Near route interactive map search

• US 7,496,444 B1
• Filed: 03/10/2008
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NNG LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fried, Eric Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Dalena
• Application Number:
  US12/045,275
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 701200-214, 701 23- 26, 342/357.01, 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/457, 340/988, 340/995.19, 340/995.21, 340/995.22, 340/995.23
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence

Abstract

An embodiment of this invention allows the user to search for entities nearest to a defined route. To search around a specific route, instead of expanding the search radii (r) to incorporate the whole route (the number of hits to cull increases as πr²), the search is repeated automatically at various points along the route. Various features are also added in different embodiments, for searching and user-interface.

Claims

1. A method of finding near-route points of interest, said method comprising:

a user selecting a portion of a route on a user interface;

wherein said potion of said route has a start point and an end point located on said route;

wherein said portion of said route comprises an ordered list of route points located on said portion of said route and inclusive of said start point and said end point;

automatically searching for said near-route points of interest within a user configurable radius around a first searching point located on said portion of said route, by using a search engine;

wherein if said searching step is successful, a search result from said searching step comprises one or more tuples;

wherein a first tuple of said one or more tuples comprises a first hit location and a first proximity-to-route;

wherein said first hit location is associated with a first point of interest of said near-route points of interest;

wherein said first proximity-to-route is determined by adding a first distance from a first previous point to said first hit location and a second distance from said first hit location to a first next point and subtracting a third distance from said first previous point to said first next point;

wherein said first previous point and said first next point are in said ordered list of route points, and said first next point is a next point after said first previous point in said ordered list of route points;

wherein said first searching point is located between said first previous point and said first next point;

adding said one or more tuples to a tuple cumulative list;

automatically traversing said first searching point by a user configurable search traverse amount to a second searching point along said route in a forward direction;

wherein said user configurable search traverse amount is a percentage of twice of said user configurable radius;

wherein said forward direction is from said start point toward said end point;

if said second searching point is located after said first next point in said forward direction along said portion of said route, then traversing said first next point to a second next point on said ordered list of route points, and traversing said first previous point to a second previous point located on said ordered list of route points just before said second next point;

wherein said second next point is on or after said second searching point in said forward direction along said portion of said route;

wherein said second next point has maximum number of points separation from said end point within said ordered list of route points;

associating a first weight to said first tuple based on a distance from said start point to said first hit location and a distance from said first hit location to said end point;

sorting said tuple cumulative list to a sorted tuple cumulative list based on a second weight associated to each tuple in said tuple cumulative list and a second proximity-to-route of said each tuple in said tuple cumulative list; and

displaying said sorted tuple cumulative list to said user on a display device.