Map display system and method

• US 20060247853A1
• Filed: 04/30/2005
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Location Based Services, LLC (Leigh M. Rothschild)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Robert W., Jung, Edward K.Y., Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,522,996 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers

Abstract

Provided is a computer system and methods related to a map display. A method includes but is not limited to receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations; determining a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more location interaction rules associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map; and generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a map, the method comprising:

receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations;

determining a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more interaction rules associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map; and

generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

periodically updating the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations; and

generating a signal related to indicating on the map an updated status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the periodically updating the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations includes:

receiving data from one or more monitoring devices capable of determining the interaction with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting a copy of the map at a location independent of a user of the map.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations includes:

receiving an identifier associated with a user in a predefined area, the identifier associated with one or more user interaction rules for the at least one location of the one or more locations on the map.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more user interaction rules includes:

one or more of a time limit at the at least one location of the one or more locations on the map, and a minimum and/or maximum number of visits permitted for a user at the at least one location of the one or more locations on the map.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more interaction rules associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

matching an identifier associated with the request for the map with a data store entry in a data store, the data store entry providing one or more user interaction rules; and

correlating the one or more user interaction rules with the one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the one or more locations on the map with data received by one or more monitoring devices associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the correlating the one or more user interaction rules with the one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the one or more locations on the map with data received by one or more monitoring devices associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

determining via the data received by the one or more monitoring devices whether the user of the map has violated one or more of the one or more user interaction rules and/or location interaction rules.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations includes:

receiving the request via one or more of a wireless connection and/or a wired connection, the wireless connection including one or more of a wireless LAN (WLAN), an IEEE 802.11, a Bluetooth, and/or a satellite connection.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

generating a signal related to obfuscating a visual representation of the at least one location on the map as a function of the status.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the generating a signal related to obfuscating the visual representation of the at least one location on the map as a function of the status includes:

generating a signal related to blurring and/or unblurring an icon representing the at least one location on the map if the location has been visited by a user.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

generating a signal related to indicating on the map a progress indication relating to a motivator for a user of the map.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

generating a signal related to highlighting the at least one location on the map, the highlighting indicative of one or more locations the user is to next visit on the map.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

generating a signal related to displaying one or more overlays on the map to represent a traffic condition for one or more locations in the predetermined area.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the generating a signal related to displaying one or more overlays on the map to represent a traffic condition for one or more locations in the predetermined area includes:

generating a signal related to displaying an overlay with respect to one or more locations in the predetermined area that indicate a lack of information pertaining to the one or more locations; and

generating a signal related to displaying data independent of an overlay for those locations about which additional information is known.

7. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

18. A method for a display device to receive a map through a predefined area, the method comprising:

transmitting a request for the map including one or more locations, the request including an identifier associated with a user of the display device;

receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices; and

interacting with the one or more monitoring devices to alter the map on the display device as a function of the one or more location interaction rules.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices includes:

receiving one or more icons representing one or more locations on the map, the one or more location interaction rules determining one or more of an obfuscation of the one or more icons and/or an activation of metadata associated with the one or more locations on the map.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the interacting with the one or more monitoring devices to alter the map on the display device as a function of the one or more location interaction includes:

interacting with the one or more monitoring devices to alter the map on the display device as a function of the location interaction rules as modified by one or more user interaction rules associated with the user of the display device.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices includes:

connecting with a server; and

receiving the map altered in accordance with the one or more location interaction rules, the map altered via obfuscation and/or activation of metadata for the one or more icons.

24. The method of claim 18 wherein the receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices includes:

receiving an indication shown on the map related to whether one or more user interaction rules associated with the identifier affect the map.

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

25. A computer program product comprising:

a signal bearing medium bearing one or more instructions for receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations, one or more instructions for determining a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more interaction rules associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map, and one or more instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises:

a recordable medium.

27. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises:

a transmission medium.

28. The computer program product of claim 25 further comprising:

one or more instructions for periodically updating the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations; and

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the updated status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations.

29. The computer program product of claim 25 further comprising:

one or more instructions for maintaining a copy of the map at a location independent of the user of the map.

31. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the one or more instructions for receiving a request for the map, the map illustrating one or more locations includes:

one or more instructions for receiving an identifier associated with a user in a predefined area, the identifier associated with one or more user interaction rules for the at least one location of the one or more locations on the map. .

