Scale sensitive treatment of features in a geographic information system

• US 9,804,748 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Kirk, Mayster, Yan, Tsankov, Georgi
• Primary Examiner(s): Klicos, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US14/135,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20150128089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas

Abstract

Systems and methods for presenting information in response to a user interaction with a geographic image at a point of query in a geographic information system are provided. A user can request information at point of query in the geographic image. Responsive to the user request, the geographic information system can search for and obtain information associated with the request. As part of the logic used to return information responsive to a request at a point of query, a zone of influence can be defined for one or more features depicted in the image. The zone of influence can be defined by a pixel threshold in a pixel space associated with the geographic image. The pixel threshold can be constant across a plurality of zoom levels of the geographic image.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of presenting information in conjunction with a point of query, comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, a user input at a point of query, the point of query associated with a mobile device location depicted in a geographic image, the geographic image comprising a plurality of pixels with a plurality of zoom levels scaled according to a level of uncertainty associated with the mobile device location, wherein a zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels increases inversely in relation to the level of uncertainty;

responsive to the point of query being within a zone of influence encompassing a feature of a plurality of features, obtaining, by the one or more computing devices, information associated with the feature, the zone of influence defining a region in the geographic image depicting the feature such that information associated with the feature is returned responsive to the user input at the point of query, the zone of influence being defined independent of the point of query;

ranking, by the one or more computing devices, the information associated with the feature higher, relative to other information associated with other features of the plurality of features, when the point of query associated with the feature is encompassed by the zone of influence; and

providing for display, by the one or more computing devices, the information associated with the feature in a user interface,

wherein one or more boundaries of the zone of influence are defined by a pixel threshold in a pixel space associated with the geographic image such that the zone of influence defines a subset, of the plurality of pixels of the geographic image, the pixel threshold being defined irrespective of a scale of the geographic image, such that the pixel threshold remains constant irrespective of the scale.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the pixel threshold is constant across the plurality of zoom levels of the geographic image.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining, by the one or more computing devices, information associated with a feature located proximate to the point of query comprises prioritizing information associated with the feature relative to information associated with a different feature, the different feature having a zone of influence that does not encompass the point of query.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises presenting the geographic image in the user interface.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the point of query comprises a user interaction at a point depicted in the geographic image.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, the geographic image is presented at a first zoom level.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises presenting the geographic image at a second zoom level, the zone of influence of the feature having a constant pixel threshold for the first zoom level and the second zoom level.

8. A computing system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that when executed by the one or more computer-readable media cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving a user input at a point of query, the point of query associated with a mobile device location depicted in a geographic image, the geographic image comprising a plurality of pixels with a plurality of zoom levels scaled according to a level of uncertainty associated with the mobile device location, wherein a zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels increases inversely in relation to the level of uncertainty;

responsive to the point of query being within a zone of influence encompassing a feature, obtaining information associated with the feature, the zone of influence defining a region in the geographic image depicting the feature such that information associated with the feature is returned responsive to the user input at the point of query, the zone of influence being defined independent of the point of query;

ranking, by the one or more computing devices, the information associated with the feature higher, relative to other information associated with other features of the plurality of features, when the point of query associated with the feature is encompassed by the zone of influence; and

providing for display the information associated with the feature in a user interface,

wherein one or more boundaries of the zone of influence of the feature are defined by a pixel threshold in a pixel space associated with the geographic image such that the zone of influence defines a subset of the plurality of pixels of the geographic image, the pixel threshold being defined irrespective of a scale of the geographic image, such that the pixel threshold remains constant irrespective of the scale.

9. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the pixel threshold is constant across the plurality of zoom levels of the geographic image.

10. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the computing system comprises presenting the geographic image in the user interface.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the point of query comprises a user interaction at a point depicted in the geographic image.

12. One or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:

providing for display a geographic image associated with a mobile device location at a first zoom level in a user interface displayed on a display device, the geographic image depicting at least one feature at the first zoom level, the geographic image comprising a plurality of pixels with a plurality of zoom levels scaled according to a level of uncertainty associated with the mobile device location, wherein a zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels increases inversely in relation to the level of uncertainty;

ranking, by the one or more computing devices, the information associated with the feature higher, relative to other information associated with other features of the plurality of features, when the point of query associated with the feature is encompassed by the zone of influence; and

providing for display the geographic image at a second zoom level in the user interface, the geographic image depicting the at least one feature at the second zoom level,

wherein the at least one feature is associated with a zone of influence defining a region in the geographic image associated with the feature, and wherein one or more boundaries of the zone of influence of the at least one feature are defined by a pixel threshold, the zone of influence defining a subset of the plurality of pixels of the geographic image, the pixel threshold remaining constant across the first zoom level and the second zoom level, the zone of influence being defined independent of a user interaction with the geographic image.

13. The one or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein upon receiving a user interaction at a point of query within the zone of influence, the operations comprise providing for display information associated with the feature in the user interface.

14. The one or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein the operations comprise obtaining the information associated with the feature based at least in part on prioritizing the information associated with the feature relative to information associated with a different feature, the different feature having a zone of influence that does not encompass the point of query.