Local search and mapping for mobile devices

• US 7,945,546 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2006
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Crady, Mark, Jenson, Scott, Mavinkurve, Sanjay, Sacks, Joshua J., Bliss, Adam, Morrison, Jerry, Chu, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital; Pierre M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Loan T
• Application Number:
  US11/557,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118520A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/705
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0206 Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is disclosed that includes receiving on a mobile device a search query associated with a geographic location, providing one or more search results in response to the search query, the search results each being associated with a geographic location, and presenting on a graphical display of the computing device icons corresponding to each search result and also corresponding to a key on the computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving on a mobile device a search query associated with a geographic location;

receiving, at the mobile device, one or more search results responsive to the search query, the search results each being associated with the geographic location;

presenting a map overlaid with icons on a graphical display of the mobile device, wherein the map represents the geographic location, wherein each icon is positioned overlaid on the map to designate a location of a corresponding of the search results and each icon also corresponds to an input key on the mobile device, and wherein each icon has a visible label that matches a visible label on the corresponding input key;

receiving, at the mobile device, a user selection of a first of the input keys, the first of the input keys having a first visible label that matches the visible label on a corresponding first of the icons designating the location of a corresponding first of the search results; and

presenting, by the mobile device in response to the user selection of the first of the input keys, initial textual or graphical information about the first of the search results.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising joining the search query with a geographic location previously associated with the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results are presented as numbered icons corresponding to numbers on a telephone keypad.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting, in response to selection of a second of the input keys, additional textual or graphical information about the first of the search results.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the initial or additional textual or graphical information includes a click-to-call selection for a telephone number associated with the first of the search results.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the initial or additional textual or graphical information includes a directions selection that, when selected, provides directions to a location associated with the first of the search results.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting on the graphical display a plurality of waypoint indicators associated with directions to the geographic location associated with the search results, and presenting directions associated with each waypoint in response to selections of each waypoint.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information about recent queries or locations and submitting the recent a first one of the recent queries or locations in response to a user selection.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising highlighting for selection a first one of the icons and moving the highlighting to a second one of the icons in response to a user-entered direction.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting near one or more edges of the graphical display an icon indicating the presence of additional search results located off the map.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is provided as part of the search query.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results are presented as alphanumeric icons corresponding to alphanumeric symbols on a telephone keypad.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting, by the mobile device, a zoom level for the map so that all of icons overlaid on the map correspond to an input key on the mobile device.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the mobile device, a second user selection of the first of the input keys; and

presenting, by the mobile device in response to the second user selection of the first of the input keys, additional information about the first of the search results.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the first of the input keys comprises a key on a keypad.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the discrete input elements comprises a key on a keypad.

12. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage device, the computer program product carrying instructions that, when executed, perform steps comprising:

receiving on a mobile device a search query associated with a geographic location;

providing one or more search results responsive to the search query, the search results each being associated with the geographic location;

presenting a map overlaid with icons on a graphical display of the mobile device, wherein the map represents the geographic location, wherein each icon is positioned overlaid on the map to designate a location of a corresponding of the search results and each icon also corresponds to an input key on the mobile device, and wherein each icon has a visible label that matches to a visible label on the corresponding input key;

receiving, at the mobile device, a user selection of a first of the input keys, the first of the input keys having a first visible label that matches the visible label on a corresponding first of the icons designating the location of a corresponding first of the search results; and

presenting, by the mobile device in response to the user selection of the first of the input keys, initial textual or graphical information about the first of the search results.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the search results are presented as numbered icons corresponding to numbers on a telephone keypad.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise carrying instructions that, when executed, present, in response to selection of a second of the input keys, additional textual or graphical information about the first result.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise carrying instructions that, when executed, present on the graphical display a plurality of waypoint indicators associated with directions to the geographic location associated with the search results, and present directions associated with each waypoint in response to selections of each waypoint.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise storing information about recent queries or locations and carrying instructions that, when executed, submit a first one of the recent queries or locations in response to a user selection.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the search results are presented as alphanumeric icons corresponding to alphanumeric symbols on a telephone keypad.

22. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise selecting, by the mobile device, a zoom level for the map so that all of icons overlaid on the map correspond to an input key on the mobile device.

23. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving, at the mobile device, a second user selection of the first of the input keys; and

presenting, by the mobile device in response to the second user selection of the first of the input keys, additional information about the first of the search results.

24. An apparatus comprising:

a handheld mobile device comprising

a data transmission and reception system that, under the direction of the data processing component, is configured to transmit a search query that is associated with a geographic location and to receive one or more search results responsive to the search query, the search results each being associated with the geographic location,

a collection of discrete input elements each labeled with a visible label,

a graphical display that, under the direction of the data processing component, is configured to present a map representing the geographic location associated with the search query and overlaid with icons, wherein each icon is positioned overlaid on the map to designate a location of a corresponding of the search results, wherein each icon is labeled with a visible label that matches the visible label of a corresponding input element, and

a data processing component configured to

receive a user selection of a first of the input elements, the first of the input elements having a first visible label that matches the visible label on a corresponding first of the icons designating the location of a corresponding first of the search results, and

in response to the received user selection of the first of the input elements, change the graphical display to present initial textual or graphical information characterizing an entity found at the location designated by a first of the icons labeled with a first of the visible labels matching the visible label of the first of the input elements.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the data processing component is further configured to select a zoom level for the map so that all of icons overlaid on the map correspond to a respective of the input elements.