Method, apparatus, and computer program product for providing a graphical user interface with a linear map component

• US 20040008225A1
• Filed: 07/11/2002
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Metrobot LLC
• Original Assignee: Metrobot LLC
• Inventors: Campbell, Geoffrey Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,076,505 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/764
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

The present invention comprises a method, apparatus, and computer program product for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) with a linear map component. A database that includes data representing transportation segments and point of interest (POI) features is employed. Once the desired location is determined, the data relating to it is extracted from the database and presented to the user in a GUI in which individual transportation segments along the predetermined route or projected path of travel are shown in a linear format. The linear formatted segments are oriented vertically in the map display or printout in order to easily accommodate the display of textual information and/or links associated with POIs along the path of travel. Further information is displayed pursuant to user selection of links or icons in the main GUI screen.

Claims

1. A method of operating a computer system to provide a graphical user interface with a linear map component, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a database comprising a plurality of transportation segments;

retrieving a data subset from said database and formatting said data subset into a linear format such that said transportation segments from said data subset which are contiguous segments, and which occur along a projected path of travel are formatted to be depicted in a substantially straight and collinear manner;

displaying said data subset in said linear format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said projected path of travel comprises said contiguous segments having an angle formed between the adjoining end portions that falls within a predetermined angle range.

3. The method in claim 2, wherein said database further comprises transportation segment names associated with said transportation segments, and wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said transportation segment names in said linear format, such that said transportation segment names are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

4. The method in claim 3, wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of transportation segment links associated with and depicted in proximity to said transportation segments in said linear format, and wherein said transportation segment links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the retrieval, formatting, and display of an associated subset of data in said linear format.

5. The method in claim 3, wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of a condition graphic, such that said condition graphic depicts conditions that exist in an individual transportation segment shown in said linear format, and wherein said condition graphic is located at a position along the depicted length of said individual transportation segment indicative of the relative position at which the condition occurs.

6. The method in claim 4, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

7. The method in claim 6, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional POI information.

8. The method in claim 2, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

9. The method in claim 8, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional POI information.

10. The method in claim 8, wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of said POI designators into a scrollable list box to be depicted in said linear format, such that said scrollable list box comprises a listing of said POI designators associated with one of said transportation segments in said projected path of travel.

11. The method in claim 10, wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments, and wherein the depicted portion of said listing of each of the scrollable list boxes shown in said linear format is modified by the movement of said UPI along said transportation segments such that the sliders and listings of said scrollable list boxes are scrolled to their topmost positions if said transportation segments to which they are associated appear entirely beneath an imaginary horizontal line through the center of said UPI, and the sliders and listings of said scrollable list boxes are scrolled to their bottommost positions if said transportation segments to which they are associated appear entirely above an imaginary horizontal line through the center of said UPI, and the sliders and listings of said scrollable list boxes are depicted as scrolled in proportion to the location of said UPI along the length of the associated transportation segment depicted in said linear format if the associated transportation segment is intersected by an imaginary horizontal line through the center of said UPI.

12. The method in claim 11, wherein said movement of said UPI includes updating the depicted location of said UPI in said linear format based upon location data received from a location determining device selected from the group consisting of a global positioning system receiver and a cellular telephone.

13. The method in claim 11, wherein said movement of said UPI includes the use of a manual input device.

14. The method in claim 3, wherein said linear format comprises a table written in a language selected from the group consisting of SGML, HTML, XML, XHTML, DHTML, and WML.

15. The method in claim 3, wherein the formatting step further comprises the formatting of a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments.

16. An apparatus for providing a graphical user interface with a linear map component, the apparatus comprising:

a memory which is able to store a database comprising a plurality of transportation segments;

a controller means which is operatively connected to said memory, and which is able to retrieve a data subset from said database, and wherein said controller means is further able to format said data subset into a linear format such that said transportation segments from said data subset which are contiguous segments, and which occur along a projected path of travel are formatted to be depicted in a substantially straight and collinear manner;

a display means which is operatively connected to said controller means for displaying said data subset in said linear format.

17. The apparatus in claim 16, wherein said database further comprises transportation segment names associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said transportation segment names in said linear format such that said transportation segment names are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

18. The apparatus in claim 17, wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of transportation segment links associated with and depicted in proximity to said transportation segments in said linear format, and wherein said transportation segment links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the retrieval, formatting, and display of an associated subset of data in said linear format.

