GEOSPATIAL SEARCH METHOD THAT PROVIDES FOR COLLABORATION

• US 20080228728A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Metacarta, Inc.
• Inventors: Frank, John R., Rauch, Erik M., Donoghue, Karen
• Application Number:
  US11/929,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20080228728A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• 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

A computer-implemented method involving a user communicating with a search engine that is also accessible by other users, the method involving: receiving a search query from the user and causing the search query to be submitted to the search engine; on a display device operated by the computer, displaying a multi-dimensional representation of a spatial domain along with search results supplied by the search engine in response to the search query; and on the display device, also displaying other information about the spatial domain, said other information including an indication of how many other users have previously viewed a representation that includes that spatial domain.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method involving a user communicating with a search engine that is also accessible by other users, said method comprising:

receiving a search query from the user and causing the search query to be submitted to the search engine;

on a display device operated by the computer, displaying a multi-dimensional representation of a spatial domain along with search results supplied by the search engine in response to the search query; and

on the display device, also displaying other information about the spatial domain, said other information including an indication of how many other users have previously viewed a representation that includes that spatial domain or a subset thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of how many other users have previously viewed a representation that includes that spatial domain is the number of the users who had previously viewed a representation that includes that spatial domain or a subset thereof during a predetermined time interval in the past.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed information also includes keywords that are relevant to that spatial domain.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the relevancy of the keywords to the spatial domain is determined at least in part by analyzing documents that refer to locations in the spatial domain.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the keywords relevant to the spatial domain includes words entered by other users when viewing the spatial domain or a portion thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the search query from the user comprises a free text query input and wherein the displayed information also includes other words that are related to the free text query input.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the other words that are related to the free text query input are obtained at least in part by analyzing free text input from the other users.

8. A computer-implemented method involving a user communicating with a search engine that is also accessible by other users, said method comprising:

receiving a search query from the user and submitting that search query to the search engine;

on a display device operated by the computer, displaying a multidimensional representation of a spatial domain along with search results supplied by the search engine in response to the search query; and

on the display device, also displaying other information about the spatial domain, said other information including a list of keywords relevant to the spatial domain.