12) United States Patent
`LOpke
`
`USOO655331 OB1
`10) Patent No.:
`US 6,553,310 B1
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`9
`
`9
`
`(54) METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
`TOPOLOGICALLY BASED RETRIEVAL OF
`INFORMATION
`
`(75) Inventor: Michael S. Lopke, Boise, ID (US)
`(73) Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto,
`CA (US)
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`4/2000 Tso et al. ................... 709/232
`6,047,327 A
`5/2000 Ishii et al. .................. 704/275
`6,067,521. A
`9/2000 Chaddha ..................... 709/203
`6,122,658 A
`6,148,260 A 11/2000 Musk et al. ................ 701/200
`6,154,172 A * 11/2000 Piccionelli et al. ...... 342/357.1
`6,170,013 B1
`1/2001 Murata ....................... 709/229
`6,202,023 B1
`3/2001 Hancock et al. ............ 701/201
`6,216,153 B1
`4/2001 Vortriede .................... 709/203
`6,222,483 B1 * 4/2001 Twitchell et al. ...... 342/357.09
`6,240,360 B1
`5/2001 Phelan ....................... 701/208
`6,345,266 B1 * 2/2002 Gingly et al. ............... 707/1
`* cited by examiner
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/712,874
`9
`(22) Filed:
`Nov. 14, 2000
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................ G06F 15/16
`(52) U.S. CI.
`701/213; 709/203; 709/223;
`- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 709726. 70921. 7097104
`(58) Field of Search
`s
`701213 2OO
`701/201, 211, 207; 709/203, 226, 224
`227, 104 223 229 217 219. 232. 249.
`s
`s
`s
`s
`704727s. 3 401988
`s
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,511,208 A * 4/1996 Boyles et al................ oss
`5,560,008 A * 9/1996 Johnson et al. ......
`... 395/650
`5,825,306 A * 10/1998 Hiyokawa et al. .......... 340/988
`
`(56)
`
`Primary Examiner Thomas G. Black
`ASSistant Examiner Tuan C To
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`An apparatus for, and a method of, customizing an Internet
`Session to the current location of the user which can, through
`a variety of methods, identify a user's Specific location and
`once the specific location is determined, customize Internet
`information for the user's Specific location. The location can
`be determined through a GPS device, user input or calcu
`lation and application of location parameters from a known
`position or Similar methods. The customized Internet infor
`mation can be accessed Via, for example, CDPD, and user
`Specific queries can be addressed through Internet Search
`capabilities coupled with local processing.
`24 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`130
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`Regional Resources 144
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`LOCation
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`
`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 001
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`Sheet 1 of 6
`
`US 6,553,310 B1
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 002
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`Sheet 2 of 6
`
`US 6,553,310 B1
`
`Start
`
`202
`
`204
`
`PrOCeSS
`Information Request
`206
`Determine if LOCation
`is Relevant to Request
`208
`
`Request Identity
`Of Requestor
`
`210
`Determine LOCation
`of Requestor
`
`
`
`212
`Identify Matching
`ReSOUrCeS Based On
`Request and Location
`of Requestor
`Provide Requestor
`With ResultS
`
`214
`
`216
`
`End
`
`ProXimity to
`Requestor
`Proximity to
`Similar ReSources
`Preferred Path
`DiStance
`Othe lation
`3COS
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 003
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr.22, 2003
`
`Sheet 3 of 6
`
`US 6,553,310 B1
`
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 004
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`Sheet 4 of 6
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`US 6,553,310 B1
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 005
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 005
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`Sheet 5 of 6
`
`US 6,553,310 B1
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`
`
`019-/
`
`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 006
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`Sheet 6 of 6
`
`US 6,553,310 B1
`
`600 M
`
`Determine
`LOCation
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 007
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`

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`US 6,553,310 B1
`
`1
`METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
`TOPOLOGICALLY BASED RETRIEVAL OF
`INFORMATION
`
`2
`using either client or Server facilities, or both. Thus, a Server
`may Solicit or otherwise obtain location information from a
`client, Such as the location of a user, location of a desired
`resource, routing or route of travel, etc., and use the location
`information to identify resources (e.g., shopping and Service
`facilities, Internet Servers and mirror Sites, etc.) satisfying
`topographical criteria in addition to other Search criteria,
`Such as having Selected key words (e.g., crawler based
`Searches), falling within specified classes or types of
`resources (e.g., directory based listings), etc.
