USER MAPPED OPERATING SYSTEM FOR MOBILE INSPECTIONS.

Technical Field

0001

G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions.

Background Art

0002 This Invention is a mobile device operating system mapped by the user to facilitate inspections. Advances in computer technology have allowed maps and associated databases to be stored on computing and display devices collectively called geographical information systems. The Invention builds on the interdependence of maps and inspection but uses a topological relation or plurality of relations to define nearness of information clusters in place of linear distance with the aid of a geographical information system.

This Application makes claims involving map manipulations that define this operating system with reference to information as grouped in information clusters. A buffer boundary defines a group of information clusters related by a degree of topological nearness as defined by the user. Overlay of partially transparent map layers enables analysis of relations amongst a group of inspected data clusters. The zoom function allows the choice of a map scale appropriate to the scope of an inspection. And truth tests comparing the map with some physical reality is a core inspection feature dating back to the treasure map.

Investigation of prior art reveals a plurality of patents and patent applications that force a georeferenced map on to the display of a mobile device and yet make no particular mention of the filing system that supports manipulation of data on that map. It is not possible in such cases to describe the map as truly functioning as an operating system of the inspection device as illustrated by the following group of prior art patents.

Satellite technology as most recently described in Chauhan (US Patent 7,739,138, June 15, 2010) enables a plurality of data to be loaded into and repeatedly inspected using mobile electronic devices equipped with receivers of satellite data. Chauhan describes a plurality of means of import and export of data. The patent application by Chauhan is illustrative of a common narrowness of vision in that it is bound by geographical position in the display of data. There is no mention of flexibility of topology to be defined in terms of a nearness relation other than georeferenced position using a satellite signal and a datum to express that position to a degree of accuracy on a flat screen. Chauhan makes great strides in defining the input and output of data but makes no contribution to an operating system structuring visual display of information clusters. The Chauhan patent is further diminished in scope by describing a transfer of information between the mobile device and a central server when generating comparisons supporting truth statements. The slave and master concept is a legacy architecture no longer necessary when the mobile device can store and process data of a high order to support independent truth statement testing and export of reports.

Another example of limitation to geographic nearness is Faulkner (US Patent 7,654,826, June 15, 2010) who applies the concepts of in this case three dimension cartographic display as a visual display device that can act as an organizing system to define the operating system of a database. The Faulkner patent also represents little advance over the ancient cartographers in using the map as an operating system since the nearness he defines is again simply georeferenced position on a displayed map defined by nearness measured in linear separation. There is no clear relation to the organization of the information clusters. Vegge (US 7,243,164, July 10, 2007) describes the use of a mobile phone or PAD to communicate with a central server to supply information presumably arising from inspections. Vegge describes data organized by geographical location. Vegge also describes a slave mobile connecting with a master server. Neither of these devices are particularly new although the technology used to effect such a data transfer is. Young (US 751,553 June 15, 2004) describes a similar mobile mapping device streaming data organized in a geographic topology to a master server. A similar contribution is Sims (US 5,434,775 July 18, 1995) also describes a plurality of devices tracked by a master device and communicating data organized by geoferenced location.

Emery (US 7,747,165 June 29, 2010) is an example of elaboration of nearness through physical location with the twist that the locations of the transmitting mobile devices themselves continuously autodefine the topology of the network toward the establishment of a tree based on georeferenced position. No contribution is made to the use of a non- geographical topology as an operating system on a mobile inspection device. However the concept of flexibility of node location sets this patent apart from simple mapmaker device patents.

A review of international patents reveals a number of patents that delve deeper into the concept of a flexibly defined operating system. Busalacchi (PCT/US2007/015429, October 01, 2008) describes a global information architecture. Busalacchi seems unaware of the use of a map as an organizing matrix for information clusters. Further he states that different users should be able to access the same data even if they organize their information objects in different fashion. The concept of being able to access discretely defined information objects by the vector filing system he describes reveals is a concept that has its origins in the slave and master architecture.

The attempt to place a global location value to a globally unvarying information cluster fails on a plurality of levels. The act of inspection for any information cluster irreversibly changes that information cluster. Therefore Busalacchi and other patents such as Branka

(PCT/EP2010/053038, March 10, 2010) describing a unique co-ordinate for an information cluster suggest a quixotic task. Further an information cluster may be appear as a point at a certain scale of zoom but it will always be a buffer containing a plurality of information clusters depending on the zoom. There is no point to which to attach a coordinate if the object in question has volume. Murphy (PCT/US2010/031942, April 24, 2010) also deals with nodes as if a spatial coordinates were meaningful in a shared context.

In summary this Patent Application differs from prior art in providing for an operating system using traditional map manipulation techniques to place information clusters on the display of a mobile device on the basis of a topological definition of nearness defined by that user and therefore necessarily unique to that user. These information clusters can be queried to yield a set of data useful in exporting reports. The information clusters have no unique global co-ordinate. The information clusters are not nodes since nodes are by definition not expandable by the action of zooming in. Neither of these concepts is necessary for inspections.

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

0003 Conventional operating systems organize information in file systems that do not allow expression or display of nearness structured by a topology of relations as defined by the user. The act of inspection demands information access that can be organized in terms of topological relations defined by the user. This demand is most developed in mobile devices convenient for use in inspections but with visual display screens of limited size. Solution to Problem

0004

Conventional operating systems organize files in a visual display based on files and folders and organizational networks. In contrast, the concept of mapping to organize and manipulate geographical information is highly developed in geographical information systems. The topological relation defining the organization of information clusters in a geographical information system is linear distance. A more adaptable organizing relation is required for the storage and access of inspection data. Adaptation of analytical concepts of geographical information systems are used to structure the operating system of a mobile device in order to organize and perform analysis on information clusters for inspections. Quantifying nearness is done based on configuring a nearness relation chosen by the user. The most reliable methods of expressing nearness as defined by this new relation is drag and drop of information clusters to lie within the buffer boundary of a group of one or more information clusters. This differs from a conventional file tree system where information clusters are displayed in a nearness relation defined by the architect of the operating system.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

0006 Visual displays have reached their limit in organizing information clusters. The Invention described in this Application makes use of the rich library of spatial organizational principles developed first with paper maps and then as part of computerized maps to organize and manipulate information clusters in terms of nearness relations defined by the user. This new economy of display is particularly important with increasing use of miniature display screens in mobile electronic devices. A concrete use of this operating system based on geographical information systems is the electronic inspection application.

There are six key features of this operating system based on geographical information systems concepts.

The first feature is drag and drop of information clusters to express nearness in relation as defined by the user. Users map their own experiential worlds and continually organize the resultant information clusters using their own judgements. The geography of a map is replaced by the topology of the imagination and judgement of the user.

The second feature is establishment of buffer boundaries by the user to express a degree of relatedness of the enclosed information. The third feature is the ability to display a selected category of information for all visible information clusters dependent on the category layer the user selects on a legend.

The fourth feature is the concept of concurrent display or overlay of a plurality of layers.

The fifth feature is the use of zoom as a filing tool. Zooming out replaces information cluster buffer zones with overarching information clusters to display higher levels of organization and relation. Zooming in on a featureless cluster enlarges it to reveal a information cluster itself containing levels of information clusters that reveal themselves relative to the degree of zoom.

The sixth and perhaps most powerful feature is the generation of truth statements by comparing the information cluster with an external information source by means of registering that source and comparing that image information against information in a cluster. This last feature is critical in conducting inspections. In geographical terms the truth may be a comparison of advertised georeferenced location. For an inspection the truth may be instead a comparison of unique identifying features as advertised at that location with the corresponding information in the information cluster on the mobile device used to register that advertised information. One example is using the mobile electronic device to photograph a two dimensional barcode advertised at an inspection point and then taking the values associated with that barcode and comparing them against those stored in the corresponding information cluster as stored in the mobile device.

Brief Description of Drawings

0007

Fig. 1

In Fig. 1 a group of information clusters (1) are displayed on an electronic display (2) as organized by nearness in a relation defined by the user.

Fig. 2 In Fig. 2 buffers (4J are applied in terms of nearness units to define larger clusters (5) of information clusters (1) termed cluster buffers. The cluster buffers are themselves information clusters of contained information clusters judged to be near to each other under the nearness relation defined by the user.

165 Fig. 3

In Figs. 3(a) and (b) two categories of information (6 and 8) are displayed for the same information cluster (1) depending on a selection (7 and 9) made from a category legend. Simultaneous display as shown in Fig. 3(c) of values for two or more differing layer variables for the same group of information clusters is useful for analysis. This analytical tool is called 170 overlay. Overlay can reveal relations between information clusters in the context of the nearness relation as defined by the user.

Fig. 4

In Fig. 4(a) an electronic display (2) is manipulated to zoom out to display cluster buffers (5) of increasingly higher order as defined by range of nearness. In Fig. 4(b) an electronic 175 display is manipulated to zoom in to display previously hidden information clusters (1) within buffer clusters (5).

