Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the invention
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a navigation device to display a route information to a user.

Background of the invention
[0002] A navigation device provides information about a route to a user. The navigation device generates a route from an origin to a destination based on inputs previously entered by the user of the navigation device. The navigation device displays specific locations along the generated route as Points of Interest (POIs). Considering increased crime rates in India, including robbery on deserted roads and crime against women on deserted roads, the information displayed on the navigation system for different possible routes for a destination can be improved with details of whether a road is deserted or unsafe by giving an option of choosing the best route for a driver.
[0003] The prior art US20140278093A1 discloses a system, comprising a processor and a memory to store instructions that when executed by the processor performs operations, comprising displaying a map of a first area on a display; receiving an instruction to designate a second area on the map to be avoided; displaying the second area to be avoided on the map; and generating a route from a first point to a second point, where the route does not go through the second area to be avoided.

[0004] Through the implementation of the present invention Driver (herein referred to as a user) will be intimated about which road is unsafe and should be avoided by the user. Some deserted roads (routes) where the user might face difficulties such as inability to get any POIs (like restaurants, petrol station, hospitals, etc.) or assistance from other vehicles travelling enroute in case of emergency or incidents like thefts reported, remote areas and the like, such routes may be avoided. This kind of information, when displayed on the Navigation system, will help the driver understand the best possible routes to destination.

[0005] Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings:

[0006] Figure 1 depicts a navigation device to display a route information to a user
[0007] Figure 2 depicts a flowchart for a method to display a route information to a user.

Detailed description of the drawings:

[0008] In the existing Navigation Systems, information such as shortest route, longest route, Fastest Route, Traffic prone, Energy Saving routes are available. In the present invention, users provided with options and information on a route such as Deserted/Forbidden/Unsafe Road associated within the route set. This helps the user to access a navigation system feature that lets them select specific routes to avoid when planning their journey from the starting point to the destination.

[0009] The present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to accompanying drawings. Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In predetermined instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.

[0010] Referring to Figure 1 the same depicts a navigation device (1) to display a route information (8) to a user, said user navigating from an origin to a destination.

[0011] Said navigation device (1) may be a vehicular navigation device, a portable navigation device (1), handheld mobiles, cellular telephone, media player with GPS (Global Positioning Systems) capabilities that aid the user in navigating from the origin to the destination by displaying the path between the two locations.

[0012] According to the present invention, the navigation device (1) is integrated into a vehicle and interacts with the user through a display means (9). The display means (9) may be a human machine interface based such as an interactive touch screen well known in the art.

[0013] Said navigation device (1) comprises a processor configured to identify a set of routes (3) between the origin and the destination. According to an embodiment, the navigation device (1) comprising the processor may have an associated memory to store instructions and data, such as a hard disk , a read-only memory (ROM - "Read Only Memory"), a programmable read-only unit and Electrically Erasable (EEPROM - "Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory") and a random access memory (RAM - "Random Access Memory"). Memory may comprise map data and cartographic. These cartographic data can be cartographic data in two dimensions (latitude and longitude), but which can also comprise a third dimension (altitude). The cartographic data also includes additional information such as information about points of interests (such as petrol station, restaurants, hospitals, police stations and the like. The map data may also include information about the shape of existing buildings and objects along the road.

[0014] Map database comprises road information along with demographic attributes, this includes a type of road (like highways, state-ways, and the like), information on any possible road restrictions and the timings of such restrictions. Further, the road information may include the demographical statistics such as crime rate, accident prone-ness of the road. There might be other POI related road information for the users to make economically efficient decisions such as presence/absence of tolls and the like. It is to be understood that road information and the demographic attributes may be collected in real time or stored in the map database. Numerous institutes and entities provide the aforementioned information.

[0015] The processor is configured to identify the set of routes (3) between the origin and the destination. These ‘set of routes (3)’ may comprise all possible routes between the origin and the destination.

[0016] The processor(2) is configured to identify a set of points of interest (4) in said identified set of routes (3). Based on the map-database and the cartographic database the processor may identify the POIs along all identified routes in the set of routes (3). These POIs may be hospital, police station, restaurants, hotels and the like.

[0017] Said processor(2) is configured to identify at least one demographical parameter (5) in said set of routes (3) and assign at least one route attribute (7) to at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on the at least one demographical parameter. The demographical parameters include demographical statistics such as crime rate, accident prone-ness in a geographical area, weather, climate, terrain , traffic and the like. Based on the demographical parameter, the at least one attribute may be accident prone-area, crime prone area, unsafe road and the like. These attributes may be assigned to all the identified set of routes (3) .

[0018] Said processor is configured to determine at least one route category (6) for said at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on said identified set of POIs. The identified set of POI may be POIs such as hospitals, restaurants, hotel, police station.

