United States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`DeL0rme et al.
`
`[11]
`
`[45]
`
`Patent Number:
`
`Date of Patent:
`
`5,948,040
`
`Sep. 7, 1999
`
`US005948040A
`
`“InforTravel Expands Service,” Business Geographies, vol.
`4, No. 6, Jun., 1996, p. 13.
`DelRosso, Laura, “Firm Customizes Internet Res Link,”
`Travel Weekly, vol. 55, No. 26, Apr. 1, 1996, pp. 43-44, 47.
`“Casto Travel’s Resource Library,” www.casto.com.
`“Sunnyside Computing, Inc.,” www.itn.net.
`
`Primary Examiner—Tan Nguyen
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Pierce Atwood; Chris A. Caseiro
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Computerized travel reservation information and planning
`system that generates “map ticket” output in various media,
`for guidance and transactions en route. Such print or elec-
`tronic documents can include bar or alphanumeric codes for
`automated recognition and/or access. WHERE‘), WHO/
`WHAT?, WHEN? and HOW? menus enable flexible user
`inquiries accessing selectable geographic, topical, temporal
`and transactional data records and relational processing.
`Sub-menus provide further capabilities: e.g. routing, topical
`searching; searches of events calendars, almanacs, appoint-
`ment books, related itinerary scheduling;
`trip budgeting
`issues, plus travel arrangement availabilities or other goods/
`services offers. Online communications links access updated
`or supplemental information on places, times, topics and
`other provider goods/service offers. Online computer-aided
`routing system enables input of selectable travel origin,
`destination, and waypoints to compute travel routes, avail-
`able transportation services, costs, options, and schedules. A
`point-of-interest database lets users pick types of attractions
`or accommodations within a user-selected region around
`routes of travel. Users engage in an iterative planning
`process, revising or editing travel plans, previewing travel-
`ogs of alternate routes, selecting point of interest parameters,
`comparing times and costs of transportation options, in order
`to achieve a satisfactory travel plan. The system provides
`printed or electronic output that may include any one or
`more of text itinerary, ordered set of travel maps, customized
`collection of information on points of interest information
`and a selected array of valid reservation confirmations,
`tickets and/or discount coupons coded with elements for
`automated recognition and processing. Mobile users, includ-
`ing GPS-linked users, can access the system via wireless
`communication units.
`
`80 Claims, 14 Drawing Sheets
`
`20;
`
`L TOPICAL
`* suasvsnzm
`
`[54] TRAVEL RESERVATION INFORMATION
`AND PLANNING SYSTEM
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors: David M. DeL0rme, Yarmouth; Keith
`A. Gray, Dresden; T. Angus Ferguson,
`Portland, all of Me.
`
`Assignee: DeL0rme Publishing Co., Yarmouth,
`Me.
`
`Appl. No.: 08/797,471
`
`Filed:
`
`Feb. 6, 1997
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`Continuation—in—part of application No. 08/661,600, Jun. 11,
`1996, Pat. No. 5,802,492, which is a continuation—in—part of
`application No. 08/381,214, Jan. 31, 1995, Pat. No. 5,559,
`707, which is a continuation—in—part of application No.
`08/265,327, Jun. 24, 1994, and a continuation—in—part of
`application No. 08/521,828, Aug. 31, 1995.
`
`Int. Cl.6 .......................... .. G06F 19/00; G01C 21/00
`U.S. Cl.
`........................ .. 701/201; 701/208; 701/211;
`340/990; 705/5
`Field of Search ................................... .. 701/201, 202,
`701/207, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213; 705/5,
`6; 340/988, 989, 990, 995
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`..................... .. 360/12
`Lockwood et al.
`.... .. 705/6
`Ahlstrom et al.
`364/444
`Yamada ........ ..
`.... .. 705/6
`Webber et al.
`701/202
`.
`Ghaem et al.
`. . . . . .. 705/6
`Whitesage . . . . . .
`Song ..................................... .. 364/449
`
`
`
`..
`
`4,359,631
`4,862,357
`4,926,336
`5,021,953
`5,172,321
`5,191,523
`5,208,756
`
`11/1982
`8/1989
`5/1990
`6/1991
`12/1992
`3/1993
`5/1993
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Makulowich, John, “Traveling by Virtual Reservation,”
`Washington Technology, Jan. 23, 1997, p. 42.
`in
`Knecht, Bruce, G.,
`“Microsoft Puts Newspapers
`Highanxiety.com,” The Wall Street Journal, Jul. 15, 1996,
`pp. B1, B10.
