Methods of systems using geographic meta-metadata in information retrieval and document displays

Abstract

A computer-implemented method involving a corpus of documents. The method includes accepting search criteria from a user, the search criteria including a domain identifier identifying a domain and including a filter condition specifying a geometric relationship between co-referenced locations; in response to accepting the search criteria from the user, searching among the corpus of documents to identify a set of documents, wherein each document among the set of documents contains anywhere within the document location-related information that refers to a location within the domain and satisfies the filter condition, and wherein the set of documents only includes documents that satisfy the filter condition; and identifying to the user the documents in the set of documents.

1 . A computer system for displaying information about a document that includes a plurality of spatial identifiers each of which identifies a corresponding location within a metric space and at least two of the locations of the spatial identifiers have a geometric relationship to each other, the computer system comprising:
 a user interface configured to display at least a portion of content from the document, wherein the at least one portion of content is a natural language;   wherein the user interface is also configured to display a map image of a portion of the metric space; and   wherein the user interface is further configured to display a visual indicator at a position on the map image representing the location that corresponds to one of said plurality of spatial identifiers; and   a data presentation module configured to visually indicate that the location corresponding to the visual indicator has associated data that characterizes the geometric relationship between that location and the location of another spatial identifier in the document, wherein the geometric relationship is determined by a path hierarchy for each location; and   wherein the data presentation module is also configured to visually differentiate, by visually promoting and highlighting differently, the at least two corresponding locations based on attributes that are defined with reference to the document, wherein the locations that are metonymic are given less prominent visual emphasis than other locations.   
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer system is further configured to:
 receive information that identifies a first portion of the document containing the visual indicator that corresponds to a first location in the metric space;   receive information that identifies a second portion of the document containing the another spatial identifier that corresponds to a second location in the metric space; and   receive information describing the geometric relationship between the first location and the second location; and   wherein the map of the portion of the metric space displayed by the user interface encompasses at least a part of one of the first and second locations.   
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer system is further configured to:
 identify the portion of the document that contains the visual indicator that corresponds to the location in the metric space; and   analyze the portion of the document to obtain a semantic category of the visual indicator, the semantic category identifying a sense in which an author of the document intended to use the identifier in the portion of the document.   
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the geometric relationship is one of being a container of another location. 
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the geometric relationship is one of being contained in another location. 
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the geometric relationship is one of being overlapping with another location. 
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the geometric relationship is one of being a neighbor of another location. 
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the path hierarchy is organized into a directed acyclic graph structure. 
     
     
         9 . A computer system for displaying information about a document that includes a spatial identifier that identifies a corresponding location within a metric space and wherein that spatial identifier is characterized by a semantic type that is determined by the use of the spatial identifier within the document, the computer system comprising:
 a user interface configured to display at least a portion of content from the document, wherein the at least one portion of content is a natural language; and   a data presentation module configured to visually identify the spatial identifier within a displayed visual representation of the content from the document;   wherein the data presentation module is also configured to visually indicate the semantic type of the spatial identifier wherein the semantic type is determined by a path hierarchy for each location; and   wherein the data presentation is further configured to visually differentiate, by visually promoting and highlighting differently, two or more corresponding locations based on attributes that are defined with reference to the document, wherein the locations that are metonymic are given less prominent visual emphasis than other locations.   
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the user interface is also configured to:
 along with the displayed visual representation of content, display a map image of a portion of the metric space; and   display a visual indicator at a position on the map image representing the location that corresponds to the spatial identifier.   
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the semantic type is a context-dependent property of the spatial indicator. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the semantic type is place-of-author. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the semantic type is place-of-subject. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the semantic type is literal location. 
     
     
         15 . A computer system for displaying information about a document that includes a spatial identifier that identifies a corresponding location within a metric space and wherein that spatial identifier is a semantic type, the computer system comprising:
 a user interface configured to display at least a portion of content from the document, wherein the at least one portion of content is a natural language;   wherein the user interface is also configured to display a map image of a portion of the metric space; and   wherein the user interface is further configured to display a visual indicator at a position on the map image representing the location that corresponds to the spatial identifier; and   a data presentation module configured to visually indicate the semantic type of the spatial identifier wherein the semantic type is determined by a path hierarchy for each location, and   wherein the data presentation module is also configured to visually differentiate, by visually promoting and highlighting differently, two or more corresponding locations based on attributes that are defined with reference to the document, wherein the locations that are metonymic are given less prominent visual emphasis than other locations.