System and Method for Geographic Based Data Visualization and Extraction

• US 20110270705A1
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cheryl Parker
• Original Assignee: Cheryl Parker
• Inventors: Parker, Cheryl
• Granted Patent: US 8,799,812 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.61
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A displayed map is overlaid with a map-based graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI provides one or more related translucent views corresponding to the displayed map, where each view is associated with a dataset. The GUI also provides interlocked queries and analysis tools to probe the dataset. Each view comprises a polygon layer corresponding to the displayed map and a point layer corresponding to the displayed map, where the polygon layer and the point layer work in tandem to simultaneously display both aggregated and disaggregated data across the displayed map. A selection of a specific item of the point layer or a sub-region of the polygon layer is received from the user. In response, both the point layer and the polygon layer are modified so as to provide additional selectable information corresponding to the received selection and also additional selectable information that may be of interest to the user.

Claims

1. A method employed with regard to a computing system having a processor and a memory, the memory for storing instructions and the processor for retrieving the instructions from the memory and executing the retrieved instructions, the instructions comprising actions taken by the computing system to implement the method including:

displaying a map on a display associated with the computing system;

overlaying the displayed map with a map-based graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI providing a translucent view corresponding to the displayed map, the view being associated with a particular dataset, the GUI also providing interlocked queries and analysis tools to probe the dataset, the view comprising a polygon layer corresponding to the displayed map and a point layer corresponding to the displayed map, the polygon layer and the point layer working in tandem to simultaneously display both aggregated and disaggregated data across the displayed map;

the point layer overlaying the displayed map and showing for each of a plurality of specific items a location of the specific item on the displayed map, each shown item being tied to and listed in a selectable point list displayed by the GUI on the display;

the polygon layer overlaying the displayed map and showing a thematic display of information aggregated to sub-regions on the displayed map, the aggregated information for each sub-region being derived from the items in the point layer located on the displayed map within the sub-region;

receiving from the user a selection of one of the specific items of the point layer or one of the sub-regions of the polygon layer; and

modifying both the point layer and the polygon layer in response to the received selection so as to provide additional selectable information corresponding to the received selection and also to provide additional selectable information that may be of interest to the user.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising overlaying the map with a GUI providing a view associated with a time-series dataset, and further comprising receiving a command from the user to navigate among and display different time periods available from the time-series dataset, each time period differing from every other time period while the displayed map remains the same, whereby the user can review differing time periods of the time-series dataset for the same displayed map.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising overlaying the map with a GUI providing multiple translucent views corresponding to the displayed map, each view being associated with a differing dataset, and further comprising receiving a command from a user to navigate among and display individual ones of the views over the displayed map, each view and the corresponding dataset differing from every other view and the corresponding datasets while the displayed map remains the same, whereby the user can review the differing datasets for the same displayed map.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving a selection from the user of a global variable defining a type for the sub-regions in the polygon layer of the map, each sub-region in the polygon layer comprising a polygon defined according to the defined type.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the polygon layer overlaying the displayed map shows a thematic display of information aggregated to sub-regions on the displayed map, each sub-region being colored according to a color scale, the color of the sub-region corresponding to a magnitude of the aggregated information for the sub-region.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a selection from the user of an item from the displayed point list and simultaneously selecting the corresponding shown item from the point layer and also simultaneously selecting the corresponding sub-region of the polygon layer in which the shown item lies, or receiving a selection from the user of a shown item from the point layer and simultaneously selecting the corresponding item from the displayed point list and also simultaneously selecting the corresponding sub-region of the polygon layer in which the shown item lies, and displaying a map details box on the display, the displayed map details box having therein more detailed information about the selected item including a selectable link to a related service.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising rendering each shown item in the point layer as a spike, the spike having a height according to a height scale, the height of the spike corresponding to a magnitude of a pre-determined attribute associated with the shown item.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising dynamically redrawing the polygon layer with differing sub-regions depending upon a zoom level of the displayed map.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying a local area report corresponding to the view, the local area report including a map extent area report summarizing information in the point layer and polygon layer for the displayed map, and including a criteria input dialog for allowing the user to change variables by which to query for information corresponding to the displayed map, an interactive thematic legend associated with the polygon layer, and the selectable point list associated with the point layer.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving from the user a selection of a sub-region from the polygon layer, highlighting the selected region on the polygon layer, highlighting the selected region in a displayed region ranking list, highlighting any items of the point layer located inside/corresponding to the selected sub-region, and populating the selectable point list with information corresponding to the highlighted points, whereby the user may then select an item from the selectable point list for more information corresponding to the selected item.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying a selected area report corresponding to a selected sub-region, the selected area report including a selected area details report of aggregated statistics within a selected region, a statistical summary of the selected sub-region across various categories of data, and a listing of items in the selected sub-region, the listing of items having associated therewith a control by which the user can download the listing of items and data associated with each item in the listing of items, the statistical summary likewise having associated therewith a control by which the user can download the statistical summary and data associated therewith.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving from the user the particular dataset of the view, the received dataset including address-based data to be represented by items in the point layer and area-based data to be represented by sub-regions in the polygon layer.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising iteratively receiving from the user selections of items from the point layer, sub-regions from the polygon layer, and attributes used to query for items to be displayed in the point layer and sub-regions to be displayed in the polygon layer until the user settles on a list of items of interest and/or a list of sub-regions of interest, receiving from the user a request to download the settled list and data associated with each item or sub-region in the selected list.