`
`*5‘
`
`209
`
`ML
`
`
`
`PROVIDER
`mp T
`U /OUTPUT
`23‘
`
`z _
`
`RETAILUSER 1
`CONSUMER
`OUTPUT
`
`227
`
`— -T
`
`Page 1 of 60
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`

`
`5,948,040
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`.
`3133: gzfifket 91' """"""""""""""""""" 36‘7‘g“54;‘
`$31723:
`9/1993 Lefebvre ............................... .. 701/211
`5,243,528
`
`10/1993 Dettebach et al.
`.... N
`5,253,166
`......................... .. 701/202
`5,272,638 12/1993 Martin etal.
`5,331,546
`7/1994 Webberetal.
`........................... .. 705/6
`5,353,034 10/1994 Sato etal.
`............................. .. 340/988
`
`.................... .. 364/449
`5,359,527 10/1994 Takanabe et al.
`....................... .. 701/209
`5,369,588
`11/1994 Hayami et al.
`............................... 705/5
`5,422,809
`6/1995 Griflin etal.
`534449618
`8/1995 561“ e‘ 31' """"""""""""""""""" 364/420
`5,519,619
`...................................... .. 701/201
`5,537,324
`7/1996 Nlmura etal. ........................ .. 364/449
`5,587,911
`12/1996 Asano et a1.
`....................... .. 364/444.2
`5,724,520
`3/1998 Goheen ..................................... .. 705/5
`
`Page 2 of 60
`
`2
`
`2
`
`Page 2 of 60
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 1 of 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`.30.“.
`
`Page 3 of 60
`
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`
`Page 3 of 60
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 2 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Page 4 of 60
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`
`Page 4 of 60
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 3 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 4 of 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`
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`
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`
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`
`Page 6 of 60
`
`6
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`Page 6 of 60
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 5 of 14
`
`5,948,040
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`
`Page 7 of 60
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`Page 7 of 60
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 6 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Page 8 of 60
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 8 Of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Page 10 of 60
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 9 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 11 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 12 of 14
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`0049,5
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 13 of 14
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`5,948,040
`
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
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`Sheet 14 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Page 16 of 60
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`

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`5,948,040
`
`1
`TRAVEL RESERVATION INFORMATION
`AND PLANNING SYSTEM
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This patent application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of
`the David M. DeLorme et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`08/661,600 filed Jun. 11, 1996, for COMPUTER AIDED
`ROUTING AND POSITIONING SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat.
`No. 5,802,492 which is a CIP of the David M. DeLorme et
`al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/381,214 filed Jan. 31,
`1995 for COMPUTER AIDED ROUTING SYSTEM, now
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,707, issued Sep. 24, 1996, which is a
`CIP of the David M. DeLorme et al. U.S. patent application
`Ser. No. 08/265,327 filed Jun. 24, 1994 for COMPUTER
`AIDED MAP LOCATION SYSTEM now abandoned. This
`
`patent application is also a CIP of the Keith A. Gray U.S.
`patent application Ser. No. 08/521,828 filed on Aug. 31,
`1995, for COMPUTERIZED ADDRESS LOCATION AND
`COMMUNICATION SYSTEM now abandoned. All of the
`
`cross-referenced applications have a common assignee who
`is the assignee of the present application. The contents of
`these related patent applications are incorporated herein by
`reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`invention relates to systems that permit
`The present
`individuals to make travel arrangements and to plan travel
`activities,
`including such systems that are accessible via
`interconnected computer networks. More particularly,
`the
`present invention relates to Travel Reservation and Infor-
`mation Planning Systems (TRIPS) that provide travel infor-
`mation and special offers for goods and services such as
`accommodations and reservations associated with such
`
`areas of interest. Still more particularly, the present inven-
`tion relates to a completely integrated system enabling an
`individual to plan, review, locate, schedule and select or
`execute customized or personalized travel arrangements and
`activities in association with map displays or other output of
`travel routes, chronological events, diverse travel topics and
`geographic points of interest along such routes.
`In the
`present invention, all of these capabilities are integrated with
`a broad range of transactionable offers for goods/services
`such as transportation or performance tickets and diverse
`accommodations reservations.
`
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`Prior systems for the general purpose of planning and
`arranging travel from one location to another have been
`developed by, among others,
`the assignee of the present
`application. The assignee’s systems are described in the
`cross-referenced patent and patent applications noted above.
