[1] This application claims priority from United States Patent Application No. 60/891,908, filed February 27, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[2] The present invention relates to portable navigational devices, and ways of making them more useful and affordable.

[3] The average cost of a portable navigation device is currently in the range of $300 to $1500. These devices make use of the Global Positioning Satellite's ("GPS") to provide users with positional and directional guidance. While sales are rapidly increasing, there are many people who lack the device and who would benefit from its capabilities. In particular, travelers enjoy a special need for navigational devices while in an unknown area. Such devices provide maps, directions, instant locational information, guide information, such as points of interest, restaurants, menus, travel related calculators, calendars, internet search capabilities, local events, concerts, weather information, parking lots and other such information useful to a tourist. The high cost of a navigation device may deter ownership. This cost may be more palatable if the device offers greater usefulness. Moreover, ownership of such a device may not be necessary if a need for its information exists only one week a year, more or less, when the person is on a trip to an unknown destination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[4] In accordance with embodiments of the invention, portable navigational device usage is funded by incorporating advertising, in particular, geographically based advertising. Advertisers pay to include their advertisements on portable GPS units. The units are configured to require advertisements to be displayed on the display screen of the units at a time when the display screen is in use. Advertisements may scroll through display in an area of the screen. The choice of advertisements for display may be time sensitive as well (i.e. bars and clubs at night, breakfast places in the morning, one day

sales, specific holiday sales). The advertisements can be placed in a calendar application that is on the unit to let the user know of specific events going on that specific day. Advertisements provide the funding that permits distributing the GPS units at little or no cost to the user. The units may be distributed for limited time periods to travelers while they are visiting an area. The desirability and usefulness of the GPS unit is further enhanced by enabling the portable GPS units to respond to user inputs with respect to an advertisement. The unit can respond by displaying a location related to the advertisement and selected in view of the location's proximity to the location of the GPS unit. The navigational device can be made even more useful for a traveler by including a transponder for paying tolls, allowing use of fast lanes through a turnpike tollbooth. The device can also incorporate a way to open electronic doors with an embedded chip. Alternatively, the GPS unit may be built into a cellphone.

[5] To implement GPS -based advertising, advertisements are coded according to any of a number of embodiments of the present invention. According to one embodiment, an advertisement is coded with location information for places having a correspondence with the advertisement. The coded advertisements are loaded into the portable GPS units for display. According to an alternate embodiment, the advertisements are coded with at least one subject. In addition to loading the advertisements, the portable GPS units are loaded with a database that relates subjects to locations. The portable GPS unit determines its own location so that when an advertisement is selected by a user, the navigational device can display the location relevant to the advertisement that is closest to the user's current location.

[6] A navigational apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention includes a GPS receiver and a display screen. The apparatus is programmed to require display of advertisements at a time when the display screen is in use. Inputs from the user responsive to an advertisement on the display screen are received through a button on the apparatus, a touch screen, a microphone or other input device. A process in the apparatus responds to the input by comparing the location of the navigational apparatus determined from the GPS receiver with the locations corresponding to the advertisement. The

process thus selects a convenient location corresponding to the advertisement, typically the closest location. The list of corresponding locations may have been coded into the advertisement or may be found in a database. For the database, a subject coded into the advertisement is used to identify the list of corresponding locations. An embodiment of the invention may further include a transponder for making toll payments and/or opening electronic doors.

[7] In accordance with further embodiments of the invention, the device includes wireless communication capability which may be provided by a Wi-Fi module. The device may also be Internet ready and include a browser or other application for accessing and interfacing with a hotel checkout and/or room service system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[8] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method of providing navigation assistance in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[9] FIGS. 2a-2c are schematic drawings of a portable navigational apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention.

[10] FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a portable navigational apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention.

[11] FIG. 4 illustrates a portable navigational apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention with a variety of example screens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

[12] Referring now to FIG. 1, a method for making navigational assistance more readily available is shown. Advertisers would provide the funding 101. Companies in the travel industry may have a particular interest in advertising on navigational apparatus.

Tourist attractions like restaurants, cafes, recreational activities would particularly benefit from appearing on a navigational apparatus that can direct the user to the nearest location of a chain of restaurants, for example. Even pharmacies, department stores and clothing stores would advantageously attract customers with ads on a navigational apparatus that could give a user directions to a nearby store. Other advertisers may further include product manufacturers. Embodiments of the present invention can provide for indicating a closest store that contains a given item.

