1
`
`VWGoA - Ex. 1005
`Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Petitioner
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 1 of9
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`6,091,956
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`
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`36a
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 2 of9
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`6,091,956
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
`
`Sheet 4 of9
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`6,091,956
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 5 of9
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`6,091,956
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`6
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 6 of9
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`6,091,956
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`FIG. 13
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`9o
`N
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`91
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`92
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`INITIALIZE
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`CONNECT USER
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`93
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`RECEIVE USER DATA &
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`94
`
`REQUEST FOR SERVICES
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`
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`RECEIVED FROM USER
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`95
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`96
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`DATA OR SERVICES
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`101
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`7
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 7 of9
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`6,091,956
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`FIG. 14
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`123
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`
`LOCATION
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`
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`8
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 8 of9
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`6,091,956
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`FIG. 15
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`200
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`INITIALIZE
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`201
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`202
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`PROCEED
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`203
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`END MULTITASKING
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`REPEAT
`D/L LIST?
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`212
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`ADD NEW SITE ADDRESS
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`9
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 18,2000
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`Sheet 9 of9
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`6,091,956
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`FIG. 16
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`301
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`302
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`ENTER
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`INITIALIZE
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`303
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`LOAD SITE COUNTER
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`300
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`CURR. D/L CT.
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`304
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`YES
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`SEARCH SITE #(SITE CT.)
`FOR TERM #(SEARCH CT.)
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`312
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`COUNT > 0
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`310
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`ADDRESS
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`(AS TEMPORARY SITE)
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`6,091,956
`
`1
`SITUATION INFORMATION SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to distributed information systems,
`specifically those which exchange information about places,
`their events, and details with mobile computers and their
`users.
`
`BACKGROUND—GENERAL DISCUSSION
`
`Societal changes, marked by increasingly mobile life
`styles, greater work demands, and downsizing in business
`and government, have desocialized public environments by
`reducing people’s free time. A consequence is that the lively
`marketplace atmosphere that once inspirited our city centers
`has generally been replaced by inhospitable spaces. For
`example, in cities only at lunch times do people fill the few
`open urban spaces to socialize and find diversion before
`returning to work. Most people in our increasingly con-
`nected society require communications access in order to
`conduct their daily business, access generally unavailable
`outside of buildings.
`Environments providing accessible data communications
`resources would attract such people regularly since they
`could continue working on their projects. The presence of
`these workers would draw other visitors, some of whom
`might offer products or services or visit because of the
`interesting assortment of people reliably to be found there.
`Thus, after providing the seeding effect of appropriate
`communications services, modern-day marketplaces could
`again enliven our cities and towns. Such environments
`would provide a true sense of physical place which the
`Internet lacks. Businesses, potentially the best providers of
`such services, can’t support them without payback, however.
`While people’s need for information that specifically fits
`their needs has increased, the availability, accessibility, and
`timeliness of this information, about specific places, events,
`and their details, called situations herein, have decreased.
`The current population is aging but, at
`the same time,
`continues to travel more than those of the past. Everyone,
`particularly senior citizens, need ready information concern-
`ing events, conditions, and services about a place, particu-
`larly when it’s unfamiliar or one which they are about to
`visit, to be more secure and better able to enjoy it.
`Similarly, people with physical challenges could function
`more freely in public places with the aid of a system which
`provided them with a specifically appropriate combination
`of aural, visual, and tactile information about their location.
`Having ready access to timely, proximate information, i.e.,
`information particularly relevant to a user’s location such as
`local services information, such as transportation-system
`routes and schedules identifying nearby stops and other
`services, would increase their traveling efliciency and safety.
`Because people now have less time, shopping is taking a
`greater proportion of free time. Worsening the problem,
`many stores are cutting costs by reducing stafling and
`merchandise inventories. Shoppers searching for price or
`stock information in a store must now spend more time
`searching the isles for help in finding the merchandise they
`seek. Clearly, useful time-critical and specific information
`about stores’ offerings—merchandise information—is
`increasingly out of reach.
`With Internet (via the PC) and TV information competing
`for audiences, local retail stores increasingly find it expen-
`sive and difficult
`to advertise their inventories to their
`
`desired audiences. A system that leads the customer directly
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`to the offered merchandise, occasionally calling the custom-
`er’s attention to related or promoted items, would increase
`that store’s sales volume.
