Navigational system for meeting real-time user needs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11530929-B1
Application number	US-201916596326-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Oct 8, 2019
Priority date	Oct 26, 2018
Publication date	Dec 20, 2022
Grant date	Dec 20, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to navigational systems, devices, and methods for preparing route guidance information that incorporates user needs—and ensures fulfilment of those needs under a variety of conditions. In particular, this disclosure relates to preparing route guidance information that ensures a user is directed along a route that includes stops where various needs such as e.g. medical, food, or water can be met while also minimizing traffic. Such a system may be useful, for example, when evacuating from a metro region in the face of an oncoming natural disaster such as a hurricane.

First claim

I claim:

1. A system for preparing and sending route guidance information comprising:
a server computer including a processor;
the server computer being in communication with at least one consumption database; and
the server also being in communication with at least one mobile computing device;
wherein the server computer is configured to perform the steps of:
receiving traffic information from a traffic database;
receiving location information from the mobile computing device;
receiving personal consumption needs information from the mobile computing device, the personal consumption needs information being inputted into the mobile computing device by a user;
retrieving information from the at least one consumption database, wherein the at least one consumption database includes information related to a location and availability of a consumable resource;
calculating fulfilment information, the fulfilment information being information regarding whether and where a personal consumption need of the user matches the location and availability of the consumable resource, by comparing the information related to the consumable resource from the consumption database with the location information and the personal consumption needs information received from the mobile computing device;
preparing route guidance information, from a first geographic location specified in the location information received from the mobile computing device to a second geographic location, the route guidance information being calculated based on both the traffic information and the fulfilment information;
wherein the second geographic location is automatically determined by the system so as to fulfil the personal consumption needs by matching the personal consumption needs with the fulfilment information;
receiving a ranking of two or more consumption needs from the mobile computing device, the ranking having been inputted into the mobile computing device by the user, wherein the route guidance information is further prepared based on the ranking, such that the route guidance information prioritizes fulfilment of higher priority needs even if lower priority needs cannot also be fulfilled along a certain travel route described by the route guidance information; and
sending the route guidance information and fulfilment information to the mobile computing device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the personal consumption needs information and the information related to the consumable resource are information related to one or more of: vehicle fuel; food, water, medicine, pet needs, toileting, lodging, and high-speed internet access.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server computer is configured to prepare the route guidance information by performing an optimization calculation that seeks to both:
minimize travel time, based on the traffic information; and
fulfil the personal consumption needs of the user, based on the fulfilment information.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein
the personal consumption needs information includes information regarding two or more different types of personal consumption needs of the user, the two or more different types of personal consumption needs each having been entered into the mobile computing device by the user;
the server computer is configured to retrieve information from one or more consumption databases, the one or more consumption databases collectively including information related to two or more different types of consumable resources;
the server computer is configured to calculate the fulfilment information by comparing the two or more different types of personal consumption needs information with the two or more different types of consumable resources information; and
the server computer is configured to prepare the route guidance information by performing an optimization calculation that seeks to fulfil the two or more different types of personal consumption needs, based on the fulfilment information.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server computer is further configured to:
calculate fulfilment information based on location and availability of a consumable resource at a future time;
wherein the location and availability of the consumable resource at the future time is calculated by comparing the received traffic information with received information related to a location and availability of the consumable resource at a first time, and then calculating a draw down rate over time to predict the availability of the consumable resource at a second and
wherein the system automatically determines an alternative set of route guidance information when the fulfilment information based on location and availability of a consumable resource at a future time indicates that the consumable resource would no longer be available by the time the user travelled to the location of the consumable resource.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server computer is further configured to, at periodic time intervals:
receive additional traffic information from the traffic database;
retrieve additional information related to a new location and availability of the consumable resource;
calculate new fulfilment information based on the additional information related to the new location and availability of the consumable resource; and
prepare new route guidance information if the new fulfilment information is different from the fulfilment information, the new route guidance information being based on the new fulfilment information and the additional traffic information.

7. A method of operating a navigation system including a computer system in communication with at least one mobile computing device, the computer system being configured to perform the steps of:
receiving traffic information from a traffic database;
receiving location information from the mobile computing device;
receiving a set of two or more personal consumption needs information from the mobile computing device, the set of personal consumption needs information being entered into the mobile computing device by a user of the mobile computing device and being descriptive of the user's need for two or more types of consumable resources;
retrieving supply information from at least two separate consumption databases, the supply information being descriptive of a location and amount available of each of two or more types of consumable resources that correspond to each of the two or more types of personal consumption needs;
calculating present fulfilment information by comparing the set of personal consumption needs information to the supply information;
calculating future fulfilment information by comparing the present fulfilment information with the traffic information to determine a draw-down rate over time at which each of the two or more of types of consumable resources will be used up, so as to predict availability of each of the two or more consumable resources at a future time;
preparing route guidance information based on the traffic information, the present fulfilment information, and the future fulfilment information such that the route guidance information is automatically determined so as to allow the user to fulfil each of the two or more personal consumption needs by travelling to the location of each of the two or more consumable resources at the future time calculated in the future fulfillment information;
receiving a ranking of two or more consumption needs from the mobile computing device, the ranking having been inputted into the mobile computing device by the user, wherein the route guidance information is further prepared based on the ranking, such that the route guidance information prioritizes fulfilment of higher priority needs even if lower priority needs cann

Assignees

• Uipco Llc
• Usaa

Inventors

• Smith Arthur Quentin

Classifications

• G06Q10/02 Primary

  Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events · CPC title

• G01C21/343

  Calculating itineraries (travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047) · CPC title

• G01C21/3476 Primary

  using point of interest [POI] information, e.g. a route passing visible POIs · CPC title

• H04W4/024

  Guidance services · CPC title

• G08G1/0969

  having a display in the form of a map · CPC title