Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-19
2004-02-10
Bayerl, Raymond J. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C713S503000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06690401
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention relate to text and graphical data user interfaces. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to displaying and scrolling a data structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modem computers and data processing devices typically utilize displays such as CRT's (Cathode Ray Tubes) and LCD's (Liquid Crystal Displays) to display text and graphics data. A user interacts with an application program that allows the creation, viewing and/or editing of a data file or document on the display device. Data files or documents often contain a large amount of text and graphics data that cannot be displayed simultaneously on a display.
Computing devices typically can execute a technique known as scrolling to permit a user to navigate through a document. Scrolling is an operation in which a user issues commands to a computing device to instruct it to display a particular portion of data on a display. The user scrolls a document by issuing commands through a keyboard or mouse. Known scrolling controls include a scroll bar, consisting of an icon displayed on the display, that allows the user to instruct the computer (via a pointing device such as a mouse) to display a different portion of the document. Conventional scrolling controls provide a range of functionality, typically allowing the user to scroll data up, down, left or right.
FIG. 1
illustrates a display of data in a known scrolling user interface. Typically the user interface depicted in
FIG. 1
may be implemented in a Windows® graphical user interface environment but can also be applicable to a non-Windows® environment. In one embodiment, the known user interface is a graphical user interface (GUI). The user interface depicted in
FIG. 1
includes an arrangement of control icons for performing scrolling operations. Window
105
includes a plurality of display areas
110
, a left scrolling button
150
, a right scrolling button
170
, and a horizontal scrolling bar
160
within a horizontal scrolling field
161
. When a user selects either left scrolling button
150
or right scrolling button
170
by clicking on the respective scrolling button using a mouse, contents of window
105
can scroll in the respective direction. Window
105
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, includes data displayed in cells (e.g., display areas) corresponding to rows
12
through
23
and columns C through E. The position of the horizontal scroll bar
160
(e.g., neither at the leftmost position within horizontal scrolling field
161
nor at the rightmost position within horizontal scrolling field
161
, etc.) shows that additional data can be displayed to the left (e.g., a column B, a column A, not shown in
FIG. 1
) and to the right (e.g., a column F, a column G, not shown in FIG.
1
). The user may also scroll window
105
by clicking and dragging horizontal scrolling bar
160
within horizontal scrolling field
161
in the desired direction of scrolling.
The known user interface illustrated in
FIG. 1
can display hierarchical data, non-hierarchical data, etc. An example of hierarchical data includes music data (e.g., artist, album and song data), and an example of non-hierarchical data includes e-mail data (e.g., e-mail sender, e-mail subject, e-mail date, e-mail time, etc.).
FIG. 1
shows that each of the data of the displayed cells of columns C and D are displayed in the entirety (e.g., each of data “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP”, “123456789ABCDEFG”, “AGB@research.att.com”, “Watson, I need you!”, “Alexander G. Bell”, “Florham Park, N.J.” is fully displayed). The data of the displayed cells of column E are not displayed in their entirety. Due to display constraints (e.g., a displayed size of window
105
, a size of a display device on which window
105
is displayed, a width of a displayed column, etc.), less than the entirety of the data of the displayed cells of column E are displayed (e.g., only “No” of “Nov. 30, 1995” is displayed, only “Fe” of “Feb. 27, 1997” is displayed, only “Ma” of “May 20, 1999” is displayed).
FIG. 2
shows another illustration of the known scrolling user interface and data displayed in FIG.
1
. In
FIG. 2
, the column widths of columns C, D, and E have been resized such that certain of the data of the displayed cells are not displayed in their entirety (e.g., only “Watson, I need” of “Watson, I need you!” is displayed, etc.). As compared to
FIG. 1
, a smaller proportion of each data of the displayed cells of columns C and D is displayed, while a greater proportion of each data of the displayed cells of column E is displayed.
FIG. 3
illustrates a display of data in the known scrolling user interface after a one column scrolling operation with respect to the display of data in FIG.
2
. After a user has instructed the known scrolling user interface to implement a one column scrolling operation (e.g., by clicking on the right scrolling button
170
, by moving horizontal scrolling button
160
to the right within horizontal scrolling field
161
, etc.), the data of column C are no longer displayed and the data of column F can be displayed. In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for methods and apparatus which can advantageously scroll displayed data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention encompass apparatus and methods to scroll a plurality of data. A first portion of a first data can be displayed within a first display area, and a first portion of a second data can be displayed within a second display area. A cell scrolling instruction may be received, and a cell scrolling display value may be determined based at least in part on the received cell scrolling instruction. A second portion of the first data can be selected based at least in part on the cell scrolling display value, and a second portion of the second data can be selected based at least in part on the cell scrolling display value. The second portion of the first data can be displayed within the first display area, and the second portion of the second data can be displayed within the second display area.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4506343 (1985-03-01), Shipp, Jr. et al.
patent: 5943051 (1999-08-01), Onda et al.
patent: 6012073 (2000-01-01), Arend et al.
patent: 6078306 (2000-06-01), Lewis
patent: 6380947 (2002-04-01), Stead
patent: 6430574 (2002-08-01), Stead
AT&T Corp.
Bayerl Raymond J.
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