`In the case of portable devices, the invention combines the
`position identifying capability of GPS (Global Positioning
`System) with the information available via the Internet. This
`provides a unified device that uses present position to
`determine distances to points of interest identified using
`information available on the Internet. Thus, the invention
`incorporates remotely accessible information into a posi
`tionally relevant display to provide enhanced maps, text, and
`other forms of information in a mobile environment. The
`remotely accessible information may be obtained, for
`example, via the Internet. According to a feature of the
`invention, the System may access a device Specific resource
`to obtain device program database updates and to provide
`Supplementary information about road conditions, local
`points-of-interest, etc. According to another feature, a SyS
`tem according to the invention automatically Searches Inter
`net Sites and resources for information pertinent to a present
`position of a vehicle or mobile user by employing Search
`engines and other information retrieval agents and automatic
`hyperlink following features.
`According to an aspect of the invention, a method of
`identifying information based on topological criteria include
`identification of information to be retrieved based on topo
`logical criteria. A Search is conducted of a resource (e.g.,
`database(s)) for the class of information also satisfying the
`topological criteria. The class of information may be iden
`tifiable by a key (e.g., indicative of a category of information
`Such as weather Statistics for an area or of a facility Such as
`local accommodations, restaurants, etc.) The topological
`criteria may include a location of a requestor So that the
`Search may be centered on that location; the location of Some
`remote site Such as a planned destination; or a route of travel.
`The key and location are transmitted to a remote Server and
`a result of the Search (i.e., a reply) is returned to the
`requestor.
`According to a feature of the invention, communications
`is established with the resource using a communications
`network wherein the location is relative to a topology of the
`communications network. Thus, for example, a local or wide
`area network (LAN or WAN) or the Internet may be used to
`access a resource with the location of the resource on the
`network relative to the requestor being a criteria for Select
`ing a resource (e.g., Server or other network node).
`According to another feature of the invention, communi
`cations is established with the resource and target data
`asSociated with respective physical facilities is returned in
`response to the key and the topological criteria wherein the
`location is relative to a geographic (i.e., map) location of
`either the requestor or that of the physical facilities. The
`physical facilities may be identified by respective Street
`addresses or other form of addressing Scheme including
`ordered pairs of latitude and longitude values, Zipcode,
`Zip-4, telephone number, etc.
`According to another aspect of the invention, location
`information is communicated to a remote Server using a
`common gateway interface (CGI.) The CGI provides for
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`BACKGROUND
`The Internet provides a wealth of information that is
`readily available to users having access to the network.
`Because of the great number of information Sources
`available, Search engines and directories are commonly
`employed in an effort to identify, locate, acceSS and retrieve
`information from Sources via the Internet. However, the
`rapid expansion of information available via the Internet has
`Sometimes hindered rather than helped a user Searching for
`15
`information, as the desired information is hidden or com
`pletely Supplanted by the irrelevant. To the consternation of
`users, Search engines often miss relevant information or are
`unable to parse through directories and web pages to focus
`a Search and retrieve the most relevant information.
`Accordingly, a need exists for a System for and method of
`identifying information pertinent to a user. A further need
`exists for a System and method that automatically identifies
`resources based on accessability to the user.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`An object of the invention is to incorporate topological
`criteria in identifying network available resources. The
`topological criteria may be in the form of the physical
`location of a user vis-a-vis a location of a desired resource
`or may include a data path topology for accessing resources
`closest on a data network. Location information about the
`user is automatically Supplied and incorporated into a locally
`or remotely initiated and/or executed Search for and of
`CSOUCCS.
