Method of and apparatus for providing arbitrarily defined hierarchy maps depicting relative geographical information
First Claim
1. An apparatus coupled with a communications system for presenting graphical data to a first party, depicting a location of a second party, said apparatus comprising:
- an address-book database comprising information associated with the first party and the second party including a current location for the first party and the second party;
a map database coupled with said address-book database comprising a plurality of geographical maps;
a processor coupled with said address-book database and said map database, wherein said processor selects a set of associated maps pertaining to said current location for each party, said set of associated maps comprising at least one map from among said plurality of geographical maps; and
a display, coupled with said geographical database, used to display at least one map within said set of associated maps.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention discloses a method of and apparatus for determining and presenting information about the location of one party relative to the location of another party. The location may be determined from information pertaining to an active session, such as a telephone connection. A centralized address-book contains information about the location of each party listed within the address-book. An arbitrary number of map hierarchies (ranging from 1-N) is defined. Each map hierarchy comprises a plurality of geographical maps each classified as having an equivalent granularity. Each map is associated with one or more entries in the address-book. As each level of map hierarchies increase, the granularity of the maps contained therein, decrease. The location information is presented as a series of maps with a varying level of granularity. The most appropriate map based on the relative locations of the parties is automatically selected. Additionally, any of the maps within the set of associated maps may be viewed. A privacy feature is provided that allows a party to selectively grant viewing permission to others and/or prevent others from viewing their location information.
150 Citations
23 Claims
-
1. An apparatus coupled with a communications system for presenting graphical data to a first party, depicting a location of a second party, said apparatus comprising:
-
an address-book database comprising information associated with the first party and the second party including a current location for the first party and the second party; a map database coupled with said address-book database comprising a plurality of geographical maps; a processor coupled with said address-book database and said map database, wherein said processor selects a set of associated maps pertaining to said current location for each party, said set of associated maps comprising at least one map from among said plurality of geographical maps; and a display, coupled with said geographical database, used to display at least one map within said set of associated maps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
- 6. The apparatus of claim I wherein said plurality of geographical maps are arranged in discrete hierarchies, wherein each of said maps is classified in a particular discrete hierarchy according to its relative granularity.
-
9. The apparatus of claim I further comprising a selecting means for selecting a map from said set of associated maps, wherein said selecting means is based upon said location associated with the first party and said location associated with said second party.
-
14. A method for presenting graphical data to a first party, depicting a location of a second party, said method comprising the steps of:
-
(1) maintaining information associated with the first party and the second party including a current location for the first party and the second party; (2) maintaining a plurality of geographical maps each including a graphical depiction of at least one said current location for the first party and the second party; (3) selecting, in response to a request by the first party, a set of associated maps pertaining to said current location of the second party, said set of associated maps comprising at least one map from among said plurality of geographical maps; and (4) displaying to the first party, at least one map within said set of associated maps. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification