Desktop client interaction with a geographical text search system

• US 20040078750A1
• Filed: 08/04/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Piece Future Pte., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Metacarta, Inc.
• Inventors: Frank, John R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,599,988 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/500
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A method implemented by a client application running on a computer, the method involving retrieving an address associated with a server that provides a geolocating service to users who transfer electronic documents to that address, the geolocating service involving analyzing electronic documents that are electronically transferred to that address by remotely located client applications and from that analysis generating geolocation information for those electronic files; identifying at the client application a client document; and electronically transferring the identified client document to the address of the geolocating service so as to receive the geolocating service for the identified client document.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a client application running on a computer, said method comprising:

retrieving an address associated with a server that provides a geolocating service to users who transfer electronic documents to that address, said geolocating service involving analyzing electronic documents that are electronically transferred to that address by remotely located client applications and from that analysis generating geolocation information for those electronic files;

identifying at said client application a client document; and

electronically transferring the identified client document to the address of the geolocating service so as to receive the geolocating service for the identified client document.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

electronically receiving back from said server said document and geolocation information that was generated for said document by said server.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying at the first-mentioned client a plurality client documents for which geolocation information is desired, said first-mentioned client document being among said plurality of client documents; and

electronically transferring the identified plurality of client documents to the address of the geolocating service so as to receive the geolocating service for the identified plurality of client documents.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

electronically receiving back from said geolocating service said plurality of documents and geolocation information that was generated by said geolocating service for each of said plurality of documents.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

electronically receiving back from said geolocating service spatial identifiers that were generated for each of said plurality of documents by said geolocating service.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

electronically receiving back from said server a spatial document index that was generated for said plurality of documents by said geolocating service.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the retrieving involves searching on the Internet for said address associated with the server that provides a geolocating service to users.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the retrieving involves reading said address from a local memory.