Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-30
2001-07-24
Chang, Kent (Department: 2673)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
C345S182000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266043
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the field of computer-controlled displays and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for designating control groupings and automatically positioning a cursor on a control.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Computer-controlled displays are currently in widespread use in both home and business environments. Moreover, due to the price drop of microprocessors in recent years, computer-controlled displays are being used in environments other than conventional personal computers. For example, computer-controlled displays are often used in home entertainment systems (e.g., VCRs, video games or other types of interactive television systems). However, because these systems typically lack both sophisticated pointing devices and full-size keyboards, cursor control is problematic. Cursor control refers to the ability of a user to move a cursor to a specified location on the computer-controlled display. The term “cursor” as used herein includes any form of movable marker such as an arrow, a screen highlight, a screen focus, or the like.
FIG. 1
illustrates a computer system
105
of a typical home entertainment device. Typically, the home entertainment device features a computer
110
, an input device
120
, and a video display device
170
. Additionally, the computer
110
contains a receiver
130
, a memory
140
, a central processing unit (CPU)
150
, and a display driver
160
. These components are interconnected as shown.
The input device
120
includes a directional control device
122
(e.g., a joystick, an arrow keypad, a mouse) and a control switch
124
(e.g., an action button, a function button, or a mouse click-button). By actuating the directional control device
122
, a user can move a cursor
172
on the screen of the video display device
170
. Similarly, by releasing the directional control device
122
, the user terminates cursor movement. The phrase “releasing the directional control device” as used herein refers to any process for deactivating a directional control device
122
, so that the directional control device
122
no longer effects cursor movement. The screen of the video display device is logically divided into discrete points. Each discrete point is addressable by Cartesian coordinates (X, Y). The screen of the video display device
170
displays a number of controls
174
. Each control
174
is a child window that occupies a defined area of the video display device
170
and is used to input instructions to a computer program
142
running on the computer system
110
. Typically, the computer program
142
is contained within the memory
140
of the computer system
110
. Generally, the controls are maintained in one of two states, (1) active (indicating that an option represented by the control
174
is currently available to the user), or (2) inactive (indicating that an option represented by the control
174
is currently unavailable to the user).
Typically, a software programmer decides which controls of a given window should be active or inactive, depending upon the state of the program. For example, in the VCR Programming Options Window
205
of
FIG. 2A
, the controls
220
,
222
and
224
with double borders are active while the controls
230
,
232
and
234
with the single borders are inactive. In this case, the Play control
230
, Fast Forward control
232
and Rewind control
234
are inactive due to the “ON” status of the Timer ON/OFF control
220
. In conventional systems, the software programmer has to individually activate or deactivate a given control. To disable only a fraction of the currently active controls, the programmer selectively deactivates each of the controls. Such selective deactivation is cumbersome.
To invoke an option represented by an activated control, the user positions the cursor
172
on the desired activated control and actuates the control switch
124
. By actuating the control switch
124
(e.g., by depressing an action button), the user directs the computer program
142
to execute the desired option. However, as previously discussed, most home entertainment systems do not have a sophisticated pointing device (such as a mouse) for a directional control device
122
. Instead, the directional control device
122
is frequently a joy stick or a simple four-directional control device. As a result, positioning the cursor
172
on the desired control
172
is a difficult process for the user.
In conventional systems, positioning the cursor is accomplished by “tabbing” or “free-roaming.” When tabbing is used, the computer system
110
maintains a hard-wired list of the controls
174
. The hard-wired list of controls designates the sequence in which the user must traverse through the activated controls. As previously explained,
FIG. 2A
illustrates the Timer ON/OFF control
220
, the Timer Set control
222
, and the Set Clock control
224
as active, while illustrating the Play control
230
, the Fast Forward control
232
and the Rewind control
234
as inactive. Thus, in order for a user to access the Set Clock control
224
, the user must tab through the Timer ON/OFF control
220
, and Timer Set control
222
before reaching the Set Clock control
224
. As a result, the conventional process of tabbing is inflexible and is highly frustrating if the user accidentally tabs over a desired control.
“Free-roaming” is also a frustrating process when a crude positioning device is used. In free roaming, the user moves the cursor towards a desired control using the directional control device
122
. However, because the directional control device
122
is typically a crude positioning device, the actual process of positioning the cursor on a control is difficult. For example, it is not uncommon for the user to over-shoot or under-shoot the desired control before finally placing the cursor on the desired location. Thus, neither tabbing nor free-roaming provide a desirable technique to position a cursor on a desired control of a computer-controlled display.
Positioning a cursor in conventional systems has a further complication. This complication arises because active controls frequently become obscured by subsequently displayed items. For example, the Set Time Window
250
of
FIG. 2B
obscures all the active controls
260
(shown in phantom form) of the VCR Programming Options Window
205
. Under these conditions, conventional systems allow the user to activate the obscured controls
260
as well as the unobscured controls
251
,
252
,
253
and
254
. Such an occurrence is undesirable as the user can inadvertently activate one of the obscured controls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a control manager for activating and deactivating controls as well as positioning a cursor on an ideal control. In its preferred embodiment, the present invention allows a programmer to quickly and easily activate and deactivate controls by designating a plurality of controls as a “control grouping.” Subsequently, the preferred embodiment of the present invention designates an identifier for the entire control grouping. The preferred embodiment of the present invention then quickly activates and deactivates the entire grouping by toggling a state of the identifier.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user navigates around a screen of a computer-controlled video display device by actuating a directional control device. Upon releasing the directional control device, the preferred embodiment of the present invention automatically positions the cursor on an ideal control. The preferred embodiment determines the ideal control by examining the state of an application program and the last actions of the user. More specifically, for each active control, the preferred embodiment determines if the control is (1) obscured by a subsequently displayed item or (2) positioned at a location that the application program has specified as invalid.
The preferred embodiment determines if the control is obscured by a subsequent item of data by comparin
Chang Kent
Lee & Hayes PLLC
Microsoft Corporation
LandOfFree
Apparatus and method for automatically positioning a cursor... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus and method for automatically positioning a cursor..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus and method for automatically positioning a cursor... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2456647