Did You Know...
...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8155873 | Vehicle-position-recognition apparatuses, methods, and programs Vehicle-position-recognition apparatuses, methods, and programs acquire current position information indicating a current position of a vehicle and acquire road information indicating at least one road based on a connection relationship between plural links. The app... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8103448 | Information storage apparatus for storing new road, program for the same, and system for the same A vehicle navigation system detects a new road that is not recorded in a map for updating map data during a travel. After exiting from the new road, the increase of the data size of road map data at a time of addition of the new road to the map is estimated, and a c... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8073618 | Driving support apparatus and method A driving support apparatus supports a driver in driving a vehicle on a road by giving instructions. The driving support apparatus includes a recognizing unit that recognizes a current driving lane that is a lane on the road in which the vehicle is currently running... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8073619 | Position correction apparatus An apparatus corrects a position coordinate measured by a GPS receiver. Road data representing a position coordinate of a constructed road is included. Locus data representing a plurality of position coordinates of the GPS receiver during a past specified period is ... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8060303 | Navigation device and lane guide method A vehicle is guided to a lane that the vehicle should run, even if map data do not include lane information of a tollgate. A navigation processing part 100 makes a vehicle running path calculation part 112 calculate a running path of the vehicle... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8055443 | Route calculation method for a vehicle navigation system Traffic information, including flow information and incident information, obtained through a traffic management system for providing and facilitating the exchange of traffic information between a remote location and a vehicle may be used in route calculation by a na... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8046167 | Navigation with contextual color, texture, and structure cues A method and a processing device may provide navigational information including non-photographic cues, such as, contextual color, texture, and structure cues, corresponding to physical entities visible to a party traveling along a determined route. In one embodiment... | 10/25/2011 |
| 8036825 | Navigation system A navigation system includes current position calculating sections 10, 13, 14, and 15 calculating the current position; an input section 3 inputting the destination and transit points; a route searching section 130 searching a route from ... | 10/11/2011 |
| 8024115 | Navigation apparatus, method and program for vehicle An onboard navigation apparatus provides travel guidance on a road including a plurality of roadways heading in the same direction. The road specifically includes a special roadway such as a carpool lane having no exits to other roads, an ordinary roadway having exi... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8024114 | Navigation data quality feedback A computer assisted navigation system determines a recommended route for a vehicle to travel between a source and destination location, and provides exception notifications in some events where the vehicle travels a route different that the recommended route. The ve... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8024116 | Vehicle stray determination apparatus and destination guide apparatus A vehicle stray determination apparatus in a vehicle includes a map database for designating a destination; an in-vehicle GPS unit for detecting a present position of the vehicle; a speed detector for detecting a speed of the vehicle; a parking signal input device f... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8010285 | Electronic navigation related technology Techniques are described for monitoring whether a user is following directions to a destination during electronic navigation to the destination provided by an electronic navigation device. When the electronic navigation device determines that the user is not followi... | 08/30/2011 |
| 7991549 | Traffic information system based on travel history A traffic information system including a travel history database retaining the data on the travel history of vehicle measured at a constant temporal or running interval; a link cost weighting pattern database for storing patterns for weighting the link costs of road... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7983839 | GPS-based traffic monitoring system A vehicle comprises memory for storing map data and a global positioning system (GPS) module that transmits vector and location data and that receives traffic reports from a remote traffic monitoring system. An adaptive map building module includes a path determinin... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7979206 | Route calculation method for a vehicle navigation system Traffic information, including flow information and incident information, obtained through a traffic management system for providing and facilitating the exchange of traffic information between a remote location and a vehicle may be used in route calculation by a na... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7970537 | System and method for navigation using visible light communications A navigation system and a navigation method inside of a building using Visible Light Communications (VLC) are provided. The navigation system includes a map server, in which map information required to provide a navigation function is stored, for transferring the ma... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7970538 | Accurate global positioning system for deliveries An accurate global positioning system having a receiver, a display screen, an input device, having capabilities for visual calibration of the system is disclosed. Further methods of operating that system are disclosed. ... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7962283 | Deviation-correction system for positioning of moving objects and motion tracking method thereof The present invention relates to the deviation-correction system for positioning of moving objects, and discloses a deviation-correction system for positioning of moving objects and the motion-tracking method thereof. The system includes a control system for receivi... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7945386 | Rerouting in vehicle navigation systems A navigation device includes a processor, a map information storage medium storing map information, a position determining module configured to determine a current location, a velocity and direction of travel of a vehicle, and determine whether the current position ... | 05/17/2011 |
