Map Application with Novel Search, Browsing and Planning Tools
Some embodiments of the invention provide a map application with novel map exploration tools. In some embodiments, the map application executes on a mobile device (e.g., a handheld smartphone, a tablet, etc.) with a touch sensitive screen. The map application of some embodiments has a first display area to display a map of a region, and second and third display areas to display information about items displayed on the map in the first display area. In some embodiments, the second display area slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. After the second display area slides over the first display area, the third display area in some embodiments slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. In some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide over the first display area from one side of the first display area. This side is the bottom of the first display area in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the bottom side is expected to be closer to a position for resting the mobile device in a hand of a user than a top side of the first display area. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide up from the bottom side of the first display area so that information and/or controls that are provided in these display areas are more accessible for one handed operations (e.g., thumb-based touch operations) of the user as the user hold and interacts with the device with one hand.
Latest Apple Patents:
Each of the following applications are hereby incorporated by reference: application Ser. No. 15/274,801 filed on Sep. 23, 2016; application No. 62/358,083 filed on Jul. 4, 2016; application No. 62/349,014 filed on Jun. 12, 2016. The Applicant hereby rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope in the parent application(s) or the prosecution history thereof and advises the USPTO that the claims in this application may be broader than any claim in the parent application(s).
BACKGROUNDWith proliferation of mobile devices (such as smartphones), numerous mobile-device applications have been developed to assist users with many of their daily activities. Map and navigation applications are one type of such applications. However, many of the applications today do not have optimal controls for one handed operations by their users. This is especially the case for applications that execute on smartphones with larger screen sizes.
SUMMARYSome embodiments of the invention provide a map application with novel map exploration tools. In some embodiments, the map application executes on a mobile device (e.g., a handheld smartphone) with a touch sensitive screen. The map application of some embodiments has a first display area to display a map of a region, and second and third display areas to display information about items displayed on the map in the first display area. The map application allows the map in the first display area to be adjusted through pan and zoom operations (e.g., that are performed through gestural touch input received through the touch sensitive screen of the mobile device).
In some embodiments, the second display area slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. After the second display area slides over the first display area, the third display area in some embodiments slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. In some embodiments, the third display area slides over the first display area by sliding over the second display area while the second display area at least partially overlaps the first display area. In other embodiments, the second display area slides off the first display area, before the third display area slides over the first display area.
Also, in some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide over the first display area from one side of the first display area. This side is the bottom of the first display area in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the bottom side is expected to be closer to a position for resting the mobile device in a hand of a user than a top side of the first display area. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide up from the bottom side of the first display area so that information and/or controls that are provided in these display areas are more accessible for one handed operations (e.g., thumb-based touch operations) of the user as the user holds and interacts with the device with one hand.
In some embodiments, the second and third display areas appear as cards that slide over the first display area (e.g., with the second card initially sliding over the first display area, and after an input, the third display area subsequently sliding over the second display area). These cards in some embodiments include information about locations contained in the map displayed in the first display area, and/or controls for performing operations with respect to these locations (e.g., performing searches with respect to these locations, obtaining information about these locations, identifying routes to these locations, providing navigation presentations for these locations, etc.).
In some embodiments, the second display area is a search card with a search field for receiving a search parameter, and a list area for displaying a list of locations. When no search parameter is entered in the search field, the search display area provides a list of locations that includes search parameters previously entered in the search field, as well as predicted destinations for the device. After receiving a search parameter (e.g., for Coffee Shops) through the search field, the map application displays in the search card a list of locations (e.g., a list of coffee shops) that are associated with the search parameter, and displays identifiers on the map to identify the position of the listed locations (e.g., the position of the coffee shops) that are associated with the search parameter.
In some embodiments, the third display area is a location card that provides information about a particular location identified on the map. This location card in some embodiments provides information about the particular location after the location is selected from the list displayed in the second display area. In some embodiments, the location card also provides information about the particular location after the identifier for the location is selected on the map.
In other embodiments, the third display area is a route planning card that displays information and controls for planning a route to a particular location displayed on the map presented in the first display area. The map application in some embodiments can transition from the search card to the route planning card for each location identified through the search card (e.g., each location listed in the search card or each location identified by an identifier on the map that is displayed in response to a search). On the other hand, for some locations, the map application in some embodiments can only transition from the search card to location cards of these locations, before transitioning from their location cards to their route planning cards. In yet other embodiments, the map application cannot transition between the search card and the route planning card for any location without first going through the location card for that location.
In some embodiments, the map application not only sequentially presents the different cards, but requires the user to sequentially remove cards when the user wants to go back to an earlier card. The map application in these embodiment requires this sequential back trace in order to maintain the card-based design cue through the user interaction. In other embodiments, the map application provides a control on a later presented card to skip over one or more intermediate cards that are between the later presented card and an earlier presented card Also, in the embodiments that allow the cards to transition from a search card to a route planning card without first viewing an information card for a location, the map application provides a control that allows the user to transition from the route planning card back to the search card.
In some embodiments, each of the cards has four display states, which are a minimized state, an intermediate state, a maximized state, and an off-screen state. In other embodiments, these cards do not have an off-screen state, and thereby only have three display states: the minimized state, the intermediate state, and the maximized state. In these embodiments, the map application displays one of the cards in one of its states at all times, with the minimized search card being the default card during map browsing when no other card is open. Several examples illustrated in the figures and described below use all four display states. However, one of ordinary skill will realize that not all of these states (e.g. the off-screen state) are used by the cards of some embodiments of the invention.
In the minimized state, a card displays a small amount of information and/or controls. For example, a search card of some embodiments only presents its search field in the minimized state in some embodiments. When the search field has received a search parameter and the map is displaying the results of a search based on the received search parameter, the search field of the search field displays the search parameter.
In its intermediate state, a card in some embodiments provides more information and/or controls than in the minimized state. Also, the presentation of the information in a card's intermediate state provides a clue in some embodiments that the card has additional information and/or controls that are currently off screen. For example, in some embodiments, some of the information and/or controls that are displayed in the card's intermediate display state are cut off at the card's bottom to imply that there is more information and/or controls off screen. Also, in some embodiments, the height of a card in its intermediate state is selected so that the user can interact with this card's controls with the thumb of the hand that holds the device.
In some embodiments, the user can scroll the card's content while the card is in its intermediate state. In other embodiments, the user cannot scroll through the card's content while the card is in this state. To scroll through this content, the user has to expand the card to its maximized state in these embodiments. In its maximized state, the card displays the most amount of information and/or controls that it can display.
A card also has an off-screen state. In this state, no portion of the card is displayed on the screen. However, from the off-screen state, the map application in some embodiments can present the card (e.g., in its last displayed state or in its intermediate state) based on input from the user. In some embodiments, the card can transition to its off-screen state based on user input. For example, when the card is in its intermediate state, one tap of the map in the first display area causes the card to transition to its minimized state, while two taps of the map cause the card to transition to its off screen state. In some embodiments, a card can transition to its off-screen state though other inputs.
Different embodiments provide different controls for transitioning between minimized, intermediate and maximized display states of a card. In some embodiments, the user can transition between these states by touching the top of the card, and dragging this top to a larger display state (if any) or down to a smaller display state. Also, the user in some embodiments can change the display state of the card by performing a “flick” operation, which entails touching the top of the card and performing a quick up or down drag operation. When the speed or acceleration of the flick operation (i.e., of its drag operation) exceeds a threshold value, this operation in some embodiments can direct the map application to skip the intermediate display state as the card shrinks from its maximized state to its minimized state, or expands from its minimized state to its maximized state. When the speed or acceleration of the flick operation does not exceed the threshold value, the flick operation in these embodiments direct the map application to stop at the intermediate display state when transitioning from the maximized or minimized state. One of ordinary skill will realize that other embodiments provide other controls for transitioning between these states. One of ordinary skill will also realize that some or all of the cards of some embodiments do not have one or more of the above-described states.
The preceding Summary is intended to serve as a brief introduction to some embodiments of the invention. It is not meant to be an introduction or overview of all-inventive subject matter disclosed in this document. The Detailed Description that follows and the Drawings that are referred to in the Detailed Description will further describe the embodiments described in the Summary as well as other embodiments. Accordingly, to understand all the embodiments described by this document, a full review of the Summary, Detailed Description and the Drawings is needed. Moreover, the claimed subject matters are not to be limited by the illustrative details in the Summary, Detailed Description and the Drawings, but rather are to be defined by the appended claims, because the claimed subject matters can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the subject matters.