[0019] The processor is further configured to display said at least one route category (6) and said at least one route attribute (7) to the user as the route information (8) through a display means (9). It is to be understood that apart from the matter disclosed in the present invention, the existing navigation devices as known in the prior art assign road traffic attributes to various routes and indicate the user of the presence of traffic. A person skilled in the art may appreciate that apart from the POIs and demographical parameters, the navigation device (1) further displaying traffic information to the user is presumed. Further, it may also be the case when no demographical parameter are present for a given route, therefore, the route information may only comprise the route category determined based on presence/absence of POI

[0020] The route category (6) comprises any one of a deserted route and a busy route. A first route category (6) is determined for a first route in said identified set of routes (3) based on an absence of at least one POI in said identified set of POIs. A second route category (6) for a second route in said identified set of routes (3) is determined based on a presence of said at least one POI in said identified set of POIs.

[0021] Referring to Figure 2, the same depicts a method (100) to display a route information to a user of a navigation device, said user navigating from an origin to a destination. The method (100) may be implemented by the navigation device (1) as described above with reference to Figure 1. The method (100) comprises the first step (101) of identifying a set of routes (3) between the origin and the destination. The step (102) is identifying a set of points of interest (POIs) in said identified set of routes (3) . This is followed by the step (103) of identifying at least one demographical parameter in said set of routes and the step (104) of assigning the at least one route attribute (7) to at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on the at least one demographical parameter (5) . This is followed by step (105) of determining at least one route category (6) for said at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on said identified set of POIs. The step (106) is displaying said at least one route category (6) and said at least one route attribute (7) to the user as the route information (8).

[0022] An implementation of the present disclosure is further explained according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The at least one route from the set of routes (3) which gives unsafe feeling to the user riding on the route may be classified as deserted route upon absence of POIs which may be helpful in making a ride safe to the user such as Restaurants, Fuel station / Charging station, hospitals, motels, the traffic on the road. Further, the demographical parameters based on which attribute is given to the at least one route includes incidents like thefts, routes like wildlife crossing, etc. reported frequently on the road. This information is collected from any reliable source like police patrol, forest department, etc. and fed to the navigation device. When the user sends a query to set a route from a navigation device, navigation device (1) will look for all possible routes from the origin to the destination. To each of these routes, a route attribute (7) is assigned based on the demographical parameters. Further, the navigation device (1) looks for all the POIs on the said set of routes (3) .
[0023] The navigation device (1) retrieves route information (8) from the memory. The database contains pre-stored routes specifically designed to enhance user safety by providing information about deserted/unsafe or forbidden routes. Each route within the database includes crucial information such as its name, geographical position, category, and other pertinent details. Furthermore, the database incorporates properties associated with each route, stored as meta tags. These meta tags serve as indicators of various safety concerns, helping users make informed decisions when planning their journeys. The user may be provided to switch ON ‘avoid unsafe route’ functionality of the navigation device, based on this, either only the alternate (safe/un-deserted route) may only be displayed to the user. In another example, if the ‘avoid unsafe route’ functionality is not switched ‘ON’ by the user, the user may be displayed additional warnings such as ‘accident prone area’, high-crime rate’, restricted road based on the route attribute (7) and POIs detected (or undetected).
, C , Claims:We Claim:
1. A navigation device (1) to display a route information (8) to a user, said user navigating from an origin to a destination, said navigation device (1) comprising a processor configured to:
-identify a set of routes (3) between the origin and the destination,
-identify a set of points of interest (4) in said identified set of routes (3) ,
characterized in that, said processor configured to:
- identify at least one demographical parameter (5) in said set of routes (3),
- assign at least one route attribute (7) to at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on the at least one demographical parameter,
- determine at least one route category (6) for said at least one route in said identified set of routes (3) based on said identified set of POIs and
- displaying said at least one route category (6) and said at least one route attribute (7) to the user as the route information (8) through a display means (9).

2. The navigation device (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, a first route category (6) is determined for a first route in said identified set of routes (3) based on an absence of at least one POI in said identified set of POIs.

3. The navigation device (1) in Claim 2, wherein, a second route category (6) for a second route in said identified set of routes (3) is determined based on a presence of said at least one POI in said identified set of POIs.

4. The navigation device (1) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the route category (6) comprises any one of a deserted route and a busy route.

5. A method (100) to display a route information (8) to a user of a navigation device, said user navigating from an origin to a destination, the method comprising the steps of :

-identifying a set of routes between the origin and the destination (101),
-identifying a set of points of interest (POIs) in said identified set of routes (102),
characterized in that :
- identifying at least one demographical parameter in said set of routes (103),
-assigning at least one route attribute too at least one route in said identified set of routes based on the at least one demographical parameter (104),
-determining at least one route category for said at least one route in said identified set of routes based on said identified set of POIs (105), and
-displaying said at least one route category and said at least one route attribute to the user as the route information (106).

6. The method (100) as claimed in Claim 5, wherein, determining a first route category (6) for a first route in said identified set of routes (3) based on an absence of at least one POI in said identified set of POIs.

7. The method (100) as claimed in Claim 5, wherein, determining a second route category (6) for a second route in said identified set of routes (3) based on a presence of said at least one POI in said identified set of POIs.

8. The method (100) as claimed in Claim 5, wherein, selecting, by the user any one of the first route and the second route to navigate from the origin to the destination based on any one of the first route category (6) and the second route category (6).