MAPPING APPLICATION WITH 3D PRESENTATION

• US 20130326425A1
• Filed: 09/30/2012
• Published: 12/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Forstall, Scott, Moore, Bradford A., van Os, Marcel, Blumenberg, Christopher, Vulcano, Emanuele, Law, Brady A., Piemonte, Patrick S., Ball, Matthew B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,367,959 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/851
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/00 : Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram star maps G09B27/04; devices for holding or supporting maps A47B97/02; for computing purposes G06G1/14, G09B1/16; display boards G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 : using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 : Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 : using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A device that includes at least one processing unit and stores a multi-mode mapping program for execution by the at least one processing unit is described. The program includes a user interface (UI). The UI includes a display area for displaying a two-dimensional (2D) presentation of a map or a three-dimensional (3D) presentation of the map. The UI includes a selectable 3D control for directing the program to transition between the 2D and 3D presentations.

Claims

1. A device comprising at least one processing unit, the device storing a multi-mode mapping program for execution by said at least one processing unit, the program comprising a user interface (UI), the UI comprising:

a display area for displaying a two-dimensional (2D) presentation of a map or a three-dimensional (3D) presentation of the map; and

a selectable 3D control for directing the program to transition between the 2D and 3D presentations.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the 3D control has a first appearance when displaying the 2D presentation of the map, and a second appearance when displaying the 3D presentation of the map.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the 3D control further has a third appearance when data is not available to present the 3D presentation of the map.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein data is not available to present the 3D presentation of the map when the program is displaying the map at a particular zoom level for which 3D data is not available.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the 3D control further has a third appearance when data is available to show buildings in the 3D presentation of the map.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the selection of the 3D control when it has the third appearance directs the program to provide a 3D presentation that includes 3D display of the buildings.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the 3D display of the buildings includes 3D animated renderings of the buildings that have been graphically generated.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the animated renderings are based on vertex data.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein the 3D display of the buildings includes 3D renderings of the buildings from raster image data generated from images captured by flying over the buildings.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the images are captured by a flying object, including at least one of a manned or unmanned plane, a helicopter, and a satellite.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a screen and a multi-touch interface for receiving multi-touch gestural inputs through the screen;

wherein the UI further comprises a gesture processing module for receiving gestural inputs from the multi-touch interface and translating a first type of gesture input to an instruction that directs the program to switch between the 2D and 3D presentations.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the first type of gestural input is a drag operation in a particular direction.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein each first-type gestural input comprises at least two different touch contacts that are ragged along the screen in the particular direction or within a threshold of the particular direction.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein in response to a second type of multi-touch input received through the multi-touch interface, the gestural processing module directs the program to rotate the 2D or 3D presentation that the program is displaying at the time that it receives the second type of multi-touch input.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the second type of multi-touch input is a multi-touch drag operation in which at least one detected touch moves at a particular angle with respect to another detected touch.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the UI further comprises a rendering module for rendering a 3D presentation of the map from a particular perspective view of a 3D map scene that includes constructs in the map;

wherein to render the 3D presentation, the rendering module defines a virtual camera to represent the particular perspective view, and moves the virtual camera in response to the second type of gestural input in order to rotate the virtual camera and change the perspective view for rendering the 3D map scene; and

wherein the rendering module moves the virtual camera for a duration of time after the multi-touch input that results in the second-type gestural input terminates in order to provide a degree of inertia motion for the multi-touch input.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein the UI further comprises a rendering module for rendering a 3D presentation of the map from a particular perspective view of a 3D map scene that includes constructs in the map;

wherein to render the 3D presentation, the rendering module defines a virtual camera to represent the particular perspective view, and moves the virtual camera in response to the received multi-touch input in order to change the perspective view for rendering the 3D map scene.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the rendering module moves the virtual camera for a duration of time after the multi-touch input terminates in order to provide a degree of inertia motion for the multi-touch input.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the rendering module (i) changes the perspective view of the 3D scene in response to the multi-touch input up to a particular maximum perspective view angle, and (ii) when the multi-touch input attempts to push the perspective view past the maximum perspective view angle, generates a bounce animation that shows the 3D map presentation as briefly bouncing to indicate that the maximum perspective view angle has been reached.

