Apple granted two patents for mapping applications in CarPlay

Apple has been granted two patents involving the integration of its Maps app in CarPlay. Compatible with iPhone 5 and later models, CarPlay provides a simplified way to use your iPhone interface on a car’s touch screen, giving users access to Siri voice controls, as well as Apple Maps, Apple Music, Phone, Messages, and a variety of third party apps.

Patent number 20180238704 is for a “mapping application search function.” It involves a method for a mobile device connected to a vehicle’s interactive communication system that includes a display screen. The method identifies at least one search term from audio data received through the vehicle’s interactive communication system. 

At the mobile device (most likely an iPhone), the method performs a search to identify at least one location related to the identified search term. The method generates a map, that displays the identified location, for output on the display screen of the interactive communication system of the vehicle.

Patent number 20180238703 is for an “mapping application with turn-by-turn navigation mode for output to a vehicle display.” The navigation presentation includes an animated map showing at least a portion of a route to a destination. 

The method simultaneously displays info regarding a maneuver along the route on a display screen of the mobile device without displaying a same animated map on the mobile device. The displayed info regarding the maneuver may also offer a graphical instruction and a text instruction for a next maneuver along the route.