[13] Advertisements for use in the present invention would be coded 102. In other words, an advertisement would have associated with it a code or information that can be used by the navigational apparatus to identify or provide a list of locations corresponding to the advertisement. The ads will be delivered using picture and/or video format (i.e. JPEGs, GIFs, PNGs, and various video formats) When the ad is sent over it will be sent with a data file attached to it that correspond to the ad when it is called upon by the user. In accordance with one embodiment, a list of relevant locations, typically including latitude and longitude, is included in the data or metadata file accompanying the advertisement. Thus, an advertisement for a store may include a listing of all stores in the relevant area. For example, a navigational apparatus to be handed out at a New York City airport, the list may include all stores corresponding to the advertisement in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

[14] If time based display of the advertisements is desired, the advertisements may also be coded with respect to time 102a. The navigational apparatus would use the file of time data to determine which advertisements are intended for display during the time of day while a user has the display turned on.

[15] In accordance with a further embodiment, subjects are included in the data or metadata file accompanying an advertisement. The subjects may include the identity of stores, restaurants or other retail outlets that sell the product or service being advertised. The subject might be a class of stores known to carry the product or service being advertised. In addition, to loading advertisements 103 into the navigational apparatus, a

database is also loaded. The database relates the subjects to a list of locations. Thus, an advertisement for a bicycle or for a type of coffee each have suitable subjects associated therewith that the navigation apparatus uses to access a list of locations carrying the product. In a simple example, an advertisement for Burger King® will use Burger King® or associated term as the subject. The subject will direct the apparatus to the list of Burger King® establishments in the region.

[16] The coded advertisements whether with locations or subjects are loaded 103 into the navigational apparatus through a backend server over a wireless connection i.e. GSM or Wi-Fi. In the case of subject coding, a database is also loaded into the navigational apparatus. The navigational apparatus are programmed to require display 104 of the advertisement at a time when the display is on. The requirement may apply to anytime the display is on or it may be less stringent. The navigational apparatus is further programmed to scroll through the advertisements and thus make sure each of the advertisements gets displayed. Advertisements can be viewed sequentially in a predetermined order or the sequence of the ads can be shuffled randomly. Additionally, the ads can be queued up for display with regard to time of day or location of the unit. The duration of an advertisement may be predetermined and need not be the same for each advertisement. The advertising costs may be varied in relation to duration of display programmed into the apparatus.

[17] Given the advertising display requirement, it becomes feasible to collect funds from advertisers. The funds make it possible to distribute and manufacture the navigational units at no or low cost 105 to consumers. Typically, these units would be distributed for a given time and then returned. For example, rental car agencies could make the navigational apparatus available to automobile renters during the rental period. Alternatively, a hotel might offer its guests access to such a navigational apparatus during a stay. With regard to hotels, additional functionality can be achieved by providing a navigational apparatus incorporated into a cellphone. The application on the cellphone can include a preprogrammed direct text messaging link to the concierge of the hotel. A guest carrying the cellphone/navigational apparatus could activate the text messaging link

and send a message to the concierge. Such message might ask for a reservation at a restaurant or a theater performance or for a recommendation. The concierge would be provided with a station that receives text messages from cellphones handed out by the hotel and allows the concierge to respond. This simple direct communication with the concierge enhances the value of the unit for the guest and can increase the goodwill towards the hotel.

[18] Referring now to FIGS. 2a-c, navigational apparatus 200 is shown in use. In FIG. 2a, the display contains a menu of buttons, any of which can be selected by the user. In FIG. 2b, the display contains a map. The map may show the location of the navigational apparatus and its surrounding vicinity. In FIG. 2c, the navigational apparatus is being used to access a hotel checkout system. In all of these, displays an advertisement is shown at the bottom of the display screen. Of course, the location of the advertisement on the display and the times during which it must be displayed can be varied and remain within the full scope of the present invention. While a navigational apparatus is in use, the display scrolls through the various advertisements stored in the apparatus.