`Another object of the invention is to provide an informa
`tion rich navigation or “mobile concierge” Service, auto
`matically providing information from remote Sources based
`on the location of the user. Features of the navigation System
`may include a graphical map display of geographical fea
`tures Such as roads, Streets, cities, airports, etc., augmented
`by facility information, Such as rest Stops, points of interest,
`etc. The System may further obtain and display dynamically
`changing information, Such as road conditions (e.g.,
`accidents, vehicular congestion, police activity,
`construction, Surface conditions, etc.) weather, local events,
`alerts, etc. The information may be graphically displayed as
`part of a moving map and/or provided as text. AS applicable,
`other means of presentation may also be employed, Such as
`audio playback of Sound files or Speech resultant from local
`or remote text-to-speech conversion of information.
`The invention provides enhanced Search results of
`resources by including user location information criteria to
`Select resources based on availability and accessability to the
`user. According to one aspect of the invention, user location
`information is provided to a server which prioritizes infor
`mation retrieval and resource identification based on proX
`imity. Such proximity may include physical location with
`respect to the requestor or network accessibility wherein
`resources traversing a minimal span of a network or Sub
`network are identified in preference to more distantly con
`nected resources. Proximity may be calculated directly (e.g.,
`great circle distance between map coordinates or link dis
`tance between network nodes) or as distance to the resource
`(e.g., travel time, time for detour from route, total time to
`transfer data, bandwidth, path cost distance, etc.) One
`embodiment includes implementation of topological criteria
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
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`3
`automatic transmission of client location information using,
`for example, pre-stored address data contained in a web
`browser “cookie”. Alternatively, the CGI may be used to
`transmit information entered into a form page by a user.
`Geographic Search criteria may be defined based on the
`topological criteria. A list of facilities having the class of
`information and Satisfying the topological criteria is trans
`mitted back by the server to the client.
`According to another aspect of the invention, the resource
`may be a remote database of destinations to which to travel.
`Thus, identifying a topological criteria may include deter
`mining a current location and Searching the database. The
`Search may include Selecting those destinations Satisfying a
`first proximity criteria to identify candidate destinations.
`The proximity criteria may include line-of-Sight (i.e., great
`circle distance) between points Such as the current location
`and the location of the destination. An alternative criterion
`considers proximity to a proposed itinerary and/or planned
`route of travel. Still another alternative considers proximity
`of resources to each other So as to minimize travel distance
`and/or time if several destinations are to be visited. The
`current location is compared to a location of the candidate
`destination using Second proximity criteria and the candidate
`destinations are displayed together with associated results of
`the comparison. Current location may be determined by
`various means including using an earth orbiting based GPS.
`According to another aspect of the invention, a method of
`identifying resources includes accessing a remote Server
`from a client and transmitting a displayable form to the
`client. Location information is encoded with a request for
`identification of a class of resources, all of which is trans
`mitted to the remote Server. A database Search is performed
`to identify resources contained within the class, e.g., user
`facilities Such as restaurants and hotels, and network facili
`ties Such as gateways, databases, mirror Sites, etc. The Search
`also attempts to Satisfy proximity criteria based on the
`location information to identify a list of resources for
`transmission to the client. Results are displayed So as to
`indicate a degree to which Search criteria are Satisfied. Thus,
`resources may be listed in order of distance, travel time,
`proximity to route of travel, etc. This listing may also take
`into consideration a confidence level of the Search results to
`prefer resources most closely Satisfying Search criteria.
`Thus, an indication may be provided to emphasize nearby
`resources having a high probability of Satisfying Search
`criteria (e.g., those resulting in a good match of Search
`terms) over more distant resources having a low confidence
`level.
`Weighting of location and class Search results may further
`take into consideration proximity of resources to each other
`So that an accumulated confidence level is computed, reflect
`ing an enhanced likelihood that at least one of Several
`relatively nearby resources will be able to satisfy a user's
`requirements with one trip or detour.
`According to a feature of the invention, location infor
`mation is encoded using a CGI to transmit the location
`information from the client to the server. The method may
`further include a Step of calculating a position of the client
`using, for example, GPS or address information Supplied by
`the client. The method may further store information in the
`database in connection with each of the resources in a form
`Such that the resources are accessible based on the class and
`the proximity criteria. Accordingly, the database may Sup
`port multidimensional Searches for both location of a
`resource and Some other criteria, Such as Service provided,
`etc.