19. The apparatus in claim 17, wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of a condition graphic, such that said condition graphic depicts conditions that exist in an individual transportation segment shown in said linear format, and wherein said condition graphic is located at a position along the depicted length of said individual transportation segment indicative of the relative position at which the condition occurs.

20. The apparatus in claim 18, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

21. The apparatus in claim 20, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional POI information.

22. The apparatus in claim 16, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

23. The apparatus in claim 22, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional point of interest information.

24. The apparatus in claim 22, wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of said POI designators into a scrollable list box to be depicted in said linear format, such that said scrollable list box comprises a listing of said POI designators associated with one of said transportation segments in said projected path of travel.

25. The apparatus in claim 24, wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments, and wherein the depicted portion of said listing of each of the scrollable list boxes shown in said linear format is modified by said controller means as a result of movement of said UPI along said transportation segments.

26. The apparatus in claim 25, wherein said movement of said UPI includes updating the depicted location of said UPI in said linear format based upon location data received from a location determining device selected from the group consisting of a global positioning system receiver and a cellular telephone.

27. The apparatus in claim 25, wherein said movement of said UPI comprises the use of a manual input device.

28. The apparatus in claim 17, wherein said linear format comprises a table written in a language selected from the group consisting of SGML, HTML, XML, XHTML, DHTML, and WML.

29. The apparatus in claim 17, wherein said controller means further comprises the formatting of a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having structured data and computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing a computer to provide a graphical user interface with a linear map component,

said structured data comprising:

a database comprising a plurality of transportation segments; and

said computer readable program code means comprising;

first computer readable program code means for causing said computer to retrieve a data subset from said database;

second computer readable program code means causing said computer to format said data subset into a linear format such that said transportation segments from said data subset which are contiguous segments, and which occur along a projected path of travel are formatted to be depicted in a substantially straight and collinear manner;

third computer readable program code means for causing said computer to display said data subset in said linear format.

31. The computer program product in claim 30, wherein said database further comprises transportation segment names associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said transportation segment names in said linear format such that said transportation segment names are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

32. The computer program product in claim 31, wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format transportation segment links associated with and depicted in proximity to said transportation segments in said linear format, and wherein said transportation segment links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the retrieval, formatting, and display of an associated subset of data in said linear format.

33. The computer program product in claim 31, wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format a condition graphic, such that said condition graphic depicts conditions that exist in an individual transportation segment shown in said linear format, and wherein said condition graphic is located at a position along the depicted length of said individual transportation segment indicative of the relative position at which the condition occurs.

34. The computer program product in claim 32, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

35. The computer program product in claim 34, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional point of interest information.

36. The computer program product in claim 30, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of point of interest (POI) designators associated with said transportation segments, and wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said POI designators in said linear format such that said POI designators are depicted in the proximity of said transportation segments to which they are associated.

37. The computer program product in claim 36, wherein said database further comprises a plurality of POI links associated with said POI designators, and wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said POI links in said linear format such that said POI links are depicted in the proximity of said POI designators to which they are associated, and wherein said POI links are user selectable elements that serve to initiate the display of additional POI information.

38. The computer program product in claim 36, wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format said POI designators into a scrollable list box to be depicted in said linear format, such that said scrollable list box comprises a listing of said POI designators associated with one of said transportation segments in said projected path of travel.

39. The computer program product in claim 38, wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments, and wherein the depicted portion of said listing of each of the scrollable list boxes shown in said linear format is modified by said computer readable program code means as a result of movement of said UPI along said transportation segments.

40. The computer program product in claim 39, wherein said movement of said UPI includes updating the depicted location of said UPI in said linear format based upon location data received from a location determining device selected from the group consisting of a global positioning system receiver and a cellular telephone.

41. The computer program product in claim 39, wherein said movement of said UPI comprises the use of a manual input device.

42. The computer program product in claim 31, wherein said linear format comprises a table written in a language selected from the group consisting of SGML, HTML, XML, XHTML, DHTML, and WML.

43. The computer program product in claim 31, wherein said second computer readable program code means further causes said computer to format a user position icon (UPI) to represent the position of the user at a location along the length of one of said transportation segments.