Method and apparatus for providing access to maps on a thin client
First Claim
1. A system for accessing geographic information comprising:
- (a) two or more geographically distributed servers;
(b) a thin client;
(c) a servlet executing on one of the servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms, the servlet configured to;
(i) obtain geographically distributed map data from the two or more servers wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data;
(ii) obtain geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more servers;
(iii) declutter the map and attribute data;
(iv) compact and encode the map and attribute data;
(v) place the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network in a location accessible to the thin client;
(d) an application on the thin client, the application configured to;
(i) obtain the compacted and encoded map and attribute data from the location over the network;
(ii) display the compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, and article of manufacture provide for an interactive geographic information system on a thin client. Geographic information may be viewed and interacted with on the thin client. The information is available while the thin client is connected or disconnected to/from a network. The thin client has functionality commonly available in a standard client including raster maps for multiple zoom levels of multiple tiles, raster zooms, selectable vector geometry, geo-referencing information for map navigation, metadata in the form of layer definitions, links to object attributes in databases, links to object reports generated by corporate web servers, uploadable, sharable redlining data, offline access, and a compact database.
94 Citations
54 Claims
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1. A system for accessing geographic information comprising:
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(a) two or more geographically distributed servers; (b) a thin client; (c) a servlet executing on one of the servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms, the servlet configured to; (i) obtain geographically distributed map data from the two or more servers wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; (ii) obtain geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more servers; (iii) declutter the map and attribute data; (iv) compact and encode the map and attribute data; (v) place the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network in a location accessible to the thin client; (d) an application on the thin client, the application configured to; (i) obtain the compacted and encoded map and attribute data from the location over the network; (ii) display the compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for accessing geographic information comprising:
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(a) a thin client; (b) a local database on the thin client; and (c) an application on the thin client, the application configured to; (i) load an active workspace from the local database; (ii) the active workspace using map definitions obtained from map data that is geographically distributed on two or more geographically distributed servers to create a new map model wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; (iii) the new map model populating layers in the map model, wherein compacted and encoded map and attribute data are formatted, wherein the attribute data is obtained from the two or more geographically distributed servers; and (iv) display the formatted compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for accessing geographic information comprising:
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(a) two or more geographically distributed servers; (b) a servlet executing on one or more of the servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms, the servlet configured to; (i) obtain geographically distributed map data from the two or more servers wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; (ii) obtain geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more servers; (iii) declutter the map and attribute data; (iv) compact and encode the map and attribute data; and (v) place the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network in a location accessible to a thin client. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for accessing geographic information on a thin client, comprising:
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a servlet obtaining geographically distributed map data from two or more servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms and wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the servlet obtaining geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more servers; the servlet decluttering the map and attribute data; compacting and encoding the map and attribute data; obtaining the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network on a thin client; and displaying the compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for accessing geographic information comprising:
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loading an active workspace from a local database on a thin client; the active workspace using map definitions, obtained from map data that is geographically distributed on two or more geographically distributed servers, to create a new map model wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the new map model populating layers in the map model, wherein compacted and encoded map and attribute data are formatted, wherein the attribute data is obtained from the two or more geographically distributed servers; and displaying the formatted compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for accessing geographic information comprising:
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a servlet obtaining geographically distributed map data from two or more geographically distributed servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms and wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the servlet obtaining geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more geographically distributed servers; decluttering the map and attribute data; compacting and encoding the map and attribute data; and placing the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network in a location accessible to a thin client. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An article of manufacture comprising a program storage medium readable by a computer hardware device and embodying one or more instructions executable by the computer hardware device to perform a method for accessing geographic information, the method comprising:
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a servlet obtaining geographically distributed map data from two or more geographically distributed servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms and wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the servlet obtaining geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more geographically distributed servers; obtaining decluttered, compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network; and displaying the decluttered, compacted and encoded map and attribute data on a thin client. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A article of manufacture comprising a program storage medium readable by a thin client and embodying one or more instructions executable by the thin client to perform a method for accessing geographic information, the method comprising:
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loading an active workspace from a local database on the thin client; the active workspace using map definitions obtained from map data that is geographically distributed on two or more geographically distributed servers to create a new map model wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the new map model populating layers in the map model, wherein compacted and encoded map and attribute data are formatted, wherein the attribute data is obtained from the geographically distributed servers; and displaying the formatted compacted and encoded map and attribute data on the thin client. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. An article of manufacture comprising a program storage medium readable by a computer hardware device and embodying one or more instructions executable by the computer hardware device to perform a method for accessing geographic information, the method comprising:
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a servlet obtaining geographically distributed map data from two or more geographically distributed servers, wherein the servlet is implemented by a single code stream for use on multiple platforms and wherein the map data comprises metadata in a form of layer definitions for vector based map layer data; the servlet obtaining geographically distributed attribute data from the two or more geographically distributed servers; decluttering the map and attribute data; compacting and encoding the map and attribute data; and placing the compacted and encoded map and attribute data over a network in a location accessible to a thin client. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification