CN111310080A

CN111310080A - System and method for displaying a map on a display screen

Info

Publication number: CN111310080A
Application number: CN202010136709.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 薛晓舟; 杜辰; 邵文杰; 单文龙
Original assignee: Tianjin Perfect Gravity Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Tianjin Perfect Gravity Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-03-02
Filing date: 2020-03-02
Publication date: 2020-06-19

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for displaying a map on a display screen, wherein the system comprises means for providing a first map corresponding to a first time or a first time period for display on the display screen; and means for providing a second map corresponding to a second time or a second time period to be displayed superimposed with the first map on the display screen, wherein the first map and the second map are processed in tile units when displayed.

Description

System and method for displaying a map on a display screen

Technical Field

The present invention relates to computer map technology, and in particular to a system and method for displaying a map on a display screen.

Background

Many computer applications or services are map related, such as the map service offered by Google corporation (accessible via http:// maps. Google. com.). To provide these services, there are known techniques for digitizing or digitizing conventional maps, rendered on conventional media such as paper, or the like, so as to be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and accessible, analyzed, and processed by a computer processor.

Users desire to search and obtain recommendations related to their desired map information when browsing and viewing digitized maps via the display screen of a computing device (e.g., personal computer, tablet, cell phone, etc.). For example, when a user searches for the name of a restaurant using a mapping application, the application returns the restaurant's location information on the map, while providing (and "recommending") information related to the restaurant (e.g., photographs taken and uploaded of the restaurant by consumers who have visited the restaurant, the restaurant's ratings by the consumers, etc.). Alternatively, the user may search on the map with a more general keyword (e.g., "bank"), in which case the mapping application will typically return all banking institutions in the area of interest to the user.

A typical mode of the search process of the conventional map application is as follows. The user first selects a geographic area of interest (e.g., the sunny outdoor area of Beijing, city). Some mapping applications allow a user to enter specific longitudes and latitudes to locate an area of interest to the user. The user may use a mouse to drag the map to reach the area of interest to the user. The user can then select an appropriate display accuracy by enlarging or reducing the display accuracy of the map through mouse or keyboard operations. The user then enters a search keyword and the map application displays map elements associated with the keyword within the area of interest to the user.

The prior art map application also provides a content recommendation function. Some map elements (e.g., famous tourist attractions such as the "home palace") have already been registered (or stored) in the map. When a user clicks a registered map element through mouse operation, the map application searches and displays a search result in the background by using the name of the element as a keyword. The map application may also display a "nearby" button below the search bar. After the user clicks on this button, the map application displays (i.e., recommends) other map elements in the vicinity of the map element, such as nearby parking lots, banks, etc.

However, the search and recommendation functions of the prior art maps are based on maps that present the current situation, i.e., the search and recommendation functions are limited to a single time dimension.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a system for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising means for providing a first map corresponding to a first time or a first time period for display on the display screen; and means for providing a second map corresponding to a second time or a second time period to be displayed superimposed with the first map on the display screen, wherein the first map and the second map are processed in tile units when displayed.

The present invention also provides a method for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising providing a first map corresponding to a first time or a first time period for display on the display screen; and providing a second map corresponding to a second time or a second time period to be displayed on the display screen superimposed with the first map, wherein the first map and the second map are processed in units of tiles when being displayed.

The invention further provides a system comprising a processor and a memory having stored therein at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes, or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method described above.

The invention further provides a computer readable medium having stored thereon at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method described above.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of returning a plurality of associated map elements based on a keyword input by a user according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of details of a returned map element displayed on a user's computing device, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of returned nodes at the same or similar time and at the same or similar location displayed on a user's computing device, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of selecting a type of map element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of searching for map elements according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams of selecting a time according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of selecting a time according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of selecting times according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The content of the invention will now be discussed with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood that these examples are discussed only to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to better understand and thus implement the teachings of the present invention, and are not meant to imply any limitations on the scope of the invention.

As used herein, the term "include" and its variants are to be read as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to. The term "based on" is to be read as "based, at least in part, on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be read as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one other embodiment".

The map (digitized electronic map) of an embodiment of the invention is composed of a plurality of different "layers" in an overlying manner, wherein the "layers" have the meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art. Embodiments of the present invention include multiple different types of data in (or stored in association with) different layers, presenting a user with maps that have historically been different times. In an embodiment of the present invention, the map is associated with various other information (e.g., symbols, numbers, words, pictures, jump links, etc.) that can be obtained from a server for presentation to a user. In an embodiment of the present invention, the different types of data include basic data at a lower layer and visual data at an upper layer when displayed. In an embodiment of the present invention, the basic data includes basic base map data at a lower layer and historical map data at an upper layer when displayed. In an embodiment of the present invention, the base map data includes a modern world map, a modern water system map, and the like. In an embodiment of the present invention, the historical map data includes territory data, historical administrative district data (e.g., administrative district demarcation), historical city data, various annotation points, etc., which are displayed from bottom to top. In embodiments of the present invention, the visualization data includes information describing characters, events, war, and the like.

The map of an embodiment of the present invention may be drawn and presented in a variety of ways. For example, a map of an embodiment of the present invention may be rendered and presented in accordance with chinese patent application No. 201910105102.2 entitled "an apparatus and method for rendering a map," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the base map may be presented as follows: generating a vector national border line, a country name and json data of a modern water system according to a modern world map and a modern water system map which accord with national policies, converting the json data into tiles, and displaying the tiles as a basic base map. In embodiments of the present invention, "tile" has a meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In general, when using an internet map, a user sees a large map picture that is spread over the entire screen. In fact, the large map picture is formed by seamlessly splicing a plurality of small pictures (i.e., tiles) with the same size (typically 256 × 256 pixels) according to a predetermined rule. The tiles are organized in a pyramid structure as is known in the art, and each tile can be uniquely marked by a level, a row and a column number. And when the map is translated and zoomed, the browser calculates the required tiles according to the pyramid rule, and the tiles are obtained from the tile server and spliced.

In an embodiment of the invention, the history map is presented by the following method: (1) and (3) data generation: after map json data is generated by manual drawing by using a map editor, the map json data is converted into tiles, and the map json data comprises presentation styles (sidelines, filling colors and the like), territory IDs (data relevant to the territory), outsourcing rectangles (adaptive display levels and ranges) and the like. (2) Loading data: pulling a corresponding territory data tile according to the map year selected by the user and the coordinate range (namely time and space limitation) of the current window, and displaying the territory data tile to the user according to a preset strategy; when a user clicks a map, screening corresponding tiles according to the clicking position of the user, modifying the color attributes of the tiles according to the ID numbers carried in the tile data to enable the tiles to show a highlight effect, and simultaneously requesting a server database to obtain and show information such as characters, pictures and the like related to the tiles (for example, the information is shown in an information bar). And recommending and displaying other content information without spatial attributes associated with the territory ID according to the priority strategy. In embodiments of the invention, other elements of the historical map are also presented, such as historical city names, place names, and the like.

In an embodiment of the invention, the visualization data is presented by: (1) and (3) data generation: manually edited visualization data (e.g., characters, events, war, etc.) is stored in the form of schematic graphs having information such as graph type, coordinate information, and presentation style, and also having corresponding time information, content description, matching, jump links, etc. (2) And (3) data display: after the map is opened by the user, the visual data in the range can be screened and displayed according to the year of the current map and the window area as limiting conditions.

Embodiments of the present invention store maps for different historical times (e.g., the current latest map, the map of 1949, the map of 44 years before the c.c.). In an embodiment of the invention, the historical map may be obtained by digitizing a map in a conventional smith by means of known techniques, e.g. the historical map may be stored in a map database. In the embodiment of the invention, the user can directly select and display the map of a certain historical time point, and can also input a specific year to search the map corresponding to the year. In an embodiment of the invention, the means for selecting the point in time is a timeline or a search box. In an embodiment of the present invention, if a history map corresponding to a specific year is not stored, a map closest to the year among the stored history maps may be selected and displayed, and this information may be notified to the user. Preferably, the current up-to-date map is always displayed on the screen of the user's computing device, and when the user selects a map of a certain year or age, the history map is displayed superimposed on the current up-to-date map. Alternatively, a historical map of a certain year or year may be displayed all the time on the screen of the user's computing device, and when the user selects a map of another year or year, the map selected by the user is displayed superimposed on the previous historical map. This overlay display preferably displays the user-selected map in a semi-transparent manner, or in a different color. Preferably, three or more maps with different historical times can be displayed in a superimposed manner at the same time.

