`DeLorme et al.
`
`[54] TRAVEL RESERVATION INFORMATION
`AND PLANNING SYSTEM
`
`[75] Inventors: David M. DeLorme, Yarmouth; Keith
`A. Gray, Dresden; T. Angus Ferguson,
`Portland, all of Me.
`
`[73] Assignee: DeLorme Publishing Co., Yarmouth,
`Me.
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 08/797,471
`[22]
`Filed:
`Feb. 6, 1997
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`[63]
`
`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.
`
`[51] Int. C1.6 .......................... .. G06F 19/00; G01C 21/00
`[52] U.S.Cl. ........................ .. 701/201; 701/208; 701/211;
`340/990; 705/5
`[58] Field Of Search ................................... .. 701/201, 202,
`701/207, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213; 705/5,
`6; 340/988, 989, 990, 995
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,359,631 11/1982 Lockwood et al. ..................... .. 360/12
`4,862,357
`8/1989 Ahlstrom et al. .
`705/6
`4,926,336
`5/1990 Yamada ........... ..
`364/444
`5,021,953
`6/1991 Webber et al.
`..... .. 705/6
`5,172,321 12/1992 Ghaem et al.
`701/202
`5,191,523
`3/1993 Whitesage ................................. .. 705/6
`5,208,756
`5/1993 Song ..................................... .. 364/449
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Makulowich, John, “Traveling by Virtual Reservation,”
`Washington Technology, Jan. 23, 1997, p. 42.
`Knecht, Bruce, G., “Microsoft Puts Newspapers in
`Highanxiety.com,” The Wall Street Journal, Jul. 15, 1996,
`pp. B1, B10.
`
`US005948040A
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`5,948,040
`Sep. 7, 1999
`
`“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, A gent, or F irm—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 ?exible 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 con?rmations,
`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
`
`RETAIL USER
`CONSUMER
`INPUT :>
`205
`“%“
`
`i
`
`GEOGRAPHIC
`SUBSYSTEMQQ,
`
`T
`
`R ‘ PS
`INTERFACE
`
`INTERACTION
`
`,.
`TEMPORAL
`<;J>
`SUBSYSTEM
`223
`
`203
`
`TOPICAL
`SUBSYSTEM
`
`[ 213
`
`ACCOUNTING
`SUBSYSTEM
`217
`
`RETAILUSER <7
`CONSUMER
`OUTPUT
`
`PROVIDER
`4:. INF T
`U [OUTPUT
`ea A
`
`1
`
`
`
`5,948,040
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,359,527 10/1994 Takanabe et a1. .................... .. 364/449
`
`364 444
`1
`t
`5 231 584 7 1993 N_
`785/5
`5’237’499 51993 6232?; a' """"""""""""""" "
`§0U211
`5’243’528
`9/1993 Lefebvre
`~~~~ ~~
`572537166 10/1993 Dettebach et a1'
`701/202
`5,272,638 12/1993 Martin et a1_
`____ __ 705/6
`5,331,546
`7/1994 Webber er a1,
`5,353,034 10/1994 Sato et a1. ............................. .. 340/988
`
`5,369,588 11/1994 Hayami et a1. ....................... .. 701/209
`5,422,809
`6/1995 Grif?n et a1. ............................. .. 705/5
`5,444,618
`8/1995 Seki et a1. ............................. .. 364/420
`5,519,619
`...................................... .. 701/201
`5,537,324
`7/1996 Nlmura et a1. ........................ .. 364/449
`5,587,911 12/1996 Asano et a1. ....................... .. 364/444.2
`5,724,520
`3/1998 Goheen ..................................... .. 705/5
`
`2
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 1 0f 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`30E
`
`3
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 7, 1999
`
`Sheet 2 0f 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`oRgckford
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`regon
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`START - Knox, IN
`us 35 (SR 8, CR 490 E, Heat N
`US 35 (SR 8, CR 400 E)
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`US 30
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`STOP - Jolly Gingcr's, IN
`E
`US 30 (Lincoln Hwy)
`N
`I-65
`NW
`I-90 (East-West Toll Rd)
`W
`I-190
`FINISH - Chicago O'Hare Intl ( RD), II.
`TOTAL DISTANCE: 103 MI,TOTALTIME: 2:03
`FIG 18-3
`
`Dir
`
`Near
`
`Exit# Time Dist
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`Mi
`
`Knox, IN
`Knox, IN
`
`Merrillville, IN
`Merrillville, IN
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`0100
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`us Route 30 (Lincoln Highway)
`04 miles west of Route 65 on
`left A park rear or west side
`
`TRIPS “*@5-IN-b21Q-5/96***
`RESER VA TION CONFIRMA TION
`John Jones — party of 2
`5:15 PM 5/24/96
`nonsmoking
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`147
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`JOLLY GINGER'S
`
`W5
`
`\ a
`
`149
`
`DETAIL MAP
`
`4
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 3 of 14
`
`5,948,040
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`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 4 0f 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`RETAIL USER
`CONSUMER
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`6
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`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 5 0f 14
`
`5,948,040
`
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`
`FIG4
`
`7
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 6 of 14
`
`5,948,040
`
`8
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`
`Sep.7,1999
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`Sheet 7 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Sep.7,1999
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 9 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`Sep.7,1999
`
`Sheet 11 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
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`Sheet 12 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
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`Sheet 13 of 14
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`5,948,040
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`U.S. Patent
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`Sep.7,1999
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`Sheet 14 0f 14
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`5,948,040
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`|. D.
