Receiving a search query that does not include one or more words that name any geographical location

• US 9,395,876 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Bliss, Adam, Crady, Mark, Chu, Michael, Jenson, Scott, Mavinkurve, Sanjay, Sacks, Joshua J., Morrison, Jerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Loan T
• Application Number:
  US13/620,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20130095892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0206 Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is disclosed that includes receiving on a mobile device a search query associated with a geographic location, providing one or more search results in response to the search query, the search results each being associated with a geographic location, and presenting on a graphical display of the computing device icons corresponding to each search result and also corresponding to a key on the computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computing system, a first search query that was typed by a first user input at a computing device into a search input box of a mapping application program at the computing device;

parsing, by the computing system, the first search query in order to determine that one or more words in the first search query name a particular geographical location;

conducting, by the computing system, a search for first search results that;

(i) are responsive to the first search query, and

(ii) identify respective first businesses that are geographically located around the particular geographical location that is named by the one or more words in the first search query;

sending, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, information that identifies the first search results, so as to cause the computing device to present a display of a first geographical area of a map with first graphical interface elements that identify the first search results overlaying the map at locations that correspond to locations on the map of the first businesses;

receiving, by the computing system, a second search query that was typed by a second user input at the computing device into the search input box of the mapping application program into which the first search query was typed, wherein the second search query does not include one or more words that name any geographical location;

parsing, by the computing system, the second search query in order to identify whether the second search query includes one or more words that name any geographical location;

receiving, by the computing system, an indication of a geographical location that is indicated by a presently-displayed geographical area of the map that is being presented by the computing device;

conducting, by the computing system, a search for second search results that;

(i) are responsive to the second search query, and

(ii) identify respective second businesses that are geographically located around the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map that is being presented by the computing device; and

sending, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, information that identifies the second search results, so as to cause the computing device to present a display of a second geographical area of the map with second graphical interface elements that identify the second search results overlaying the map at locations that correspond to locations on the map of the second businesses.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein after the computing device presents the display of the first geographical area of the map with the first graphical interface elements overlaying the map, and before the second search query was typed by the second user input at the computing device, the computing device receives a user input to pan the presentation of the map from the first geographical area to the second geographical area.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the computing device presented another geographical area of the map before the first search query was typed by the first user input at the computing device; and

the computing device presented the first geographical area of the map as a result of the computing device having sent the first search query for receipt by the computing system and having received from the server system the information that identifies the first search results.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more words that name the particular geographical location is one or more words that name a zip code or a city.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map is an indication of a centerpoint of the presently-displayed geographical area of the map.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map was appended to the second search query.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising converting, by the computing system, the one or more words that name the particular geographical location into geographical coordinates.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the search for the second search results that uses the presently-displayed geographical area of the map is conducted by the computing system as a result of the computing system having identified that the second search query does not include one or more words that name any geographical location.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device including instructions that, when executed by a programmable processor, cause performance of operations that comprise:

receiving, by a computing system, a first search query that was typed by a first user input at a computing device into a search input box of a mapping application program at the computing device;

parsing, by the computing system, the first search query in order to determine that one or more words in the first search query name a particular geographical location;

conducting, by the computing system, a search for first search results that;

(i) are responsive to the first search query, and

(ii) identify respective first businesses that are geographically located around the particular geographical location that is named by the one or more words in the first search query;

sending, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, information that identifies the first search results, so as to cause the computing device to present a display of a first geographical area of a map with first graphical interface elements that identify the first search results overlaying the map at locations that correspond to locations on the map of the first businesses;

receiving, by the computing system, a second search query that was typed by a second user input at the computing device into the search input box of the mapping application program into which the first search query was typed, wherein the second search query does not include one or more words that name any geographical location;

parsing, by the computing system, the second search query in order to identify whether the second search query includes one or more words that name any geographical location;

receiving, by the computing system, an indication of a geographical location that is indicated by a presently-displayed geographical area of the map that is being presented by the computing device;

conducting, by the computing system, a search for second search results that;

(i) are responsive to the second search query, and

(ii) identify respective second businesses that are geographically located around the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map that is being presented by the computing device; and

sending, by the computing system and for receipt by the computing device, information that identifies the second search results, so as to cause the computing device to present a display of a second geographical area of the map with second graphical interface elements that identify the second search results overlaying the map at locations that correspond to locations on the map of the second businesses.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein after the computing device presents the display of the first geographical area of the map with the first graphical interface elements overlaying the map, and before the second search query was typed by the second user input at the computing device, the computing device receives a user input to pan the presentation of the map from the first geographical area to the second geographical area.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein:

the computing device presented another geographical area of the map before the first search query was typed by user input at the computing device; and

the computing device presented the first geographical area of the map as a result of the computing device having sent the first search query for receipt by the computing system and having received from the server system the information that identifies the first search results.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the one or more words that name the particular geographical location is one or more words that name a zip code or a city.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the indication of the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map is an indication of a centerpoint of the presently-displayed geographical area of the map.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the indication of the geographical location that is indicated by the presently-displayed geographical area of the map was appended to the second search query.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise converting, by the computing system, the one or more words that name the particular geographical location into geographical coordinates.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the search for the second search results that uses the presently-displayed geographical area of the map is conducted by the computing system as a result of the computing system having identified that the second search query does not include one or more words that name any geographical location.