VERTICAL FLOOR EXPANSION ON AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL MAP

• US 20140245232A1
• Filed: 02/26/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Bailiang, Zhou
• Granted Patent: US 9,652,115 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/850
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/04815 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/016 Exploded view

Abstract

A digital map of a geographic area is displayed via a user interface, and a 3D representation of a multi-story building located in the geographic area is displayed on the digital map. The 3D representation includes multiple stacked floor maps corresponding to the floors of the multi-story building. In response to the detection of a pinch gesture that is applied to the 3D representation, a vertical distance between each floor map is expanded relative to the detected pinch gesture to reveal features of an internal map that corresponds to each floor map.

Claims

1. A method in a computing device having a user interface for providing an interactive display of multi-story buildings displayed on a digital map, wherein the user interface is configured to receive gesture-based input, the method comprising:

displaying a digital map of a geographic area via the user interface;

displaying, on the digital map, a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a multi-story building located in the geographic area, including displaying a plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to a plurality of floors of the multi-story building;

detecting, via the user interface, a pinch gesture, wherein the pinch gesture is applied to the 3D representation of the multi-story building; and

modifying a vertical distance between two of the plurality of stacked floor maps in accordance with the pinch gesture, including not modifying a zoom level at which the two of the plurality of stacked floor maps are displayed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the plurality of stacked floor maps includes displaying the plurality of stacked floor maps in a partially overlapping manner, the method further comprising:

displaying internal floor features for a first one of the plurality of stacked floor maps when the vertical distance between the first one and a second one of the plurality of stacked floor maps is greater than a threshold value, wherein the second one of the plurality of floors is positioned directly above the first one of the plurality of floors in the multi-story building.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying internal floor features for the first one of the plurality of stacked floor maps includes displaying one or more of:

(i) internal wall layout,

(ii) names of businesses or individuals occupying portions of the activated floor, and

(iii) indications of building facilities for each floor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

detecting the user pinch gesture includes detecting a speed associated with a motion of one point of contact relative to another point of contact, and

the vertical distance between two or more of the plurality of floor maps is modified at a rate proportional to the detected speed.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying a vertical distance between each pair of neighboring floor maps in the plurality of stacked floor maps.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the vertical distance between any two neighboring floor maps is modified by a same amount.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the vertical distance between two of the plurality of stacked floor maps includes modifying each vertical distance between any two neighboring floor maps that are positioned between the two of the plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to the two points of contact of the pinch gesture.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the 3D representation of a multi-story building is in response to receiving a selection of the multi-story building via the user interface;

the method further comprising displaying a low-detail representation of the multi-story building when the multi-story building is not selected, the low-detail representation of the multi-story building not displaying individual floor maps.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein displaying the low-detail representation of the multi-story building includes displaying a 3D outline view of external facets the multi-story building.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the pinch gesture is subsequent to receiving a selection of the 3D representation of the multi-story building via a tap gesture.

11. A method in a computing device for providing a digital map of outdoor and indoor locations via a user interface, the method comprising:

displaying a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a multi-story building located in a geographic area of the digital map, including displaying a plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to a plurality of floors of the multi-story building;

detecting, via the user interface, a pinch gesture, wherein the pinch gesture is applied to the 3D representation of the multi-story building, including;

(i) detecting a first point of contact overlaying a first one of the plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to a first one of the plurality of floors,

(ii) detecting a second point of contact overlaying a second one of the plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to a second one of the plurality of floors, wherein at least one of the plurality of floors is not between the first one of the plurality of floors and the second one of the plurality of floors;

modifying vertical distances between pairs of floor maps in a range between the first one of the plurality of stacked floor maps and the second one of the plurality of stacked floor maps, including not modifying vertical distances between one or more pairs of floor maps outside the range.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein displaying the plurality of stacked floor maps includes displaying the plurality of floor maps in a partially overlapping manner, the method further comprising:

displaying internal floor features for the floor maps in the range when one of the vertical distances between the pairs of floor maps is greater than a threshold value.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the user pinch gesture includes detecting a speed associated with a motion of the pinch gesture, and wherein the vertical distances between pairs of floor maps in the range are modified at a rate proportional to the detected speed.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the vertical distances between pairs of floor maps in the range are modified identically.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the representation of the multi-story building includes displaying the plurality of floor maps on a plurality of respective planes arranged in a stack and displayed in a perspective view.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein displaying the plurality of floor maps includes displaying a respective contour for each of the plurality of floor maps without displaying internal features of the corresponding floor when none of the floors of the multi-story building is selected.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the outdoor map elements include roads.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of map elements are represented with a one-point perspective.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein plurality of functions for changing the display of the plurality of map elements include at least one of pan, zoom, and rotate.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, executable by a processor, for providing an interactive display of multi-story buildings displayed on a digital map via a user interface, the instructions comprising:

instructions for displaying a digital map of a geographic area via the user interface;

instructions for displaying, on the digital map, a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a multi-story building located in the geographic area, including displaying a plurality of stacked floor maps corresponding to a plurality of floors of the multi-story building;

instructions for detecting, via the user interface, a pinch gesture, wherein the pinch gesture is applied to the 3D representation of the multi-story building; and

instructions for modifying a vertical distance between two of the plurality of stacked floor maps in accordance with the pinch gesture, including not modifying a zoom level at which the two of the plurality of stacked floor maps are displayed.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the detected gesture is a pinch gesture that includes a motion in a direction substantially along a vertical axis of the 3D representation of the building.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions for displaying the digital map includes instructions for displaying a plurality of map elements representing outdoor physical entities, the method further comprising:

instructions for providing a plurality of functions for changing the display of the plurality of map elements.