Method and apparatus for pre-fetching remote resources for subsequent display on a mobile computing device

• US 9,197,713 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Nourse, Thomas Gregory, CaveLie, Hans-Olav, Zhu, Ronghui, Miller, Andrew Tesch
• Primary Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US13/316,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20150189038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/226
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and system for pre-fetching remote resource data from a remote mapping system for display on a client computing device is disclosed. Data received at a client device from an online mapping system in response to a query from the client device includes vector and remote resource data. Vector data is rasterized by the client device to depict graphical elements that are easily described by mathematical formulas. Remote resource data includes digital map elements that are not easily described by vectors, but instead, must be relayed to the client device as either bitmaps or references (e.g., URLs) to remote resources that are resolved at the backend or the client device. This remote resource data is prefetched to a client device so that it will be available for subsequent mapping application searches without resolving a corresponding reference to the remote resource data for each search.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching remote resource data to a mapping application executing on a client computing device for subsequent display on the client computing device, the method comprising:

sending a request for mapping data from a client computing device to a remote mapping system;

receiving map data at the client computing device in response to the sent request for mapping data, wherein the received map tile data includes;

(1) image data describing an image of a first graphic feature in a vector format, the image data specifying mathematical descriptions of points and paths that make up the image of the first graphic feature,

(2) at least one of;

(i) remote resource data including a raster image of a second graphic feature, or (ii) a reference to the remote resource data including the raster image;

storing the remote resource data or reference in a cache memory of the client computing device; and

in response to a subsequent user request, retrieving the remote resource data or the reference from the cache memory of the client computing device without further communication between the remote mapping system, for display at the client computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received map data includes the reference to the remote resource data, the method further comprising sending a subsequent request for the remote resource data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving further map data in response to the subsequent user request, the further map data including image data from a previous request for mapping data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

storing the remote resource data or the reference in the cache memory of the client computing device comprises storing the remote resource data in the cache memory of the client computing device; and

the further map data includes a second reference to remote resource data, the second reference corresponding to the remote resource data stored in the cache memory.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising retrieving the remote resource data from the cache memory in response to receiving the further map data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing a user map search history data file to determine the remote resource data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing the request for mapping data to determine the second graphic feature, wherein the raster image of the second graphic feature is an image of one or more of:

a road shield icon, a tree icon, a camping icon, a restaurant icon, a mass transit icon, or a hospital icon.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the reference includes a uniform resource locator to a remote resource data source.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote resource data includes a remote resources data list including a plurality of references to remote data resources.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising resolving a reference to retrieve a graphic feature from one or more remote data resources.

11. A client computing device comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing a mapping module including instructions for execution by the processor, the instructions for using the processor to cause a request for mapping data to be sent from the client computing device to a backend mapping system via a network connection;

a transceiver for receiving mapping data from the backend mapping system via the network connection, the mapping data received in response to the sent request, the mapping data including;

(1) image data describing an image of a first graphic feature in a vector format, the image data specifying mathematical descriptions of points and paths that make up the image of the first graphic feature, and

(2) a reference to remote resource data, the remote resource data including a raster image;

wherein the mapping module includes further instructions to;

cause the processor to resolve the reference to the remote resource data, the remote resource data in response to resolving the reference, and

in response to a subsequent user request, retrieve the image data from the cache memory of the client computing device without further communication between the remote mapping system, for display at the client computing device.

12. The client computing device of claim 11, wherein the mapping module includes further instructions to:

retrieve the reference to the remote resource data from the cache memory, and resolve the reference to retrieve the raster image a.

13. The client computing device of claim 11, wherein the remote resource data received at the client computing device in response to the sent request for mapping data includes a remote resources data list including a plurality of references to remote data resources.

14. A remote mapping system comprising:

a processor;

a memory in communication with the processor and storing a map controller including instructions for execution by the processor, the instructions including;

first instructions causing the processor to receive a request for mapping data from a client computing device;

second instructions causing the processor, in response to the request, to;

identify image data for first graphic features of a graphical map in a vector format, the image data specifying mathematical descriptions of points and paths that make up the image data for the first graphic features, and

resolve a reference to remote resource data for second graphic features of the graphical map, the remote resource data including at least one raster image for the second graphic features; and

third instructions causing the processor to send the image data and the remote resource data from the remote mapping system to the client computing device, the remote resource data for storage in a cache memory of the client computing device, where the client device retrieves the image data and the remote resource data from the cache memory in response to a subsequent user request.

15. The remote mapping system of claim 14, wherein the client computing device is further configured to receive a reference to the remote resource data and resolve the reference to the remote resource data by retrieving the remote resource data from the cache memory.

16. The remote mapping system of claim 15, wherein the instructions further include fourth instructions causing the processor to send a remote resources data list to the client computing device, the list including a plurality of references to remote data resources.