`In particular,
`those systems have involved the use of
`computer-based databases combined with software to create
`map displays of selectable and variable levels of detail. They
`also include the capability to selectively plan a trip from one
`location to another, with intermediate “waypoints” any-
`where along the way. As part of that planning, the user of the
`prior associated systems has the capability to define the
`route of interest, to observe the location of points of interest
`and events of interest along the way and within a defined
`range of the route selected. Those points and events of
`interest may be observed in a multimedia display arrange-
`able by the user. Alternatively, points of interest and events
`of interest, which may be observed on the display at varying
`levels of detail, may be used to arrange a travel route as a
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`function of interest in visiting those points rather than as a
`specific function of the route alone. Other features of the
`assignee’s prior related systems include, but are not limited
`to: 1) the capability to retrieve detailed address locations; 2)
`coordinate between digital maps—observable on displays at
`selectable levels of detail—and corresponding paper maps,
`each having associated grid arrangements for referencing
`between the two maps; and 3) the capability to communicate
`map information between remote devices, which remote
`devices may include Global Positioning System (GPS) sen-
`sors and/or transmitters. These and other features are
`described more completely in the referenced patent and
`patent applications. While the assignee’s noted prior sys-
`tems provide extensive advantages in the planning of travel,
`in the observation of points of interest and events of interest
`along the way, and in the communication of such related
`information between two or more remote devices, they do
`not include a completely integrated capability to execute
`travel arrangements.
`There are many systems designed to aid, in a limited way,
`in the planning and execution of travel arrangements. For
`many years, travel arrangements have been made for indi-
`viduals by travel agencies having stand-alone systems with
`electronic or simple telephonic links to travel providers such
`as airlines, passenger trains, buses, car rental agencies and
`the like, and links to travel-related service providers, such as
`hotels, restaurants, entertainment facilities, etc. People inter-
`ested in making travel arrangements, and in discovering the
`availability of activities located relatively proximate to one
`or more travel destinations, have been required to contact
`such travel agencies. Under this travel-arrangement method,
`an individual interested in traveling presented a travel origin
`and a travel destination and was advised by the agency of the
`availability and scheduling of travel means for that particu-
`lar route. Requests for information regarding travel-related
`services and activities at the destination were handled in a
`similar fashion. Reservations for the travel and related
`
`services and activities were made by the travel agency and
`the individual was provided with an itinerary and paper
`materials necessary to conduct
`the travel,
`to issue the
`services, and to conduct the activities. In effect then, the
`individual was required to rely upon the travel agency for
`travel-related information and services. Any modifications
`in travel plans made in this way involved a considerable
`expenditure of time and effort on the part of the individual
`as well as the travel agency. Further, it was and is often the
`case that a particular travel agency may have information for
`only a fraction of the travel service and activity providers in
`existence. Under this method it
`is not unusual for the
`
`individual to be unable to completely custom plan a trip, to
`miss areas and points of interest, or to miss an activity of
`interest. Moreover, once the traveler is at a particular
`destination, or at an intermediary point along the way, the
`travel agent
`is of limited usefulness, particularly when
`specific information about, for example, emergency services
`or particular goods or services, is required on an immediate
`basis.
`
`Another problem associated with travel arrangements
`made by parties other than the individual taking the trip is
`the paperwork involved. It is not unusual for there to be
`errors in the materials provided, for the materials to be
`delivered in an untimely manner, or for the individual to be
`required to travel to a service provider location—such as an
`airport—in order to obtain the materials, such as the airline
`tickets. This can be a significant
`inconvenience. These
`paperwork problems tend to be restricted to airline tickets
`and hotel reservation confirmations. However, a less devel-
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`5,948,040
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`3
`oped but perhaps more important type of paperwork may be
`vouchers and various types of coupons associated with
`entertainment and activity sites located proximate to a travel
`destination. Such materials are even more inaccessible to the
`traveler who has yet to reach the destination. Moreover,
`activities coupons, for example, are distributed through a
`wide array of sources, such as direct mail, magazines,
`newspapers, and the like, that are not particularly easy for
`the user to obtain. It is apparent then that as the number of
`materials providers increases in association with travel
`plans, the number of errors associated with such materials
`will also increase. In addition, it is often difficult to keep
`track of a disparate set of papers, each with its own level of
`importance. While barcoding has become more widely used
`in many areas in recent years in order to reduce paperwork,
`its usage has been less than widespread in the travel field.
