Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-08
2001-12-04
dela Torre, Crescelle N. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S960000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06326988
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention involves creation and display of multi-dimensional content arrangements using a computer.
Content will be considered within this document to refer to at least one instance of text, visual content, audio content or audio-visual content. Visual content as used herein includes still video, motion video and interactive video. Still video is composed of a still frame. Motion video is displayed as a temporal succession of still frames. The exact storage and transfer mechanisms of motion video data are available in a wide variety of mechanisms which are well known to those of skill in the art. Interactive video incorporates at least still video content with an interactive response from at least one user. Certain implementations of interactive video incorporate motion video content as well as interactive user response.
FIG. 1
displays a prior art one-dimensional table of content. Such prior art implementations can be found in a variety of settings, such as channel guides for show times on cable or satellite television in a variety of locations throughout the United States. A video display device enclosure
10
, with a display device
12
, interfaces with a selector device
18
by a physical transport mechanism
16
to an interface
14
.
Relevant prior art display devices
12
are also widely varied in form and specifics of operation. Relevant prior art display devices
12
may present black and white or color images. Relevant prior art display devices
12
may support either a vector or raster format. Relevant prior art display devices
12
may present images in either a 2-D, 3-D or multi-dimensional presentation view or collection of views. Relevant embodiments of selector device
18
include but are not limited to contemporary television channel s electors, home entertainment center remote controls, computer pointing devices including but not limited to 3-D and 2-D mouse-style pointers, pen tablets, track balls, touch pads and joy sticks. As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, the selector device communicates via physical transport mechanism
16
with an interface
14
housed in enclosure
10
. Relevant physical transport mechanisms
16
include but are not limited to infra-red, micro-wave and other similar wireless transport layers, as well as wires and optical fiber. The mechanism by which communication is carried out based upon the specific physical transport mechanism employed is not relevant to this invention and will not be discussed for that reason. Additional IO devices such as printers and keyboards may be attached to various relevant, prior art systems. Keyboards may house touch pads and mouse sticks which in certain cases are the relevant selector device of that system.
Typical prior art implementations often incorporate a time setting
20
shown here at the top and center of the display area. This can be altered using the selector device
18
to increment forward or backward in time, sometimes traversing days. Note that time setting
20
often incorporates a day and/or date component as well. The time setting
20
often denotes a half hour viewing period starting the displayed time, often referred to as a time slot.
Typical prior art implementations are further composed of multiple rows of information depicted as
22
,
30
and
32
, each representing specific entertainment events. Each row is typically, further composed of a channel component
24
, a show component
26
and a show time component
28
. The exact ordering of these components within each row may vary from one implementation to another. The channel component
24
often incorporates a numeric and a call sign designation. The show component
26
often incorporates notations indicating whether there is more detailed programming information available regarding the entertainment represented. The show time component
28
often incorporates a starting time and an ending time.
Typical prior art implementations are used in television systems involving many different channels, frequently supporting over one hundred channels broadcasting simultaneously. It is common for such systems to possess many more channels than can be displayed at one time. Traversal of such implementations is supported by use of specific selector device
18
manipulations, which either change which channels are displayed, the time slot starting time, or trigger playing the content of the entertainment designated by a row.
While such display technology represents a distinct advance over previous approaches to representing and traversing entertainment offering, there are some inherent frustrations. It is difficult if not impossible to perform searches of the entertainment schedule database. The arrangement is fixed, unable to be configured to reflect what the user considers most relevant. One user may focus on team sporting events, while a different user is strongly interested in gardening and travel shows, and yet another user favors news shows and court room news shows. When the user interests cross more than one standard topic area there is no mechanism to support selection and access by users today. What would be useful is a flexible, user configurable interface to a sorting engine, which could sort an entertainment content database, based upon user selected fields of relevance which could then be traversed with content to be played selected and played.
FIG. 2
presents a display of a prior art two-dimensional table of contents. Various simulated buttons appear on the display file
52
, edit
54
and
56
. There is also a background area
12
, a button area
50
, a vertical slider bar area
70
, and a vertical scroll bar
72
. A horizontal scroll bar area
74
and a horizontal scoll bar
76
are also provided to move the display area in a horizontal two-dimensional manner. Various columns
60
,
62
63
,
64
and
66
are also provided to organize information in two-dimensional columnar fashion and similarly, there are rows provided to further organize information. Finally, tabs
80
,
82
,
84
,
86
and
88
are also provided to further organize information into tabbed partitions giving the illusion of another dimension of organization. However, all of the organizational devices are predefined mechanisms that must be carefully defined to match the information in a manual manner by a user. The two-dimensional organization is clumsy and bulky and would not lend itself to multi-dimensional, free form information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method in accordance with a preferred embodiment includes logic that maps content by determining a field of relevance and at least one topic in the field of relevance. The method determines at least one content pertaining to the topic, retrieves a representation of the content and maps the representation of the content onto the field of relevance. This method advantageously provides an extremely flexible presentation mechanism where the content may be organized by multi-dimensional mappings to show relevance in multiple dimensions that may vary through presentation of the content.
This method facilitiates the organization of results of database interrogations, web searches and other large data situations, creating a multi-dimensional topic space of content and the tools to navigate the space effectively. The method advantageously supports use of a created multi-dimensional topic space by determining the focal vector and displaying the distinguishable entities. The resultant interface is an ergonomic, natural way to permit the traversal of otherwise large, unwieldy databases. The invention represents a novel, unique approach that matches nicely with the requirements of the Internet to efficiently examine the often enormous results from search engines in a reasonable amount of time and effort. The invention is further responsive to either user or software agent direction.
The invention comprises a computer device containing software that enabling a navigation tool for a multi-dimensional topic space implemented on a computer readable medium comprising a multi-dimensional vector
Gould Eric J.
Strickland Rachel M.
dela Torre Crescelle N.
Kotab Dominic M.
Monkey media, Inc.
Silicon Valley IP Group
Zilka Kevin J.
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