The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purposes of explanation, several embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following figures.
In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are set forth and described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention may be practiced without some of the specific details and examples discussed.
Some embodiments of the invention provide a map application with novel map exploration tools. In some embodiments, the map application executes on a mobile device (e.g., a handheld smartphone, a tablet, etc.) with a touch sensitive screen. The map application of some embodiments has a first display area to display a map of a region, and second and third display areas to display information about items displayed on the map in the first display area.
In some embodiments, the second display area slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. After the second display area slides over the first display area, the third display area in some embodiments slides over the first display area to overlap at least a portion of the first display area. In some embodiments, the third display area slides over the first display area by sliding over the second display area while the second display area at least partially overlaps the first display area. In other embodiments, the second display area slides off the first display area, before the third display area slides over the first display area.
Also, in some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide over the first display area from one side of the first display area. This side is the bottom of the first display area in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the bottom side is expected to be closer to a position for resting the mobile device in a hand of a user than a top side of the first display area. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the second and third display areas slide up from the bottom side of the first display area so that information and/or controls that are provided in these display areas are more accessible for one handed operations (e.g., thumb-based touch operations) of the user as the user holds and interacts with the device with one hand. When the device is flipped upside down, the mobile device of some embodiments rotates the displayed output of all its applications, including the map application, upside down (including the map display area and all the cards that slide over the map display area), because it is expected that the top of the device will now reside in the palm of the user's hand. This rotation of the displayed outputs is a common feature of mobile devices sold by Apple Inc., and it is facilitated by the position sensors of these mobile devices.
In some embodiments, the second and third display areas appear as cards that slide over the first display area (e.g., with the second card initially sliding over the first display area, and after an input, the third display area subsequently sliding over the second display area). These cards in some embodiments include information about locations contained in the map displayed in the first display area, and/or controls for performing operations with respect to these locations (e.g., performing searches with respect to these locations, obtaining information about these locations, identifying routes to these locations, providing navigation presentations for these locations, etc.).
The search card 102 is at the bottom of the map display area 101. As further described below, the search card can slide over the display area 101 to assume a maximized position, and slides down or off the map display area 101 to assume a minimized or off-screen position. As further discussed below (e.g., by reference to
When the map application initially opens in some embodiments, the list area 224 displays several predicted locations to view on the map. In the starting stage 202, the map application proactively opens the search card in order to provide the user with quick access to the search field 222 and to the list of predicted locations. As further described in concurrently filed U.S. Patent Application entitled “Proactive Search Window,” with Attorney Docket APLE.P0722, the list of predicted locations in some embodiments is generated from a variety of sources, including previous searches entered in the search field, frequent destinations of the smartphone 100, addresses harvested from communication (e.g., emails and text messages) received by the smartphone, etc.
The second stage 204 illustrates the output display of the map application after a search term “Fast Food” has been entered in the search field 222. As shown, the map application identifies for this search several nearby fast food restaurant that it (1) identifies in the list area 224 in the search card 102, and (2) specifies with position identifiers 228 on the map 120. In some embodiments, the map application allows the map 120 in the map display area 101 to be adjusted through pan and zoom operations (e.g., that are performed through gestural touch input received through the touch sensitive screen of the mobile device) to see more or less of the map and to see other regions in the map. The search card 102 of some embodiments will be further described below.
The second stage 204 also illustrates the user touch selecting one of the locations (Big Belly Burger in this example) in the list area 224 of the search card 102. The third stage 206 illustrates that in response to this selection, the map application displays the selected location in the map display area 101, and displays the location-information card 104 for this selected location. To display this location card 104, the map application in some embodiments displays an animation that shows the location card 104 sliding from an off-screen position into the map application's output display. For instance, the animation in some embodiments shows the location card 104 slide from the bottom of the map display area 101 and the search card 102 over the search card 102. In other embodiments, the map application first shows the search card 102 slide down and off the screen, before or as the location card 104 slides up over the map display area 101.
The location card 104 provides information and controls about a particular location identified on the map. In this example, the location card 104 displays information and controls relating to Big Belly Burger selected in the second stage 204. In some embodiments, the map application also displays the location card 104 for a location after the identifier for the location is selected on a map displayed in the map display area 101. In some embodiments, the location card 104 displays for one location several of the following types of information: pictures, address, hours of operation, reviews, etc. It also displays controls for the map application to perform operations with respect to this card's associated location, such as identifying a route to the location. The location card 104 of some embodiments will be further described below.
The third stage 206 illustrates the user touch selecting a control 240 for requesting directions to the location associated with the location card 104. The fourth stage 208 illustrates that in response to this selection, the map application displays a route to the location in the map display area 101, and displays the route planning card 106 for this selected location. To display this route planning card 106, the map application in some embodiments displays an animation that shows the route planning card 106 sliding from an off-screen position into the map application's output display. For instance, the animation in some embodiments shows the location card 104 slide from the bottom of the map display area 101 and the location card 104 over the location card 104. In other embodiments, the map application first shows the location card 104 slide down and off the screen, before or as the route planning card 106 slides up over the map display area 101.
In some embodiments, the route planning card 106 displays information and controls for planning a route from a device's current location to a location displayed on the map presented in the map display area 101. As shown, the route planning card 106 includes a set of controls for specifying the mode of travel (which, in this example, are driving, walking, transit, and ride sharing) to the location. The route planning card 106 of some embodiments will be further described below.
The map application in some embodiments can transition from the search card 102 to the route planning card 106 for some locations identified on the search card (e.g., a Home location, or a Work location listed in the search card). On the other hand, for other locations identified through the search card 102, the map application in some embodiments can only transition from the search card 102 to location cards 104 of these locations, before transitioning from their location cards 104 to their route planning cards 106. In yet other embodiments, the map application cannot transition between the search card and the route planning card for any location without first going through the location card for that location.
In some embodiments, the map application not only sequentially presents the different cards, but requires the user to sequentially remove cards when the user wants to go back to an earlier card. The map application in these embodiment requires this sequential back trace in order to maintain the card-based design cue through the user interaction. In some embodiments, the map application provides a control on a later presented card to skip over one or more intermediate cards that are between the later presented card and an earlier presented card. Also, in the embodiments that allow the cards to transition from a search card to a route planning card without first viewing an information card for a location, the map application provides a control that allows the user to transition from the route planning card back to the search card.
When going backwards from a later presented card to an earlier presented card, the map application of some embodiments presents the earlier card in the same state in which it was being viewed before transitioning to the later presented.
In some embodiments, each of the cards has four display states, which are a minimized state, an intermediate state, a maximized state, and an off-screen state. In the minimized state, a card displays a small amount of information and/or controls. For example, a search card of some embodiments only presents its search field in the minimized state in some embodiments. When the search field has received a search parameter and the map is displaying the results of a search based on the received search parameter, the search field of the search field displays the search parameter.
In its intermediate state, a card in some embodiments provides more information and/or controls than in the minimized state. Also, the presentation of the information in a card's intermediate state provides a clue in some embodiments that the card has additional information and/or controls that are currently off screen. For example, in some embodiments, some of the information and/or controls that are displayed in the card's intermediate display state are cut off at the card's bottom to imply that there is more information and/or controls off screen. Also, in some embodiments, the height of a card in its intermediate state is selected so that the user can interact with this card's controls with the thumb of the hand that holds the device.
In some embodiments, the user can scroll the card's content while the card is in its intermediate state. In other embodiments, the user cannot scroll through the card's content while the card is in this state. Instead, to scroll through this content, the user has to expand the card to its maximized state in these embodiments. In its maximized state, the card displays the most amount of information and/or controls that it can display.
A card also has an off-screen state. In this state, no portion of the card is displayed on the screen. However, from the off-screen state, the map application in some embodiments can present the card (e.g., in its last displayed state or in its intermediate state) based on input from the user. In some embodiments, the card can transition to its off-screen state based on user input. For example, when the card is in its intermediate state, one tap of the map in the first display area causes the card to transition to its minimized state, while two taps of the map cause the card to transition to its off screen state. In some embodiments, a card can transition to its off-screen state though other inputs.