Embodiments of the present invention store a number of map elements (or simply "elements"). Elements are typically objects that are of interest to a user when browsing or searching a map. An element may be, for example, a place, a person, or an event. Each element has its name, for example the name of a person element. Each element has its description, for example, a simple introduction to a place, person, or event.

For one element, embodiments of the present invention store a plurality of "nodes" associated therewith. Each node is associated with a unique identifier for the element (e.g., a serial number that is automatically generated by the system) (e.g., the identifier for the element may be stored in a data structure of the node, or the association may be otherwise implemented). For example, for a character element, a plurality of nodes may be defined by their average significant points in time or time periods, i.e., each node is associated with a particular point in time or time period (collectively "node time"). Each node has its name. The node name of a person element may be a generalized description of the person's behavior or history recorded in the node. The behavior or history of the person at the point in time or over the period of time may be stored in association with each node, for example, said behavior or history may be described and stored in the form of a text message, referred to as a "node description"; node descriptions are typically more detailed than node names. Information of a place or a geographical area (collectively referred to as "node place") where the related behavior or history of the character at the corresponding time point or time period occurs may also be stored in association with the node of the character element. A historical person may have names (e.g., zhuguang also referred to as "Zhuchaiming," "Zhugeniu minister") that are stored in association with the person element. The node name, the node description, the node location, the node time, and the name of the element storing the node may be collectively referred to as information of the node.

For example, for a place element, a plurality of nodes may be defined according to a time point or a time period of a historical event occurring at the place. Each node of a place element is associated with geographic location information for the place. Similarly, each node of a place element may have a node name and a node description. Similar to a people node, the node name of a place may be, for example, a brief description of a significant event or related historical people's behavior occurring at a corresponding point in time or time on the place, while the node description of a place may be a more detailed description of the event or people's behavior. A place may have multiple names (e.g., beijing also referred to as "grand prefecture," "beiping," etc. at different historical stages) that are stored in association with the place element.

For another example, for an event element, a plurality of nodes may be defined according to important time points or time periods in the event occurrence process, and each node has its node name and node description. Historical events (including their different stages) may be related to historical people or places. Thus, for a node of an event element, its node name and node description may include descriptions of related persons, places, and events, and the node is preferably stored in association with information of the related places.

In the embodiment of the invention, different nodes of the same element can be organized in a linked list mode according to the time sequence, so that each node in the linked list is closest to the adjacent node in time. In the linked list, each node has a node identifier (e.g., sequence number) in its chronological order. Other data structures may also be selected to organize different nodes of the same element in chronological order; whatever data structure is used, it is guaranteed that all nodes are associated with the element (e.g., an identifier of the element is stored in each node), and each node may also have a node identifier.

In an embodiment of the present invention, information of elements and their nodes may be stored in a database (hereinafter referred to as "element database"). In various embodiments, the element database may be a single database or multiple databases may be used. The element database may or may not be the same as the data source used to store the map. According to one embodiment of the invention, information of an element and its node may be stored in a mongodb database, where the location of the node may be stored using a data structure in geojson format.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a user may input keywords, which the user wants to search, in a map application according to the present invention installed and running on a computing device through the computing device (e.g., a personal computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.). The map application receives keywords input by a user and transmits the keywords to an application server of a provider (e.g., google corporation) running the map application through a communication network (e.g., the internet). After the application server carries out relevant processing, the key words are provided for the element database for retrieval. The search of the element database may be performed using a known search algorithm according to the type of the database (e.g., a relational database or an image database). The element database returns the keyword search results to the application server, which returns the keyword search results further to the user's computing device and into the map application displayed thereon.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the keyword retrieval result returned by the element database may comprise a plurality of elements which have association relation with the keyword input by the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the user enters the keyword "Newton" and the element database may return "Isaac Newton" (presumably the most well-known of the historical characters having the last name "Newton") and other historical characters having the same last name (e.g., "John Newton", "Cris Newton", etc.), and may also return "Newton" as a physical unit.

Embodiments of the invention may rank the display locations of the multiple elements in the keyword search results in the mapping application on the user computing device by a given criterion (e.g., in a common list) to facilitate user browsing and selection (e.g., in a list). For example, by how close the association between the element and the keyword is, or by the number of times each element itself is retrieved, etc. This is advantageous for the user when using a smaller screen computing device.

