Nearest-neighbor geographic search
First Claim
1. A computer-readable storage medium storing program code comprising a method for accessing information from a geographic database, said method comprising:
- receiving a search request, said search request identifying search criteria including an initial point;
identifying, using said initial point, a first neighborhood of cells from a grid of cells associated with a geographic database;
searching said geographic database one cell at a time from said first neighborhood to retrieve a number of points of interest (POIs) from a plurality of POIs identified in said geographic database, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of said first neighborhood;
identifying a second neighborhood of cells from the grid of cells, the second neighborhood excluding previously searched cells, wherein said second neighborhood of cells corresponds to a new geographic area, the new geographic area defined using said initial point and a distance from said initial point, the distance being larger than a distance used to define a geographic area corresponding to said first neighborhood of cells;
searching said geographic database one cell at a time from said second neighborhood to retrieve a number of POIs of said plurality, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of said second neighborhood; and
wherein said searching said geographic database from said first neighborhood further comprises searching said geographic database one cell at a time until all cells in said first neighborhood have been searched to retrieve a number of POIs of said plurality.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for use in searching a geographic database to retrieve geographic objects one cell from a neighborhood of cells at a time. A cell neighborhood can be defined using a grid of cells and an initial, or center, point. A first neighborhood is identified based on its proximity to the initial search point, and corresponds to a first geographic area defined using the initial point and a distance from the initial search point in a number of directions. In a case that more than one cell neighborhood is used, each subsequent cell neighborhood is defined so that it excludes cells belonging to a previously-searched cell neighborhood. A subsequent neighborhood corresponds to a geographic area that is a distance from the initial point greater than the distance associated with a previously-searched neighborhood.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A computer-readable storage medium storing program code comprising a method for accessing information from a geographic database, said method comprising:
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receiving a search request, said search request identifying search criteria including an initial point; identifying, using said initial point, a first neighborhood of cells from a grid of cells associated with a geographic database; searching said geographic database one cell at a time from said first neighborhood to retrieve a number of points of interest (POIs) from a plurality of POIs identified in said geographic database, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of said first neighborhood; identifying a second neighborhood of cells from the grid of cells, the second neighborhood excluding previously searched cells, wherein said second neighborhood of cells corresponds to a new geographic area, the new geographic area defined using said initial point and a distance from said initial point, the distance being larger than a distance used to define a geographic area corresponding to said first neighborhood of cells; searching said geographic database one cell at a time from said second neighborhood to retrieve a number of POIs of said plurality, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of said second neighborhood; and wherein said searching said geographic database from said first neighborhood further comprises searching said geographic database one cell at a time until all cells in said first neighborhood have been searched to retrieve a number of POIs of said plurality. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-implemented method for accessing information from a geographic database, the method comprising:
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receiving a search request, the search request identifying search criteria including an initial point; identifying, using the initial point, a first neighborhood of cells from a grid of cells associated with a geographic database; obtaining a first initial cell in the first neighborhood of cells; searching the geographic database one cell at a time from the first neighborhood, starting with the first initial cell, to retrieve a number of points of interest (POIs) from a plurality of POIs identified in the geographic database, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of the first neighborhood; identifying a second neighborhood of cells from the grid of cells, the second neighborhood excluding previously-searched cells of the first neighborhood, wherein the second neighborhood corresponds to a first new geographic area, the first new geographic area defined using the initial point and a first radius from the initial point, the first radius being larger by a predetermined value than a radius used to define a geographic area corresponding to the first neighborhood of cells; obtaining a second initial cell in the second neighborhood of cells; searching the geographic database one cell at a time from the second neighborhood, starting with the second initial cell, to retrieve a number of POIs of the plurality, each POI retrieved having a corresponding location determined to be in a cell of the second neighborhood; and wherein said searching said geographic database from said first neighborhood further comprises searching said geographic database one cell at a time until all cells in said first neighborhood have been searched to retrieve a number of POIs of said plurality. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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Specification