Obtaining and displaying virtual earth images

US8850011B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• Gur Kimchi · Bellevue, US
• Amit Dekate · Bellevue, US
• Ashok Kuppusamy · Seattle, US
• Steve Lombardi · Seattle, US
• Joseph Schwartz · Redmond, US
• Stephen L. Lawler · Kirkland, US
• Alexander G. Gounares · Kirkland, US
• Raymond E. Endres · Redmond, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 7, 2005
• Grant date: Sep 30, 2014
• Expiry date: Jul 25, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L67/535
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Provided is a single repository for capturing, connecting, sharing, and visualizing information based on a geographic location, for example. Provided is a schema, repository, index, and APIs for any information, place, entity, attribute, service or person that can be referenced geographically. A system to provide real time image data includes an input component that receives image data associated with a specific geographic area, a splitter component that splits the image data into at least two quadrants, and a storage component that stores at least a portion of the at least two quadrants. Also provides is on-line or real-time advertising based on a user's mapped location and/or a user preference.