`According to another aspect of the invention, an infor
`mation Server includes a database of resources Searchable by
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`US 6,553,310 B1
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`4
`both (i) location criteria and (ii) a category of resource
`criteria. A communications interface provides connectivity
`to a data network (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet, etc.) A
`computer, processor, or other control element or logic is
`configured. (e.g., programmed) to receive an inquiry from a
`client on the data network. The inquiry may be, for example,
`a request to locate a nearby facility, access to a Software
`download database, etc. The control logic responds to the
`request by transmitting a form to the client, the form
`including a request for a location of the client and a category
`of resources requested by the client. The location request
`may be explicit, requiring, for example, manual entry of an
`address, or may initiate processing to automatically provide
`address information, either directly or indirectly. The cat
`egory may be in the form of a class of resource to be found
`(e.g., specifying products or Services offered for Sale) or be
`Some other Search mechanism, Such as one or more key
`words. Once client location and category are Supplied,
`resources within the category of resources requested by the
`client and located nearest the client are identified.
`According to a feature of the invention, location infor
`mation about the client is Supplied in a format including one
`of (i) a street address, (ii) a postal Zipcode, (iii) city and State
`information, (iv) latitude and longitude values, (v) an area
`code in accordance with the North American Numbering
`Plan (NANP), and (vi) Telephone Number Area Code and
`Prefix (NPA-NXX).
`According to another aspect of the invention, a mobile
`navigation assistant includes positioning logic providing a
`current position of the assistant. A wireleSS communications
`System is connected to a remote database of facilities. An
`input device receives a Search criteria, an indication of
`facilities Satisfying the Search criteria being identified and
`displayed together with positional information relative to
`Said current position. The mobile navigation assistant may
`also include GPS acceSS providing the positional logic, or a
`database of map information, where the display provides a
`graphic representation of the facilities and the current posi
`tion. The user can input a category of the facilities, may
`access a database through the Internet, and may have the
`display provided on a heads-up display presentation. The
`display may indicate best choices by icon type, size, color,
`brightness, etc., So that facilities best Satisfying Search
`criteria and closest to a specified location are emphasized
`over others. System inputs may come from manually acti
`Vated Switch mounted on a vehicular Steering wheel or a
`Speech recognition System.
`According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicular
`navigation System includes a graphical display mounted in a
`motorized vehicle. A location System responds to data pro
`vided by a constellation of earth orbiting Satellites (e.g.
`GPS) to provide a current position of the vehicle. A wireless
`communications System provides data communications with
`resources connected to the Internet. An input device is
`configured to receive a manual Selection input from a user.
`A map database, including information about routes, is
`graphically displayed to provide a moving map of the routes
`relative to a current position together with an indication of
`information from the Internet. Internet information may
`include distances to resources from the current location. The
`input device may include a graphic input device for Selecting
`a facility identified by the graphical display with the wireleSS
`communications System configured to retrieve information
`about the selected facility from the Internet.
`Another feature of the invention provides for Supplemen
`tal and manual access to the Internet using a combination of
`GPS derived positional and time data, manually provided
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`Niantic's Exhibit No. 1014
`Page 009
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`S
`data using touch panel, keyboard, Speech recognition, and
`other forms of operator initiated input. The System also
`accepts, incorporates and uses vehicle Sensor derived infor
`mation Such as Speed and direction, inside/outside
`temperature, vehicle System status and alerts, airbag
`deployment, cellular telephone derived information, etc. The
`System may further track Sites already Visited or otherwise
`eliminated from consideration to update the display of
`resources and, if desired, initiate a new Search.
`According to another feature of the invention, GPS and
`Internet data is combined and processed together with
`information available from, and used to Supplement other
`Systems. For example, the System may automatically dial
`telephone numbers to make reservations or appointments or
`integrate with an automatic toll collection System to Speed
`travel along toll roads and through toll plazas.
