Elastic presentation space

• US 20020044154A1
• Filed: 10/18/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: IDELIX Software Inc. (Lat49 Media Inc.)
• Inventors: Baar, David J. P., Cowperthwaite, David J., Tigges, Mark, Komar, Robert, Bauer, Jerome F., Carpendale, M. Sheelagh T.
• Granted Patent: US 6,768,497 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/660
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/053 Detail-in-context presentations fisheye or wide-angle transformations G06T3/047
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A method for displaying visual information on a display screen of a computer, comprising the steps of scaling the visual information to produce a scaled representation to fit on the display screen the scaled representation containing the entire content of the visual information; selecting a region of interest within the scaled representation; applying a transformation to the scaled representation to improve the visual detail in the region of interest; and, displaying the transformed presentation on the display screen.

Claims

1. A method for displaying visual information on a display screen of a computer, comprising the steps of:

a) scaling said visual information to produce a scaled representation to fit on said display screen said scaled representation containing the entire content of said visual information;

b) selecting a region of interest within said scaled representation;

c) applying a transformation to said scaled representation to improve the visual detail in said region of interest; and

,

d) displaying said transformed presentation on said display screen.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applying a transformation further comprising the steps of:

a) creating a lens surface of predetermined shape for said region of interest wherein said lens surface is comprised of a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from said lens surface shape; and

,

b) creating a presentation by overlaying said scaled representation on said lens surface and projecting said lens surface with said overlaid scaled representation onto a plane.

3. The method of claim 2 and fixer comprising the step of selecting parameters for said polygonal surfaces including size, shape, number, density, and pattern.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said parameters for said polygonal surfaces are selected to optimize the time required to compute said presentation.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said density of said polygonal surfaces is increased in regions surrounding said region of interest.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said density of said polygonal surfaces is increased in regions where the slope of said lens surface shape is large.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein said density of said polygonal surfaces is selected in proportion to the slope of said lens surface shape.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein said polygonal surfaces are triangles.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein magnification is proportional to the height of said polygonal surfaces above the basal plane.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein said polygonal surfaces are selected to provide a uniformly magnified area within said region of interest.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein said region of interest, said lens surface, and said lens surface shape include a plurality of regions of interest, a plurality of lens surfaces, and a plurality of lens surface shapes, respectively.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said visual information includes newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, and maps.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said visual information includes web page content.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said display screen in contained in a handheld device.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said visual information is a newspaper page.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said newspaper page includes a plurality of headlines, columns, articles, graphics, and advertisements.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said region of interest includes a headline, a column, an article, a graphic, and an advertisement.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said lens surface shape includes the shape of said region of interest.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said lens surface shape includes a column.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said lens surface functions to increase the font size within a portion of said column.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said lens surface shape is tapered to provide a continuous transition on either side of said portion of said column to unmagnified text.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said lens surface shape is selected to provide partial overwriting of areas of said newspaper page adjacent to said column;

to blend said lens surface into the undistorted areas of said newspaper page;

to provide sufficient space for said lens surface on said newspaper page; and

, to preserve the spatial orientation of said areas of said newspaper page adjacent to said column.

23. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of moving said lens surface about said scaled representation over time to provide a dynamic presentation.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein said region of interest is selected based on data provided by an external data source.

25. The method of claim 24 where said external source includes a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular telephone network.

26. A data processing system for applying detail-in-context viewing techniques and elastic presentation space technologies to the online and electronic presentation of viewable media including an input device, a central processing unit, memory, and a display wherein said data processing system has stored therein data representing sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method and use of claims 1 through 25 to be performed.

27. A computer software product containing sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method and use of claims 1 through 25 to be performed.

28. An integrated circuit product containing sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method and use of claims 1 through 25 to be performed.