Different embodiments provide different controls for transitioning between the display states of a card (e.g., between the off-screen, minimized, intermediate and maximized states). In some embodiments, the user can transition between these states by touching the top of the card, and dragging this top to a larger display state (if any) or down to a smaller display state. Also, the user in some embodiments can change the display state of the card by performing a “flick” operation, which entails touching the top of the card and performing a quick up or down drag operation. When the speed or acceleration of the flick operation (i.e., of its drag operation) exceeds a threshold value, this operation in some embodiments can direct the map application to skip the intermediate display state as the card shrinks from its maximized state to its minimized state, or expands from its minimized state to its maximized state. When the speed or acceleration of the flick operation does not exceed the threshold value, the flick operation in these embodiments direct the map application to stop at the intermediate display state when transitioning from the maximized or minimized state. One of ordinary skill will realize that other embodiments provide other controls for transitioning between these states. One of ordinary skill will also realize that some or all of the cards of some embodiments do not have one or more of the above-described states.
In some embodiments, the map application allows some or all of the cards to be stationary in only one of its three displayed states without the user holding the cards stationary through input. These three states are the minimized, intermediate and maximized states. In these embodiments, the map application allows the card to go up and down between these states and provides animations of the card transitioning between these states. But the map application in these embodiments does not display the card stationary in any state between these states, unless the user is holding the card in such a state (e.g., by dragging the card to such a state and maintaining contact with the screen to hold the card in such a state). In other embodiments, the map application allows the card to remain stationary in a state between minimized and intermediate states, or between the minimized and maximized states.
In the example illustrated by these states, the search card has received a request for a search of coffee shops in a particular region of the map that is being displayed in the map display area 101. This search is identified by the search parameter “Coffee Shop” appearing in the search field 222 of this card in each of its three states 602, 604 and 606. The search is also identified by (1) a search result list 626 in the search card's list area 224 in the intermediate and maximized states 602 and 604, and (2) the position identifiers 628 (also referred to as position-of-interest (POI) markers) on the portion of the map 620 in the map area display that is not covered by the search card in its intermediate state 602, maximized state 604, or minimized state 606.
In the minimized state 606, the search card 102 overlaps a much smaller part of the map displayed in the map display area 101 than the space covered by this card in the intermediates state 602 and maximized state 604. The search card 102 in its minimized state 606 shows its search field 222 but does not show its list 224 of locations. In the minimized state 606, the intermediate state 602, and the maximized state 604, the search card shows control 670 for removing the displayed search parameter from the search field, and the control 672 for removing the search card to its off-screen state (i.e., to remove this card from overlapping any portion of the map display area 101). When the user wishes to interact with a card that is displayed in its minimized state, the user in some embodiments can select the card (e.g., tapping the card), which then opens up to its intermediate state. In other embodiments, the selection of a minimized card causes the card to open to its last non-minimized, non-off-screen state. When a card is in its minimized state displays one or more controls, the user selects the minimized card at a location that is not one of these controls in order to cause the card to transition from its minimized state to another state.
As shown in
When displaying intermediate and minimized cards (e.g., the search card 102 in intermediate and minimized states 602 and 606), the map application displays weather data 675 (e.g., temperature data, meteorological data, precipitation data, etc.) on the map (e.g., map 620) displayed in the map display area 101. Visible also on the map in the map display area 101 are an information control 680 and a position identifier 685 in the top corner of this display area when the application is displaying an intermediate card or a minimized card. The information control 680 allows the user to change certain aspects of the map presentation, e.g., to switch the map mode (e.g., driving mode, walking mode, transit mode, etc.), to display or hide the traffic conditions, to switch between 2D or 3D map presentation. The position identifier 685 directs the map application to show a region on the map that corresponds to the current location of the device, and to show the location of the device in that region. In some embodiments, the information control 680 and position identifier 685 provide other functionality that is currently provided by these controls in the current mobile device operating system.
In its intermediate and maximized states 602 and 604, the search result list 626 displays several pieces of information for each location in the list. In this example, this list shows for each location a thumbnail picture 650 associated with the location, a name 652, a rating 654, a price indicator 656 describing prices of items at the location, the type 658 of location and the distance 660 to the location. Below the search result list 626, the search card 102 can also provide a set of filter controls 665 for filtering the results displayed on the map and on the list. In this example, the set of filter controls 665 are names (Danny Donuts, Star Cafe, 7-Store, etc.) of popular coffee shops. These names are provided in a scrollable list (e.g., a list that can horizontally scroll to the right or left). Selection of any one of these names directs the map application to display coffee shops with the selected names on the map in the map display area and in the search result list 626.
In its intermediate state 602, the search card in some embodiments partially displays the search result list 626 to identify some but not all of the locations identified for the search. In this example, the second item on this list is only partially displayed in the map application's output display. This partial presentation provides a clue in some embodiments that the card has additional information and/or controls that are currently off screen.
Also, in some embodiments, the height of a card in its intermediate state is selected so that the user can interact with this card's controls by the same hand that holds the device (e.g., with the thumb of the hand that holds the device). This point is illustrated in
The map application in some embodiments provides several other ways to change the display state of a search card.
The second stage 804 shows that the drag operation of the first stage 802 causes the map application to slide the search card up to assume its maximized state 604. This stage also shows the user's thumb selecting the top of the search card and performing a downward drag operation. The downward drag operation directs the map application to slide down the search card to assume its minimized state 606, as shown in the third stage 806. To drag the card from its maximized state to its minimized state, the user can drag the card past (e.g., a threshold distance past) its intermediate state from its maximized state.
In some embodiments, the user can also perform a flick operation to move a card (e.g., a search card 102) between its minimized state (e.g., state 606), intermediate state (e.g., state 602), and maximized state (e.g., state 604). To perform a flick operation in some embodiments, the user can select a location on the card (e.g., the top of the card) and perform an upward or downward drag operation that has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a first threshold velocity or acceleration value. By having the threshold velocity or acceleration, this flick operation allows the user to push the card to the next displayed state (e.g., from the intermediate state to the maximized or minimized state, from the minimized state to the intermediate state, or from the maximized state to the intermediate state) without maintaining the drag contact as long as it would be needed when the drag operation does not have the threshold velocity or acceleration. When the flick's drag operation has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a second, larger threshold value, the flick operation in some embodiments can have the card skip the intermediate state and transition from the maximized state to the minimized state, or from the minimized state to the maximized state. This stronger flick operation is referred to as a strong flick operation below.
The third stage 806 of
As mentioned above, a user cannot scroll a card's content while the card is in its intermediate state, but can scroll this content when the card is in its maximized state.
The second stage 904 shows that in response to this drag operation, the map application scrolls the predicted-destination list upwards. This scrolling has moved entry 920 for Coffee Shop in Cupertino from a lower position in the first stage 902 to the top of the list. Because of this scrolling, four entries on the predicted-location list have scrolled off the list, while four other entries on this list are now displayed on this list. As shown, the thumb of the hand that holds the phone 100 can easily scroll through the displayed content of a card in its maximized state. In other words, this operation is yet another convenient one-handed interaction that is facilitated by the map application.
As shown, in each of the states 1002, 1004, and 1006, the location card 104 has a control 1008 for removing this card and returning to a previously displayed search card, or to a previously displayed view of the map that does not include either the search card or the location card. As further shown, the location card 104 displays in all its three states 1002, 1004, and 1006 the name of the location, and a review of the location from a social media service (e.g., Yelp) when such a review is available.
In its intermediate and maximized states 1002 and 1004, this card provides additional information about the location. In both of these states 1002 and 1004, this card displays the distance to the location form the current location of the device, and several photos associated with the location (e.g., several photos of the location). The card also displays a route-planning control 1010 that when selected, directs the map application to display a route from the current location of the device to the location associated with the card. As shown, the route-planning control 1010 displays an estimated time of travel to the location associated with the location card 104 from the current location of the device.