`
`to the diminishing availability of local
`In contrast
`information, world-wide information via the Internet
`is
`burgeoning. While users of the World-wide Web can get
`information about a specific product in a distant country,
`information about price and availability of a product at a
`local store is often frustratingly diflicult to get. Once the
`product is located, the final shopping penalty is the time
`wasted in the cashier’s line.
`
`A partial solution to these problems is the ubiquitous
`portable telephone. However, the expense for using it for
`frequent
`inquiries about services and products would
`quickly grow exorbitant. An obvious problem, too, is the
`lack of an accessible and efficient telephone directory or
`database to quickly connect to the appropriate information
`source. Product pricing information often requires a bar-
`code reader, i.e., a device for scanning the bar code, or
`universal product code (UPC), of a product, which is only
`available at the cashier’s station. Too often such attempts to
`gain information results in wasted time.
`Another problem with portable telephones is their poten-
`tial for insidiously causing cancer in sensitive organs such as
`the brain. Because the radio frequency (rf) transmitter and
`antenna of the wireless telephone is the source of potentially
`cancer-causing electromagnetic wave radiation (EMWR)
`and is positioned near the head when the user telephones, the
`head area receives the highest radiation dose. An additional
`potential health hazard of such telephones is their suspected
`interference with cardiac pacemakers.
`Lack of timely information about traffic congestion each
`year can cumulatively amount to several days taken from
`commuters’ lives, as much as two weeks worth of eight-hour
`days in the largest cities, and, with fewer new highways
`under construction, the losses can be expected to rise. With
`better and more timely information about
`traffic, which
`includes aircraft, watercraft, etc., some traffic jams could be
`avoided. However, even after years of existence of the
`Intelligent Vehicle Highway System initiative,
`little
`improvement has been forthcoming. Currently, generally
`available traffic advisory information is limited to the air-
`borne radio report which only functions after a traffic
`slowdown happens to be spotted. Any solution to this
`problem must be cheap, simple, and ubiquitous.
`Timely and reproducible information about situations
`involving criminal acts would serve to reduce their numbers
`by deterring the perpetrators. For example, if cameras were
`commonly carried by people, the probability of perpetrators
`being photographed and identified increases. A digital cam-
`era built in to a portable computer device or telephone could
`share some of the circuitry to reduce the marginal cost of
`adding it. Such a camera could also serve to record travel
`scenes, copy documents, and, for the solution to be widely
`embraced, provide entertainment for users.
`Information about places and their events, situation
`information, helps people to function closer to their poten-
`tial. Such information resides available, but largely inacces-
`sible because it lies unindexed and distributed in a plethora
`of largely local repositories. The lack of access to situation
`information is largely a technological problem the solution
`for which includes elements of business,
`the Internet,
`entertainment, communications, and computer technology.
`In order for a solution to be workable and universally
`embraced, it must also be distributed, put into the hands of
`average people.
`
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`6,091,956
`
`3
`BACKGROUND—DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
`
`Finding the location of radios, including transmitters and
`transponders,
`through various methods including
`chronometrical, i.e., time measuring, triangulation is well
`understood. The U.S. Global Positioning by Satellite (GPS)
`System and the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System
`(GLONASS), collectively referred to herein as the satellite
`positioning system or GPS, are comparatively recent per-
`mutations of these methods which provide precise time
`signals for mobile receivers to compute their location. GPS
`signals are often obscured in environments of hills or tall
`buildings.
`Methods of using rf signals from various sources for
`location finding are well known. McEwen U.S. Pat. No.
`5,589,838 (1996) shows a mobile transmitter emitting pulse
`groups which are then triangulated by multiple stationary,
`self-gating pulsing receivers;
`the receivers must process
`large data sets in order to resolve each transmitter’s location.
`Jandrell U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,357 (1996) shows a multilat-
`erating communications system using mobile transponders
`for intercommunication and locating. Duffet-Smith U.S. Pat.
`No. 5,045,861 (1991) shows a method of determining the
`location of a roving receiver by way of computing the phase
`difference of multiple signals from multiple transmitters.