Description of Embodiments

0008

180 A computing device is equipped with display and storage and access capacity. An operating system uses this hardware to support a visual map of information clusters organized within buffers defining degrees of topological nearness. This in contrast to operating systems where no special organizing principle for information clusters is evident other than that system convenient to the programmer of the operating system. The discipline of

185 cartography in contrast provides a plurality of strategies for visual organization of

information clusters. And yet the nearness relation of simple geographical distance measure is of limited use for many users. Geographical distance is therefore replaced by other measures of topological nearness by the user to organize information clusters.

Examples

0009

This Application describes a real world device comprising a mobile electronic device being used to conduct inspections and requiring the storage and access of information clusters in a topological relation unique to the inspector. 0010

Example 1

The act of inspection for prior art for a patent application itself exemplifies the potential for creating a real map based on a plurality of topological relations unrelated to geographic position that enable the display and retrieval of information clusters.

0011

Example 2

0012

Another example may be a safety inspector using a mobile device to organize inspection destinations. The map on the screen of the portable electronic device may be organized with respect to type of building or priority of the building to be inspected versus a straight atlas display of the geographical locations of the schools in the inspected region.

Industrial Applicability

0013 This Invention describes a unique operating system for a mobile electronic device used for inspection duties. This Invention has direct application in a novel mode of visual organization of information in a computing device equipped with a visual display by which the user deposits and organizes and returns to information. This is the act of inspection. Inspected points become information clusters for the storage and access of information pertinent to that point. Inspected points of any description can be organized in this fashion to support management of these information clusters. One particularly important feature is the generation of truth statements comparing selected properties of an information cluster on the device against advertised values on a real inspection feature.

Reference Signs List

0014

No reference signs are used in this application.

Reference to Deposited Biological Material

0015

No reference to deposited biological material is made in this Application.

Sequence Listing Free Text

0016

No reference is made to sequencing in this Application.

Citation List

Patent Literature

0017

Chauhan (US Patent 7,739,138, June 15, 2010) Faulkner (US Patent 7,654,826, February 2, 2010) Vegge (US 7,243,164, July 10, 2007) Young (US 751,553 June 15, 2004) Sims (US 5,434,775 July 18, 1995) Emery (US 7,747,165 June 29, 2010) Busalacchi (PCT/US2007/015429, October 01, 2008) Branka (PCT/EP2010/053038, March 10, 2010) Murphy (PCT/US2010/031942, April 24, 2010)

Non Patent Literature

0018

No relevant non patent literature was identified.

Claims

Claim 1 The Invention is claimed to be novel in describing an operating system for organizing information clusters on the display of a mobile device using topological relations of nearness as defined by the user in contrast to an organizational system predefined by an operating system vendor.

Claim 2 The Invention is claimed to be novel in using the principal of buffering to display nearness of information clusters on an information display where the nearness relation is defined by the user as opposed to an organizing principle chosen by the operating system vendor.

Claim 3

The Invention is claimed to be novel in the use of a legend for selecting information layers to display values for corresponding variables as configured for each information cluster in contrast to forcing the user to access the properties for each information cluster separately. Claim 4

The Invention is claimed to be novel in the ability to simultaneously display in an overlay a plurality of configured values associated with each information cluster in contrast to no such function being possible in standard operating systems.

Claim 5

The Invention is claimed to be novel in using the principle of zoom to display or hide detail associated with an information cluster in contrast to navigating file networks.

Claim 6 The Invention is claimed to be novel in providing a truth statement mechanism whereby an application can confirm or deny a match between data registered by a mobile electronic device of value advertised by an object against corresponding information configured into an information cluster stored and displayed on a mobile electronic device in contrast to processing a registered value against a georeferenced database.

Abstract

A mobile electronic device generates a display of information unique to the user that can be organized in terms of a nearness relation defined by the user versus arbitrary placement in a file system generated by an operating system vendor. Electronic spatial analysis methods devised for geographical information systems software are used to manipulate this data display for use in inspections. Information clusters placed near to each other on the visual display can be gathered into buffers with boundaries meaningful to the nearness relation. Data categories for information clusters can be displayed using selection from a legend. These data categories can be overlaid. Economy of filing can be accomplished by zoom. A truth statement can be generated when inspecting objects on a mobile electronic device display against an advertised value registered by the mobile device of the actual object. Drawings

Fig. 1

No further figures are supplied Fig. 2

No further figures are supplied

Sequence Listing

No sequence listing is supplied