`The present invention is directed to a System and method
`which displayS location dependent information through the
`Steps of determining its current location, accessing an elec
`tronic database, Selecting potential destinations from the
`electronic database, comparing the current location to the
`potential destinations, generating comparison criteria for
`comparing the potential destinations and displaying the
`potential destinations and the comparison data to the user.
`The current location can be determined through the use of a
`global positioning System, user input, a Selection from a
`defined list or a Street address. The electronic information
`accessed can be the Internet or a similar facility or infor
`mation Source. The Selection of potential destinations is
`based on the users input and potential destinations can be
`categorized by comparisons performed between alternative
`potential destinations.
`The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
`technical advantages of the present invention in order that
`the detailed description of the invention that follows may be
`better understood. Additional features and advantages of the
`invention will be described hereinafter which form the
`subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appre
`ciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and
`Specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a
`basis for modifying or designing other Structures for carry
`ing out the same purposes of the present invention. It should
`also be realized by those skilled in the art that Such equiva
`lent constructions do not depart from the Spirit and Scope of
`the invention as Set forth in the appended claims.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`For a more complete understanding of the present
`invention, reference is now made to the following descrip
`tions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing,
`in which:
`FIG. 1 is a diagram of a data retrieval System according
`to the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method of accessing and
`retrieving location relevant information;
`FIG.3 is a diagram of a database data Structure in the form
`of a flat file including resource location information;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile data retrieval system
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 5 is a map depicting an example of a route between
`departure and destination points the Denver, Colo. Vicinity;
`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the determination of the
`current location; and
`FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the identification of locations
`matching the user's inquiry.
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`US 6,553,310 B1
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`6
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`FIG. 1 is a diagram of a data retrieval System according
`to the invention. A client terminal 102 is connected to a
`modem 104 to access an Internet service provider (ISP) 106
`providing access to Internet 108. Client terminal 102
`includes appropriate browser Software and Supporting oper
`ating System, utilities and plug-ins for accessing the World
`Wide Web (WWW) resources on Internet 108 and is com
`patible with common gateway interface (CGI) protocols and
`Standards for responding to information requests made by a
`remote server Such as server 110. Server 110 is likewise
`interfaced to Internet 108 and includes a search engine
`capability 112 for accessing and Searching resource and
`location databases 114 and 116. Also connected to Internet
`108 are servers 118A-18C providing other services and
`databases and/or representing websites associated with a
`resource having an Internet presence on the web e.g., web
`pages established or maintained by retail establishments.
`Personal digital assistance (PDA) 120 provides a mobile
`capability for accessing Internet 108 via mobile cellular
`system 126 and cellular base station network 128, the latter
`connecting to Internet 108 via, for example, an appropriate
`router (not shown). PDA 120 may be incorporated into or
`mounted in a vehicle in which case, a display may be
`generated using heads-up display unit 122 to project a
`Virtual image onto an appropriate glass near the windshield
`of the vehicle. Heads-up display unit 122 allows the vehicle
`operator to View information including a moving map dis
`play without looking away from the road. Remote controls
`124 provide data and control inputs to PDA 120. These
`remote controls may include, for example, Steering wheel
`mounted Switches, a voice response unit, eye-movement
`detector, and other forms of transducers, preferably usable
`with only minimal diversion of the attention of the vehicle
`operator and distraction away from driving related taskS.
`For purposes of the following example, client terminal
`102 may be assumed to be located in a particular geographic
`location, e.g. Denver, Colo. as depicted on map 130. In this
`example, a user of client terminal 102 may use the System
`according to the invention to identify resources within the
`general vicinity of the user's location. Thus, resources in the
`immediate facility of the user may be defined by some
`criteria, Such as a relatively Small circular region centered on
`the user's location, e.g., local resources 142. Further criteria
`may be established to expand the area of interest to define
`expanding criteria for identification of appropriate resources
`including, for example, area resources 144 and regional
`resources 146 defined by circles of increasing radii. While
`location criteria according to the present example are illus
`trated in relation to the users location, the invention is
`equally applicable to other geographic criteria, including, for
`example, resources proximate to a destination location or
`along a route of travel. Further, as will be emphasized below,
`the invention is further applicable to non-geographic, topo
`logical constraints including, for example, communication
`network resources.
