Organizing Digital Images Based on Locations of Capture

• US 20100171763A1
• Filed: 08/21/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Martin, Timothy B., Lindley, Gregory Charles, Fagans, Joshua, Bhatt, Nikhil, Hanson, Eric, Gilley, Greg
• Application Number:
  US12/545,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20100171763A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/660
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for organizing digital images based on locations of capture. On a small scale map of a geographic region that is displayed on a device, an object representing digital media items associated with a location in the geographic region are displayed. In response to receiving an input to display a portion of the map that includes the object, in a larger scale, multiple objects are displayed in the larger scale map, each of which represent a location of at least one of the multiple digital media items represented by the object in the small scale.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more computers, wherein at least one computer is coupled to a display device; and

a computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

displaying in a map of a geographic region on the display device, a first object representing a plurality of digital media items associated with a location in the geographic region;

receiving an input to display a portion of the map in a larger scale, wherein the portion of the map represents a geographic area including the location of the object; and

in response to receiving the input, displaying a plurality of second objects in the map of the geographic area, each of the plurality of second objects representing a location of at least one of the plurality of digital media items.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of digital items comprise digital photographs.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the location of the first object in the map represents a region in which the plurality of digital photographs were captured.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of second objects represents a subset of the plurality of digital media items associated with the first object.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein, in response to receiving the input, display of the first object is terminated.

6. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

receiving input to display the map in a smaller scale, the received input causing the map of the geographic region to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic area; and

displaying the first object representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the plurality of second objects.

7. A computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

displaying in a map of a geographic region on the display device, a first object representing a plurality of digital media items associated with a location in the geographic region;

receiving an input to display a portion of the map in a larger scale, wherein the portion of the map represents a geographic area including the location of the object; and

in response to receiving the input, displaying a plurality of second objects in the map of the geographic area, each of the plurality of second objects representing a location of at least one of the plurality of digital media items.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of digital items comprise digital photographs.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the location of the first object in the map represents a region in which the plurality of digital photographs were captured.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of second objects represents a subset of the plurality of digital media items associated with the first object.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein, in response to receiving the input, display of the first object is terminated.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

receiving input to display the map in a smaller scale, the received input causing the map of the geographic region to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic area; and

displaying the first object representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the plurality of second objects.

13. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying in a map of a geographic region on the display device, a first object representing a plurality of digital media items associated with a location in the geographic region;

receiving an input to display a portion of the map in a larger scale, wherein the portion of the map represents a geographic area including the location of the object; and

in response to receiving the input, displaying a plurality of second objects in the map of the geographic area, each of the plurality of second objects representing a location of at least one of the plurality of digital media items.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of digital items comprise digital photographs.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the location of the first object in the map represents a region in which the plurality of digital photographs were captured.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of second objects represents a subset of the plurality of digital media items associated with the first object.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, in response to receiving the input, display of the first object is terminated.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving input to display the map in a smaller scale, the received input causing the map of the geographic region to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic area; and

displaying the first object representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the plurality of second objects.

19. A computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

displaying, in a display device, a plurality of objects representing a corresponding plurality of digital media items in a map of a geographic area that is also displayed in the display device, wherein a location of each object in the map represents a corresponding geographic location of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic area;

receiving an input to zoom out to a geographic region that includes the geographic area, the input causing a map of the geographic region to be displayed in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying an object in the map of the geographic region that collectively represents the plurality of digital media items, wherein a location of the object collectively represents geographic locations of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic region.

20. The medium of claim 19, the operations further comprising:

receiving a new input to zoom into the geographic area, the new input causing the map of the geographic area to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic region; and

in response to the receiving, displaying the plurality of objects representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the object.

21. A system comprising:

one or more computers, wherein at least one computer is coupled to a display device; and

a computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

displaying, in a display device, a plurality of objects representing a corresponding plurality of digital media items in a map of a geographic area that is also displayed in the display device, wherein a location of each object in the map represents a corresponding geographic location of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic area;

receiving an input to zoom out to a geographic region that includes the geographic area, the input causing a map of the geographic region to be displayed in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying an object in the map of the geographic region that collectively represents the plurality of digital media items, wherein a location of the object collectively represents geographic locations of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic region.

22. The system of claim 21, the operations further comprising:

receiving a new input to zoom into the geographic area, the new input causing the map of the geographic area to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic region; and

in response to the receiving, displaying the plurality of objects representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the object.

23. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying, in a display device, a plurality of objects representing a corresponding plurality of digital media items in a map of a geographic area that is also displayed in the display device, wherein a location of each object in the map represents a corresponding geographic location of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic area;

receiving an input to zoom out to a geographic region that includes the geographic area, the input causing a map of the geographic region to be displayed in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying an object in the map of the geographic region that collectively represents the plurality of digital media items, wherein a location of the object collectively represents geographic locations of the corresponding digital media item in the geographic region.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving a new input to zoom into the geographic area, the new input causing the map of the geographic area to be displayed in place of the map of the geographic region; and

in response to the receiving, displaying the plurality of objects representing the plurality of digital media items in place of the object.

25. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying a plurality of objects in a map of a geographic region displayed in a display device, each of the plurality of objects representing one or more locations of a plurality of locations, wherein each of the plurality of objects are related to one or more digital media items;

receiving an input to change a zoom level of the map, the input causing a new map of a new geographic region to be displayed in place of the map in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying one or more new objects representing corresponding one or more new locations within the new geographic region, wherein a number of the one or more objects is altered from a number of the plurality of objects based on the change to the zoom level of the map.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom into the map of the geographic region, the method further comprising:

determining that a new object of the one or more new objects represents more than one location of the plurality of locations;

dividing the new object into additional new objects, each additional new object representing one or more locations of the plurality of locations; and

displaying the additional new objects in the new map.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom out of the map of the geographic region, the method further comprising:

determining that a region of the new map includes a region in which more than one object of the plurality of objects are included;

coalescing the more than one object into a new object; and

displaying the new object in the new map.

28. A computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

displaying a plurality of objects in a map of a geographic region displayed in a display device, each of the plurality of objects representing one or more locations of a plurality of locations, wherein each of the plurality of objects are related to one or more digital media items;

receiving an input to change a zoom level of the map, the input causing a new map of a new geographic region to be displayed in place of the map in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying one or more new objects representing corresponding one or more new locations within the new geographic region, wherein a number of the one or more objects is altered from a number of the plurality of objects based on the change to the zoom level of the map.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom into the map of the geographic region, the operations further comprising:

determining that a new object of the one or more new objects represents more than one location of the plurality of locations;

dividing the new object into additional new objects, each additional new object representing one or more locations of the plurality of locations; and

displaying the additional new objects in the new map.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom out of the map of the geographic region, the operations further comprising:

determining that a region of the new map includes a region in which more than one object of the plurality of objects are included;

coalescing the more than one object into a new object; and

displaying the new object in the new map.

31. A system comprising:

one or more computers, wherein at least one computer is coupled to a display device; and

a computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

displaying a plurality of objects in a map of a geographic region displayed in a display device, each of the plurality of objects representing one or more locations of a plurality of locations, wherein each of the plurality of objects are related to one or more digital media items;

receiving an input to change a zoom level of the map, the input causing a new map of a new geographic region to be displayed in place of the map in the display device; and

in response to the receiving, displaying one or more new objects representing corresponding one or more new locations within the new geographic region, wherein a number of the one or more objects is altered from a number of the plurality of objects based on the change to the zoom level of the map.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom into the map of the geographic region, the operations further comprising:

determining that a new object of the one or more new objects represents more than one location of the plurality of locations;

dividing the new object into additional new objects, each additional new object representing one or more locations of the plurality of locations; and

displaying the additional new objects in the new map.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the input to change the zoom level is an input to zoom out of the map of the geographic region, the operations further comprising:

determining that a region of the new map includes a region in which more than one object of the plurality of objects are included;

coalescing the more than one object into a new object; and

displaying the new object in the new map.

34. A system comprising:

one or more computers, wherein at least one computer is coupled to a display device; and

a computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving a portion of a location name in a user interface displayed on the display device, wherein the location name is associated with an image;

retrieving a plurality of suggested names, wherein the plurality of suggested names alphabetically match the portion of the location name;

ordering the suggested names based on a relationship between each suggested name and a reference location to generate a selectable list of suggested names; and

displaying the selectable list of suggested names on the display device.

35. The system of claim 34, the operations further comprising receiving an additional portion of the location name and deleting from the selectable list one or more suggested names that do not alphabetically match the additional portion of the location name.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names comprises a distance between the reference location and a location associated with each of the suggested names, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the distance between the reference location and a location associated with a suggested name;

determining that the determined distance is less than or equal to a threshold distance; and

including the associated suggested name in the selectable list of suggested names.

37. The system of claim 34, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names is based on a number of images taken at a location corresponding to the suggested name, and wherein the operations further comprise:

ordering the selectable list of suggested names based on the number of images taken at each location corresponding to a suggested name.

38. A computer-readable medium tangibly encoding software instructions which are executable to cause one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a portion of a location name in a user interface displayed on the display device, wherein the location name is associated with an image;

retrieving a plurality of suggested names, wherein the plurality of suggested names alphabetically match the portion of the location name;

ordering the suggested names based on a relationship between each suggested name and a reference location to generate a selectable list of suggested names; and

displaying the selectable list of suggested names on the display device.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, the operations further comprising receiving an additional portion of the location name and deleting from the selectable list one or more suggested names that do not alphabetically match the additional portion of the location name.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names comprises a distance between the reference location and a location associated with each of the suggested names, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the distance between the reference location and a location associated with a suggested name;

determining that the determined distance is less than or equal to a threshold distance; and

including the associated suggested name in the selectable list of suggested names.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names is based on a number of images taken at a location corresponding to the suggested name, and wherein the operations further comprise:

ordering the selectable list of suggested names based on the number of images taken at each location corresponding to a suggested name.

42. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a portion of a location name in a user interface displayed on the display device, wherein the location name is associated with an image;

retrieving a plurality of suggested names, wherein the plurality of suggested names alphabetically match the portion of the location name;

ordering the suggested names based on a relationship between each suggested name and a reference location to generate a selectable list of suggested names; and

displaying the selectable list of suggested names on the display device.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising receiving an additional portion of the location name and deleting from the selectable list one or more suggested names that do not alphabetically match the additional portion of the location name.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names comprises a distance between the reference location and a location associated with each of the suggested names, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the distance between the reference location and a location associated with a suggested name;

determining that the determined distance is less than or equal to a threshold distance; and

including the associated suggested name in the selectable list of suggested names.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein the relationship between the reference location and each of the suggested names is based on a number of images taken at a location corresponding to the suggested name, and wherein the operations further comprise:

ordering the selectable list of suggested names based on the number of images taken at each location corresponding to a suggested name.