`“Ticketless travel” eliminates paper ticket documents but
`provides the consumer with a number or an alphanumeric
`code for confirmation and access.
`
`In recent years, individuals have gained greater direct
`access to information related to travel service providers via
`interconnected computer networks defined broadly as “the
`Internet.” Such information includes airline schedules, flight
`availability, and limited ticketing, hotel locations and tele-
`phone numbers, and entertainment
`location information.
`However, in order to reserve a seat on a plane, or a room in
`a hotel, the individual must still make separate contact with
`the particular provider and make the reservation based upon
`that provider’s distinct reservation system. For example, if
`an individual wishes to travel from New York to Los
`
`Angeles via plane, he or she can get “online” and discover
`flight schedules and seating availability through an airline-
`schedule service provider, much as a travel agency does.
`However, in order to reserve a seat on a flight of interest, the
`individual commonly must make either direct contact with
`the airline service or some agent of the airline service and
`arrange payment, typically resulting in receipt of a paper
`output—the flight ticket—that must either be picked up by
`the traveler, or that is delivered to the traveler. Any attempt
`to integrate different aspects of a travel plan—a flight, a
`rental car, a hotel, entertainment activities, for example—
`must either be completed through a diligent search of a
`plurality of online service providers, or a trip to the afore-
`mentioned travel agent. Given the continually expanding
`scope of online services, the former approach is becoming
`increasingly difficult. Moreover, it fails to resolve the prob-
`lem of creating an array of transactions that are conducted
`through a plurality of service providers and that must be
`coordinated in an organized manner. The present online
`travel planning capability also fails to eliminate the need to
`obtain documents such as itineraries, hotel bookings, flight
`tickets, activity reservations, etc., from multiple sources.
`Examples of online systems apparently designed to give
`users greater flexibility in discovering travel possibilities
`include a reservation access system named Internet Travel
`Network located at http://www.itn.net, which includes
`access to an online booking system provided by Casto
`Travel located at http://www.casto.com. Both providers give
`browsers the capability to link up with many travel service
`providers who may or may not choose to make their services
`available to the browser. The booking system also permits
`“ticketless” travel, but ticketing must still come through a
`third party provider with separate fees. Microsoft” at
`http:\\www.expedia.msn.com offers a similar Internet Web
`Site “travel agency” to book flights, hotel rooms, and rental
`cars; to participate in travel forums; and to browse assorted
`news, weather, currency, multimedia guidebooks, and pho-
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`4
`tographs. These types of online systems have some capa-
`bility in permitting the user to gain access to a wide array of
`services, including travel and activities; however, as earlier
`noted, this capability is not easily enacted in that the user
`must go through a considerable search process in order to
`gather information regarding topics, events, available goods
`or services, and/or points of interest at the travel destination
`or along the travel route, or related to the user’s selected
`travel time frame. Other Internet sites concentrate on local
`
`directory listing information but do not provide readily
`useable travel planning, itinerary, routing and/or booking
`capabilities—e.g., CitySearchTM and MetroBeatTM at
`http:\\www.citysearch.com and Bigbook’s Internet Yellow
`Pages at http:\\www.bigbook.com.
`In addition to the problems associated with an individu-
`al’s attempt to carry out his or her own travel planning
`through existing separate online systems, there is the diffi-
`culty in appreciating the travel route and the activities, and
`points of interest along the way. That is, when an individual
`makes arrangements to travel
`to a destination,
`it
`is not
`unusual for that to be that individual’s first visit to that
`
`location. As a result, there are any number of unknowns he
`or she must deal with, including, but not limited to, the hotel
`accommodations,
`the activities available, and—perhaps
`most importantly—how to get from the airport, train station,
`or bus terminal
`to an ultimate destination. For the first
`
`problem noted it is therefore desirable to have a visual
`display or other travel information output of the area to be
`visited, as well as previews of the accommodations and/or
`any points of interest in the area, scheduled events in the
`area,
`topical
`information, and the availability of
`accommodations, goods and/or services available in the
`area. There is no presently existing completely integrated
`system using such individualized multimedia presentations
`in a travel planning system. For the second problem, a
`“customizable” map or other travel plan output to which the
`user can attach selected travel information from such pre-
`views would be particularly useful. In that regard, it is to be
`noted that there are several digital map systems that may be
`accessed via storage means, including, but not limited to,
`compact disk-read only memory (CDROM) or PCMCIA
`cards.