`Referring to FIG. 1, operationally, a user at client terminal
`102 initiates a Search for a particular resource by inputting
`the appropriate URL (uniform resource location) corre
`sponding to a webpage Supported by Server 110. In response,
`server 110 transmits an appropriate HTML page to client
`terminal 102, preferably as a displayable form requesting
`that the user provide location information together with an
`indication of a class of resources desired. The location
`information may be provided in the form of a Street address,
`Zipcode, Zip-4, local area code (NPA), local telephone
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`7
`exchange (NXX), ordered pair of latitude and longitude
`values, etc. The class of resource may include those typically
`used, for example, by yellow page directories (e.g., products
`and/or Services Such as automotive repair and Service
`facilities, lockSmiths, etc.), a categorization specific to the
`operator of the server (e.g., Sales, Service and training
`centers for a particular vendor or product) or other forms of
`Search criteria (e.g. Search terms, key words, boolean logic
`expressions, etc.) Server 110 receives the appropriate loca
`tion information together with any location based criteria
`Specified by the user (e.g. requirement that resources be
`identified within 10 miles of the users location), together
`with the class of resource information as previously
`described. Server 110, using Search engine 112, accesses
`local database 116 as necessary to convert the location
`information into a useful form. For example, if the location
`is Specified as a Street address, location database 116 may be
`used to convert that location format into an ordered pair of
`latitude and longitude values. Likewise, location database
`116 may be used to translate other forms of addresses
`including the Zip-4 into appropriate latitude, longitude coor
`dinates. Once translated, the latitude, longitude pair may be
`used to define entries into resource database 114 meeting
`proximity requirements Set by the user or used by default.
`Search engine 112 further uses the class of resource infor
`mation to identify and retrieve the identity and location of
`qualifying resources listed in the resource database.
`Resource database 114 may be populated and updated on
`a non-real time basis by Search engine 112 using, for
`example, a web crawler to Search for resources accessible by
`Internet 108 for listing in resource database 114.
`Alternatively, search engine 112 may search Internet 108 in
`realtime in response to a user inquiry to identify Internet
`resources Satisfying both location and class of resource
`criteria.
`PDA 120 operates in a similar fashion to that of client
`terminal 102. However, since PDA 120 is assumed to be
`mobile, positional information may be Supplied automati
`cally using, for example, a global positioning System (GPS
`not shown). In this case, the resources identified by Server
`110 may be graphically displayed in a moving map type
`format on PDA 120 or an associated heads up display 122.
`FIG. 2 is a logic flow diagram of a method according to
`the invention for providing topologically relevant informa
`tion in connection with an information request. Processing
`Starts at 202 and, at Step 204 an information request is
`processed. At Step 206, a determination is made if the
`location is relevant to a request. That is, if the request is
`Seeking information in which location criteria may be used
`to refine the Search or is otherwise particularly relevant to
`processing of the Search request. For example, general
`information requests about Such things as warrantees Sup
`plied by a manufacturer may not be amenable to refinement
`according to location criteria, while requests for the location
`of Service or Sales centers should be searched to identify
`those within Some geographic constraint. If identification of
`matching resources would be helped by identification of the
`location of the requestor, then this information is Solicited at
`step 208 where the identity of the requestor is provided. This
`identity information may be any form of identity that could
`be attached to or associated with a particular location
`including, for example, an address which could then be
`translated to an appropriate location at Step 210. The Sig
`nificance of Step 208 is additionally apparent in connection
`with other encoding of the identity of a requestor that may
`be less directly associated with the location, for example,
`wherein a customer name is associated with their address in
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`US 6,553,310 B1
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`a corporate database or the identity of a node on a network
`can be translated into a location of that node within the
`topologically of the network.
`At Step 212 resources Satisfying the request and location
`criteria of the requestor are identified. Such location criteria
`may be include proximity of the resource to the requester,
`proximity of similar resources (i.e., concentration of match
`ing resources within a given region) Such that the average
`distance to any one of the resources is a factor, path distance
`to a res