`Methods using combinations of satellite and wireless
`communications for fleet operations include Barzegar et al.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,520 (1996) which shows a vehicle
`routing system with GPS and an on-board locator control
`module with storage which provides modifiable route
`information, received data with location markers (which
`term, markers, is neither clear nor defined) and alarms to
`alert a central dispatcher of deviation from an defined,
`assigned route. Similarly, Schreder U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,482
`(1996) shows a GPS navigation system with complex
`on-board digital map storage, interfaces to vehicle control
`systems, route processing to destination, etc. Paul U.S. Pat.
`No. 5,524,081 (1996) shows a system of GPS-signal-
`receiving vehicles with preloaded golf-course information
`and a base station which provides differential
`location
`correction and information specific to the vehicle’s location
`on a golf course. However, with thousands of mobile
`transmitters, such as motor vehicles on crowded freeways,
`or widely ranging systems traveling to diverse destinations,
`the forementioned prior art would require unworkably large,
`diflicult to update, on-board locator data modules or data
`bases. Such systems would suffer from the centralized nature
`of their information sources and would therefore be subject
`to complex data processing and data updating burdens which
`no ordinary user could perform as the logistics would be
`unworkable.
`
`Other location-related prior art includes Penny, Jr. et al.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,432 (1995) showing a locating trans-
`ceiver with GPS optionally included in a portable radio
`which transmits a rescue message. Simms et al. U.S. Pat. No.
`5,334,974 (1994) shows a mobile security system which
`transmits position information to a central console map and
`dispatcher for providing emergency service. Finally, Krenzel
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,915 (1992) shows a dedicated emer-
`gency information gathering system which provides infor-
`mation to a central analysis location. Such prior art systems
`address infrequent events as opposed to the need for con-
`tinuing information flow in many people’s daily lives.
`Prior art addressing vehicle traffic congestion and navi-
`gation includes Sone U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,200 (1994) show-
`ing a centralized traffic congestion display system with
`directional arrows to indicate the location and direction of
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`travel of the congested traffic. Sumner U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,
`555 (1993) and Sumner U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,691 (1992)
`show a messaging system and data fusion system,
`respectively, for an elaborate, centralized traffic congestion
`information system. Such systems, with their centralized
`information processing systems, prove expensive to build
`and maintain and are prone to failure. Barbiaux et al. U.S.
`Pat. No. 4,804,937 (1989) shows a wireless vehicle moni-
`toring system for fleet operations which provides vehicle
`operational data to a central database.
`Prior art relating to further aspects of subject invention
`include Montague et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,589 (1996)
`showing a wireless ordering system for food service appli-
`cations; Register U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,038 (1995) showing a
`recharging and data-transfer docking bracket which accepts
`a handheld computer; Hanson U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,188
`(1993) shows a handheld data terminal with the capability to
`link with an rf communications computer; Kelly et al. U.S.
`Pat. No. 5,184,314 (1993) showing a mobile data commu-
`nications terminal with docking bracket for an external
`antenna and keyboard interface to accept a handheld com-
`puter with rf communications capability; Davis U.S. Pat.
`No. 5,052,943 (1991) showing a recharging and data transfer
`bracket for receiving an elongate handheld computer; and
`Girouard et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,346 (1991) which shows
`a fixed-location kiosk for retail-mall promotion applications.
`While the subject matter of the latter six prior-art exhibits
`pertain to aspects of subject invention, none provide the
`handheld computer and communications characteristics that
`a time and place-critical information system demands.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The Situation Information System relates to information
`communications between sources of timely information and
`one or more information users which also provide informa-
`tion to other users. Broadly stated, situation information
`pertains to information about events or conditions associated
`with places which the mobile user may encounter or con-
`sider visiting. It particularly includes events occurring or
`about to occur in a locus accessible to the mobile user and
`
`to which the user may arbitrarily choose to respond by
`visiting one or more of the events, avoiding them entirely,
`communicating them to another person, rectifying them, or
`otherwise modifying plans and itineraries in light of such
`events. Sources of situation information are databases of
`local information and information from users themselves.
`
`the situation information system provides
`Additionally,
`users with up-to-date map-tracking information relating
`their location to events and situations as well as enabling
`them to respond in a timely manner.