`
`As specifically noted in the cross-referenced
`COMPUTER-AIDED ROUTING SYSTEM application, a
`variety of computer hardware and software travel planning
`aids are currently available on the market primarily for
`vacation and recreational travel planning. A number of the
`travel guide software packages focus on National Parks of
`the United States or recreational tours and activities with
`
`prepared travelogs or prepared assemblages of multimedia
`travel information on the different recreational geographical
`locations or recreational activities. Such travel software
`
`programs are exemplified for example by the America
`NavigaTourTM MediAliveTM multimedia travel guide pro-
`duced by CD Technology, Inc.; the Great VacationsTM Fam-
`ily Travel Guide by Positive Software Solutions; the Adven-
`turesTM CDROM Program for worldwide adventure travel
`by Deep River Publishing, Inc.; and National Parks of
`America, a CDROM product of Multicom Publishing, Inc.
`which contains a directory of all National Parks in the
`United States.
`
`Rand McNally produces a software travel planning prod-
`uct under the trademark TRIPMAKERTM for planning a trip
`by car in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Rand
`McNally TripmakerTM software also calculates quickest,
`shortest, and preferred scenic routes for the trip planner.
`While the Rand McNally product incorporates a database of
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`5,948,040
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`5
`many points of interest, the multimedia travelog information
`appears limited to preplanned scenic tours.
`Similarly the American Automobile Association in coop-
`eration with Compton’s NewMedia also provides travel
`planning from starting point to destination point with stop-
`ping points in between. The CDROM product contains a
`database of travel information. However the multimedia
`
`information available from the database appears limited to
`“suggested routes of travel,” again limiting user choice.
`In each case it appears that
`travel
`information from
`multimedia sources is preassembled by editors so that the
`user or trip planner is limited to “canned” or prepared
`multimedia travelogs of prescribed, suggested, or pre-
`planned tours. In addition, the user is limited to information
`fragments about this or that particular object of interest or
`this or that particular place. There is no opportunity or user
`capability of selectivity in constructing a user customized
`travelog of assembled multimedia information for preview-
`ing a particular user determined route of travel. The user is
`relegated to travelogs and multimedia assemblages prepared
`for routes and tours proposed by other editors. Moreover,
`there is no provision for the capability to permit an indi-
`vidual or group to execute the travel plans once developed.
`That is, a user may observe a travel sequence of interest on
`a computer display, but is then required to one or more travel
`service providers to enact the plan. Further, travel arrange-
`ment materials must be obtained from those providers, or
`even from an intermediary.
`Some attempts have been made to give individuals and
`groups direct access to travel service providers. In particular,
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,499 issued to Garback describes an
`individual-accessible planning system that permits a user to
`develop travel arrangements through linkage to service
`providers and to ticket providers. However,
`there is no
`capability to observe the travel location on a digital display
`in conjunction with the development of the travel arrange-
`ments. Moreover, these travel arrangements tend to be fixed
`based upon pre-set travel destinations. That
`is,
`the user
`cannot create a customized travel plan and execute that plan
`through a mix of travel arrangements. Garback can only
`provide the materials necessary to travel from point A to
`point B—if those points are airports—and to get the basic
`car and hotel that most travelers require. There is no pro-
`vision for planning travel to locations where there is not an
`airport. There is also no provision for detailed information—
`multimedia or otherwise—related to points of interest at
`point B, or at any intermediate point.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,953 issued to Webber et al. describes
`a system that provides the user with information regarding
`airline flight options. In particular, the system is directed to
`weighting various flight options by expense, convenience,
`and availability, and giving the user travel possibilities on
`that basis. In a sense, the Webber system is customizable;
`however, it is specifically restricted to making flight arrange-
`ments and so the customizing is limited to that part of a trip.
`For this reason, the Webber system suffers from the same
`limitations associated with the Garback device.
`
`these prior computer reservation services
`In general,
`(CRS) are basically limited to commercial airline reserva-
`tions. As a minimum input threshold, the prior CRS require
`that the user knows and enters their intended departure point,
`final destination, any intermediate stopovers, plus the travel
`time frame. Existing Internet travel information sites have
`taken these same limitations—poorly compensating in some
`cases by giving the user access by indiscriminate “hot links”
`to an overwhelming variety, number, and selection of other
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`Internet sites containing undifferentiated and uneven
`amounts of travel information along with circular hot links
`to similar sites. These systems offer little or no computerized
`aid to answer, or even to ask, fundamental common-sense
`travel planning questions—such as when, where, what to do
`or who to visit, how to get there and back, and/or how much
`do comparable tr