages or to process them further in other ways.

Method for the radio transmission of traffic messages and radio receiver

A method for determining and outputting travel instructions is described, which functions to support a user through travel instructions, a sequence of travel instructions being determined by a central station, so that a data terminal of a user may be configured in a simple manner.

Method for determining and outputting travel instructions

A method for entering destinations into a navigation device is described, characters of a destination name being input and a list of destination names which begin with the character(s) input being generated as a function of the character(s) input, in which the list of destination names is generated as a function of the distance of the destinations assigned to the destination names, from a current location. The method eases and accelerates navigation destination input, in particular in those cases in which multiple destination names and destinations exist which fit one or more letters of the destination name input.

Method for inputting a destination into a navigation device

An information carrier is described which makes available multimedia sets of data concerning objects along a travel route or at the travel destination for use in a navigational device. In this connection, the representation can also take place automatically in dependence on the position of the vehicle, and can be supplemented by data retrievable via radio communication from a service control point.

Navigation with multimedia

In a method for transmitting location-related information between a navigational device, which contains a first location database in which location coordinate pairs and descriptors are assigned to location specifications, and a receiver for digitally coded traffic messages, the receiver containing a second location database, location coordinate pairs, in addition to descriptors, are stored in the location specifications contained in the second location database, in a receiver and a navigational device. Along with the information to be transmitted, at least the coordinate pair is transmitted of the location to which the information relates. With the assistance of at least the transmitted coordinate pair, the location specification is selected from the given location database.

Method for transmitting location-related information

A radio receiver selects incoming traffic messages with respect to their validity for the approximate location of the radio receiver and includes a decoder. The radio receiver uses frequency data and coordinate data transmitted by the transmitters to determine its approximate location, and compares this approximate location to locations contained in the traffic messages. When there is conformity, a conformity signal serves to switch through the location-specific messages contained in the traffic messages to an audio output device.

Radio receiver for receiving digitally coded information including

RDS radio receiver with user-definable-region filtering

RDS receiver with automatic region recognition

A vehicular radio receiver with an RDS (Radio Data System) decoder for decoding digitally coded traffic announcements is improved by using short codes for common traffic problems in order to minimize the required transmission capacity. The receiver includes a database with, for example, 256 fields, each containing a short traffic problem description. Transmission of the actual numerical values for the length of a traffic problem or for visibility in fog is dispensed with. Instead, defined standardized numerical information is stored in the same memory field as the short description of the traffic problem so that they can be retrieved together. Furthermore, a pre-determined staggering of the numerical values is provided so that the memory capacity, and the transmission capacity, does not increase unnecessarily.

Vehicular radio receiver with standard traffic problem database

In the evaluation of traffic announcements received in digitally encoded form in a data packet, the data packet is decoded continuously, and the traffic announcements are stored in memory after the decoding and evaluation. A computer in the receiver must evaluate the incoming data stream continuously. Since evaluation is difficult, particularly under unfavorable broadcasting conditions in which error corrections may be necessary, the computer would have to have a very complex program structure and configuration. To make it possible to use a simpler computer configuration and program structure, one complete cycle of traffic announcements is first decoded, optionally error corrected and stored in memory. Next, an updating bit present in the data packet and altered upon any change in the traffic announcements, is identified and evaluated. As a fuction of this evaluation, a further complete cycle of traffic announcements is decoded and stored in memory only if the updating bit has altered.

Computation-conserving traffic data transmission method and apparatus

A radio receiver, particularly a vehicle receiver, is equipped with a decoder for decoding traffic announcements received in digitally encoded form. It includes a memory in which the traffic announcements are stored, ready to be called up. If the radio receiver is to be capable of displaying current traffic announcements at all times, it must be kept on continuously so that it can copy any updated traffic announcements into its memory. In a vehicle receiver, however, the result is a high energy requirement that excessively burdens the vehicle battery. The radio receiver according to the invention is equipped with an energy conserving circuit, which connects only those components needed for evaluating the traffic announcements to the operating voltage source. It can moreover be provided that the greatest energy consumers of these components are switched on only intermittently, and that the complete cycles of traffic announcements are evaluated only whenever the prior evaluation of an updating bit has indicated that changes have been made.

Energy conserving stand-by function in radio traffic report receiver

In a method for evaluating traffic announcements received in digitally encoded form in a data packet, the data packet is decoded, and after the evaluation the traffic announcements are stored in memory. Under poor broadcasting conditions, it may be uncertain whether all the traffic announcements transmitted have actually been correctly received and evaluated. For confirmation of completeness, data words that, in encoded form, include the nominal number of reports transmitted in one cycle are broadcast within each complete cycle of traffic announcements. The decoded and evaluated reports counted within one cycle are compared with this nominal number.

Digital traffic news evaluation method

In a vehicular radio receiver having a decoder for decoding digitally encoded received traffic announcements, a memory device for route-specific characteristics and a visual and/or acoustical output device for the traffic announcements are provided. The output is effected by the readout of information from the memory device. To output not only factual information but detour recommendations as well, place names and detour route names are stored in the memory device in jointly addressable memory fields. In transmitting the encoded traffic announcements it is then possible to allow or suppress the output of the already stored detour recommendations only on the basis of a control signal.

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Hildesheim, Germany

Ralf Duckeck