In its intermediate state 1002, the location card 104 in some embodiments displays only part of the set of information that this card has for the location. Also, this card partially displays some of the information in order to visually suggest that it contains additional information for display. In the example illustrated in
In addition, like other cards in their intermediate states, the content presented in the location card 104 in intermediate state 1002 is not scrollable in some embodiments. Instead, this content is scrollable in some embodiments only when the location card 104 is in its maximized state 1004. The scrollable content that is viewable in the maximized state of a location card depends on the type of the location associated with the card. As shown in
In some embodiments, the map application allows a user to adjust the route-planning card 106 between its intermediate state 1102, maximized state 1104, minimized state 1106 and off-screen state, by performing the same operations as those that were described above. As shown, in each of the states 1102, 1104, and 1106, the route planning card 106 has a control 1108 for removing this card and returning to a previously displayed search card, a previously displayed location card, or to a previously displayed view of the map (e.g., a view of the map that does not include any card).
In its intermediate and minimized states 1102 and 1106, the map application displays the route planning card 106 along with a representation 1150 of at least one route on a map that is displayed in the map display area. In this example, the displayed route is a route from the device's current location to the destination location of the route. This displayed route 1150 is the route that the map application quantifies as the best route to the destination location based on a set of one or more metrics. In some embodiments, the map application in some cases displays on the map multiple routes to a destination, e.g., multiple driving routes to the destination.
As further shown, the route planning card 106 in each of its states 1102, 1104 and 1106 displays a description of the route being planned. This description in some embodiments is provided in terms of the start and end locations of the route, as shown. Also, in its intermediate and maximized states 1102 and 1104, the route planning card 106 provides additional description of the displayed route 1150. This description is dependent on the mode of travel in some embodiments. In the example illustrated in
For driving or walking mode navigation, the route planning card 106 in its intermediate and maximized states 1102 and 1104 can provide other descriptions of the route being displayed. For instance, in some embodiments, this card 106 in its intermediate and maximized states 1102 and 1104 provides (1) an estimated time to travel to the location, (2) an identification of one or more roads to travel (e.g., a primary road to travel), (3) the length of the route, as illustrated in the example presented in
For transit routes, the route planning card in its maximized state 1104 can display several different transit routes, as shown. However, in its intermediate state 1102, the route planning card 106 in some embodiments displays only a subset of (e.g., one of) the identified transit routes. Because the route planning card 106 in some embodiments is not scrollable when it is in its intermediate state, the user has to switch the card to its maximized state 1104 in order to view additional identified routes, and if needed, to scroll through these routes.
During route planning, the routes displayed on the map and described in the route planning cards are dependent on the mode of transportation that the map application or the user selects. In some embodiments, the map application selects the transportation mode based on the travel mode preference that the user has specified in the application's settings, or that the user has specified in particular for a particular journey. In its intermediate and maximized states 1102 and 1104, the route planning card 106 provides a set of travel mode controls that allow the user to specify the travel mode for navigating to a particular destination. These controls include (1) a driving mode control 1180 for requesting a driving route, (2) a walking mode control 1182 for requesting a walking route, (3) a transit mode control 1186 for requesting a transit route, and (4) a ride sharing control 1188 for requesting ride sharing to the destination.
In its intermediate and maximized states 1102 and 1104, the route planning card 106 provides a navigation launch control 1160 for each route identified on the card. When selected for a route, the navigation launch control directs the map application to provide a navigation presentation for the selected route.
These states of the navigation card are illustrated in three operational stages 1302-1306 of
The second stage 1304 shows the navigation card after it has been expanded to its intermediate state 1314. In some embodiments, the navigation card assumes this state when the user selects the minimized version of this card, or selects the minimized card and drags it up. In some embodiments, the user can have the navigation card shrink from its intermediate state 1314 to its minimized state 1312 by tapping on the map that displays the navigation presentation or by selecting the intermediate version 1314 of this card (e.g., the top of the intermediate card) and dragging this card down.
In its intermediate state 1314, the navigation card displays several additional controls. In the illustrated example, the additional controls include three controls 1330, 1332, and 1334 for identifying gas stations, restaurants and coffee shops near the navigated route. Selection of these controls directs the map application to perform a search for gas stations, restaurants or coffee shops that are near the navigated route, and to display the search results on the map of the navigated route. The user can then select a displayed search result to get a navigation presentation to the location of the selected search result. Although
Another one of the controls displayed by the navigation card in its intermediate state 1314 is the audio setting control 1336, which when selected, opens a display area that provides controls for adjusting the audio settings (e.g., volume level, turning ON/OFF voice navigation instructions, etc.) for the navigation presentation. Yet another control is the route detail control 1338 that, when selected, provides a list of the maneuvers along the route. The last control is a route overview control 1340. As shown in the third state 1306, the selection of the route overview control 1340 causes the navigation card to shrink back to its minimized state, reduces the size of the navigation banner 1326, and provides an overview display 1375 of the navigated route. This overview display 1375 shows the position of the puck and the entire remaining portion of the route from the position of the puck to the destination.
In the example illustrated in
Also, as shown, a tap operation directs the view coordinator to transition a card from its intermediate state to its minimized state. In some embodiments, such a tap operation can also be used to direct the view coordinator to transition a card from its maximized state to its intermediate state, and/or to transition a card from its minimized state to its intermediate state.
As shown, when performing an inter-state transition from a first card to a second card, the view coordinator presents the second card in the same display state that it was presenting the first card before making the transition. Also, as described above, the map application in some embodiments transitions through the location information card when transitioning between the search card and route planning card for most locations. However, for certain locations (e.g., common locations (such as Work and Home), or locations without location information cards), the map application of these embodiments transitions between the search and route planning cards directly, without transitioning through the location information card. Other embodiments, on the other hand, provide affordances to allow the user to directly transition between the search and route planning cards for all locations.
In some embodiments, the card based UI design of the map application is part of a container based architecture that displays either cards or sidebars to provide search, location, route planning and navigation data and controls. This architecture of the map application of some embodiments dynamically picks either the cards or sidebars based on a set of criteria, which can include the dimensions of the device on which it executes, the content being displayed by the map application, and the orientation of the device.
Also, like the search, location, and route planning cards, the search, location and route planning sidebars have three displays states, which are minimized, intermediate and maximized states.
As shown in
The container style selector 2005 informs a container content coordinator 2020 of the container style that it selects, each time that it selects a new container style. In some embodiments, the container style selector 2005 informs the coordinator by setting a current container style parameter in a data storage accessible to the content coordinator 2020. For search, location or route planning container (e.g., card container or sidebar container), the content coordinator 2020 uses a map coordinator 2025 to present the different map views in the container, to resize the containers based on user input, and to transition between the different map views in the container. The content coordinator 2020 passes the container style to use to the map coordinator 2025.
As shown in
For the navigation container (e.g., navigation card or navigation sidebar), the content coordinator 2020 uses a navigation coordinator 2030 to present the different navigation views in the container, to resize the containers based on user input, and to transition between the different views in the container. The content coordinator 2020 passes the container style to use to the navigation coordinator 2030.
As shown in
To perform these operations (e.g., to perform a search along the route), the view controllers can call other modules of the map application to obtain the desired information and/or achieve the desired animation.
As shown, the process 2100 initially examines (at 2105) a set of one or more attributes that define the container style context. In some embodiments, this attribute set includes attributes related to the device on which the map application executes. Examples of these attributes include the dimensions of the device on which the map application executes, the orientation of the device, any other content that the device may be displaying concurrently with the map application, etc. In some embodiments, the attribute set also includes one or more attributes related to the operation of the map application, e.g., the content being displayed by the map application.
At 2110, the process selects a container style based on the identified container style context. In some embodiments, the process makes this selection based on a set of rules that specify the container style to select for the different attribute sets. For instance, one rule might say that on a tablet the sidebar container should be used unless with the map application output display, the device is concurrently displaying the output of another application that takes up more than a threshold amount (e.g., 30%, 40%, 50%, etc.) of screen space. For a smartphone with a large display screen, two rules might specify that the card container should be used when the phone is operated in an upright mode, while the sidebar container should be used when the phone is operated in the sideways mode.
At 2115, the process directs the container coordinator 2020 to use the selected container style. As mentioned above, the child map and navigation coordinators 2025 and 2030 of the container coordinator 2020 then use this setting to select the container style for the views that they manage. As the attributes change, the container selector on certain devices in some embodiments dynamically changes the container style that it picks to account for this change. Thus, after 2115, the process transitions to 2120, where it determines whether the container style context has changed. If not, the process remains in this state 2120 until the context changes or until the user closes the map application. When the process 2100 determines (at 2120) that the context has changed, the process returns to 2110, to select a container style based on the identified context and then direct the container coordinator to use the selected style.
