Problem reporting in maps

• US 9,886,794 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2012
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: van Os, Marcel, Dul, Albert P., Moore, Bradford A., Sorrelgreen, Ethan C., Lai, I Wei
• Primary Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US13/632,102
• Publication Number:
  US 20130326407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,955 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

For a mapping application, a method for reporting a problem related to a map displayed by the mapping application is described. The method identifies a mode in which the mapping application is operating. The method identifies a set of types of problems to report based on the identified mode. The method displays, in a display area of the mapping application, a graphical user interface (GUI) page that includes a set of selectable user interface (UI) items that represent the identified set of types of problems.

Claims

1. For a mapping application, a method for reporting a problem related to a map displayed by the mapping application, the method comprising:

upon receiving a request to report a problem, identifying a current operational mode, of a plurality of different operational modes of the mapping application, in which the mapping application is operating;

after identifying the current operational mode;

identifying a set of types of problems to report based on the identified current operational mode, wherein different types of problems are identified for different operational modes, of the plurality of operational modes of the mapping application; and

displaying, in a display area of the mapping application, a graphical user interface (GUI) page that includes a set of selectable user interface (UI) items that represent the identified set of types of problems to report; and

upon receiving a selectable UI item representing a particular type of problem, displaying, in the display area of the mapping application, a sequence of increasingly-specific GUI pages corresponding to the particular type of problem, wherein different sequences of GUI pages are displayed for different types of problems.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the sequence of GUI pages comprises, upon receiving a selection of a particular one of the UI items in the GUI page, displaying a first GUI page for the type of problem to which the selected UI item corresponds.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the sequence of GUI pages further comprises:

displaying, in the first GUI page, a UI item for moving to a second GUI page of the particular sequence of GUI pages; and

upon receiving a selection of said UI item for moving to the second GUI page, displaying the second GUI page in the display area.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the different types of problems identified for a first operational mode comprise incorrect information about a location, a location identifier appearing at an incorrect location in a map, and information existing for a place that does not exist.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of a subset of the GUI pages in a particular sequence of GUI pages includes a set of UI items for showing another GUI page of the sequence.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the different operational modes comprise (i) a mode in which the mapping application displays a GUI page for displaying information about a location of the map and (ii) a mode in which the mapping application displays a GUI page for displaying results of a location search.

7. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a mapping application which when executed by at least one processing unit of a device reports problems with a map displayed by the mapping application, the mapping application comprising sets of instructions for:

displaying a first view that displays a location information display area comprising (i) information about a selected location and (ii) a selectable item for reporting a problem with the selected location;

upon receiving a selection of the selectable item, replacing the first view with a second view that displays a plurality of selectable user interface (UI) items representing different types of problems to report;

receiving a selection of a particular UI item of the plurality of selectable UI items indicating that a location indicator representing a place is at an incorrect location of the map;

upon receiving the selection of the particular UI item, replacing the second view with a third view that displays the map and the location indicator in the map;

wherein each of the views occupies an entirety of a display screen of the device;

receiving a selection of a new location in the map;

upon receiving the selection of the new location, displaying the location indicator at the selected new location of the map to indicate that the selected new location is a correct location of the place; and

upon receiving information that the new location is the correct location for the place represented by the location indicator, sending a report to a map server for the new location for the place to be incorporated into map data distributed to a plurality of client devices.

8. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the map is three-dimensional and the selected location has a value that represents a distance from a ground level of the map.

9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for providing, in the third view, an overlaid UI item for selecting the new location in the map.

10. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for:

displaying a banner for the location indicator, the banner including a set of selectable UI items; and

upon receiving a selection of a UI item on the banner, displaying the first view that displays the location information display area, the location information display area further comprising a set of UI items for receiving edits to different types of information about the place.

11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the mapping application further comprises sets of instructions for:

displaying a plurality of location indicators representing a plurality of places on a map;

receiving selections of new locations for more than one of the plurality of location indicators; and

sending a report to the map server for the new locations to be incorporated into map data distributed to the plurality of client devices.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the map data is incorporated into map data that the map server provides to client devices in response to requests for the map data.

13. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a mapping application which when executed at least one processing unit of a device reports problems with a map displayed by the mapping application, the mapping application comprising sets of instructions for:

upon receiving a request to report a problem, identifying a current operational mode, of a plurality of different operational modes of the mapping application, in which the mapping application is operating;

after identifying the current operational mode;

identifying a set of types of problems to report based on the identified current operational mode, wherein different types of problems are identified for different operational modes, of the plurality of operational modes of the mapping application; and

displaying, in a display area of the mapping application, a graphical user interface (GUI) page that includes a set of selectable user interface (UI) items that represent the identified set of types of problems to report; and

upon receiving a selectable UI item representing a particular type of problem, displaying, in the display area of the mapping application, a sequence of increasingly-specific GUI pages corresponding to the particular type of problem, wherein different sequences of GUI pages are displayed for different types of problems.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the sequence of GUI pages comprises a set of instructions for, upon receiving a selection of a particular one of the UI items in the GUI page, displaying a first GUI page of a particular sequence of GUI pages for the type of problem to which the selected UI item corresponds.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the sequence of GUI pages further comprises sets of instructions for:

displaying, in the first GUI page, a UI item for moving to a second GUI page of the particular sequence of GUI pages; and

upon receiving a selection of said UI item for moving to the second GUI page, displaying the second GUI page in the display area.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the different types of problems identified for a first operational mode comprise incorrect information about a location, a location identifier appearing at an incorrect location in a map, and information existing for a place that does not exist.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein each of a subset of the GUI pages in a particular sequence of GUI pages includes a set of UI items for showing another GUI page of the sequence.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the different operational modes comprise (i) a mode in which the mapping application displays a GUI page for displaying information about a location of the map and (ii) a mode in which the mapping application displays a GUI page for displaying results of a location search.