GB2298921A - Route guidance device for road vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

Route guidance data is inputted to the memory of the device 1 by manual keypad 4 or from an external computer 7 or from a coin or credit card accessed disc, card, tape or RAM, and route instructions are shown one at a time on display 5, the device 1 using the readings of an odometer sensor 10 to calculate when the vehicle is approaching a waypoint so as to give a warning signal to the driver to read the current instruction and to activate the next instruction. The device 1 may be plugged into the vehicle's power supply, and can display data characteristic of the route leg, distance to run, and ETA.

Description

The present invention relates to a route-planning device for use in vehicles travelling on roads.

Various route-planning devices are known to give directions to drivers of vehicles to reach a given destination. Some of these are complicated and expensive installations which display a drivers position on a map in the car using Global Positioning Systems or other external external navigation networks. Such systems also depend on the in-car unit having the required map data to display the road/street where the driver is located.

Other, more simple systems, give a print out of a desired routes and distances between legs on the route. A problem with these systems is that they require the driver to read and study information off a screen or printed piece of paper which is not convenient for the driver and can be dangerous whilst the vehicle is moving. What in fact a driver needs to know is how to reach point B from point A via a series of "waypoints", and which direction to travel having reached a waypoint without having to study maps or printed information. The invention seeks to provide a route-planning device which provides this information.

According to the present invention there is provided a routeplanning device for a vehicle comprising: a) a memory for storing a sequence of directions and distances between at least two way points making up a vehicle journey b) an input device for entering said sequence of directions and distances into the memory, c) means for displaying at any one time one sequence giving the directions from one waypoint to another, d) distance recording means to record the distance a vehicle has travelled from one way point towards another, e) comparator means to compare the distance travelled as provided by said distance recording means from a way point with the distance between two way points as provided by said memory, said comparator means generating a signal when the distance travelled approaches the distance between two waypoints.

Preferably the signal is a flashing light or sound.

The input device may be a keyboard and/or a port which receives data from an external source.

The route-planning device may include its own portable power supply and/or be powered by the electrical supply of the vehicle in which it is being used.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Most vehicle journeys consist of travelling from a start point A to a destination B. Most journeys are divided into what is termed herein as "waypoints", which are points where a decision has to be made to start along a given road or to change onto another road. A simplistic example of a journey might consist of (i) departing point A (itself a waypoint) on the A243 for five miles to waypoint x, (ii) turn left at waypoint x onto the B435 for seven miles to waypoint y, (iii) turn right at waypoint y onto the M342 for twenty miles to reach destination B (itself a waypoint). All the driver really wants to know is when he is approaching a waypoint in order to remind the driver that a decision needs to be made, and give the driver the routing instructions to take vehicle to the next waypoint.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a portable housing 1 containing a route memory 2, and input port 3, a keyboard 4, a display 5, and a reserve power source 6 in the form of rechargeable batteries. Data is stored in the memory 2 representing the sequence of directions and distances between at least two way points making up a journey, e.g the sequences (i), (ii), and (iii) above making the directions and distances between the waypoints making up a journey.

Data in the memory is entered by an input device in the form of input port 3 which receives such information from an external source such as Route Generation program stored in a computer 7. Alternatively, it can be entered by an input device in the form of the keyboard 4 by the driver pre-planning his journey by looking at a map.

The housing 1 may slot into a docking unit 8, eg. mounted on the a vehicle dashboard, which connects the housing to an external power supply 9 provided by the vehicle electrical system. The power supply 9 supplies power to the components in the housing 2 when the housing is in the docking unit 8, and recharges the reserve power source 6 for when the housing is withdrawn from the docking unit 8.

An sensor 10 is connected to the rotating odometer lOa of the vehicle and measures the distance a vehicle travels. The sensor is connected to a comparator 11. The comparator is also connected to the memory 2 and the display 5. The sensor and comparator may also be powered by the power supply 9.

