Unified geographic database and method of creating, maintaining and using the same
DCFirst Claim
1. A portable navigational apparatus for locating one or more locations of interest within a geographical area, comprising:
- an input device for entering a proprietary search term uniquely associated with an entity within a district of the geographical area and identifying one or more locations of interest within the geographical area;
a processor coupled to the input device for receiving the entered proprietary search term, the processor configured for generating a search query comprising the entered proprietary search term and locational information associated with the navigational apparatus;
a communications interface coupled to the processor for communicating with a server via a wireless network, the interface configured for sending the search query to the server, and for receiving a search result from the server, the search result comprising one or more locations for the entity uniquely associated with the proprietary search term that have a relationship with the locational information;
an output device coupled to the processor for outputting the one or more locations comprising the search result; and
an automatic location identification (“
ALI”
) device that identifies the current location of the navigational apparatus within the geographic area, the processor coupled to the ALI device for obtaining the current location of the navigational apparatus from the ALI device at the time of sending the search query, the locational information in the search query comprising at least one of the current location and a projected location of the navigational apparatus based at least in part on the current location.
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Litigations
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention involves a Universal Geographic Database (“UGD”). The UGD is an automated, central or distributed, registry of real-world locations and location-related information for businesses and other entities, analogous to the registry of domain names for Internet and web sites. By this central registry, businesses and other entities are facilitated to post their location and location-related information in a single place, for all users who need or want it; and users can refer to this single place, via the Internet, Web, and other telecommunications devices, to obtain accurate, complete and timely location and location-based information about the registered businesses and other entities. Each record of the UGD is keyed by a proprietary location address (PLA) based on the World Geographic Referencing System (WGRS), and optionally may have one or more proprietary location addresses (PLAs), which also may serve as keys. Associated with the PLA keys, each UGD record generally includes the full name for the business or other entity, its street address, and miscellaneous contact information (e.g., telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address, internet website address, wireless website address). Other more dynamic, customized information (e.g., store hours, credit cards accepted, inventory, prices, specials, hours, parking) also may be available in the UGD record or linked to the UGD record. Users of any device or service can access the UGD through one or more location name servers (LNS), which can provide access to the UGD or other location-based information linked to the UGD or LNS. Based on the WGRS, PLAs provide, in addition to unique keys for UGD records, a user-friendly notation for location naming in the real-world and on all types of location-sensitive electronic devices, from web phones to in-car navigation systems. Given the UGD, these ULA/PLAs are as important to real-world businesses as their domain names because these WGRS addresses drive real-world commerce to physical business locations just as domain names drive e-commerce Internet or web sites.
82 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A portable navigational apparatus for locating one or more locations of interest within a geographical area, comprising:
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an input device for entering a proprietary search term uniquely associated with an entity within a district of the geographical area and identifying one or more locations of interest within the geographical area; a processor coupled to the input device for receiving the entered proprietary search term, the processor configured for generating a search query comprising the entered proprietary search term and locational information associated with the navigational apparatus; a communications interface coupled to the processor for communicating with a server via a wireless network, the interface configured for sending the search query to the server, and for receiving a search result from the server, the search result comprising one or more locations for the entity uniquely associated with the proprietary search term that have a relationship with the locational information; an output device coupled to the processor for outputting the one or more locations comprising the search result; and an automatic location identification (“
ALI”
) device that identifies the current location of the navigational apparatus within the geographic area, the processor coupled to the ALI device for obtaining the current location of the navigational apparatus from the ALI device at the time of sending the search query, the locational information in the search query comprising at least one of the current location and a projected location of the navigational apparatus based at least in part on the current location. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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2. A method for providing informational services using a portable navigational apparatus configured to communicate with a server via a wireless communications network, the method comprising:
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inputting a proprietary search term to find one or more locations of an entity within a geographical area into the navigational apparatus; sending a search query comprising the proprietary search term via the wireless communications network to the server to allow the server to access a unified geographic database (“
UGD”
) to identify the entity within the geographical area uniquely associated with the proprietary search term, and to use locational information associated with the navigational apparatus to complete a search of the UGD for one or more locations associated with the one or more entities satisfying the search query and limited in geographic scope by the locational information;adding locational information associated with the navigational apparatus to the proprietary search term to limit geographic scope of the search query before sending the search query; receiving a search result from the server via the wireless communications network, the search result comprising one or more locations identified by the proprietary search term that have a relationship with the locational information; and outputting the one or more locations comprising the search result. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 41, 42, 46)
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3. A method for providing informational services via a communications network, the method comprising:
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receiving a search query via the communications network from a portable navigational apparatus, the search query comprising a proprietary search term identifying one or more locations of interest within a geographical area and locational information identifying a current location of the navigational apparatus at the time of sending the search query; accessing a unified geographic database (“
UGD”
) to identify an entity within a district of the geographical area uniquely associated with the proprietary search term;using the locational information included in the search query from the navigational apparatus to complete a search of the UGD for one or more locations associated with the entity satisfying the search query and limited in geographic scope by the locational information; and sending a search result via the communications network to the navigational apparatus, the search result comprising one or more locations associated with the one or more entities identified by the proprietary search term that have a relationship with the locational information. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48)
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4. A system for providing informational services to a plurality of portable navigational apparatus configured to communicate via a wireless communications network, comprising:
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an interface for communicating with the plurality of navigational apparatus via the communications network, the interface configured for receiving a search query via the communications network from a first portable navigational apparatus, the search query comprising a proprietary location address (“
PLA”
) seeking to locate one or more locations of interest within a geographical area and locational information identifying the current location of the first portable navigational apparatus at the time of sending the search query; anda processor to complete a search of a central repository to identify an entity within a district of the geographical area uniquely associated with the PLA and to identify one or more locations of interest satisfying the search query received via the interface that are associated with the entity and limited in geographic scope by the locational information; wherein the interface is configured for sending a search result via the communications network to the first portable navigational apparatus, the search result comprising one or more locations associated with the entity identified by the PLA that have a relationship with the locational information. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification