Navigational lane guidance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9423266-B2
Application number	US-201313751650-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2013
Priority date	Jan 26, 2012
Publication date	Aug 23, 2016
Grant date	Aug 23, 2016

Abstract

Navigational lane guidance enhances a maneuver display by incorporating full display of available lanes in a freeway, when available in the map data. An otherwise regular turn icon display is replaced with a variable width image that grows to show all available lanes, highlighting lanes usable to complete a navigated maneuver. A new lane TrueType font displays the lane guidance image, with individual characters representing each possible line situation. Since TrueType fonts are vector-based, they can be used to generate the lane images at any size, in a platform-independent fashion. The lane font has direction arrows, which can be combined to form composite arrows; and additional direction arrows as needed to allow replacement of the routing icons currently in use. Lane dividers may also be implemented.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing navigational lane guidance, comprising:
counting a number of lanes available to a user device;
determining if a navigated lane is on either side or in a middle of other available lanes; and
building a variable width image with TrueType font, said variable width image growing in width based on TrueType font lane characters printed together therein to show all available lanes to provide navigational lane guidance regarding multiple possible lanes to be taken.

2. The method of providing navigational lane guidance according to claim 1 , wherein:
said navigational lane guidance is provided both visually and verbally.

3. A vector-based TrueType font to build a variable-width, lane guidance widget, comprising:
individual TrueType lane characters each representing a different lane line; and
individual TrueType lane arrow characters representing different direction arrows, said individual TrueType lane arrow characters being combinable to form a composite TrueType lane arrow;
wherein said composite TrueType lane arrow characters and said individual TrueType lane characters are combined together to form a variable width image with TrueType font, said variable width image growing in width based on TrueType font lane characters and said composite TrueType font arrow printed together therein to show all available lanes in a desired visual lane configuration to provide navigational lane guidance regarding multiple possible lanes to be taken.

4. A vector-based TrueType font to build a variable-width lane guidance widget according to claim 3 , wherein:
a plurality of lanes in said visual lane configuration are highlighted to provide a navigational lane guidance to a plurality of possible lanes to complete a navigated maneuver.

5. A vector-based TrueType font to build a variable-width lane guidance widget according to claim 3 , wherein said direction TrueType lane arrow characters include:
a straight arrow;
a slight left arrow;
a left arrow;
a slight right arrow; and
a right arrow.

Assignees

• Clark Brant Miller
• Goddard Mark
• Kaplan Diego Andres
• Telecomm Systems Inc

Inventors

• Clark Brant Miller
• Goddard Mark
• Kaplan Diego Andres

Classifications

• G01C21/26

  specially adapted for navigation in a road network · CPC title

• G06K9/00798

  Physics · mapped topic

• G01C21/3658

  Lane guidance · CPC title

• G01C21/3632

  Guidance using simplified or iconic instructions, e.g. using arrows (G01C21/365 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01C21/3655

  Timing of guidance instructions · CPC title