RESOLVING LABEL COLLISIONS ON A DIGITAL MAP

• US 20150187337A1
• Filed: 05/15/2013
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Davidson, Michael P., Baxter, William V.
• Granted Patent: US 9,448,754 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/005 Map projections or methods associated specifically therewith
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed

Abstract

A technique for displaying labels on a digital map comprise displaying the digital map via a user interface at a first zoom level, including displaying non-overlapping labels. The method also comprises receiving, via the user interface, a request to zoom out from the digital map to a second zoom level, where the second zoom level corresponds to smaller magnification than the first zoom level, and where the plurality of labels have the same size at the first zoom level and the second zoom level. Still further, the method includes resolving collisions among the plurality of labels at the second zoom level in response to receiving the request and prior to zooming out from the first zoom level, and zooming out from the digital map at the first zoom level to the second zoom level via at least one intermediate zoom level.

Claims

1. A method in a computing device for displaying labels on a digital map, the method comprising:

displaying the digital map via a user interface at a first zoom level, including displaying a plurality of non-overlapping labels;

receiving, via the user interface, a request to zoom out from the digital map to a second zoom level, wherein the second zoom level corresponds to smaller magnification than the first zoom level, and wherein the plurality of labels have the same size at the first zoom level and the second zoom level;

in response to receiving the request and prior to zooming out from the first zoom level, resolving collisions among the plurality of labels at the second zoom level; and

zooming out from the digital map at the first zoom level to the second zoom level via at least one intermediate zoom level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein resolving the collisions among the plurality of labels includes:

for each collision between two or more labels, comparing priority of the colliding labels, and

removing labels having lower priority.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the digital map includes render content defined in a vector graphics format.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of labels is defined in a raster format.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of labels identify at least some of (i) neighborhoods, (ii) cities, and (iii) counties.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first zoom level and the second zoom levels are discrete zoom levels.

7. A computer-readable medium storing thereon instructions executable on one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

display a digital map via the user interface at a first zoom level, wherein the digital map includes (i) a plurality of elements scalable between the first zoom level and a second zoom level and (ii) a plurality of labels that do not scale between the first zoom level and the second zoom level;

receive, via the user interface, a request to display the digital map at the second zoom level;

prior to zooming out from the first zoom level, remove one or more labels from the plurality of labels, so that the remaining ones of the plurality of labels do not overlap at the second zoom level; and

after the one or more labels have been removed, begin to change the zoom level of the digital map from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to progress from the first zoom level to the second zoom level via a plurality of intermediate levels.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein to remove the one or more labels, the instructions compare priority of the overlapping labels.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of elements scalable between the first zoom level and a second zoom level are defined in a vector graphics format.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of labels are defined in a raster format.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first zoom level and the second zoom levels are discrete zoom levels.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of labels correspond to names of administrative units.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein to remove the one or more labels from the plurality of labels, the instructions cause the one or more processors to identify labels that overlap at the second zoom level.

15. A computing device comprising:

a user interface;

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable memory storing thereon instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the computing device to;

display a digital map via the user interface at a first zoom level, including display a plurality of non-overlapping labels,

receive, via the user interface, a request to zoom out from the digital map to a second zoom level, wherein the second zoom level corresponds to smaller magnification than the first zoom level, and wherein the plurality of labels have the same size at the first zoom level and the second zoom level,

in response to receiving the request and prior to zooming out from the first zoom level, resolve collisions among the plurality of labels at the second zoom level, and

zoom out from the digital map at the first zoom level to the second zoom level via at least one intermediate zoom level.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein to resolve the collisions among the plurality of labels, the instructions cause the one or more processors to:

for each collision between two or more labels, compare priority of the colliding labels, and

remove labels having lower priority.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein to display the digital map, the instructions cause the one or more processors to render content defined in a vector graphics format.

18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of labels is defined in a raster format.

19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the plurality of labels identify at least some of (i) neighborhoods, (ii) cities, and (iii) counties.

20. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the first zoom level and the second zoom levels are discrete zoom levels.