| 7933715 | Navigation device and navigation system A navigation device and the like capable of harmonizing a navigation route for guiding a mobile body set on the basis of a support route search result by a navigation server and a navigation route for also guiding the mobile body set independently of the navigation ... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7908081 | Navigation apparatus, navigation system and route search method This navigation apparatus includes a road setting unit that sets a road to be traversed between a departure point and a destination, the road being constituted by links for each of which a predetermined link cost is set, a replacement unit that replaces the links co... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7899617 | Navigation system providing route guidance in multi-lane road according to vehicle lane position A navigation system for a vehicle determines a recommended route to a destination among a plurality of possible routes to the destination based on total profile values of the plurality of possible routes. The navigation system guides the vehicle to the destination a... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7885764 | Method for adaptively constructing and revising road maps A method for constructing and revising road maps in a vehicle map database using vehicle location signals to provide traffic flow information for recognized vehicle patterns from past vehicle travel. The method includes identifying vehicle travel segments as a serie... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7881863 | Route calculation method for a vehicle navigation system Traffic information, including flow information and incident information, obtained through a traffic management system for providing and facilitating the exchange of traffic information between a remote location and a vehicle may be used in route calculation by a na... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7873471 | Transmission of special routes to a navigation device A vehicle navigation system includes an adaptive routing module (210) that allows a user to provide inputs that influence routes that are calculated to predetermined destinations. A route calculation module (204) executed by a navigation server (102... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7865304 | Navigation device displaying dynamic travel information An in-car navigation device depicts dynamic travel information (congestions, weather, etc.) in the context of a schematic display of the actual roads that the information relates to. In one implementation, the schematic view is a linear representation of the route a... | 01/04/2011 |
| 7865305 | Navigation system A navigation server and the like capable of making a navigation device 200 output a route having adequacy in view of various circumstances is provided. A navigation server 100 recognizes a navigation route r(k) for guiding the automobile 2 to th... | 01/04/2011 |
| 7860649 | Vehicle position detecting system and method An information processing station having map data is provided at an external position outside of a vehicle. In-vehicle equipment determines a vehicular travel path of the vehicle, and transmits the determined vehicular travel path to the information processing stati... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7818121 | Route calculation method for a vehicle navigation system Traffic information, including flow information and incident information, obtained through a traffic management system for providing and facilitating the exchange of traffic information between a remote location and a vehicle may be used in route calculation by a na... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7809502 | Onboard content providing apparatus In an information providing service that utilizes a car navigation system or the like, ensuring safety while viewing content is a matter of great concern. A vehicle-mounted onboard content providing apparatus for providing content to a user of the vehicle, comprisin... | 10/05/2010 |
| 7809503 | Navigation apparatus A navigation apparatus is obtained that can reduce as much as possible to blank interval during the navigation even when a route deviation has occurred. In order to structure a navigation apparatus that includes a guided vehicle position determining portion 3... | 10/05/2010 |
| 7769541 | Vehicle navigation system and method of generating updated map data for vehicle navigation system There is provided a vehicle navigation system for searching predetermined information after map data is updated and navigating a user more effectively even when the user only knows information before the update. The vehicle navigation system includes a control secti... | 08/03/2010 |
| 7739040 | Computation of travel routes, durations, and plans over multiple contexts A route planning system comprises a receiver component that receives a request for directions between a beginning point and a destination point. An analysis component analyzes a traffic system representation that varies as context varies and outputs expected amounts... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7739041 | Safety navigation system applying wireless communication technology and method therefor A safety navigation system applying wireless communication technology and a method therefor are provided, wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed to learn about road sections that are inconveni... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7698060 | Map data product and map data processing device A data product that can be read by a computer or a map data processing apparatus, contains map data including map-related information related to a map. And the map-related information includes a compilation of a plurality of information elements of a single type; th... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7693656 | Navigation apparatus In a navigation apparatus in a vehicle, a user designates a validating route, which is stored in a memory device. A control unit invalidates a predetermined function of the navigation apparatus at a start-up, which is for the first time after an in-vehicle battery i... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7693657 | Navigation device A navigation device displays predicted traffic information downloaded from a server device and statistical traffic information stored in a storage unit, on the same screen. Both information items may be displayed in such a manner that at least a part of them is over... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7680596 | Route calculation method for a vehicle navigation system Traffic information, including flow information and incident information, obtained through a traffic management system for providing and facilitating the exchange of traffic information between a remote location and a vehicle may be used in route calculation by a na... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7664598 | Guiding device and guiding method The present invention provides a guiding device that can induce a user to move according to a guiding route. The guiding device according to the present invention is a guiding device which guides a user, including an acquisition unit (101) which acquir... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7653484 | Method for determining deviation of a mobile object in a navigation system from a travel route A travel route stray discriminating method of a mobile object in navigation system is disclosed in which discrimination of travel route deviation is temporarily withheld even if the mobile object has deviated from the travel route on a busy road such as a cross-road... | 01/26/2010 |
