Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-17
2003-10-21
Sax, Steven (Department: 2174)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06636246
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a user interface to a computing device. In particular the invention relates to a user interface that is displayed in three dimensions to display a plurality of sensory cues.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As late as the early 1990's, a user interacted with most computers through text-based interfaces, such as Microsoft's MS-DOS™ operating system or any of the many variations of UNIX. Text based interfaces in order to provide complete functionality often contained cryptic commands and options that were far from intuitive to the non-experienced user. In addition, opening several applications simultaneously was often not possible, not only due to poor memory management by the underlying operating system, but also because each application generally monopolized the entire screen, making the navigation from application to application difficult.
Most current computer systems use two-dimensional graphical user interfaces to allow the user to manipulate the information stored on the system. These graphical user interfaces (GUIs) usually create graphical entities called “windows” to view individual documents. These windows can be placed around the screen and sized according to the user's preferences. They also enable the user to scroll through a document when the document is too large to be seen all at once. The main advantage of these GUIs over previous generation interfaces (as described above) was that one may have several documents opened within an application, and several applications running at once. In addition, it became possible to associate an application with an icon, thus providing visual recognition. The user no longer had to remember arcane keywords and commands. The user could manipulate graphical abstractions of files and tools within windows on a screen. This new paradigm along with the introduction of the mouse, revolutionized how people used computers.
However, the complexity of the tasks performed by even casual computer users, as well as the number and types of tasks, is continually rising. It is not unusual for a user to be simultaneously running applications that allow them to: connect to the Internet, edit a document (text or multi-media), read electronic mail, access a calendar, receive or send a FAX, utilize a spreadsheet, etc. A complex task often requires the use of multiple applications to complete a task; it also requires that within an application, multiple documents may need to be accessed simultaneously. Thus, the modern user often has a large number of windows opened on the screen at once. The existing paradigm has trouble supporting a large number of windows opened simultaneously. It becomes difficult for the user to navigate through a stack of windows piled up on top of each other. Attempts have been made to alleviate the problem by providing navigational aids.
One such tool is the “taskbar”. The taskbar is used to navigate between applications. The taskbar displays the name of each open window on separate buttons, sometimes accompanied by an icon representing the application that controls the window. The icons help in finding the right application. However, if there are multiple instances of the same application running, they will each have the same icon. Furthermore, the task bar quickly fills up, at which point the names become illegible.
Another navigational aid currently in use is the “window list” (typically used to navigate through the windows within a single application). This list shows the names of all the windows opened within an application; the user can bring a window to the top of the stack by clicking on its name. This is inconvenient as the user has to read all the names, and the length of the list that can be displayed is also limited. When the list is too long, the window list requires the user to select “More windows . . . ” if a window that is not on the list needs to be activated. By selecting “More windows . . . ”, another window list is displayed.
It is clear that the use of a taskbar and a window list improve the current two dimensional interface, but with limited success. More recently, attempts have been made to utilize a three dimensional graphical user interface. Most people are comfortable interacting with three dimensional views on a computer screen. For example, modern computer games have a 3D interface to provide the illusion that the player is part of the environment. Examples of 3D interfaces are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,154 discloses a GUI that permits the production and creation of multi-media presentations. The GUI is implemented as a three dimensional “venue” (best shown in FIG.
4
). Viewing of the venue through different walls, provides different views of the resources available (e.g. sound or video). For example, a top view may represent the resources in time, such as the time required for a sound or video track in a movie. Thus each view represents a different attribute view of the resources available. There is no single view that allows the user to comprehend all the information contained within the interface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,388 discloses a three dimensional icon associated with an object in the computer system. The example best shown in
FIG. 7
is that of a data or program file where the attributes of that file are indicated on faces of the icon. The attributes including: size, date created, date last modified and type of content. The disadvantage of this approach is that each object within the system must have its own three dimensional icon. A user would thus be faced with hundreds of icons, with no conceptual framework in which to place them.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,390 discloses a central window with two peripheral extensions, one extension on each side of the central window. The extensions serve as additional windows with content displayed to the user. The user may contract the central window to better view objects on the extensions. Similarly, the central window may be stretched to better view the objects on the central window. This stretching is dependant upon which portion of the three windows the user wishes to view. As a point or object is selected for viewing the windows are appropriately modified in size to centre the object in the central window. This is best shown in FIG.
6
. This patent discloses a variation on the common solution to the problem of too much data appearing in a window. The solution is simply to make the window larger than that which can be displayed on a single screen. As with other such solutions, this does not scale very well as a large amount of data requires scrolling across many panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,197 discloses an interactive television system having means for displaying a “carousel” to allow the user to make a menu selection. As disclosed, the carousel displays a plurality of menu items on each face of the carousel. The items are displayed in text only and adjacent sides of the carousel are only marginally visible. The carousel rotates only about a single central vertical axis, hence the name “carousel”. The carousel concept is wasteful of space, for example no data is available on the top or bottom of the carousel. Further, the carousel may be only rotated around one axis, requiring repeated user interaction to rotate the carousel to reveal the rear face. Finally, each menu provides at best a minimal visual cue as to the content accessible by each menu selection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,486 discloses a GUI in the form of a polyhedron display container. Each face of the polyhedron contains icons associated with an application and “workspace switches” which allow the user to switch between active applications. A central front panel is the active panel and the user may select a new face of the polyhedron to be the active panel. In doing so, the polyhedron rotates a band of faces about a vertical, horizontal or diagonal axis to provide a new central active panel. As can be seen in
FIGS. 3
or
4
, the faces of the polyhedron are trapezoids, which are mapped to a rectangle when they become the ce
Dembo Ron
Gallagher Peter J.
Gallo Anthony Carmen
Graham Colin E.
Talbot Jimmy D.
Bereskin & Parr
Sax Steven
Vizible.com Inc.
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