US6604046B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
High-performance server architecture, methods, and software for spatial data
Assignee: BROOKWOOD FINANCIAL PARTNERS LP
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Filing: 2000-10-20
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Granted: 2003-08-05
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Expires: 2020-10-20
Abstract
Abstract Systems that distribute map data and related map services are vital to companies in many industries, for example, telecommunications, trucking, and national defense. These systems typically comprise a computer, known as a server, which retrieves the map data, and a computer, known as a client, which electronically requests and receives map data from the server over a computer network, such as the Internet. Servers in these systems often suffer from at least two problems: first, the slow delivery of the map data and related services to clients, and second, the inability to operate in different modes with different types of clients. Accordingly, the inventors devised servers, systems, and related methods for rapidly delivering map data to many types of client, ranging from mobile telephones and personal digital assistants to workstations. To support multi-modal operations with at least two clients, an exemplary system includes a map server having two or more client-mode software modules or programs that govern how the server interacts with the clients. The first client, using an appropriate network address, links to the first program and receives a copy of several mapping objects, enabling the first client to provide certain map functions independent of the server. The second client links to the server using a different network address and receives proxy mapping objects, instead of the actual mapping objects, enabling the second client to work with the server to provide the map functions. The exemplary system also implements client-side and server-side caching of map data, and expandable map service pools, all promoting rapid delivery of map data and services.
Inventors
- 👤 Douglas M. Van Watermulen
- 👤 George F. Flannery
- 👤 James D. Scott
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 17:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/50; G06F9/5005; G06F9/5027; G06F9/5055; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F16/29; H; H04; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/01; H04L67/12; G06F2209/00; G06F2209/50; G06F2209/5011; G06F2209/5018; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945; Y10S707/99948
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 72
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: a web server including: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client; a map server including: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service; and means for establishing and maintaining a pool of two or more persistent network connections between the web server and the map server.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: a web server including: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client; a map server including: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service; and means for establishing and maintaining a pool of two or more persistent network connections between the web server and the map server.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises at least one executable or compilable map-related object and at least one proxy for another executable or compilable map-related object.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises a remote-method-invocation object for enabling a client to communicate through a proxy for an executable map-related object with the executable map-related object.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises compilable or executable means for establishing and maintaining a map-data cache within a client.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client is compatible with a wireless personal digital assistant or mobile telephone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising a map-data cache operatively coupled to the first map-service pool for sharing cached map data across the two or more first map-service objects or instances.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first map-service pool provides geocoding services and the second map-service pool provides street-routing services.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the first map-service pool provides one of map-data-access services, geocoding services, street-routing services, external-map-access services, and map-image-display services.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first map-service objects or instances is a proxy for a corresponding first map-service object or instance within a machine different from that hosting the map server.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the map server further comprise a service dispatcher for receiving and routing requests to at least one of the first and second map-services pools.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the web server and the map server reside within the same machine.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising a map database coupled to the map server.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
149 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: a web server including: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated by the web server as having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client; and a map server including: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
149 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: a web server including: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated by the web server as having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client; and a map server including: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system of claim 13 wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises at least one executable or compilable map-related object and at least one proxy for another executable or compilable map-related object.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises a remote-method-invocation object for enabling a client to communicate through a proxy for an executable map-related object with the executable map-related object.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises compilable or executable means for establishing and maintaining a map-data cache within a client.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client is compatible with a wireless personal digital assistant or mobile telephone.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 13 , further comprising a map-data cache operatively coupled to the first map-service pool for sharing cached map data across the two or more first map-service objects or instances.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the first map-service pool provides geocoding services and the second map-service pool provides street-routing services.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein one or more of the first map-service objects or instances is a proxy for a corresponding first map-service object or instance within a machine different from that hosting the map server.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 13 , further comprising a map database coupled to the map server.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
116 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated as having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client; and one or more map-service pools, each pool having two or more map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a common map service.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
116 words
A system for serving map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the system comprising: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated as having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client; and one or more map-service pools, each pool having two or more map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a common map service.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system of claim 22 wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises at least one executable or compilable map-related object and at least one proxy for another executable or compilable map-related object.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises a remote-method-invocation object for enabling a client to communicate through a proxy for an executable map-related object with the executable map-related object.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises compilable or executable means for establishing and maintaining a map-data cache within a client.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client is compatible with a wireless personal digital assistant or mobile telephone.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 22 , further comprising a map-data cache operatively coupled to the first map-service pool for sharing cached map data across the two or more first map-service objects or instances.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein the one or more map-service pools includes a first map-service pool that provides geocoding services and a second map-service pool that provides street-routing services.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein one or more of the map-service pools includes at least one objects or instances that is a proxy for a corresponding map-service object or instance within a machine different from that hosting the map server.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 22 , further comprising a map database coupled to the map server.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
21 words
A machine readable medium comprising instructions for causing one or more computer systems to emulate the system of claim 22 .