14. A computing system having a processor, a memory, and a display, the memory for storing instructions and the processor for retrieving the instructions from the memory and executing the retrieved instructions, the instructions comprising actions taken by the computing system to show on the display:

a displayed map;

a map-based graphical user interface (GUI) overlaying the displayed map, the GUI providing a translucent view corresponding to the displayed map, the view being associated with a particular dataset, the GUI also providing interlocked queries and analysis tools to probe the dataset, the view comprising a polygon layer corresponding to the displayed map and a point layer corresponding to the displayed map, the polygon layer and the point layer working in tandem to simultaneously display both aggregated and disaggregated data across the displayed map;

the point layer overlaying the displayed map and showing for each of a plurality of specific items a location of the specific item on the displayed map, each shown item being tied to and listed in a selectable point list displayed by the GUI on the display;

the polygon layer overlaying the displayed map and showing a thematic display of information aggregated to sub-regions on the displayed map, the aggregated information for each sub-region being derived from the items in the point layer located on the displayed map within the sub-region;

the system upon receiving from the user a selection of one of the specific items of the point layer or one of the sub-regions of the polygon layer modifying both the point layer and the polygon layer in response to the received selection so as to provide additional selectable information corresponding to the received selection and also to provide additional selectable information that may be of interest to the user.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the display shows a GUI overlaying the map and providing a view associated with a time-series dataset, the system receiving commands from the user to navigate among and display different time periods available from the time-series dataset, each time period differing from every other time period while the displayed map remains the same, whereby the user can review differing time periods of the time-series dataset for the same displayed map.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the display shows a GUI overlaying the map and providing multiple translucent views corresponding to the displayed map, each view being associated with a differing dataset, the system receiving commands from a user to navigate among and display individual ones of the views over the displayed map, each view and the corresponding dataset differing from every other view and the corresponding datasets while the displayed map remains the same, whereby the user can review the differing datasets for the same displayed map.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the polygon layer overlaying the displayed map shows a thematic display of information aggregated to sub-regions on the displayed map, each sub-region being colored according to a color scale, the color of the sub-region corresponding to a magnitude of the aggregated information for the sub-region.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the display shows each shown item in the point layer as a spike, the spike having a height according to a height scale, the height of the spike corresponding to a magnitude of a pre-determined attribute associated with the shown item.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the display further shows a local area report corresponding to the view, the local area report including a map extent area report summarizing information in the point layer and polygon layer for the displayed map, and including a criteria input dialog for allowing the user to change variables by which to query for information corresponding to the displayed map, an interactive thematic legend associated with the polygon layer, and the selectable point list associated with the point layer.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the display further shows a selected area report corresponding to a selected sub-region, the selected area report including a selected area details report of aggregated statistics within a selected region, a statistical summary of the selected sub-region across various categories of data, and a listing of items in the selected sub-region, the listing of items having associated therewith a control by which a user can download the listing of items and data associated with each item in the listing of items, the statistical summary likewise having associated therewith a control by which the user can download the statistical summary and data associated therewith.

21. A method employed with regard to a computing system having a processor and a memory, the memory for storing instructions and the processor for retrieving the instructions from the memory and executing the retrieved instructions, the instructions comprising actions taken by the computing system to implement the method including:

displaying a map on a display associated with the computing system;

overlaying the displayed map with a map-based graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI providing a translucent view corresponding to the displayed map, the view being associated with a particular dataset, the GUI also providing interlocked queries and analysis tools to probe the dataset, the view comprising a polygon layer corresponding to the displayed map and a point layer corresponding to the displayed map, the polygon layer and the point layer working in tandem to simultaneously display both aggregated and disaggregated data across the displayed map;

the point layer overlaying the displayed map and showing for each of a plurality of specific items a location of the specific item on the displayed map, each shown item being tied to and listed in a selectable point list displayed by the GUI on the display;

the polygon layer overlaying the displayed map and showing a thematic display of information aggregated to sub-regions on the displayed map, the aggregated information for each sub-region being derived from the items in the point layer located on the displayed map within the sub-region;

receiving from the user a selection of one of the specific items of the point layer or one of the sub-regions of the polygon layer

modifying both the point layer and the polygon layer in response to the received selection so as to provide additional selectable information corresponding to the received selection and also to provide additional selectable information that may be of interest to the user;

displaying a report corresponding to a selection from the user, the report having associated therewith a control by which the user can download data relating to the report;

receiving from the user a selection of the control associated with the report and in response thereto engaging in a dialog with the user;

obtaining based on the dialog payment from the user for the data to be downloaded; and

downloading the data to the user upon obtaining the payment.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising providing the user with a sample of the data prior to downloading same, the sample being a subset of the data to be reviewed by the user, the user reviewing the sample to decide whether to submit payment for the data.

23. The method of claim 21 comprising overlaying the map with a GUI providing a view associated with a time-series dataset, and further comprising receiving a command from the user to navigate among and display different time periods available from the time-series dataset, each time period differing from every other time period while the displayed map remains the same, whereby the user can review differing time periods of the time-series dataset for the same displayed map, the method further comprising downloading the data including data relating to at least some of the different time periods available from the time-series dataset.