[19] The usefulness of the navigational apparatus and the advertisements can be significantly enhanced by interactivity. The navigational apparatus is programmed to enable user selection of an advertisement. Upon selecting an advertisement, the navigational apparatus responds by displaying a location selected by its relationship to the advertisement and in view of the location's proximity to the location of the navigational apparatus. In other words, selection of an ad will pull up a location from the list of locations coded into the ad or from a list identified by a database. The particular location or locations selected by the navigational apparatus will be determined by comparing the location of the navigational apparatus as determined from the GPS receiver with those on the list. Typically, the apparatus will be programmed to select the closest one or more of the locations. Programs for evaluating distances are well known in the art. The address of the selected location can be displayed. Alternatively or in addition, the location can be displayed on a map. Indeed, the program may respond to an

advertisement by simply displaying on a map all locations associated with the advertisement. The program can overlay locations from the advertisement coding or from the geographic database onto the map so that the user can see the nearby locations and choose one to go towards if desired. In addition, directions from the current location of the navigational apparatus to the selected location can be produced by the navigational apparatus.

[20] Interaction with the navigational apparatus can be accomplished in any of a variety of conventional methods. The display may be a touch screen. The user would interact by touching an area of the display screen. In one embodiment, the closest location of an advertised store can be displayed in response to the user touching the advertisement. An alternative interaction can be achieved by a cursor program in the navigational apparatus. The user could press buttons on the apparatus which move the cursor about the display screen. When the cursor has been moved over the advertisement, user can press a select key and thus call up the location corresponding to the advertisement. A further alternative user input mechanism is voice. The navigational apparatus may be provided with a microphone and a user can seek locations related to the advertisement by uttering a voice command. The advertising on the navigational apparatus is made more valuable by making it easy for the user to find a nearby location to obtain the advertised product or service or visit an advertised establishment. This interactivity makes the advertisements more effective.

[21] The navigational apparatus may also receive and display advertisements that are not geographically coded. Such ads may, if desired, include alternative interactive responses. A script or program accompanying the ad may respond to user interaction by leading to a window for a coupon or to a website or to some other promotional information.

[22] Advertisements may be displayed for any period of time. The ads may appear one at a time or many at a time. An advertisement can be as simple as a button with the name of the advertiser. Thus, the display may include an ability to display any

number, for example, four buttons each with the name of a hotel chain. A user can click on one of the buttons and pull up the closest hotel from that chain. The buttons may be a mixture of different services all of which financially support the navigational apparatus service.

[23] Referring now to FIG. 3, a schematic block diagram of a navigational apparatus is illustrated. The apparatus includes a GPS receiver 301 and antenna 302 for providing GPS coordinates in a conventional manner. A central processing unit ("CPU") 303 coordinates all of the activities of the apparatus. Program code in the CPU controls performance of the various functions. A display screen 304 provides the interface to the user. Advertisements, maps, text and other information can be accessed visually by the user through the display screen. In an embodiment of the invention, the screen 304 may be a touch screen allowing for user input through touching the screen. Given that the navigational apparatus of the present invention has enhanced value for travelers and may be beneficially distributed by auto rental agencies for used during a car rental, a further aspect of the present invention is the inclusion of a toll transponder 305 in the portable navigational apparatus. The toll transponder 305 is the conventional electronic circuitry for interacting with toll booths in the general vicinity of navigational apparatus distribution. Thus, at New York City airports, the navigational apparatus may distributed with EZ Pass capability. Such capability makes the navigational apparatus more useful and desirable to auto renters, likewise increasing the value to advertisers by increasing the active audience.

[24] Another transponder that may be included in the navigational apparatus is one for opening or closing electronic doors. Such a door key transponder 307 are commonly used for remote control opening or closing of garage doors. This would make the navigational apparatus of enhanced usefulness in an automobile.

[25] The CPU includes a program that requires display of advertisements on the display screen at a time when the display screen is in use. The CPU further includes a

program for displaying a location related to the advertisement in response to user input. FIG. 4 illustrates a navigational apparatus with a variety of displayed advertisements.

[26] The navigational apparatus further includes at least one transmitter/ receiver and antenna for wireless communications. The transmitter /receiver may be a Wi-Fi module 306b that will connect to any Wi-Fi hotspot that it is allowed to connect to to enable the device to surf the world wide web and receive any travel related information as well as any advertisements that are needed to be sent. Alternatively, or in addition, a GSM wireless transmitter/receiver 306a will connect to the GSM, GPRS, network when there is no Wi-Fi connectability. The GSM module will be restricted in its connectivity to essential travel related information and the advertisement pushed over our network.

[27] It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various programs for requiring advertisements to be displayed and for displaying proximate locations related to the advertisement may be substituted for those illustrated herein. These and other such changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the following claims.