The embodiment of the invention can simultaneously display the icons corresponding to the elements in the keyword search result on the map. The location at which the icon is displayed may be determined according to a given parameter, such as a location associated with the first or most important node of the element, or a location stored in direct association with the element (e.g., where the most important stage of the event element occurred). When a user moves a mouse over an icon, the element name of the element can be simultaneously shown for the user to refer to, which is very beneficial for the user to operate especially when the user uses a computing device with a small screen.

The embodiment of the invention can simultaneously display a time axis on the map and display the time points corresponding to the elements in the keyword search result on the time axis. The time corresponding to the time point may be determined according to a given parameter, for example, may be the time of the first node of the element, or the time of the most important node of the element. When a user clicks on a point in time, for example with a mouse, the element's name may be displayed and the icon corresponding to the element may be moved on the map as appropriate (e.g., to an intermediate position on the map). The icon may also be slightly enlarged at this time. These means are to facilitate the user to see the icon more clearly and click the icon faster and more accurately. When the mouse of the user moves past a certain search result or icon, the time point corresponding to the result or icon on the time axis can change color or be enlarged, so that the user can quickly see the time corresponding to the element.

When the user moves the mouse to slightly stop (which can be regarded as a choice) on an element in the keyword search result list, the map application can move in a targeted manner, and an icon corresponding to the element is displayed in the center of the map and slightly enlarged, so that the user can see the icon more clearly and click the icon more quickly and accurately.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the search result for a certain keyword, the user may click (also may be considered as a selection) on his computing device on the element of interest (or its corresponding icon). The map application determines the element that was clicked on and then retrieves it, for example by its identifier, via the map service provider's application server and the element database to obtain and return detailed information for the element, such as the element name, the element description, the node names and node descriptions of all the nodes of the element. In an embodiment of the invention, when a user clicks on an element of interest, the map application simultaneously displays a historical map having the best correspondence with the element. This optimal correspondence may be, for example, that the time of the map is closest to the node time corresponding to the first or most important node of the element. The historical map can be displayed independently, the historical map can be displayed on the current map in an overlapping mode, and the current map can be displayed on the historical map in an overlapping mode.

As shown in FIG. 2, details of the returned elements are displayed on the user's computing device. The node names of the multiple nodes of the element can be displayed in a map application on the user computing device in a list mode according to the time sequence, so that a user can visually see the sequence of the historical events and can find interested nodes quickly. Icons corresponding to the respective nodes of the elements may also be displayed on the map at the same time. The location of the icon display may be determined according to a given parameter, for example, may be a location associated with a node. When the positions associated with the nodes are the same or close (the proximity can be determined according to a preset rule, for example, when the distance between the display positions of two icons on a map with a given resolution is smaller than a preset distance threshold, the icons are considered to be very close), the icons corresponding to the nodes are merged into one icon, and the number of the nodes contained in the icon is displayed. Clicking on an icon containing multiple nodes can display the node names of the multiple nodes contained in the icon, which is very beneficial for the user when using a smaller screen computing device.

The embodiment of the invention can simultaneously display a time axis on the map and display the node time corresponding to each node of the element on the time axis. The user's point in time for each node may operate similarly to the point in time described above for the different elements.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a user may click on a node of interest among nodes of an element displayed on their computing device (e.g., click on a node name, click on an icon on a map to which the node corresponds, or click on a point in time on a timeline). The map application determines the node that was clicked on and then retrieves it via the map service provider's application server and the element database, for example, with the identifier of the node and the identifier of the element to which the node belongs, to obtain and return detailed information for the node, such as the node name, the node description, the node time, and the node location.

According to embodiments of the present invention, other nodes related to the node clicked by the user may be retrieved from the element database and displayed on the map application of the user computing device according to predetermined rules. Examples of predetermined rules include:

(1) the time rule is as follows: and searching the nodes which are the same or similar in time of other elements according to the node time corresponding to the node clicked by the user. The returned result may be the retrieved node name and the element name of the element to which the node belongs.

(2) And (3) spatial regulation: and searching the same or similar nodes on the positions of other elements according to the time when the user clicks the nodes. The result returned may be the retrieval of the node name and the element name of the element to which the node belongs.