Several touch and gesture operations for modifying the size of the cards were described above by reference to
The example in
The first stage 2202 shows the search card 102 opened to its intermediate state to partially overlap the map display area 101. The map display area 101 displays a map of a region in the portion of this display area that the search card does not overlap. The first stage 2202 also shows the user starting a swipe operation on the portion of the map display area 101 that the search card 102 does not overlap. This stage shows the user touching the top left corner of the map display area and starting to drag his finger to the bottom right corner of this display area. In this example, the touch selection or swipe operation within the map display area does not direct the map application in some embodiments to minimize the search card, unlike some of the embodiments that were described above.
The second stage 2204 shows that as a result of this right downward swipe operation, the map display area is now displaying another portion of the map. This stage 2204 also shows the location of the user's finger at the end of this downward swipe. This location is not within the threshold vicinity of the intermediate search card to cause this card to minimize. Also, the second stage 2204 shows that at the end of the right downward swipe operation, the user starts a left upward swipe operation.
The third stage 2206 shows that as a result of the left upward swipe operation, the map display area displays another portion of the map. This stage 2206 also shows that at the end of the left upward swipe operation, the user starts another right downward swipe operation. The fourth stage 2208 shows that this second downward swipe operation reaches and passes the displayed position of the top of the intermediate sized search card. Once the finger reaches within a threshold distance of the top of the intermediate sized search card, the map application starts to reduce the size of the search card from its intermediate state to its minimized state. The fourth stage 2208 shows the search card moving downwards from its intermediate state to its minimized state.
To determine whether the finger is within the threshold distance of the top of the intermediate search card, the map application defines a bounding box around the search card. This bounding box has its bottom, right and left sides aligned with the bottom, right and left sides of the search card, but has a top side that is the threshold distance above the top side of the card. When the map application detects that the touch contact for the swipe input is within the bounding box, and the direction of the swipe is downwards, the map application in some embodiments starts to slide the search card down.
The fifth stage 2210 shows that even after the user has ended the downward swipe operation and has removed his finger (i.e., has terminated the touch contact with the mobile device's display screen), the search card continues its downward movement towards its minimized state. This is because once the map application starts a card's transition from its intermediate state to its minimized state in response to a swipe operation on the map display area, the map application in some embodiments continues with this transition even when the user ends the downward swipe operation by ending the touch contact, or by starting an upward or sideways swipe operation.
The sixth stage 2212 shows the search card in its minimized state after it has completed its transition to this stage. In the embodiments that have off-screen states for the cards, the gesture operation illustrated in
Also, other embodiments use other criteria for causing an intermediate sized card to shrink to its minimized state or to its off-screen state. For instance, in some embodiments, the map application shrinks the card from its intermediate state to its minimized or off-screen state when the swipe gesture in the map display area is larger than a certain amount and/or causes the map to pan by more than a threshold amount. In some embodiments, the intermediate sized card also shrinks to its minimized or off-screen state when the user performs on the map a downward swipe gesture that has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a threshold velocity or acceleration.
Next, at 2315, the process determines whether the current location of the touch is within a threshold distance of the top of the intermediate sized card. If not, the process determines (at 2320) whether the swipe gesture has ended. If it has ended, the process ends. If the swipe gesture has not ended, the process returns to 2310 to perform another pan operation to again change the portion of the map that is currently being displayed in the map display area. In some embodiments, this operation changes the map based on the magnitude and direction of the last incremental portion of the swipe gesture (i.e., the portion received since the last iteration of the panning operation 2310). After this panning operation, the process again transitions to 2315.
If the process determines (at 2315) that the current touch location is within a threshold distance of the top of the intermediate sized card, the process 2300 starts (at 2325) an animation process that defines a series of successive positions for the card as it shrinks from its intermediate state to its minimized state. This animation process accounts for the velocity of the swipe gesture in some embodiments. Specifically, in some embodiments, the animation process shrinks the card faster (i.e., defines a shorter time duration for displaying the various shrinking states of the card) when the velocity of the swipe gesture is greater. The animation process in some embodiments applies a low pass filter to the velocity parameter values in order to smooth out the animation of the descending card. In some of these embodiments, the animation process slows down the card's speed of descent as the card gets closer to its minimized state.
After initiating the animation process (at 2325) to direct the card to minimize, the process 2300 continues (at 2330) to pan the map in the map display area based on the swipe gesture input, while this input lasts. The process 2300 ends when the swipe gesture ends. Although
In some embodiments, the map application also allows a user to use upward and downward touch swipe operations to change the size of a minimized card or a maximized card. In some of these embodiments, however, these gestures have to meet certain criteria before the map application modifies the size of a minimized or maximized card in response to these gestures. For instance, in some embodiments, an upward or downward swipe operation can adjust the size of a minimized card or a maximized card when the swipe operation starts at the bottom side or top side of the display screen. The mobile device of some embodiments associates the bottom and top sides of the display screen with other affordances that are activated by upward and downward swipe operations. In some embodiments, the map application uses a set of rules to determine whether to resize a minimized or maximized card based on an upward or downward swipe operation that is initiated from the edge of the display screen, when such an operation might also be intended to activate other affordances provided by the mobile device.
The second stage 2604 shows the card practically at its intermediate state as a result of the upward swipe gesture. It also shows the swipe gesture continuing. This stage also shows the location of the finger to be below the search field of the search card 102. The finger is at this location as the map application started moving the card upwards before the finger could pass the search field as the finger started to drag across the screen from the bottom side of the display screen.
When the upward swipe gesture continues after the search card has reached its intermediate state, the map application continues the movement of this card upward so that it can reach its maximized state. In some embodiments, the map application can transition the card from its minimized state to its maximized state even when the edge-initiated upward swipe gesture ends quickly (e.g., ends before the card reaches its intermediate state) if the swipe gesture has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a threshold velocity or acceleration (e.g., when the swipe gesture is a flick with such velocity or acceleration). Thus, in these embodiments, the user does not need to push the card past its intermediate state to cause it to expand from its minimized state to its maximized state by performing an edge-initiated upward swipe gesture.
The third stage 2606 shows the card after it has reached its maximized state. This stage also shows the user starting a downward swipe gesture by placing his finger at the topside of the bezel and dragging it downward (as represented by arrow 2616). Once the user's finger reaches the top edge of the map display area, the map application starts moving the search card downwards to decrease its size.
The fourth stage 2608 shows the card near its intermediate state as a result of the downward swipe gesture. It also shows the downward swipe gesture continuing. This stage also shows the location of the finger to be above the search card 102. The finger is at this location as the map application started moving the card downwards before the finger could reach the search card when the finger started to drag across the screen from the top of the map display area.
When the downward swipe gesture continues after the search card has reached its intermediate state, the map application continues the movement of this card downward so that it can reach its minimized state. In some embodiments, the map application can transition the card from its maximized state to its minimized state even when the edge-initiated downward swipe gesture ends quickly (e.g., ends before the card reaches its intermediate state) if the swipe gesture has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a threshold velocity or acceleration. Thus, in these embodiments, the user does not need to push the card past its intermediate state to cause it to shrink from its maximized state to its minimized state by performing an edge-initiated downward swipe gesture.
In the embodiments that have off-screen states for the cards, a downward swipe gesture can direct the map application to move the card to an off-screen state. In some of these embodiments, the downward swipe gesture first causes a maximized card to stop at its minimized state, unless the swipe operation continues, in which case the card then is pushed off-screen to its off-screen state. Also, in some embodiments, the downward swipe gesture can cause the maximized card to transition directly to its off-screen state (without first stopping in its intermediate and minimized states) when the swipe gesture has a velocity or acceleration that is greater than a threshold velocity or acceleration.