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
24 words
The machine-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the medium comprises an electrical signal or one or more optical, electronic, or magnetic storage devices.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
96 words
A web server for providing map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the web server comprising: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; and second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated by the web server has having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
96 words
A web server for providing map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the web server comprising: first means having a first associated URL for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client; and second means having a second associated URL for defining at least another one of the clients as a second type of map client, wherein the second type of map client is treated by the web server has having a different set of capabilities than the first type of map client.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
46 words
The web server of claim 33 wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises at least one executable or compilable map-related object and at least one proxy for another executable or compilable map-related object.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
49 words
The web server of claim 33 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises a remote-method-invocation object for enabling a client to communicate through a proxy for an executable map-related object with the executable map-related object.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
41 words
The web server of claim 33 , wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises compilable or executable means for establishing and maintaining a map-data cache within a client.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
55 words
The web server of claim 33 wherein the first means for defining at least one of the clients as a first type of map client, comprises: at least one proxy for another executable or compilable map-related object; and a remote-method-invocation object for enabling a client to communicate through the one proxy with the map-related object.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
95 words
A server for providing map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the server comprising: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service, wherein one or more of the map-service pools includes at least one map-service object or instance that is a proxy for a corresponding map-service object or instance.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
95 words
A server for providing map data and map-related services over a computer network to two or more clients, the server comprising: a first map-service pool having two or more first map-service objects or instances for answering requests from the clients for a first map service; and a second map-service pool having two or more second map-service instances for answering requests from the clients for a second map service, wherein one or more of the map-service pools includes at least one map-service object or instance that is a proxy for a corresponding map-service object or instance.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
22 words
The server of claim 38 , wherein the first map-service pool provides geocoding services and a second map-service pool provides street-routing services.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
21 words
A machine readable medium comprising instructions for causing one or more computer system to emulate the server of claim 39 .
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
26 words
The machine-readable medium of claim 40 , wherein the medium comprises an electrical signal or one or more active or passive optical, electronic, magnetic storage devices.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 38 , wherein one or more of the map-service pools includes at least one object or instance that is a proxy for a corresponding map-service object or instance within a machine different from that hosting the server.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
75 words
A computer system comprising: a data store containing map data; a server operatively coupled to the data store and containing a set of map-manipulation objects; a first map client operatively coupled to the server and having the set of map-manipulation objects; and a second client operatively coupled to the server and having a subset of the set of map-manipulation objects and one or more proxy objects corresponding to objects in the set of map-manipulation objects.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
75 words
A computer system comprising: a data store containing map data; a server operatively coupled to the data store and containing a set of map-manipulation objects; a first map client operatively coupled to the server and having the set of map-manipulation objects; and a second client operatively coupled to the server and having a subset of the set of map-manipulation objects and one or more proxy objects corresponding to objects in the set of map-manipulation objects.
Claim 50
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of distributing map data through a common server to two or more clients over a communication network, the method comprising: communicating a first map-related applet to a first one of the clients in response to a first one of the clients connecting to the common server; communicating a second map-related applet to a second one of the clients in response to a second one of the clients connecting to the common server; receiving respective first and second requests for map data from the first and second clients; and responding to the respective first and second requests in first and second different ways based on differences in the first and second clients, with responses to the requests including map data from a common map database.
Claim 51
Independent Claim
126 words
A method of distributing map data through a common server to two or more clients over a communication network, the method comprising: communicating a first map-related applet to a first one of the clients in response to a first one of the clients connecting to the common server; communicating a second map-related applet to a second one of the clients in response to a second one of the clients connecting to the common server; receiving respective first and second requests for map data from the first and second clients; and responding to the respective first and second requests in first and second different ways based on differences in the first and second clients, with responses to the requests including map data from a common map database.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 44 , wherein the first and second different ways are based on differences in respective first and second URLs associated with the first and second clients.