The time of the two nodes is the same, and can be judged according to a preset rule; for example, they may be the same year (if the time of two nodes is only accurate to year), they may be the same year and month, they may overlap, or they may be one time point in another time period. The time closeness of two nodes can also be judged according to a predetermined rule, for example, the difference between two years is less than 3 years.

The same location of the two nodes can be judged according to a preset rule; for example, the determination may be made based on whether the display positions of the two nodes on a map of a given resolution are the same. The proximity of the locations of the two nodes can also be determined according to a predetermined rule, for example, the proximity of the locations can be determined according to the locations of the nodes associated with the nodes, and if the distance between the display positions of the two nodes on the map with the given resolution is smaller than a preset distance threshold, the two nodes can be determined as being close in location. For example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the node location of a node is stored in the format of geojson data, so that distance calculation can be performed by using data in the mongodb database (e.g., geographical index of the mongodb database), and then a node whose distance between two nodes is smaller than a preset distance threshold is found from the calculation result.

As shown in fig. 3, for the node selected by the user, the node with the same or similar time and the node with the same or similar place can be retrieved and returned according to the time rule and the space rule at the same time, and displayed on the computing device of the user. Preferably, the nodes with the same time and the same location and the same place can be displayed in two lists, respectively, and the user switches between the two lists. The node names, node times and node locations of the returned nodes may be displayed in a list on the one hand (the user may click on these information to view detailed information of a certain returned node), and the locations of the nodes may be displayed on the map in an icon manner (the user may click on detailed information of the corresponding nodes), preferably in a different manner than the nodes of the element originally selected by the user (e.g., in a different color to distinguish the returned node from the nodes of the element).

Embodiments of the present invention store time and place information of elements in a nodal manner by means of maps of different historical times, thereby establishing associations of nodes of different elements in time or place. The user can conveniently obtain the recommendation of the nodes of other elements which are related to each other in time or place without active searching from a certain node of one element.

Referring to fig. 4A and 4B, it is shown how a user is enabled to select a type of map element. In an embodiment of the present invention, a system for displaying a map has a timeline that a user can slide left and right to switch the year of the map. In an embodiment of the present invention, a system for displaying a map provides an interface for a user to select the type of map element of interest. In FIG. 4A, the interface is displayed as "topical", by clicking, sliding the display panel up from the bottom of the display screen, and presenting the type of map element in the panel for selection by the user. In an embodiment of the present invention, sliding the panel downward may hide the display of the panel. In an embodiment of the present invention, when a specific type such as war is selected in the panel, the war is displayed in the search bar while all war events within the range of the domain within the current selection period, i.e., map elements of which the type is "war" are displayed on the map. In an embodiment of the invention, the map elements are displayed in the form of bubbles. In an embodiment of the present invention, the name of the map element is displayed in the vicinity of the bubble. In the embodiment of the invention, when a plurality of map elements are close to each other, only the name of one of the map elements is displayed due to space limitation, and other map elements only display bubbles without displaying names. In an embodiment of the present invention, some bubbles may be displayed in a reduced or enlarged manner with respect to other bubbles, and preferably, bubbles corresponding to map elements not displaying names are displayed in a reduced manner. In the embodiment of the present invention, when a plurality of map elements are aggregated together, the names of the map elements are not displayed, but only one bubble is displayed, and the number of aggregated map elements is displayed in the bubble. In the embodiment of the present invention, the bubble may be clicked by the user, and preferably, the bubble is displayed in an enlarged manner after being clicked. In embodiments of the present invention, when a single "non-aggregated" bubble is clicked, the detailed description associated with the map element corresponding to the bubble may be slid up from the bottom of the display screen. In an embodiment of the present invention, sliding the detailed description downward may hide its display. In an embodiment of the invention, when the "aggregated" bubble is clicked, a list of a plurality of map elements is displayed (e.g., in the form of a list). In the embodiment of the present invention, only the names and brief descriptions of the map elements are displayed in the above list. In an embodiment of the present invention, upon clicking on a map element on the list, a detailed description associated with the map element is displayed.

