Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Three-dimension
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-23
2004-04-20
Jankus, Almis R. (Department: 2671)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Three-dimension
Reexamination Certificate
active
06724382
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of information processing. More specifically the present invention relates to the electronic distribution and display of maps.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
People at times are presented with an identifier of an unfamiliar location. For example, when looking up an auto repair business in the phone book, the user will have available to them the address of the repair shop. Assuming the person is unaware of the location of the shop, the person would desire to have some help in determining how to navigate to the shop. In general, people would like to have a graphical representation of the location with respect to its surroundings, e.g. a map. Frequently, with the ever-increasing capability and connectivity of the Personal Computer (PC), the location of interest is provided, in some manner, via the PC. Examples of how the locations of interest are provided via the PC include; email from a friend containing the address of a social event, a website containing the address of the local salesroom for a company, and the longitude and latitude of a popular hiking destination via a popular outdoor magazine website.
There are currently several websites that offer the capability for a user to obtain a graphical representation, i.e. a map, of a street address. In response to providing the address, the user will be provided a map that shows the area surrounding the provided street address. On this provided map, the user will be able to perform various operations. One of these operations is zooming in and out on a map. Zooming is the ability to see more or less of an area surrounding the requested location. This usually happens at the expense of resolution since one is looking at a greater area in the same amount of view space. Another ability is the ability to “pan” in any direction that the user chooses. In other words, to have the map stay at a given level of resolution but have the map “move” the area covered by the current view space in a particular direction.
The most notable deficiency with the current map serving products is that the time required to have a map provided to a user can be lengthy. This is because of the method by which the current map servers provide the maps. First, the address is provided to the server by the user from the client machine. Second, the server will generate, in real time, a map containing the address provided to the server from the client. Finally, when the generation of the map on the server is complete, the map image is sent to the client from the server. Each subsequently required map, i.e. as a result of the user zooming or panning, is also generated and delivered in this real-time manner. The use of one of these prior art products demonstrates the negative effects associated with the dynamic generating of these maps. These negative effects are the major motivations for the present invention. The reason that dynamically generating a map is an issue is two-fold. First, the processing power required to generate real-time graphics is extensive. Second, the use of real-time graphics for each map implies generation of a new map with every request associated with an existing map.
Since the prior art process involves the real-time generation of the graphical images, the server will be spending time generating these images real-time. Map generation on the server is a relatively time consuming process and can make the overall processing time of getting the map to the user quite lengthy. This is especially true as the connection speeds with which most users access the Internet increases. As the user access speed increases, the time that it takes to transfer the bit map to the user become less of a factor thus making the map generation delay even more noticeable.
There is another consequence of the real time generation of graphical images. As previously mentioned it requires processing power to produce real time graphical images. To provide the ability to service many clients with real-time maps would require significant processing power. Therefore a site wishing to provide maps to a large number of clients will need to either have access to a great deal of processing horsepower or have a large delay for users while the requests for maps are queued. Neither requiring the server owner to provide more processing power nor having a large delay for users waiting for maps is a desirable trade-off.
The second reason that dynamically generated maps are an issue is that every map is custom. Specifically the deficiency has to do with the inability to manipulate a map once it has been provided to the client. Frequently, the user may want to see a different area relative to the location of interest (e.g. to pan or move the current display). The current solutions current solutions always contact the server. The server generates another map in real-time and this map is sent to the requesting user. This generation of a new map every time that a user requests a new view is frustrating to the user.
Thus a more effective approach in providing and delivering maps to the user is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for distributing and displaying maps to a client. A client provides an identifier of a requested location to a map server. The map server has available to it a plurality of preexisting map tiles collectively covering the area supported by the particular map server. For example, if a map server is to provide information about the area covered by a particular country, it is pre-provisioned with the map tiles that cover the country. The supported area will be divided into a plurality of zones. Each zone will be represented by one map tile. The server will determine which map tile in the plurality of preexisting map tiles contains a representation of the requested location. The server will send at least this map tile to the client.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the location requested is provided in the form of a street address. In an alternative embodiment, the location is requested in the form of longitude and latitude. For either case, the server will send, in addition to the map tile, an indication of, or the logic to generate such indication, where on the map the location of the requested street address or the longitude and latitude would reside. The client will then add a marking on the map, prior to displaying it to the user, which indicates the location on the map of the requested longitude and latitude. The indicator is rendered by the client along with the “visible portion” of the map tiles.
When a supported area is divided into zones, as in the case with the present invention, there will, in most cases, be zones that are immediately adjacent to the central zone. The central zone is the zone which contains the requested location. In an embodiment of the present invention, a set of preexisting map tiles of the zones immediately adjacent to the central zone will also be sent to the client. The combination of all of the zones immediately adjacent to the central zone combined with the central zone itself will be termed the first inner area. In another embodiment of the current invention, a second set of preexisting map tiles representing the zones immediately adjacent to the first inner area are also sent to the client in addition to the first set of preexisting maps corresponding to the zones immediately adjacent to the central zone. The combination of the first inner area with the zones immediately adjacent to the first inner area will be termed the second inner area.
In one embodiment, each of the pre-existing map tiles also has a corresponding miniaturized version, and the miniaturized versions are sent to the client along with the corresponding “full sized” versions of the map tiles. For the “initial” request, certain “mini-map” processing logic are also sent. The “min-map” processing logic causes a mini-map of the “greater area” to be formed and displayed on the client, using the miniaturized versions of the map ti
Kenyon Jeremy A.
Law Mark N.
Jankus Almis R.
Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt P.C.
WildTangent, Inc.
LandOfFree
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