`A comparatively simple area-data communications sys-
`tem operates using high frequencies at sufficiently low
`power levels to avoid interference with neighboring sys-
`tems. For example, in substantially enclosed areas a system
`consisting of multiple transceivers transmit a query signal to
`mobile transponder devices included in handheld personal
`computing devices. When the transponder responds with its
`identification sequence,
`its location is then computed
`through chronometric triangulation based upon transponder
`signal arrival times at the system receivers.
`In cities having “urban canyons” formed by tall, close
`buildings, Global Positioning System (GPS), meaning the
`global satellite positioning system such as GPS, GLONASS,
`or other systems, signals are further degraded by multiple-
`path interference and signal-acquisition failure. In such an
`environment transponders and receivers could use the rf
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`6,091,956
`
`5
`signal from a satellite positioning system as a timing signal
`as the source of a gating pulse or trigger to coordinate their
`functions. In this mode, upon receipt of the satellite clocking
`signal, the transponder transmits its signal while, at the same
`instant, local receivers begin counting in order to quantify
`the elapsed time preceding their receipt of the transponder
`signal emitted by the device. Thus, device and transponder
`location is then calculated chronometrically from the
`elapsed time, net of internal device delays, etc., at each of
`multiple triangulating receivers. In these location-finding
`systems, position resolution to within a few feet is possible
`in an otherwise obscuring topography.
`In the preferred embodiment, a situation information
`system consists of at least one mobile computer with mul-
`tiple transmitters and receivers,
`i.e.,
`radios, a known-
`location information service provider including one or more
`radios, accessible network, computer equipment with
`memory, which term includes storage, drives, and RAM
`units, and computer programs to provide for eflicient situ-
`ation information exchange between them. The mobile com-
`puter’s transmitters and receivers include a receiver for
`satellite positioning system signals, such as GPS or
`GLONASS, a transceiver for wireless voice and data tele-
`communications capability, and a transponding transceiver
`for location finding in topographically complex,
`that
`is,
`mountainous areas or areas surrounded by buildings, e.g., in
`urban “canyons” and those enclosed within buildings, such
`as shopping malls.
`These radios can be produced in the form of multiple
`frequency radios to reduce cost and size, by requiring only
`a single set of components, and function as many different
`radios depending upon their operating parameters.
`Alternatively,
`increasing capacities of the digital signal
`processor (DSP), currently lead by a chip capable of per-
`forming up to 1,600 million instructions per second, augurs
`the coming of so-called software radios in which virtually all
`rf processing functions will be performed in solid-state
`devices such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) methods. In the
`next few years wireless telephones with software transceiv-
`ers appearing on the market will offer selectable protocols
`and frequencies for GSM, CDMA, PCS, etc. Smart antennas
`will continue to improve and provide greater selective
`directionality to further enhance the efficient use of rf
`spectrum, which, along with the advantages of digital
`communications, promises to provide an abundance of chan-
`nel capacity.
`One such transceiver of subject invention provides voice
`communications which, because it is desirable that the form
`factor of the situation information device provide a usefully
`large display or graphical display unit (GDU), which term
`includes all forms of sensory media such as tactile and aural
`as well as visual, and militates against an integral telephone
`ear piece or telephone speaker and a telephone mouth piece
`or telephone microphone, separate the foregoing parts from
`the rf processing section in the form of a separate handset.
`The handset, removably stored in or upon the case of the
`situation information device, contains the aforementioned
`speaker and microphone components and is connected to the
`rf section by an extendible cord attached to a reel. The
`handset may alternately communicate to the radio section of
`the situation information device by way of a photonic link,
`which includes an infrared (IR) media link, providing the
`microphone and speaker signals are appropriately converted
`by analog-digital and digital-analog techniques,
`respec-
`tively.
`Although the small form factor customary of mobile
`telephones is sacrificed in the aforementioned arrangement,
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`other benefits accrue to users of subject invention. First,
`because the handset
`is physically removed from the rf
`antenna of situation information device when in use, rf or
`EMW radiation to the head is reduced considerably. By
`holding the combination display unit and radiative transmit-
`ter and antenna away from the body—at arm’s length, if
`convenient—harmful radiation exposure is reduced by at
`least two orders of magnitude. Radiation intensity varies in
`inverse proportion to the square of the factor of difference in
`the distance. Thus, by moving the rf transmitting antenna
`from about two inches from the brain, as it is in integrated-
`unit mobile telephones, to twenty inches away, radiation
`exposure to the organ is reduced to a mere one per cent of
`the original intensity.