When a vehicle starts the journey (the simplistic journey described above is taken by way of example), the driver activates the memory storing data about the journey to be driven using an appropriate key/s on the keyboard 4. The memory 2 sends a signal to the display unit 5 which displays "take the A243 for five miles to waypoint x". The driver starts the journey to waypoint x. As the vehicle is moving, the sensor 10 logs continuously the distance travelled by the vehicle and sends this information to the comparator 11. The comparator compares the sensor reading with the distance of "five miles" provided by the memory. When the distance travelled by the vehicle as provided by the odometer sensor 10 approaches "five miles" (e.g 4 1/2 miles), the comparator generates a signal which sets display 5 flashing and a tone is sounded.This informs the driver that he is about to approach waypoint x. The driver then acknowledges this by pressing the appropriate key on the keyboard calling up the next sequence of instructions (namely " turn left at waypoint x onto the B435 for seven miles to waypoint y") which is displayed on the display still flashing. When the driver turns onto the B345, he marks the event by pressing an appropriate key. This resets the odometer sensor count and comparator which then starts comparing the distance travelled from x towards point y with the distance of "seven miles" provided by the memory.

When the distance travelled by the vehicle as provided by the sensor 10 approaches "seven miles" (e.g 6 1/2 miles), the comparator generates a signal again to set the display 5 flashing and a tone is sounded again. The driver then calls up the next sequence "turn right at waypoint y onto the M342 for twenty miles to reach destination B" which is still flashing.

When the driver turns onto the M342, he again marks the event by pressing an appropriate key. This resets the odometer sensor count and comparator which then starts comparing the distance travelled from y towards B with the distance of "twenty miles" provided by the memory. The display will start flashing and a tone sounds as B is approached.

Any number of sequences could be recorded by the memory for a given journey. The memory could also store a number of journeys. If desired the device can be set to run from a previous or later waypoint on the desired journey to allow for missed turnings, back-tracking and diversions etc.

Instead of information being transferred to the memory from a computer 7, it could be transferred from a disc, card, tape or RAM pack, 12 using an appropriate port or reader. It is envisaged that machines operated by Coin or Credit Cards could be strategically located in shops, along the roadside, at garages, or post offfices to dispense such data. For example a machine could have a receiver into which the housing 1 could be placed for the purposes of down loading data from the machine into the memory 2. Having inserted a housing 1 into such a receiver, the driver could for example put in the post code of his start point and post code of the destination, and the machine could down load a route for the driver.

The function of the buttons on the keyboard and the circuit of the device of the invention are not fully described herein as there are numerous ways of achieving the function of the device as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The device of the invention can be designed to operate in "miles or kilometres".

Some or all of the keys may be illuminated to make them visible at night, and some keys may be shrouded when the housing is inserted into the docking unit 8 to prevent certain keys from being depressed which are not relevent to the performance of a journey and so prevent incorrect key depression.

The invention could be made of any suitable material and take many different forms. If desired the housing 1 comprising the memory 2, input port 3, keyboard 4, display 5 and power supply 6 can be used simply to store and read out a series of directions without being connected to a sensor and comparator, and the scope of the invention extends to the housing without the sensor and comparator.

The invention may be used to give directions for travel on roads through towns as well as directions for long distance journeys.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (12)

1. A route-planning and reminder aid in the form of a specialised or adapted electronic organiser device which stores road vehicle route-legs and allows the driver to recall and display these descriptions in the correct sequence to form a step-by-step route for navigating between two points.

2. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in Claim 1 which stores route data in individual fields in an internal database in a standard form enabling any individual characteristics of the route leg (e.g. Road Class, Road Number, Distance, Direction) to be identified and extracted for display).

3. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 which can be docked with an in-vehicle unit to provide a convenient and ergonomic location and make use of the vehicles power supply.

4. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in Claim 3 which can take vehicle and environmental data from an interface provided by the in-vehicle unit and use that data to update one or more items in its memory or on its display.

5. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which has modular construction enabling alternative keyboard, input device/port and display units to be selected in various configurations and arrangements.

6. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which provides visual or audible announcement of an imminent completion of a route leg.

7. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which, on completion of a route leg and/or request by the user, can step to the next route leg and reset the count of distance run on the current leg.

8. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which can provide additional trip data, such as distance to run and ETA, on demand.

9. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which can be set to start any route from an intermediate leg to allow for back-tracking, diversions and missed turns.

10. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which incorporated a shroud or similar device to restrict the depression of keys to those allowable or appropriate to the in-vehicle mode (e.g. to prevent clearing route data during a trip).

11. A route-planning and reminder aid as claimed in any preceding claim which can input data from a data vending system or route-generation program by direct connection to a port or by using an intermediate storage medium such as magnetic or digital memory products.

12. A route-planning and reminder aid substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.