Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-12
2004-11-16
Huynh, Ba (Department: 2178)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S441000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06819344
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to computer programming and, more particularly, to a system and method to facilitate visualization of multi-dimensional data.
BACKGROUND
A goal of information visualization is to use computer graphics to utilize human perceptual processes in organizing and understanding data, such as may pertain to physical phenomena, including semantic domains. Informational elements that are to be visualized often have only semantic properties with no inherent spatial form that may be employed to create a visual representation. Accordingly, spatial ordering used in a display should be implemented as part of the visualization process. Viewed in this way, information visualization generally requires three components: data organization, visual spatial representations of the data organization, as well as display and interaction elements.
Various information visualization techniques have been implemented to display different types of data in an organized and logical manner. In general, information visualization maps data sets into visual media to facilitate analysis of the data and/or to communicate information about such data. Oftentimes, the data being represented has one or more unbounded dimensions, which has no natural beginning or end. A common example of an unbounded element is time, such as may be displayed in connection with a timeline (e.g., in a linear manner). A graphical visualization of a timeline, however, typically is cropped by the edges of the display.
In order to display a greater portion of time-based data, spacing between portions of the displayed representation may be adjusted, such that a region of interest is shown in greater detail than regions outside the region of interest. One example of such a technique is to construct the visualization according to the notion of a “fisheye” view of the data. In a fisheye visualization technique, side portions may be progressively more densely packed further away from the region of interest. As a result, a fisheye technique for visualizing data does not facilitate visualization of periodic data nor does it help view relationships between spaced apart items of data.
A two-dimensional spiral visualization attempts to overcome some of the shortcomings of the linear visualization techniques. When the period of a spiral is appropriately chosen, for example, a spiral visualization facilitates viewing periodic data, including periodic patterns associated with the data. Data that occurs in time following a pattern is easily viewable with a spiral representation. Spirals also have been utilized to arrange a list of items into a compact space and for showing correspondence between different granularities of information. Typically, a spiral representation of linear information is represented as a flat spiral, in which different values of the data are associated with different segments along the spiral. An advantage of the spiral visualization of linear data is its compactness and scalability. However, such a visualization tends to create false impressions concerning the duration or level of importance of different data. For example, segments of data near the periphery of a spiral usually have a greater arc length than the segments near the center even though they do not actually have a longer duration in time.
SUMMARY
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The present invention provides a system and method to facilitate visualization of time-based data, such as periodic time-based data. According to one aspect of the present invention, the data is graphically represented as a three-dimensional helical path. The helical path has a central axis from which at least a portion of a helical sidewall is radially spaced. The helical sidewall has a plurality of adjoining segments that form the helical sidewall. Selected data is mapped to each segment.
In order to provide a substantially unbounded representation of the time-based data (e.g., traversing into both the past and future), the helical path may include a compressed spiral at one or both of its ends that approximately fits into a conical envelope. In this configuration, a central portion of helical sidewall has a larger diameter relative to the conical spiral portion(s).
A suitable user interface may be provided to navigate the helical path, such as to obtain more detailed information about data associated with a particular part of the helical path. By way of example, each segment (or point) along the helical path may be associated with a different point in time. In order to obtain more detailed information about a particular point in time, the user interface may be employed to select one or more segments. Because the helical representation, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, is graphically represented as having three dimensions, it is possible that one portion of the helical path may occlude another portion. Therefore, viewing control and zooming components may be provided to manipulate and/or visualize data associated with a selected portion of the helical path so as to provide an unoccluded representation of a selected portion of the visualization.
Depending on the type of data being represented by the helical path, certain dimensions may be represented as being unbounded dimensions and others as bounded dimensions. Accordingly, various techniques may be employed, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, to embed related data in the segments of the three-dimensional graphical representation. The different axes of data thus may be accessed via the user interface.
By way of further illustration, a three-dimensional helical representation may be employed, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, to implement an Electronic Program Guide (EPG). A main path of a generally helical representation, for example, corresponds to the passage of time. Other television programming characteristics (e.g., channels, program titles, duration, descriptive information, etc.) may be implemented as other programming data embedded within corresponding segments of the helical path. The particular mapping of programming data to the helical representation may be user configurable and/or vary according to the particular programming characteristics being implemented in the EPG.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed and the present invention is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4893286 (1990-01-01), Cobb
patent: 5449330 (1995-09-01), Paulsen
patent: 6154212 (2000-11-01), Eick et al.
patent: 6628313 (2003-09-01), Minakuchi et al.
patent: 6664986 (2003-12-01), Kopelman et al.
patent: 2001/0028369 (2001-10-01), Gallo et al.
Johnson, R.R.; “Visualization of Multi-Dimensional Data with Vector-Fusion”, Proceedings Visualization 2000. VIS 2000, 2000, p. 297-302, 570.
Kennedy, J., et al.;Interfaces to Databases(IDS-3)Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Interfaces to Databases, Jul. 1996, p. 1-12.
Feiner, S., et al.; “Visualizing n-Dimensional virtual Worlds with n-Vision”, ACM, 1990, p. 37-38.
Carlis, J.V., et al.; “Interactive Visualization of Serial Periodic Data”, Proceedings of UIST'98: T
Amin & Turocy LLP
Chuong Truc T
Huynh Ba
Microsoft Corporation
LandOfFree
Visualization of multi-dimensional data having an unbounded... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Visualization of multi-dimensional data having an unbounded..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Visualization of multi-dimensional data having an unbounded... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3353629