`Secondly, to increase the situation information capability
`of the system, peripheral devices such as a bar-code reader
`and a digital camera, which term, peripheral devices, also
`includes keyboards, printers, and other input/output equip-
`ment. The digital camera, because of the decreasing size of
`its components, for example, the lens and the resulting tiny
`aperture, can serve to copy documents and can be fit into the
`handset. In such a configuration, these peripheral devices
`can share electronic components such as computer central
`processing unit, DSP unit, memory, storage, and rf units, as
`appropriate, to avoid cost and space requirements of their
`duplication. Included also is a wireless, meaning all photo-
`nic media such as infrared, data interface for wirelessly
`connecting to peripheral devices, including the aforemen-
`tioned handset, or suitably equipped computers such as the
`desktop personal computer (PC).
`Subject invention would prove useful to, for example,
`visitors driving into an unfamiliar city. They would want to
`know about hotel accommodations and restaurant offerings
`in the city as they approached it. While reviewing the hotel
`situation information, for example,
`their electronic map
`would show traffic congestion forming in their path and they
`may choose to take a more immediate exit in order to avoid
`congestion. They would review hotels having vacancies and
`special offers in their price range and negotiate reservations
`by telephone or electronic mail (e-mail). Additionally, the
`visitors could arrange their stay’s agenda by reviewing the
`area’s attractions and entertainment offerings while homing
`in on their chosen hotel using the digital map which would
`show their position relative to their goal. As they approached
`their hotel,
`the map display would zoom in to reveal
`increasing detail, ultimately positioning them at the hotel’s
`entrance. Upon their arrival and because the staff, using their
`hotel computer, would be able to monitor the visitors’
`progress, the visitors could be greeted by name.
`Removed from its bracket mounted inside their
`
`automobile, the visitors could carry their situation informa-
`tion device with them as they explore the city on foot and use
`it to learn about the city as they approach historical sites and
`attractions. While visiting a department store, one visitor
`could take a digital photograph of the other modeling a
`potential clothing purchase using the camera built into their
`situation information device. The trial fitting and photo-
`graphing might continue at other stores so that the fit of the
`clothes from different stores can be viewed on the display
`and compared later. Next they might visit an attraction in the
`area such as a zoo or wildlife preserve and use the bar-code
`reader built into their situation information device to search
`
`and receive additional information about plants, animals,
`environments, and histories of specimens they encounter.
`Similarly, they could enter and record the organisms’ names
`and natural histories into their device as they photograph
`them.
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`The same visitors the following day at the department
`store could use their situation information device to search
`
`the store’s gift suggestions to choose presents to give to their
`grandchildren upon their
`return home. Their indicated
`position, which is conveniently tracked for them on the
`store’s floor plan shown on their display, would speed them
`on their way to the various items they’ve selected for
`viewing. The bar codes of those items selected could then be
`scanned into their device, as well as that of the chosen
`clothing article, and, with their charge-card information
`transmitted automatically to the store’s system and verified,
`the transaction could be completed with dispatch.
`Such a system, which allows the store to provide its
`information and message to potential customers who are
`opportunely traveling nearby, stands a better chance of
`enticing them to visit: getting a customer who is driving
`along a nearby street into the store is easier than motivating
`him or her to leave home or work, get in the car, endure
`traffic, find parking, etc.
`Further, a networked store could benefit by directing
`employees’ activities to more profitable tasks like providing
`better customer service, for example. Extending the idea
`further, a customer possessing a device with a communica-
`tion link to information from the store’s product database, a
`terminal device for querying the database, and a bar-code
`reader, could shop for merchandise without the assistance of
`store personnel. With appropriate prior credit arrangements,
`the shopper could collect and price his or her merchandise,
`electronically execute the charge instrument for the pur-
`chased items, and exit.