In some embodiments, once the map application starts to slide the card upward or downward in response to an edge-initiated swipe gesture while the card is in the minimized or maximized state, the map application continues the upward slide or downward slide of the card even after the swipe gesture has ended. The map application of some of these embodiments stops the sliding card at its intermediate state when the swipe gesture ends quickly and the application has to continue sliding the card on its own. After the swipe gesture ends quickly, the map application of other embodiments slides the card to either its intermediate state or maximized/minimized state, depending on whether the velocity or acceleration of the swipe gesture is greater than a threshold amount (e.g., a first threshold amount to slide to the intermediate state, and a second threshold amount to slide to the maximized/minimized state).
On the other hand, after starting to slide the card upward or downward in response to an edge-initiated swipe gesture while the card is in the minimized or maximized state, the map application of other embodiments does not continue to slide the card upward or downward if the swipe gesture ends without reaching its intermediate state. In these embodiments, the map application returns the card to its minimized or maximized state. In still other embodiments, the map application continues to slide the card upward or downward in response to an upward or downward swipe gesture associated with a minimized or maximized card, but only continues this slide if the velocity or acceleration of the gesture at the start or end of the gesture was greater than a threshold velocity or acceleration. If the swipe gesture's velocity or acceleration is not greater than the threshold velocity or acceleration, the map application returns the card to its minimized or maximized state.
In some embodiments, the OS touch framework provides this input to the map application when the map application operates in the foreground (i.e., the map application is generating the content currently displayed on the device's display screen). In these embodiments, the OS touch framework does not provide this input to the map application when the map application is not open or it operates in the background. For instance, when the device is displaying the home screen or another page that is generated by the OS, the upward or downward swipe operation that starts at the bottom or top of the display screen causes the mobile device in some embodiments to display the notification center 2500 or the control center 2400.
After receiving this input, the process determines (at 3110) whether the map application is currently displaying a card in its intermediate state. If so, the process informs (at 3135) the OS touch framework that the gesture input is not needed by the map application. The OS touch framework then provides this input to the next system or application process that should receive an upward or downward swipe operation that starts at the bottom or top of the display screen. In this manner, the gesture input that the map application rejects (at 3135) results in the display of the control center 2400 or the notification center 2500, as the OS framework then relays this input to an OS or application process that generates the display of these display areas. After 3135, the process ends.
When the process determines (at 3110) that the map application is not currently displaying a card in its intermediate state, the process determines (at 3115) whether the swipe gesture is a downward swipe that started at the top of the screen while the card is in a minimized state. If so, the process transitions to 3135 to reject the input, and then ends, because, as described above by reference to
When the process determines (at 3115) that the swipe gesture is not a downward swipe that started at the top of the screen while the card is in a minimized state, the process determines (at 3120) whether the swipe gesture is an upward swipe that started at the bottom of the screen while the card is in a maximized state. If so, the process transitions to 3135 to reject the input, and then ends, because, as described above by reference to
When the process determines (at 3120) that the swipe gesture is not an upward swipe that started at the bottom of the screen while the card is in a maximized state, the swipe gesture is either an edge-initiated upward swipe while the card is in a minimized state, or an edge-initiated downward swipe while the card is in a maximized state. However, such operations in some embodiments do not necessarily cause the map application to increase or decrease the size of the minimized or maximized card. This is because the map application disregards such a swipe gesture when this gesture is received with N seconds (e.g., 3 seconds) of a prior edge-initiated swipe gesture that initially started to expand or contract the minimized or maximized card, but then was canceled before expanding or contracting the card (e.g., the gesture reversed course and returned the card back to its minimized or maximized state).
Therefore, when the process determines (at 3120) that the swipe gesture is not an upward swipe that started at the bottom of the screen while the card is in a maximized state, the process determines (at 3125) whether this swipe input is received within N seconds of a prior swipe input that was canceled before expanding or contracting the card. If so, the process transitions to 3135 to reject the input, and then ends. Otherwise, the process adjusts (at 3130) the size of the card based on the swipe gesture. Examples of such adjustments were described above by reference to
Many of the above-described features and applications are implemented as software processes that are specified as a set of instructions recorded on a computer readable storage medium (also referred to as computer readable medium). When these instructions are executed by one or more computational or processing unit(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores of processors, or other processing units), they cause the processing unit(s) to perform the actions indicated in the instructions. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, CD-ROMs, flash drives, random access memory (RAM) chips, hard drives, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc. The computer readable media does not include carrier waves and electronic signals passing wirelessly or over wired connections.
In this specification, the term “software” is meant to include firmware residing in read-only memory or applications stored in magnetic storage which can be read into memory for processing by a processor. Also, in some embodiments, multiple software inventions can be implemented as sub-parts of a larger program while remaining distinct software inventions. In some embodiments, multiple software inventions can also be implemented as separate programs. Finally, any combination of separate programs that together implement a software invention described here is within the scope of the invention. In some embodiments, the software programs, when installed to operate on one or more electronic systems, define one or more specific machine implementations that execute and perform the operations of the software programs.
The applications of some embodiments operate on mobile devices, such as smart phones (e.g., iPhones®) and tablets (e.g., iPads®).
The peripherals interface 3215 is coupled to various sensors and subsystems, including a camera subsystem 3220, a wireless communication subsystem(s) 3225, an audio subsystem 3230, an I/O subsystem 3235, etc. The peripherals interface 3215 enables communication between the processing units 3205 and various peripherals. For example, an orientation sensor 3245 (e.g., a gyroscope) and an acceleration sensor 3250 (e.g., an accelerometer) is coupled to the peripherals interface 3215 to facilitate orientation and acceleration functions.
The camera subsystem 3220 is coupled to one or more optical sensors 3240 (e.g., a charged coupled device (CCD) optical sensor, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, etc.). The camera subsystem 3220 coupled with the optical sensors 3240 facilitates camera functions, such as image and/or video data capturing. The wireless communication subsystem 3225 serves to facilitate communication functions. In some embodiments, the wireless communication subsystem 3225 includes radio frequency receivers and transmitters, and optical receivers and transmitters (not shown in
The I/O subsystem 3235 involves the transfer between input/output peripheral devices, such as a display, a touch screen, etc., and the data bus of the processing units 3205 through the peripherals interface 3215. The I/O subsystem 3235 includes a touch-screen controller 3255 and other input controllers 3260 to facilitate the transfer between input/output peripheral devices and the data bus of the processing units 3205. As shown, the touch-screen controller 3255 is coupled to a touch screen 3265. The touch-screen controller 3255 detects contact and movement on the touch screen 3265 using any of multiple touch sensitivity technologies. The other input controllers 3260 are coupled to other input/control devices, such as one or more buttons. Some embodiments include a near-touch sensitive screen and a corresponding controller that can detect near-touch interactions instead of or in addition to touch interactions.
The memory interface 3210 is coupled to memory 3270. In some embodiments, the memory 3270 includes volatile memory (e.g., high-speed random access memory), non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory, and/or any other type of memory. As illustrated in
The memory 3270 also includes communication instructions 3274 to facilitate communicating with one or more additional devices; graphical user interface instructions 3276 to facilitate graphic user interface processing; image processing instructions 3278 to facilitate image-related processing and functions; input processing instructions 3280 to facilitate input-related (e.g., touch input) processes and functions; audio processing instructions 3282 to facilitate audio-related processes and functions; and camera instructions 3284 to facilitate camera-related processes and functions. The instructions described above are merely exemplary and the memory 3270 includes additional and/or other instructions in some embodiments. For instance, the memory for a smartphone may include phone instructions to facilitate phone-related processes and functions. The above-identified instructions need not be implemented as separate software programs or modules. Various functions of the mobile computing device can be implemented in hardware and/or in software, including in one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.
While the components illustrated in
The bus 3305 collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of the electronic system 3300. For instance, the bus 3305 communicatively connects the processing unit(s) 3310 with the read-only memory 3330, the GPU 3315, the system memory 3320, and the permanent storage device 3335.
From these various memory units, the processing unit(s) 3310 retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of the invention. The processing unit(s) may be a single processor or a multi-core processor in different embodiments. Some instructions are passed to and executed by the GPU 3315. The GPU 3315 can offload various computations or complement the image processing provided by the processing unit(s) 3310.
The read-only-memory (ROM) 3330 stores static data and instructions that are needed by the processing unit(s) 3310 and other modules of the electronic system. The permanent storage device 3335, on the other hand, is a read-and-write memory device. This device is a non-volatile memory unit that stores instructions and data even when the electronic system 3300 is off. Some embodiments of the invention use a mass-storage device (such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive, integrated flash memory) as the permanent storage device 3335.