32. The computer program product of claim 31 wherein the one or more user interaction rules include:

one or more of a time limit at the at least one location of the one or more locations, and a minimum and/or maximum number of visits permitted at the at least one location of the one or more locations.

34. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the one or more instructions for determining a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more interaction rules associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for matching an identifier associated with the request for the map with a data store entry in a data store, the data store entry providing one or more user interaction rules; and

one or more instructions for correlating the one or more interaction rules with the one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the one or more locations on the map with data received by one or more monitoring devices associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

35. The computer program product of claim 34 wherein the instructions for correlating the one or more user interaction rules with the one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the one or more locations on the map with data received by one or more monitoring devices associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for determining via the data received by the one or more monitoring devices whether the user of the map has violated one or more of the one or more user interaction rules and/or location interaction rules.

37. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the one or more instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to illustrating location detail for the at least one of the one or more locations, the location detail shown being a function of the status.

38. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to obfuscating a visual representation of the at least one location on the map as a function of the status.

39. The computer program product of claim 38 wherein the one or more instructions for obfuscating the visual representation include:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to blurring and/or unblurring an icon representing the at least one location on the map if the location has been visited by the user.

40. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to highlighting the at least one location on the map, the highlighting indicative of one or more locations the user is to next visit on the map.

41. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the one or more instructions for generating a signal related to indicating on the map the status associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map includes:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to displaying one or more overlays on the map to represent a traffic condition for one or more locations in the predetermined area.

42. The computer program product of claim 41 wherein the one or more instructions for one or more instructions for generating a signal related to displaying one or more overlays on the map to represent a traffic condition for one or more locations in the predetermined area includes:

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to displaying an overlay with respect to one or more locations in the predetermined area that indicate a lack of information pertaining to the one or more locations; and

one or more instructions for generating a signal related to displaying data independent of an overlay for those locations about which additional information is known.

30. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

36. (canceled)

43. A computer program product comprising:

a signal bearing medium bearing one or more instructions for transmitting a request for the map including one or more locations, the request including an identifier associated with a user of the display device;

one or more instructions for receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices; and

one or more instructions for interacting with the one or more monitoring devices to alter the map on the display device as a function of the one or more location interaction rules.

44. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises:

a recordable medium.

45. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises:

a transmission medium.

46. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein the one or more instructions for receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices includes:

one or more instructions for receiving one or more icons representing one or more locations on the map, the one or more interaction rules determining one or more of an obfuscation of the one or more icons and/or an activation of metadata associated with the one or more locations on the map.

47. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein the one or more instructions for receiving the map including one or more locations, at least one location of the one or more locations associated with one or more location interaction rules verifiable via one or more monitoring devices includes:

one or more instructions for connecting with a server; and

one or more instructions for receiving the map altered in accordance with the one or more location interaction rules, the map altered via obfuscation and/or activation of metadata for the one or more icons.

48. (canceled)

49. (canceled)

50. (canceled)

51. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor;

a receiver coupled to the processor; and

a map display module coupled to the receiver and the memory, the map display module including a data store configurable to hold data related to one or more interaction rules associated with one or more locations in a predefined area and one or more identifiers; and

a status module configurable to determine a status associated with at least one of the one or more locations on the map, the status being a function of one or more location interaction rules associated with the at least one of the locations.

52. The computer system of claim 51 wherein the status module is configurable to match an identifier associated with a received request for a map with a data store entry in the data store, the data store entry providing one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

53. The computer system of claim 51 wherein the status module is configurable to correlate the one or more location interaction rules for the at least one of the locations on the map with data received by one or more monitoring devices associated with the at least one of the one or more locations on the map.

54. The computer system of claim 51 further comprising:

a location order determination module coupled to the data store, the location order determination module configurable to determine an order in which locations in the predefined area should be traversed by a user based on the one or more identifiers.

55. The computer system of claim 51 further comprising:

a transmitter coupled to the processor, the transmitter configurable to transmit the map display to a display device, the display device configurable to transmit a request for the map display.

56. The computer system of claim 51 wherein the interaction module includes logic for generating a signal related to highlighting the at least one location on the map, the highlighting indicative of one or more locations the user is to next visit on the map