Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-04
2001-09-11
Feild, Joseph H. (Department: 2176)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289361
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document display apparatus for displaying multi-media documents containing pictures and letters.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 23
shows a display screen
30
of a prior art document display apparatus. The prior art document display apparatus can store document data of a plurality of multimedia documents for displaying them. The document data includes related data indicative of whether the documents are in relation to each other. The related data indicates whether the document data needs to be displayed on the display screen at the same time for example. The data of the documents indicated as being related to each other by such related data is displayed respectively in a plurality of document displaying areas
31
a
through
31
c
partitioned in the display screen
30
as shown in FIG.
23
.
When all the document data cannot be displayed in one document displaying area, moving means such as a scroll bar
32
allows the document data to be scrolled and displayed within the document displaying area. Thereby, all the document data can be displayed in a split form.
Such a displaying method is suitably implemented in handling documents described in HTML language in particular as multi-media documents. In the case of the HTML language it is possible to designate simultaneous display of a plurality of documents by its frame function. When the frame function is executed, the prior art HTML browser splits a display screen into a predetermined number of parts to display a result of layout of the plurality of documents at the same time. This function is adopted in Netscape Navigator of Netscape Communications Corporation and in Internet Explorer of Microsoft Corporation.
However, when the resolution of the display is low or when the display area is small, the boundary of adjacent areas and a scroll bar portion in each individual area occupy a large proportion of the whole document display area. Further, the size of font is limited in terms of readability and the data display capacity is limited in small document display apparatus for portable use. Accordingly, when a plurality of documents are displayed on one single display screen at the same time, a display quantity allocated to each document reduces and the visibility drops as a whole. The drop in visibility of the whole poses a problem especially when it is designated to display the plurality of documents at the same time by the above-mentioned frame function of the HTML language to Indicate a specific meaning by the plurality of documents as a whole.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, It Is a n object of the present invention to provide a document display apparatus capable of highly visibly display ing a plurality of documents related to each other as a whole without displaying the plurality of documents on single display means at the same time.
The present invention provides a document display apparatus comprising:
memory means for storing document data of a multimedia document containing pictures, letters and the like for displaying, the document data containing related data indicative of whether or not the document data Is in relation to document data of other document;
display means having a document displaying area capable of displaying the document data;
display control means for causing the display means to display a document selecting area composed of a plurality of areas, each corresponding to a plurality of documents, when a single area is s elected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting area, to display document data corresponding to the selected single area in the document displaying area of the display means.
According to the invention, the document selecting area is displayed on the display means and when the single area is selected from the plurality of areas in the document selecting area, the document data corresponding to the selected area is displayed in the document displaying area of the display means. Therefore, relationships among the plurality of documents, e.g. positional relationships, may be perceived by positional relationships among the areas in the document selecting area. Further, specific document data may be viewed by displaying in the document displaying area. The document displaying area and the document selecting area may be both displayed on the display means. Thus, the plurality of documents may be displayed at high visibility as a whole without displaying the plurality of documents on single display means at the same time.
The invention is also characterized in that the display control means causes the display means to display the document selecting area only when it is indicated by means of related data of predetermined document data that the predetermined document data is in relation to other document data.
According to the invention, the document selecting area is displayed not always, but when the document data is in relation to other document data, so that it is possible to know whether or not the related document data exists, by the existence of the document selecting area. Further, because no unnecessary area is displayed when only the document displaying area is displayed, i.e. when there is no related document data, the visibility can be improved.
Furthermore, the invention is characterized in that the document selecting area is movably displayed on the display means and the document display apparatus comprises moving means for moving the document selecting area.
According to the invention, the document selecting area is movably displayed and may be displayed at a position to which the document selecting area is instructed by the moving means to move. For instance, the document selecting area may be displayed overlapping with the document displaying area. Accordingly, the visibility can be improved by displaying the document selecting area so that it can be viewed readily by the operator.
Furthermore the present invention is characterized in that the document selecting area is erasably displayed on the display means and the document display apparatus comprises designating means for designating whether the document selecting area should be displayed or erased.
According to this aspect of the invention, the document selecting area is erasably displayed and may be erased by an instruction of doing so provided by the designating means. The visibility can be improved by erasing the unnecessary document selecting area after defining the document to be displayed in the document displaying area for example.
The invention further provides a document display apparatus comprising:
memory means for storing document data of a multimedia document containing pictures, letters and the like for displaying, the document data containing related data indicative of whether or not the document data is in relation to document data of other document;
display means having a document displaying area in which the document data can be displayed;
designating means for designating display of a document selecting area composed of a plurality of areas each corresponding to a plurality of documents, on the display means; and
display control means for causing the display means to display the document selecting area instead of the document displaying area on the basis of the instruction from the designating means, and, when a single area is selected from the plurality of areas of the document selecting area, for causing the display means to display the document displaying area instead of the document selecting area and to display document data corresponding to the selected area in the document displaying area.
According to the invention, only the document selecting area can be displayed on the display means. That is, when a document to be displayed in the document displaying area is selected, only the document selecting area may be displayed. At this time, the visibility can be improved by expanding and displaying the document selecting area across the whole display screen.
Furthermore the invention is charac
Feild Joseph H.
Huynh Cong-Lac
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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