`In such a scenario, a local extranet and customer-carried
`display device could provide a new type of promotion and
`advertising medium. For example, knowing a person’s
`location, the networked store could increase customer traffic
`by transmitting special offers directly to the willing custom-
`er’s device. An additional benefit is that customers can
`
`receive services like maps and other aids to help them find
`their way around the store or shopping mall to the desired
`merchandise or store, respectively.
`Situation information devices could also provide addi-
`tional digital information services such as electronic mail,
`entertainment, games, news, television, particularly digital
`TV, and access to other networks, including the Internet, for
`example. The requisite services could also be provided by a
`store, a restaurant, or a shopping district association to
`promote a steady clientele.
`Subject invention also a provides a resource for foreign or
`physically impaired visitors who lose their way in an area
`without situation information services is a device with which
`
`they could transmit a digital photograph of their location to
`local authorities who, after identifying their location, could
`orient them. Alternatively, the posts of street signs could
`carry an appropriately located bar code label which, when
`scanned with a bar-code reader, would instantly reveal the
`reader’s location and the names of nearby streets, etc. A
`mobile computer and wireless telephone with peripheral
`devices built-in, such as a telephone handset, a digital
`camera, and a bar-code reader would enhance visitors’
`exploration and enjoyment of an area.
`With camera and bar-code reader combined with the
`
`telephone handset, users would require a single element to
`perform all three functions. Also, many of the same elec-
`tronic components could provide function to each of the
`peripheral devices, for example, the digital computer could
`provide much of the digital processing for the peripheral
`devices. The housing of a usefully large display could also
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`provide convenient attachment for the removable telephone
`handset with integral camera and bar-code reader. Further,
`the radio transmitter section of the wireless telephone could
`be separated and located within the display section;
`the
`transmitter would then communicate with the handset
`through retractable wire or a wireless link such as infrared.
`Area services and public safety personnel could do their
`jobs faster and more effectively with a ready source of
`situation information at their fingertips. For example, traffic
`congestion and emergency-situation information can be pro-
`vided to approaching motorists and distant emergency deci-
`sion makers, respectively, by those on the scene equipped
`with camera and communication capabilities. Digital pho-
`tographs or video recordings of the scene could be quickly
`transmitted to those who evaluate emergency-situation
`information. In the case of vehicular traffic congestion, the
`vehicle’s location, speed, and travel-direction data could be
`collected and redistributed as real-time, graphical, traffic-
`situation information. Thus, vehicle operators could avoid
`traffic situations that lay in their paths. Motorists encoun-
`tering accidents could transmit digital photographs to the
`emergency-response dispatch center. Accident victims could
`also record traffic-accident details, drivers involved, drivers’
`identification, license-plate numbers, etc., as corroborating
`visual information.
`
`In yet another embodiment of subject invention the situ-
`ation information device would connect to external systems,
`that
`is, systems which are substantially external
`to the
`situation information device, such as electrical power from
`the vehicle’s electrical system, exterior antennas, vehicle
`digital network, and other peripheral devices like a key-
`board. For example, after driving to the shopping area users
`connect to peripheral devices enabling them to send and
`receive e-mail, print files, etc.
`invention is a
`In yet another embodiment of subject
`distributed system of information service providers which
`provide data about geographical features, services, and
`attractions in their local area and transmit that data to mobile
`
`devices for display. Data such as mileage to various
`municipalities, services, and attractions using a location-
`specific information sequence for
`fast
`transmission to
`mobile devices which display the mapped information,
`compute distances from the mobile device’s current
`position, etc. Each feature is identified by a code or byte
`sequence containing fields for the name, global location, and
`if applicable, Universal Resource Locator (URL), as well as
`variables for formatting and graphical symbol to be dis-
`played or otherwise executed, aurally, for example. In oper-
`ating such a system, users of mobile devices with narrow
`bandwidth, i.e., slow communications devices, could receive
`the important subset of mapping elements for a given area
`quickly. For example, they could receive elements such as
`main roads and cities and the separation, i.e., mileages and
`transit time, between them with which their mobile device
`could compute their mileage and the estimated time before
`arriving. Also, the mobile device itself could store standard
`graphical symbols for even more rapid display of such map
`features in the locations specified by the downloaded map-
`ping information. Devices could then download additional
`information, including detailed maps,