Claim 53
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of responding to a request for map data stored in a map-related database, the method comprising: communicating at least a portion of the request to a map-services pool including two or more map-service objects or instances capable of carrying out the portion of the request, wherein at least one of the map-services objects or instances is a proxy for a corresponding map-services object or instance; and selecting one of the two or more map-services objects or instances to carry out the portion of the request.
Claim 54
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of responding to a request for map data stored in a map-related database, the method comprising: communicating at least a portion of the request to a map-services pool including two or more map-service objects or instances capable of carrying out the portion of the request, wherein at least one of the map-services objects or instances is a proxy for a corresponding map-services object or instance; and selecting one of the two or more map-services objects or instances to carry out the portion of the request.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 46 , wherein selecting one of the two or more map-services objects or instances comprises selecting one of the map-services objects or instances that is idle.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 47 , selecting one of the map-services objects that is idle comprises determining if at least one of the map-services objects or instances is idle; and if at least one of the map-services objects or instances is determined to be idle, creating a new map-services object or instance and selecting the new map-services object or instance to carry out the portion of the request.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 46 , wherein at least one of the map-services objects or instances is a proxy for a corresponding map-services objects or instance on a machine different from that hosting the map-services pool.
Claim 58
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of operating a map server for distributing map data from a map database to two or more clients over a communication network, the method comprising: storing first map data in response to a first request from a first one of the clients in a portion of a local memory within the map server; communicating the first map data to the first one of the clients; searching the local memory of the map server in response to a second request from a second one of the clients; and communicating at least a portion of the first map data to the second one of the clients after searching the local memory within the map server.
Claim 59
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of operating a map server for distributing map data from a map database to two or more clients over a communication network, the method comprising: storing first map data in response to a first request from a first one of the clients in a portion of a local memory within the map server; communicating the first map data to the first one of the clients; searching the local memory of the map server in response to a second request from a second one of the clients; and communicating at least a portion of the first map data to the second one of the clients after searching the local memory within the map server.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
127 words
The method of claim 50 further comprising: storing second map data in the portion of local server memory; determining whether third map data found in response to a third request from one of the clients fits in the portion of the local memory of the map server; and in response to determining that the third map data does not fit in the portion of the local memory, overwriting at least a portion of one of the first map data and the second map data with the third map data based on which of the first map data or the second map data was last used or which one of the first map data or the second map data is geographically more relevant to the third map data.
Claim 61
Independent Claim
61 words
A method of operating a server to distribute map data, the method comprising: communicating from the server a first set of one or more map-operation objects to a first client; and communicating from the server a second set of one or more map-operation objects to a second client, with the second set of map-operation objects being different from the first set.
Claim 62
Independent Claim
61 words
A method of operating a server to distribute map data, the method comprising: communicating from the server a first set of one or more map-operation objects to a first client; and communicating from the server a second set of one or more map-operation objects to a second client, with the second set of map-operation objects being different from the first set.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 52 , wherein the first set includes an object for performing a first map operation, and the second set includes a proxy object for performing the first map operation.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 53 , wherein the second set further includes an object for facilitating communications between the proxy object and an object in the server for performing the first map operation.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 54 , wherein the object for facilitating communications comprises a remote-method-invocation object.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
12 words
A machine-readable medium comprising instructions for the method of claim 53 .
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 52 , wherein the first client comprises a JAVA-type client, and the second client comprises a non-JAVA-type client.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 52 , wherein the first client and the second clients comprise respective JAVA clients.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 52 , wherein at least one object in the first set of map-operation objects is specified in a first file, and at least one object in the second set of map-operation objects is specified in a second file.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 59 , wherein each of the first and second files comprises a text file.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 59 : wherein communicating the first set of map-operation objects occurs in response to receipt of a map request including a URL for the first file; and wherein communicating the second set of map-operation objects occurs in response to receipt of a map request including a URL for the second file.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
12 words
A machine-readable medium comprising instructions for the method of claim 52 .
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-08-04 | 2007-02-03 | 2007-08-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-08-04 | 2011-02-03 | 2011-08-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-08-04 | 2015-02-03 | 2015-08-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |