Circular graphical user interfaces

• US 20020101418A1
• Filed: 01/21/2002
• Published: 08/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Shen, Chia, Lesh, Neal B., Vernier, Frederic
• Granted Patent: US 6,791,530 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/00 General purpose image data processing

Abstract

A system and method provides visualization and layout schemes for a circular graphical user interface using global and local polar coordinate systems to display images. The system gives a user of the interface the full capability to relocate, re-orient, scale and layout images in the circular interface. Further, methods are provided to layout images in the Cartesian coordinate system, minimizing overlapping and crowding of images, and supporting users'"'"' focus in a group setting for group collaboration around the interface.

Claims

1. A method for visualizing a plurality of images in a circular graphical user interface, comprising:

selecting the plurality of images from a database;

orienting each selected image with respect to a global polar coordinate system, a local polar coordinate system, and a radial distance from the center of each image to the center of a display surface of the circular graphical user interface, a global angle a of the global polar coordinate system measuring rotation of the center of the each image around the center of the display surface, and a local angle β

measuring an offset of a central axis of each image from the angle α

; and

rendering each oriented image on the display surface of the circular graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

rotating the global polar coordinate system while holding each local polar coordinate system fixed with respect to the rotated global polar coordinate system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a size of the display surface is proportional to a virtual depth of the display surface.

4. The method of claim 5 wherein a size of each image is proportional to corresponding virtual depth with respect to the virtual depth of the display surface.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

orienting the local angle β

so that the central axis of each images is substantially oriented in the direction of the center of the display surface.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

orienting the local angle β

so that the central axes of the images are parallel to each other.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

orienting the images with respect to a user viewing the oriented images.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein a size of a particular image automatically increases when the particular image is nearer to a periphery of the display surface and decreases when the particular image is nearer the center of the display surface.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein a normalized radius R of the display surface is 1.0 and a radial distance r from the center of the particular image to the periphery of the display surface is in a range 0 to 1.0, and a first scaling factor applied to the particular image is

10. The method of claim 8 wherein N is 0.5.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the scaling factor has a minimum threshold.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein a size of a particular image automatically decreases when the particular image is nearer to a periphery of the display surface and increases when the particular image is nearer the center of the display surface.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein a normalized radius R of the display surface is 1.0 further comprising:

applying a minimum scaling factor when a particular image is near a periphery of the display surface;

applying a maximum scaling factor when the particular image is near the center of the display surface; and

otherwise

a second scaling factor is

$\frac{\left(\mathrm{MAXIMUM}-\mathrm{MINIMUM}\right)\times <br><br>\left(1-R\right)}{1-\mathrm{r1}-\mathrm{r2}},$

 

where r1 is the minimum radius near the periphery, and r2 is the maximum radius near the center of the display surface.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

arranging the oriented images in a hierarchical manner using the global and local polar coordinate systems.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

locating a particular image that is a root node of the hierarchy near the center for the display surface.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

bookmarking a set of images with a bookmark; and

redisplaying the bookmarked set of images.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the bookmark includes a query used to select the set of images.

18. A system for visualizing a plurality of images in a circular graphical user interface, comprising:

a database storing the plurality of images;

a query for selecting the plurality of images;

means for orienting each selected image with respect to a global polar coordinate system, a local polar coordinate system, and a radial distance from the center of each image to the center of a display surface of the circular graphical user interface, a global angle α

of the global polar coordinate system measuring rotation of the center of the each image around the center of the display surface, and a local angle β

measuring an offset of a central axis of each image from the angle α

; and

projecting means for rendering each oriented image on the display surface of the circular graphical user interface.