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`903
`W TOPICAL DATA
`I
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`GEOGRAPHIC DATA
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`TEMPORAL DATA
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`ACCOUNTING DATA
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`
`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. US. patent application Ser. No.
`08/661,600 ?led Jun. 11, 1996, for COMPUTER AIDED
`ROUTING AND POSITIONING SYSTEM, now US. Pat.
`No. 5,802,492 Which is a CIP of the David M. DeLorme et
`al. US. patent application Ser. No. 08/381,214 ?led Jan. 31,
`1995 for COMPUTER AIDED ROUTING SYSTEM, now
`US. Pat. No. 5,559,707, issued Sep. 24, 1996, Which is a
`CIP of the David M. DeLorme et al. US. patent application
`Ser. No. 08/265,327 ?led Jun. 24, 1994 for COMPUTER
`AIDED MAP LOCATION SYSTEM noW abandoned. This
`patent application is also a CIP of the Keith A. Gray US.
`patent application Ser. No. 08/521,828 ?led 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
`The present invention relates to systems that permit
`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 de?ne the
`route of interest, to observe the location of points of interest
`and events of interest along the Way and Within a de?ned
`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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`2
`function of interest in visiting those points rather than as a
`speci?c 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 modi?cations
`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
`speci?c 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 signi?cant inconvenience. These
`paperWork problems tend to be restricted to airline tickets
`and hotel reservation con?rmations. HoWever, a less devel
`
`17
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`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 dif?cult 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 ?eld.
`“Ticketless travel” eliminates paper ticket documents but
`provides the consumer With a number or an alphanumeric
`code for con?rmation and access.
`In recent years, individuals have gained greater direct
`access to information related to travel service providers via
`interconnected computer netWorks de?ned broadly as “the
`Internet.” Such information includes airline schedules, ?ight
`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
`?ight 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 ?ight 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 ?ight 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 ?ight, 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 dif?cult. 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, ?ight
`tickets, activity reservations, etc., from multiple sources.
`Examples of online systems apparently designed to give
`users greater ?exibility 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. MicrosoftTM at
`http:\\WWW.expedia.msn.com offers a similar Internet Web
`Site “travel agency” to book ?ights, 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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`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 dif?
`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 ?rst 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 ?rst
`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 speci?cally 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 exempli?ed 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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`6
`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 travel arrangements or itineraries cost.
`It is to be noted that other travel arrangement systems
`have been described. They, along With the prior-art systems
`previously discussed, fail, hoWever, in that they do not
`provide a complete access system that gives the user all of
`the information of interest and materials required When
`travel is involved. Moreover, they fail to provide a system
`that takes into account all of the variations in user back
`ground that in?uences travel choices. While this variability
`has not been completely addressed, there are several general
`attributes in a complete travel planning and execution sys
`tem that Would address that variability. In general, it is of
`importance to a user to be able to combine tWo or more of
`the folloWing options Within a single integrated travel/
`activity planning system: 1) consider topics, activities, or
`things to do apart from a speci?c destination; 2) set the travel
`destination or destinations; 3) set times/dates for the start
`and ?nish of a possible trip; 4) determine the mode or modes
`of travel required to reach those destinations; 5) discover
`information regarding points of interest and activities along
`the travel route and/or at the destinations; 6) discover
`information on events of interest, scheduled performances,
`meetings and the like as related to speci?c dates/times,
`topics and/or places; 7) get information on transportation,
`lodgings and other accommodations available at the desti
`nations and/or at speci?ed dates/times; 8) make the reser
`vations associated With the travel, the accommodations, and
`the activities available, plus take advantage of diverse,
`special offers for goods/services from participating third
`party providers; 9) get the documentation necessary to carry
`out the travel and related activities, such as tickets, ticket
`vouchers, price discount or extra service coupons, etc.; 10)
`observe the travel route at various levels of magni?cation,
`the destinations, events of interest, travel topics, and points
`of interest located on a map display; and 11) get travel plan
`output such as a paper printout of the map display or
`equivalent text, audio, electronic or other output that may
`include information regarding the points of interest as Well
`as physical documentation or equivalent codes that may be
`the tickets, etc.
`Therefore, What is needed is a system With such complete
`integration of all aspects of travel/ activity required by a user.
`Such a system should be capable of permitting a user to
`control and conduct such travel and/or activities as a func
`tion of four basic questions in any order and in any combi
`nation. Those questions are: WHERE‘), WHAT‘), WHEN‘),
`and HOW?
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`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