Patents by Inventor William V. Baxter

William V. Baxter has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9448754
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: William V. Baxter, Michael P. Davidson
  • Publication number: 20150187337
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Publication date: July 2, 2015
    Applicant: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: William V. Baxter, Michael P. Davidson
  • Patent number: 6885372
    Abstract: A method of rasterizing a line on a display having pixels with locations defined by a polar coordinate system uses the sign of a discriminant to choose which of two candidate pixels is to be the next pixel on the rasterized line. The discriminant, which is derived from the desired line, is evaluated at a point in the neighborhood of the candidate pixels. The discriminant value depends on the local slope of the line in polar coordinates. The method divides the line into segments having selected ranges of slope and rasterizes the desired line along each segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Actuality Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: William V. Baxter, III, Michael Giovinco
  • Patent number: 6489961
    Abstract: In a cylindrical coordinate system, the dominant direction of a line changes in a predictable manner. A rasterizer uses this fact to efficiently render a desired line on a volumetric display. It does do by determining whether first and second points on the desired line are on first and second constituent line-segments of the desired line, the first and second constituent line-segments having different dominant directions. On the basis of the determination, the rasterizer renders a second voxel representative of the second point on the desired line by incrementally proceeding from a first voxel representative of the first point. The location of the second voxel is selected to minimize a distance between that second voxel and the desired line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: Actuality Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: William V. Baxter, III, Michael G. Giovinco