Other embodiments use a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk, flash memory device, etc., and its corresponding drive) as the permanent storage device. Like the permanent storage device 3335, the system memory 3320 is a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike storage device 3335, the system memory 3320 is a volatile read-and-write memory, such a random access memory. The system memory 3320 stores some of the instructions and data that the processor needs at runtime. In some embodiments, the invention's processes are stored in the system memory 3320, the permanent storage device 3335, and/or the read-only memory 3330. For example, the various memory units include instructions for processing multimedia clips in accordance with some embodiments. From these various memory units, the processing unit(s) 3310 retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of some embodiments.
The bus 3305 also connects to the input and output devices 3340 and 3345. The input devices 3340 enable the user to communicate information and select commands to the electronic system. The input devices 3340 include alphanumeric keyboards and pointing devices (also called “cursor control devices”), cameras (e.g., webcams), microphones or similar devices for receiving voice commands, etc. The output devices 3345 display images generated by the electronic system or otherwise output data. The output devices 3345 include printers and display devices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) or liquid crystal displays (LCD), as well as speakers or similar audio output devices. Some embodiments include devices such as a touchscreen that function as both input and output devices.
Finally, as shown in
Some embodiments include electronic components, such as microprocessors, storage and memory that store computer program instructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Some examples of such computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, read-only compact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R), rewritable compact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs (e.g., DVD-ROM, dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritable DVDs (e.g., DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SD cards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and/or solid state hard drives, read-only and recordable Blu-Ray® discs, ultra density optical discs, any other optical or magnetic media, and floppy disks. The computer-readable media may store a computer program that is executable by at least one processing unit and includes sets of instructions for performing various operations. Examples of computer programs or computer code include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and files including higher-level code that are executed by a computer, an electronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter.
While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor or multi-core processors that execute software, some embodiments are performed by one or more integrated circuits, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In some embodiments, such integrated circuits execute instructions that are stored on the circuit itself. In addition, some embodiments execute software stored in programmable logic devices (PLDs), ROM, or RAM devices.
As used in this specification and any claims of this application, the terms “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and “memory” all refer to electronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people or groups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the terms display or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As used in this specification and any claims of this application, the terms “computer readable medium,” “computer readable media,” and “machine readable medium” are entirely restricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in a form that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wireless signals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral signals.
Various embodiments may operate within a map service operating environment.
The client devices 3402a and 3402b can be any portable electronic or computing device capable of communicating with a map service (e.g., smart phone, tablet, laptop computer, etc.). Device 3402c can be any non-portable electronic or computing device capable of communicating with a map service (e.g., desktop computer, etc.). These devices may be multifunction devices capable of various functions (e.g., placing phone calls, sending electronic messages, producing documents, etc.). Though the devices 3402a-3402c are not shown as each accessing the map service 3430 via either the wireless network 3410 and gateway 3414 or the access device 3412, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the client devices of some embodiments may access the map service via multiple different wired and/or wireless protocols.
Devices 3402a-3402c can also establish communications by other means. For example, these devices may communicate with other wireless devices (e.g., other devices 3402b, cell phones, etc.) over the wireless network 3410 or through access device 3412. Likewise the devices 3402a-3402c can establish peer-to-peer communications 3440 (e.g., a personal area network) by use of one or more communication subsystems, such as Bluetooth® communication or similar peer-to-peer protocols.
Devices 3402a-3402c may also receive Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) signals from GPS satellites 3460. In addition, in some embodiments the map service 3430 and other services 3450 may also receive GPS signals from GPS satellites 3460.
A map service 3430 may provide map services for one or more client devices 3402a-3402c in communication with the map service 3430 through various communication methods and protocols. A map service 3430 in some embodiments provides map information (e.g., map tiles used by the client devices to generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional map presentation) and other map-related data, such as two-dimensional map image data (e.g., aerial view of roads utilizing satellite imagery), three-dimensional map image data (e.g., traversable map with three-dimensional features, such as buildings), route and direction calculations (e.g., driving route data, ferry route calculations, directions between two points for a pedestrian, etc.), real-time navigation data (e.g., turn-by-turn visual navigation data in two or three dimensions), traffic data, location data (e.g., where the client device currently is located), and other geographic data (e.g., wireless network coverage, weather, traffic information, or nearby points-of-interest). In various embodiments, the map service data may include localized labels for different countries or regions. Localized labels may be utilized to present map labels (e.g., street names, city names, points of interest) in different languages on client devices. The client devices 3402a-3402c may utilize these map services to obtain the various map service data, then implement various techniques to process the data and provide the processed data to various entities (e.g., internal software or hardware modules, display screens of the client devices, external display screens, or other external systems or devices.
The map service 3430 of some embodiments provides map services by generating and distributing the various types of map service data listed above, including map information used by the client device to generate and display a map presentation. In some embodiments, the map information includes one or more map tiles. The map tiles may include raster image data (e.g., bmp, gif, jpg/jpeg/, png, tiff, etc. data) for display as a map presentation. In some embodiments, the map tiles provide vector-based map data, with the map presentation data encoded using vector graphics (e.g., svg or drw data). The map tiles may also include various other information pertaining to the map, such as metadata. Some embodiments also encode style data (e.g., used to generate textures) into the map tiles. The client device processes (e.g., renders) the vector and/or raster image data to generate a map presentation for display as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional map presentation. To transmit the map tiles to a client device 3402a-3402c, the map service 3430 of some embodiments, performs various optimization techniques to analyze a map tile before encoding the tile.
In some embodiments, the map tiles are generated by the map service 3430 for different possible display resolutions at the client devices 3402a-3402c. In some embodiments, the higher zoom levels may include more detail (e.g., more street level information, etc.). On the other hand, map tiles for lower zoom levels may omit certain data (e.g., the street level details would not be used when displaying the entire earth).
To generate the map information (e.g., map tiles), the map service 3430 may obtain map service data from internal or external sources. For example, satellite imagery used in map image data may be obtained from external services, or internal systems, storage devices, or nodes. Other examples may include, but are not limited to, GPS assistance servers, wireless network coverage databases, business or personal directories, weather data, government information (e.g., construction updates or road name changes), or traffic reports. Some embodiments of a map service may update map service data (e.g., wireless network coverage) for analyzing future requests from client devices.
In some embodiments, the map service 3430 responds to requests from the client devices 3402a-3402c for map information. The client devices may request specific portions of a map, or specific map tiles (e.g., specific tiles at specific zoom levels). In some embodiments, the client devices may provide the map service with starting locations (or current locations) and destination locations for a route calculations, and request turn-by-turn navigation data. A client device may also request map service rendering information, such as map textures or style sheets. Requests for other geographic data may include, but are not limited to, current location, wireless network coverage, weather, traffic information, or nearby points-of-interest.
The client devices 3402a-3402c that obtain map service data from the map service 3430 and render the data to display the map information in two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional views. Some embodiments display a rendered map and allow a user, system, or device to provide input to manipulate a virtual camera for the map, changing the map display according to the virtual camera's position, orientation, and field-of-view. Various forms and input devices are implemented to manipulate a virtual camera. In some embodiments, touch input, through certain single or combination gestures (e.g., touch-and-hold or a swipe) manipulate the virtual camera. Other embodiments allow manipulation of the device's physical location to manipulate a virtual camera. Other input devices to the client device may be used including, e.g., auditory input (e.g., spoken words), a physical keyboard, mouse, and/or a joystick. Some embodiments provide various visual feedback to virtual camera manipulations, such as displaying an animation of possible virtual camera manipulations when transitioning from two-dimensional map views to three-dimensional map views.
In some embodiments, a client device 3402a-3402c implements a navigation system (e.g., turn-by-turn navigation), which may be part of an integrated mapping and navigation application. A navigation system provides directions or route information, which may be displayed to a user. As mentioned above, a client device may receive both map image data and route data from the map service 3430. In some embodiments, the navigation feature of the client device provides real-time route and direction information based upon location information and route information received from a map service and/or other location system, such as a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. A client device may display map image data that reflects the current location of the client device and update the map image data in real-time. The navigation features may provide auditory or visual directions to follow a certain route, and some embodiments display map data from the perspective of a virtual camera biased toward the route destination during turn-by-turn navigation.
