Device and method for finding and displaying information

• US 20040046805A1
• Filed: 05/22/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag
• Original Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag
• Inventors: Brand, Michael, Steigleder, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 7,712,038 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/848
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A device and a method for finding information elements (1) in one or more objects (7), the information elements (1) being storable in a storage device and the objects (7) being displayable on a display device via a graphical user interface (18). The present invention has the feature that the information elements (1) are arranged in a coordinate system of a graphically displayed object (7) so that each information element (1) has associated therewith at least one coordinate point in the graphically displayed object (7), that, for finding the desired information element (10) using the graphical user interface (18), at least one selection window (6) is present which is variable in size and shape and which allows selection of an arbitrarily-sized subset of coordinate points and associated information elements (1) of the object (7), and that the selected information elements (9, 10) are displayable on the graphical user interface (18) of the display device.

Claims

1. A device for finding information elements in one or more objects, the information elements being storable in a storage device, the objects being displayable on a display device via a graphical user interface, comprising:

a display device having a graphical user interface for graphically displaying an object,

the information elements being arranged in a coordinate system of the graphically displayed object so that each information element has associated therewith at least one coordinate point in the graphically displayed object;

the graphical user interface including, for finding the desired information element, at least one selection window variable in size or shape allowing selection of an arbitrarily-sized subset of coordinate points and associated information elements of the object so as to define selected information elements; and

the selected information elements being displayable on the graphical user interface of the display device.

2. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the coordinate points are points of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinate system.

3. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the selected information elements are displayable on the graphical user interface of the display device in a structured order.

4. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the coordinate points are points of a Cartesian coordinate system.

5. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the coordinate points are points of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system;

the graphical user interface including at least one second selection window, perpendicular support vectors of the planes defined by the first selection window and the second selection window being linearly independent.

6. The device as recited in claim 5 wherein three-dimensional subsets of coordinate points and associated information elements are selectable in the graphically displayable object using the selection window and the second election window.

7. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein a first information element of the information elements contains further information elements whose coordinate points lie within a multidimensional extent of the first information element;

and a reference to the further information elements is present during the display of the first information element on the graphical user interface of the display device.

8. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein one of the information elements contains at least one reference to a drawing, a written name, a text, or to a graphic animation.

9. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the information elements are subdivided into at least two information types, the information type being selectable on the graphical user interface;

and upon selection of a selected information type, a matching subset of a selected information element is displayable.

10. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one input field is provided on the graphical user interface of the display device for entering arbitrary search terms;

and a hit list containing the search terms found in the information elements or associated references to a drawing, a written name, a text, or to a graphic animation is displayable on the graphical user interface.

11. The device as recited in claim 10 further comprising a comparator device to calculate an intersection set of the hit list with the information elements selected using at least one selection window;

and the information elements present in the intersection set being displayable on the graphical user interface.

12. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the information elements are parts or assemblies of at least one machine or at least one device.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein a specific machine or a specific device is selectable using a selection device or an input field on the graphical user interface;

and only the information elements stored in the storage device and belonging to the selected machine or the selected device can be displayed and selected on the graphical user interface.

14. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the machine is a paper-processing machine.

15. The device as recited in claim 14 wherein the machine is a printing press or a folder.

16. A method for finding information elements in one or more objects, the information elements being stored in a storage device, the objects being displayed on a display device via a graphical user interface, comprising the steps of:

arranging the information elements in a coordinate system of a graphically displayed object so that each information element has associated therewith at least one coordinate point in the graphically displayed object;

in order to find a desired information element using the graphical user interface, using at least one selection window variable in size or shape to select an arbitrarily-sized subset of coordinate points and associated information elements of the object; and

displaying the selected information elements on the graphical user interface of the display device.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the selected information elements are displayed on the graphical user interface of the display device in a structured order.

18. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein three-dimensional subsets of coordinate points and associated information elements are selected in the graphically displayable object using at least two selection windows.

19. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the information elements are subdivided into at least two information types, the information type being selected on the graphical user interface;

and upon selection of one of the information types, a matching subset of a selected information element being displayed in the graphical user interface of the display device.

20. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein arbitrary search terms are entered in at least one input field on the graphical user interface;

and a hit list containing the search terms found in the information elements or associated references to a drawing, a written name, a text, or to a graphic animation is displayed on the graphical user interface.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein an intersection set of the hit list with the information elements selected using at least one selection window is calculated by a comparator device;

and the information elements present in the intersection set are displayed on the graphical user interface.

22. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the information elements are parts or assemblies of at least one machine or at least one device;

a specific machine or a specific device is selected using a selection device or an input field on the graphical user interface; and

only the information elements stored in the storage device and belonging to the selected machine or the selected device can be displayed and selected on the graphical user interface.