Display based on location information

• US 20070225904A1
• Filed: 03/27/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sisvel International S.A. (Fineur International S.A.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Jendbro, Magnus, Camp, William, Pantalone, Brett
• Granted Patent: US 7,548,814 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/207
• 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

Abstract

A method may include obtaining location information associated with a device, determining a focal point for a map based on the location information, displaying the focal point on the map, and decreasing a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining location information associated with a device;

determining a focal point for a map based on the location information;

displaying the focal point on the map; and

decreasing a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the focal point at a center of the map.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting the focal point to a location on the map other than a center of the map.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

adjusting the focal point to a point on the map based on an orientation of the device.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

adjusting the focal point to a point on the map based on a velocity of the device.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

adjusting the focal point to a point on the map based on a user inputted location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the decreasing the detail or the scale comprises one of:

decreasing the detail or the scale on the map continuously as the radial distance from the focal point increases;

decreasing the details or the scale on the map in discrete steps as the radial distance from the focal point increases;

decreasing the details or the scale on the map logarithmically as the radial distance from the focal point increases;

or

decreasing the details or the scale on the map exponentially as the radial distance from the focal point increases.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a direction to a point of interest outside a viewing area of the map.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the focal point for the map based on a location of the device as determined through a global position system (GPS).

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining a field of view for the map based on an orientation of the device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a field of view for the map based on an orientation of the device.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the focal point for the map based on user input.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a field of view for the map based on a velocity of the device.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting a feature of the map based on a user controlled map scaling.

15. A device comprising:

means for obtaining location information associated with the device;

means for determining a focal point for a map based on the location information;

means for displaying the map;

means for displaying the focal point on the map; and

means for decreasing a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

16. The device of claim 15, further comprising:

means for displaying the focal point at a center of the map.

17. The device of claim 15, further comprising:

means for displaying the focal point at a location on the map other than a center of the map.

18. A device comprising:

a location information gatherer to obtain location information associated with the device; and

processing logic to;

determine a focal point for a map based on the location information,

display the map,

display the focal point on the map, and

decrease a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the location information gatherer includes at least one of:

a global positioning system (GPS) unit to determine a location or a velocity of the device,

a compass to determine an orientation of the device, or

a Doppler unit to determine the velocity of the device.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein when determining the focal point for the map, the processing logic is configured to determine the focal point based on the location received from the GPS unit.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein when determining the focal point for the map, the processing logic is configured to determine a field of view for the map based on the orientation received from the compass.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein when determining the focal point for the map, the processing logic is configured to determine a field of view for the map based on the velocity received from one of the GPS unit or the Doppler unit.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein when displaying the focal on the map, the processing logic is configured to adjust the focal point to a point on the map based on the orientation received from the compass.

24. The device of claim 19, wherein when displaying the focal on the map, the processing logic is configured to adjust the focal point to a point on the map based on the velocity received from the Doppler unit.

25. The device of claim 19, wherein when displaying the focal on the map, the processing logic is configured to adjust the focal point to a point on the map based on a user inputted location.

26. The device of claim 18, wherein when determining the focal point for the map, the processing logic is configured to determine the focal point based on a user inputted location.

27. The device of claim 18, wherein when displaying the focal on the map, the processing logic is configured to display the focal point at a center of the map.

28. The device of claim 18, wherein when displaying the focal on the map, the processing logic is configured to display the focal point at a location on the map other than a center of the map.

29. The device of claim 18, wherein when adjusting a feature of the map based on the focal point, the processing logic is configured to one of continuously, discretely, logarithmically, or exponentially decrease a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

30. A device comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor to execute the instructions to;

determine a focal point for a map based on the location information,

display the map,

display the focal point on the map, and

decrease a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from the focal point increases.

31. A method comprising:

presenting a map for display on a device; and

decreasing a detail or a scale on the map as a radial distance from a location on the map increases.