Referring to fig. 5A and 5B, it is shown how a user is enabled to search for map elements. In an embodiment of the present invention, a name of a map element may be searched in a search box (also referred to as a search bar) to display the map element on a map. In embodiments of the present invention, when the name of a searched map element is not included in the database, the relevant search results (also referred to as "big search results") may be displayed. In some embodiments of the present invention, some map elements include a number of map sub-elements, and therefore the search result displays the map element and the map sub-elements to which it belongs. For example, referring to fig. 5A, the search result obtained by searching for the map element "the chaos of the history" includes the map element "the chaos battle of the history" and the map sub-elements "the battle of the temple", "lingbao, Tongguan battle" and "the battle of the temple of showa". In embodiments of the present invention, when a search result includes only one map element, sliding up from the bottom of the display screen may open a detailed description related to that map element. In embodiments of the invention, when a search result includes multiple map elements or map sub-elements, sliding up from the bottom of the display screen may open a list with those map elements or map sub-elements.

In embodiments of the present invention, the user may also search for time in the search box. Fig. 6A and 6B show how to search for politics. Fig. 7 shows how the staging is searched. Fig. 8 shows how the year is searched.

In the embodiment of the present invention, if a certain map element (e.g., the right a) is subordinate to another map element (e.g., the right B) for a certain period of time, the right B is displayed superimposed on the right a when displayed. When the user clicks on the overlay display area, a tab of the names of the two map elements can be popped up for the user to select to view.

The system, method and apparatus of the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as pure software (e.g., a software program written in Java), as pure hardware (e.g., a dedicated ASIC chip or FPGA chip), or as a system combining software and hardware (e.g., a firmware system storing fixed code or a system with a general-purpose memory and a processor), as desired.

Another aspect of the invention is a computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, perform a method of embodiments of the invention.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above description is intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The scope of the claimed subject matter is limited only by the attached claims.

Various aspects of various embodiments are defined in the claims. These and other aspects of the various embodiments are specified in the following numbered clauses:

1. a system for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising:

means for providing a first map corresponding to a first time or a first time period for display on the display screen; and

means for providing a second map corresponding to a second time or a second time period for display on the display screen superimposed with the first map,

wherein the first map and the second map are processed in units of tiles when displayed.

2. The system of clause 1, wherein the second map is displayed superimposed on the first map in a different color and semi-transparent manner.

3. The system of clause 1, further comprising means for providing a third map corresponding to a third time or a third time period for display on the display screen in superimposition with the first map and the second map.

4. The system of clause 1, wherein the first time or first time period is a current time or current time period.

5. The system of clause 1, wherein the second time or second time period is a historical time or historical time period.

6. The system of clause 1, further comprising means for selecting the second time or second time period.

7. The system of clause 6, wherein the means for selecting the second time or second time period is a timeline.

8. The system of clause 6, wherein the means for selecting the second time or second time period is a search box.

9. The system of clause 8, wherein if the system does not store a second map corresponding to the second time or second time period of the input, displaying the stored second map closest to the second time or second time period of the input.

10. The system of clause 1, further comprising a map element display device for providing a map element corresponding to the second time or second time period for display on the display screen.

11. The system of clause 10, wherein the map element has at least one of a name, a type, a time, a location, a description, and associated information.

12. The system of clause 10, wherein the map element display device displays the map element in the form of a bubble.

13. The system of clause 12, wherein a portion of the bubbles can be displayed reduced.

14. The system of clause 12, wherein a thumbnail representing the map element is displayed in the bubble.

15. The system of clause 12, wherein a brief description of the map element is displayed in the vicinity of the bubble.

16. The system of clause 12, wherein the number of the plurality of map elements that are grouped together is displayed in the bubble.

17. The system of clause 12, further comprising means for magnifying the bubble when the bubble is clicked.

18. The system of clause 10, further comprising means for displaying a detailed description of the map element according to user feedback.

19. The system of clause 10, further comprising means for displaying a list of a plurality of the map elements according to user feedback.

20. The system of clause 10, further comprising search means for searching the name of the map element to display a search result.

21. The system of clause 20, wherein the search result includes a name of the map element or a list of names of a plurality of the map elements.

22. The system of clause 10, further comprising means for providing an interface to display the type of map elements for selection on the display screen.

