Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-29
2003-03-18
Kincaid, Kristine (Department: 2174)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06535229
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to graphical user interfaces in computer systems. More specifically, it relates to graphical user interface controls for allowing users to correctly and easily select from among multiple exclusive and non-exclusive options.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Computer user interfaces enable users of a computer system to communicate with the computer system. A graphical user interface (GUI) is a common type of user interface that displays graphical objects to the user and allow the user to interact with these objects, typically using a pointing device such as a mouse. A GUI normally includes virtual controls that allow users to select or enter information. Different types of virtual controls are designed to display and receive different types of information. For example, the simplest type of GUI control is a button. Buttons are displayed objects (such as a rectangle with “SAVE” inside),which can be activated. When the user selects the button with a pointing device, the computer performs a specified action. Other common GUI controls are text boxes, pull-down menus, check box lists and radio button lists.
A typical check box list is shown in FIG.
1
. In this example, the check boxes are being used to allow the user to select automobile options. The options in this particular example are air conditioning, sunroof, electric windows, cruise control, and automatic braking system (ABS).
Each item in a check box list includes a text descriptor (e.g., “Air Conditioning”
10
) and a binary state check box (e.g., box
12
), which can be selected or de-selected by the user. When the user positions the pointing device on a particular check box and clicks, the box toggles between a selected state, displayed as a box with an “X” in it (e.g., box
12
), and a de-selected state, displayed as an empty box (e.g., box
14
). As shown in the figure, multiple boxes in the check box list can be simultaneously selected by the user, and each box can be selected or de-selected independent of the states of the other boxes. Check box lists are thus appropriate GUI controls for allowing a user to make binary specifications of multiple mutually independent items. For example, check boxes are appropriate controls for selecting these automobile options because any number of options may be selected in various combinations, and the options are typically selected independent of each other.
Another common type of GUI control is the radio button list. A typical radio button list is shown in FIG.
2
. In this particular example, the list is used to select one automobile color from among the list including red, blue, green, silver, and gold. Each item in a radio button list includes a text descriptor (e.g., “Red”
20
) and a binary state circular button (e.g., button
22
), which can be selected or de-selected by the user. When the user positions the pointing device on a particular circular button and clicks, the button toggles between a selected state, displayed as a circle with a solid dot in it (e.g., button
22
), and a de-selected state, displayed as an empty circle (e.g., button
24
). In contrast with the check boxes, however, only one radio button in a radio button list can be selected at any given time. In other words, if a user selects one radio button, all other buttons in the list are automatically de-selected. Thus, the states of the radio buttons are interdependent. Radio button lists are thus appropriate GUI controls for allowing a user to select a single item from among multiple mutually exclusive items. For example, radio buttons are appropriate controls for selecting the color of an automobile because cars are normally painted just one color, exclusive of all other possible colors.
Although check box lists and radio button lists are appropriate GUI controls for many situations, in certain cases these controls are awkward, inconvenient, confusing, ambiguous, or simply incorrect. For example, consider a specific case in which GUI controls are needed to allow a user to select among various transmission options for a particular automobile that is manufactured with either an automatic transmission or a manual transmission. In the case of the automatic transmission, the manufacturer allows the buyer to select the option of a 5th gear. In the case of the manual transmission, the manufacturer allows the buyer to select any combination of three options: a 5th gear, a very low (VL) gear, and 4-wheel drive (4WD). Thus, the GUI should allow the user to select between automatic and manual transmissions, and to select the various options associated with each of these two transmissions.
One possible GUI design for this situation is shown in FIG.
3
. This design includes three controls: a radio button control
30
that allows the user to select between the mutually exclusive options of automatic and manual transmissions, a first check box list
32
that allows the user to select or de-select the 5th gear option for the automatic transmission, and a second check box list
34
that allows the user to independently select or de-select each of the three options for the manual transmission. Although this intuitive GUI design might appear at first to be adequate, upon closer to examination it becomes evident that this GUI design is seriously flawed because it allows the user to enter ambiguous and contradictory information. In particular, observe that the user can select the automatic transmission option in radio button list
30
, while at the same time selecting various manual transmission options in checklist
34
. In addition, this GUI design also allows the user to select the manual transmission option in radio button list
30
, while at the same time selecting the automatic transmission option in checklist
32
. This GUI design, therefore, is not appropriate for this situation because it permits the user to enter inconsistent information that cannot be unambiguously interpreted by the computer.
The problems associated with the GUI design shown in
FIG. 3
can be overcome using the GUI design shown in FIG.
4
. This design consists of a single radio button list whose items correspond to mutually exclusive combinations of options. Because the listed items are constructed to correspond to only the self-consistent and unambiguous combinations of options, and because the user is constrained to select just one of the items in the radio button list, the user input is consistent and unambiguous. This GUI design, however, suffers from the disadvantage that it is both difficult to create and hard to use. Because the radio button items are all mutually exclusive, the GUI designer must engage in the laborious and error-prone task of constructing an accurate and exhaustive list of all the self-consistent combinations of options. In addition, this exhaustive list of all possible combinations is not an intuitive or easy-to-use GUI control for the user. The problem becomes extreme when the number of options exceeds five, since the list of all possible combinations of options might fill an entire display screen. Thus, the standard GUI controls force the GUI design to be either inconsistent and ambiguous, or non-intuitive and difficult to use.
Even in situations where the standard GUI controls do not suffer from the problems just described, they are sometimes inconvenient or cumbersome to use. For example, consider a database searching an application that requires a GUI to allow a user to specify a combination of databases for searching. Suppose that there are five databases from which to select: United States patents (US), Japanese patents (JP), European patents (EP), Patent Cooperation Treaty publications (PCT), and scientific journal article abstracts (INSPEC). The appropriate GUI control for this situation is a five-item check box list, as shown in FIG.
5
. Although both intuitive and consistent, this GUI design can be inconvenient to the user who repeatedly desires to select all of the options. Each time such a user is presented with the check box list shown in
FIG. 5
, all the
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kincaid Kristine
Lumen Intellectual Property Services Inc.
Tran Mylinh
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