Systems and methods for electronic display of various conditions along a navigation route

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9689705-B2
Application number	US-201414473420-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 29, 2014
Priority date	Aug 29, 2014
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for generating and displaying a linear visual indicator of an entire route on a singular screen. One method includes calculating a route based on start and destination location and then determining various conditions along the calculated route. These conditions include, for example, traffic, weather, construction, road type, etc. This discloses generating and displaying a linear depiction of the full route and the navigation mapping screen, to provide the user with an easily understandable and accessible view of the full picture of route conditions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for providing a visual representation of conditions along a calculated route, the method comprising:
receiving, at a computer processor from a user over an electronic network, a start location and a destination location;
calculating, by the computer processor, a route based on the received start and destination locations;
scaling, using the computer processor, the calculated route to dimensions of a first bar-shaped linear visual indicator of the calculated route;
receiving or calculating, using the computer processor, a first condition associated with at least one of a plurality of points along the calculated route;
generating, using the computer processor, and displaying on a device of the user an electronic map including at least a portion of the calculated route;
generating, using the computer processor, and displaying on the device, one or more turn-by-turn directions indicia corresponding to the electronic map;
generating, using the computer processor, and displaying on the device, while displaying the one or more turn-by-turn directions indicia, the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator parallel to a top of the displayed electronic map, the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator being divided into representative segments according to the scaling, at least one of the representative segments including a visual representation of the first condition associated with one or more of a plurality of points along the calculated route of the respective representative segment, wherein a pattern, shade, or color of at least one of the representative segments of the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator matches a pattern, shade, or color of a respective portion of the calculated route displayed on the electronic map;
generating, using the computer processor, a second bar-shaped linear visual indicator;
scaling the second bar-shaped linear visual indicator to overlap a corresponding portion of the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator;
receiving or calculating, using the computer processor, a second condition associated with each of the one or more of the plurality of points along the calculated route; and
displaying the second bar-shaped linear visual indicator on the device, while displaying the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator, the second bar-shaped linear visual indicator comprising one or more visual representations of the second condition associated with each of the one or more of the plurality of points along the calculated route.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first or second condition is a weather condition.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the weather condition is determined by estimating weather conditions at an estimated time of arrival at each corresponding point along the calculated route.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first or second condition is a traffic condition.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving current average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points along the calculated route for calculating the first or second condition.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating a difference between the received current average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points and speed limits for each of the one or more of the plurality of points.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating a difference between the received current average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points and historical average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining whether the difference between the received current average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points and the historical average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points is less than a first threshold.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein, if the difference is less than the first threshold for a point of the one or more of the plurality of points, the point is designated a first state and a first visual representation is displayed on the first or second bar-shaped linear visual indicator.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein, if the difference is not less than the first threshold, determining whether the difference between the received current average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points and the historical average speeds for each of the one or more of the plurality of points is less than a second threshold.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein, if the difference is less than the second threshold for a point of the one or more of the plurality of points, the point is designated a second state and a second visual representation is displayed on the first or second bar-shaped linear visual indicator.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein, if the difference is not less than the second threshold for a point of the one or more of the plurality of points, the point is designated a third state and a third visual representation is displayed on the first or second bar-shaped linear visual indicator.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a stop location; and
calculating a route based on the start location, the stop location, and the destination location.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a current location of the device of the user; and
determining whether the current location is on the calculated route;
if the current location is on the calculated route, moving a position indicator to a corresponding length along the first or second bar-shaped linear visual indicator and designating any of the plurality of points to one end of the position indicator as a traversed state; and
if the current location is not on the calculated route, calculating a new route based on the current location and received destination location.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second bar-shaped linear visual indicators is interactive.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a request from the user for additional information;
obtaining additional information; and
displaying the additional information.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the additional information comprises a description of one or more alternative routes.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the additional information comprises a distance that a determined condition persists along the calculated route.

19. A system for providing a linear visual indicator of route conditions, the system including:
a data storage device storing instructions for providing a linear visual indicator of route conditions;
a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method including:
receiving a start location and a destination location;
calculating a route based on the received start and destination locations;
scaling the calculated route to dimensions of a first bar-shaped linear visual indicator of the calculated route;
receiving or calculating a first condition associated with at least one of a plurality of points along the calculated route;
generating and displaying an electronic map including at least a portion of the calculated route;
generating and displaying one or more turn-by-turn directions indicia corresponding to the electronic map;
generating and displaying, along with the one or more turn-by-turn directions indicia, the first bar-shaped linear visual indicator parallel to a top of the di

Assignees

• Mapquest Inc

Inventors

• Newlin Meghan
• Brown Austin
• Lansing Johnathan
• Ringrose George Michael
• Nesbitt David

Classifications

• G01C21/3676 Primary

  Overview of the route on the road map · CPC title