20. The device of claim 11, wherein the screen is a touch sensitive screen.

21. A machine readable medium storing a mapping program for execution by at least one processing unit of a device, the device comprising a touch-sensitive screen and a touch input interface, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

generating and displaying a two-dimensional (2D) presentation of a map;

generating and displaying a three-dimensional (3D) presentation of the map;

displaying a 3D control for transitioning from the 2D presentation to the 3D presentation;

receiving, from the touch input interface, a first touch input for selecting the 3D control;

receiving, from the touch input interface, a second touch input;

determining that the second touch input is a multi-touch gestural input for transitioning from the 2D presentation to the 3D presentation;

in response to the first or second touch input, directing the program to switch from the 2D presentation to the 3D presentation.

22. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein the second multi-touch input is a multi-touch drag operation in a particular direction;

wherein the multi-touch drag operation comprises at least two different touch contacts that are dragged along the screen in the particular direction or within a threshold of the particular direction.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the particular direction is an upward direction along a vertical axis of the map, and the multi-touch drag operation is a two finger draft operation.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein the program further comprises sets of instructions for:

receiving a third touch input through the multi-touch input interface;

determining that the third touch input is a multi-touch gestural for rotating the presentation;

in response to the third touch input, rotating the 2D or 3D presentation that is displayed at the time that the third touch input is received.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 24, wherein the second touch input is a multi-touch drag operation in which at least one detected touch moves at a particular angle with respect to another detected touch.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the 3D control comprises sets of instructions for:

displaying the 3D control with a first appearance when displaying the 2D presentation of the map;

displaying the 3D control with a second appearance when displaying the 3D presentation of the map.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 26, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the 3D control further comprises a set of instructions for displaying the 3D control with a third appearance when data is not available to present the 3D presentation of the map.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 27, wherein data is not available to present the 3D presentation of the map when the program is displaying the map at a particular zoom level for which 3D data is not available.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 21, wherein the set of instructions for generating the 3D presentation of the map comprises a set of instructions for rendering a 3D presentation of the map from a particular perspective view of a 3D map scene that includes constructs in the map.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 29, wherein the constructs in the map include roads, buildings, and other objects including trees.

31. The machine readable medium of claim 29, wherein the set of instructions for rendering comprises sets of instructions for:

defining a virtual camera to represent the particular perspective view;

moving the virtual camera in response to the received second touch input in order to change the perspective view for rendering the 3D map scene.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein the set of instructions for moving the virtual camera comprises a set of instructions for moving the virtual camera a duration of time after the second touch input terminates in order to provide a degree of inertia motion for the multi-touch input.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 32, wherein the set of instruction for moving the virtual camera further comprises a set of instruction for computing a velocity for moving the virtual camera while receiving the second touch input;

wherein the set of instructions for moving the virtual camera the duration of time after the second touch input terminates comprises sets of instructions for (i) gradually reducing the computed velocity for the virtual camera from the virtual camera'"'"'s velocity at the instance when the second touch input ended to zero during an inertial period of time for providing inertial movement, and (ii) moving the virtual camera during the inertial period based on the computed velocity.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 30, wherein the set of instructions for moving the virtual camera in response to the received second touch input comprises sets of instructions for:

reducing the speed of the movement of the virtual camera as the virtual camera passes a first perspective view angle while the second touch input is being received;

preventing the virtual camera from passing a second perspective view angle while the second touch input is being received;

when the virtual camera has reached the second perspective view angle, returning the virtual camera to a third perspective view angle that is between the first and second angles after the second touch input has ended,

said returning of the virtual camera to the second perspective view angle resulting in a bounce animation that indicates that the maximum perspective view angle has been reached and briefly exceeded.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein the set of instructions for moving the virtual camera comprises a set of instructions for moving the virtual camera moves along an arc and rotating the virtual camera upwards as the virtual camera moves down along the arc, wherein the first, second and third perspective view angles correspond to different positions of the virtual camera along the arc.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 29, wherein the set of instructions for rendering comprises sets of instructions for changing the perspective view of the 3D scene in response to the multi-touch input up to a particular maximum perspective view angle;

when the multi-touch input attempts to push the perspective view past the maximum perspective view angle, providing a bounce animation that shows the 3D map presentation as briefly bouncing to indicate that the maximum perspective view angle has been reached.