The client devices 3402a-3402c of some embodiments implement various techniques to utilize the received map service data (e.g., optimized rendering techniques). In some embodiments, a client device locally stores some of the information used to render map data. For instance, client devices may store style sheets with rendering directions for image data containing style identifiers, common image textures (in order to decrease the amount of map image data transferred from the map service), etc. The client devices of some embodiments may implement various techniques to render two-dimensional and three-dimensional map image data, including, e.g., generating three-dimensional buildings out of two-dimensional building footprint data; modeling two-dimensional and three-dimensional map objects to determine the client device communication environment; generating models to determine whether map labels are seen from a certain virtual camera position; and generating models to smooth transitions between map image data.
In various embodiments, map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 are configured to process search requests from any of the client devices. Search requests may include but are not limited to queries for businesses, addresses, residential locations, points of interest, or some combination thereof. Map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 may be configured to return results related to a variety of parameters including but not limited to a location entered into an address bar or other text entry field (including abbreviations and/or other shorthand notation), a current map view (e.g., user may be viewing one location on the multifunction device while residing in another location), current location of the user (e.g., in cases where the current map view did not include search results), and the current route (if any). In various embodiments, these parameters may affect the composition of the search results (and/or the ordering of the search results) based on different priority weightings. In various embodiments, the search results that are returned may be a subset of results selected based on specific criteria including but not limited to a quantity of times the search result (e.g., a particular point of interest) has been requested, a measure of quality associated with the search result (e.g., highest user or editorial review rating), and/or the volume of reviews for the search results (e.g., the number of times the search result has been review or rated).
In various embodiments, map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 are configured to provide auto-complete search results that are displayed on the client device, such as within the mapping application. For instance, auto-complete search results may populate a portion of the screen as the user enters one or more search keywords on the multifunction device. In some cases, this feature may save the user time as the desired search result may be displayed before the user enters the full search query. In various embodiments, the auto complete search results may be search results found by the client on the client device (e.g., bookmarks or contacts), search results found elsewhere (e.g., from the Internet) by map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450, and/or some combination thereof. As is the case with commands, any of the search queries may be entered by the user via voice or through typing. The multifunction device may be configured to display search results graphically within any of the map display described herein. For instance, a pin or other graphical indicator may specify locations of search results as points of interest. In various embodiments, responsive to a user selection of one of these points of interest (e.g., a touch selection, such as a tap), the multifunction device is configured to display additional information about the selected point of interest including but not limited to ratings, reviews or review snippets, hours of operation, store status (e.g., open for business, permanently closed, etc.), and/or images of a storefront for the point of interest. In various embodiments, any of this information may be displayed on a graphical information card that is displayed in response to the user's selection of the point of interest.
In various embodiments, map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 provide one or more feedback mechanisms to receive feedback from client devices 3402a-3402c. For instance, client devices may provide feedback on search results to map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 (e.g., feedback specifying ratings, reviews, temporary or permanent business closures, errors etc.); this feedback may be used to update information about points of interest in order to provide more accurate or more up-to-date search results in the future. In some embodiments, map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 may provide testing information to the client device (e.g., an A/B test) to determine which search results are best. For instance, at random intervals, the client device may receive and present two search results to a user and allow the user to indicate the best result. The client device may report the test results to map service 3430 and/or other service(s) 3450 to improve future search results based on the chosen testing technique, such as an A/B test technique in which a baseline control sample is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve results.
While the invention has been described with reference to numerous specific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims
Claims
1. A method performed by a device, the method comprising:
- presenting, by the device, a first navigation presentation of a first route to a destination;
- receiving, by the device, input for selecting a first category of a plurality of categories of points of interest;
- responsive to the input, presenting one or more points of interest that are near the first route and correspond to the first category;
- receiving a first selection of a point of interest of the one or more points of interest; and
- responsive to the first selection, presenting a second route to the selected point of interest.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the one or more points of interest that are near the first route further comprises:
- defining a threshold distance from the route;
- determining that the one or more points of interest are within the threshold distance of the route; and
- presenting the one or more points of interest.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a search for points of interest of the selected category.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- presenting, on the first navigation presentation, a navigation card in a minimized state, the navigation card including one or more of an estimated arrival time, a time to destination, a distance to destination, and a navigation end control;
- detecting that the navigation card is expanded to an intermediate state; and
- in response to the detection, presenting the plurality of categories of points of interest.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- presenting the one or more points of interest on a first map presentation;
- receiving, by the first map presentation, the first selection of the first point of interest; and
- presenting the second route to the second point of interest.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- receiving a second selection of the second route to the selected point of interest; and
- initiating a second navigation presentation for navigating to the selected point of interest by the second route.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of categories of points of interest include a gas station category, a restaurant category, and a coffee shop category.
8. A device comprising:
- one or more processing units; and
- a non-transitory machine readable medium storing a mapping application for execution by at least one processing unit of the one or more processing units, the mapping application comprising sets of instructions for:
- presenting, by the device, a first navigation presentation of a first route to a destination;
- receiving, by the device, input for selecting a first category of a plurality of categories of points of interest;
- responsive to the input, presenting one or more points of interest that are near the first route and correspond to the first category;
- receiving a first selection of a point of interest of the one or more points of interest; and
- responsive to the first selection, presenting a second route to the selected point of interest.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions for presenting the one or more points of interest that are near the first route further comprise sets of instructions for:
- defining a threshold distance from the route;
- determining that the one or more points of interest are within the threshold distance of the route; and
- presenting the one or more points of interest.
10. The device of claim 8, wherein the mapping application further comprises sets of instructions for performing a search for points of interest of the selected category.
11. The device of claim 8, wherein the mapping application further comprises sets of instructions for:
- presenting, on the first navigation presentation, a navigation card in a minimized state, the navigation card including one or more of an estimated arrival time, a time to destination, a distance to destination, and a navigation end control;
- detecting that the navigation card is expanded to an intermediate state; and
- in response to the detection, presenting the plurality of categories of points of interest.
12. The device of claim 8, wherein the mapping application further comprises sets of instructions for:
- presenting the one or more points of interest on a first map presentation;
- receiving, by the first map presentation, the first selection of the first point of interest; and
- presenting the second route to the second point of interest.
13. The device of claim 8, wherein the mapping application further comprises sets of instructions for:
- receiving a second selection of the second route to the selected point of interest; and
- initiating a second navigation presentation for navigating to the selected point of interest by the second route.
14. The device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of categories of points of interest include a gas station category, a restaurant category, and a coffee shop category.
15. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a mapping application for execution by at least one processing unit, the mapping application comprising sets of instructions for:
- presenting, by the device, a first navigation presentation of a first route to a destination;
- receiving, by the device, input for selecting a first category of a plurality of categories of points of interest;
- responsive to the input, presenting one or more points of interest that are near the first route and correspond to the first category;
- receiving a first selection of a point of interest of the one or more points of interest; and
- responsive to the first selection, presenting a second route to the selected point of interest.
16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions for presenting the one or more points of interest that are near the first route further comprises sets of instructions for:
- defining a threshold distance from the route;
- determining that the one or more points of interest are within the threshold distance of the route; and
- presenting the one or more points of interest.
17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for performing a search for points of interest of the selected category.
18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for:
- presenting, on the first navigation presentation, a navigation card in a minimized state, the navigation card including one or more of an estimated arrival time, a time to destination, a distance to destination, and a navigation end control;
- detecting that the navigation card is expanded to an intermediate state; and
- in response to the detection, presenting the plurality of categories of points of interest.
19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for:
- presenting the one or more points of interest on a first map presentation;
- receiving, by the first map presentation, the first selection of the first point of interest; and
- presenting the second route to the second point of interest.
20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the mapping application further comprises a set of instructions for:
- receiving a second selection of the second route to the selected point of interest; and
- initiating a second navigation presentation for navigating to the selected point of interest by the second route.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 27, 2020
Publication Date: Jun 25, 2020
Applicant: Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA)
Inventors: Jae Woo Chang (San Jose, CA), Marcel Van Os (Santa Cruz, CA)
Application Number: 16/803,678