23. The system of clause 22, wherein the types of map elements for selection are displayed in a panel.

24. The system of clause 23, wherein the panel is displayed by sliding the bottom end of the display screen upward.

25. The system of clause 23, further comprising means for concealing the panel when sliding the panel downward.

26. The system of clause 10, wherein the map element display device displays the selected type of map element.

27. The system of clause 20, wherein when the name of the map element is not searched, the search result displays a name of the map element or a list of names of a plurality of map elements that approximate the name of the map element.

28. The system of clause 20, further comprising highlighting one map element in the search results upon selection of the name of the map element.

29. The system of clause 10, further comprising a map sub-element display device for providing map sub-elements subordinate to map elements for display on the display screen.

30. The system of clause 29, wherein the map element and map sub-elements subordinate thereto are displayed simultaneously.

31. A method for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising:

providing a first map corresponding to a first time or a first time period for display on the display screen; and

providing a second map corresponding to a second time or a second time period for display on the display screen superimposed with the first map,

32. The method of clause 31, wherein the second map is displayed superimposed on the first map in a different color and semi-transparent manner.

33. The method of clause 31, further comprising providing a third map corresponding to a third time or a third time period for display on the display screen in superimposition with the first map and the second map.

34. The method of clause 31, wherein the first time or first time period is a current time or current time period.

35. The method of clause 31, wherein the second time or second time period is a historical time or historical time period.

36. The method of clause 31, further comprising selecting the second time or second time period.

37. The method of clause 36, wherein a timeline is used to select the second time or second time period.

38. The method of clause 36, wherein a search box is used to select the second time or second time period.

39. The method of clause 38, wherein if a second map corresponding to the second time or second time period of the input is not stored, displaying the stored second map closest to the second time or second time period of the input.

40. The method of clause 31, further comprising providing a map element corresponding to the second time or second time period for display on the display screen.

41. The method of clause 40, wherein the map element has at least one of a name, a type, a time, a location, a description, and associated information.

42. The method of clause 40, wherein the map element is displayed in the form of a bubble.

43. The method of clause 42, wherein a portion of the bubbles can be displayed reduced.

44. The method of clause 42, wherein a thumbnail representing the map element is displayed in the bubble.

45. The method of clause 42, wherein a brief description of the map element is displayed adjacent to the bubble.

46. The method of clause 42, wherein the number of the plurality of map elements that are grouped together is displayed in the bubble.

47. The method of clause 42, further comprising enlarging the bubble when clicking on the bubble.

48. The method of clause 40, further comprising displaying a detailed description of the map element according to user feedback.

49. The method of clause 40, further comprising displaying a list of a plurality of the map elements according to user feedback.

50. The method of clause 40, further comprising searching the name of the map element to display search results.

51. The method of clause 50, wherein the search result comprises a name of the map element or a list of names of a plurality of the map elements.

52. The method of clause 40, further comprising providing an interface to display the type of map elements for selection on the display screen.

53. The method of clause 52, wherein the types of map elements for selection are displayed in a panel.

54. The method of clause 53, wherein the panel is displayed by sliding the bottom end of the display screen upward.

55. The method of clause 53, further comprising hiding the panel when sliding the panel downward.

56. The method of clause 40, further comprising displaying the selected type of map element.

57. The method of clause 50, wherein when the name of the map element is not searched, the search result displays a name of a map element or a list of names of a plurality of map elements that approximates the name of the map element.

58. The method of clause 50, further comprising highlighting one map element in the search results upon selecting the name of the map element.

59. The method of clause 40, further comprising providing a map sub-element subordinate to a map element for display on the display screen.

60. The method of clause 59, wherein the map element and map sub-elements subordinate thereto are displayed simultaneously.

61. A system comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having stored therein at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes, or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method according to any of clauses 31-60.

62. A computer readable medium having stored thereon at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method according to any of clauses 31-60.

Claims

1. A system for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising:

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second map is displayed superimposed on the first map in a different color and semi-transparent manner.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for providing a third map corresponding to a third time or a third time period for display on the display screen in superimposition with the first map and the second map.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first time or first time period is a current time or current time period.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second time or second time period is a historical time or historical time period.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for selecting the second time or second time period.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for selecting the second time or second time period is a timeline.

8. A method for displaying a map on a display screen, comprising:

9. A system comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having stored therein at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes, or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method of claim 8.

10. A computer readable medium having stored thereon at least one instruction, at least one program, set of codes, or set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method according to claim 8.