Spatially driven content presentation in a cellular environment

• US 20060156228A1
• Filed: 11/16/2005
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Original Assignee: Vizible Corporation (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Talbot, Jimmy, Gallo, Anthony Carmen
• Granted Patent: US 8,418,075 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

Techniques are provided for integrated content presentation via cells arranged geometrically in a cellular environment. Users can navigate various orientations and zoom states of the cellular environment to access information via different applications, different media types, different visual representations and from different underlying content sources. The information can be organized according to various logical relationships. Upon receiving an indication of a zoom state associated with a cell or a group of cells arranged in the cellular environment, a content reference at that zoom state is retrieved. Further, the content reference is resolved to retrieve and output content, including a visual representation associated with the zoom state.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of outputting information via one or more cells arranged geometrically in a cellular environment, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a zoom state in the cellular environment;

for a cell that is visible in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state;

determining a content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state;

resolving the content reference to obtain content, wherein the content includes a visual representation associated with the zoom state; and

outputting the content via the cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a second content reference is associated with the cell at a second zoom state, wherein the second content reference is associated with second content and wherein at least a portion of the second content is mutually non-derivable from the content outputted via the cell.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining which cells are arranged geometrically in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state; and

determining which of the cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state are visible in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises selecting, from a plurality of content references associated with the cell, the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell includes content having at least two different media types.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell includes a first content associated with a first native application and a second content associated with a second native application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell includes content having at least two different formats.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein with the content outputted via the cell includes content from at least two different sources.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state is associated with a different media type than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state is retrieved from a different source than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state has a different format than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state is outputted via a different application than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state has a different resolution than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content having a different media type than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content from a different source than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content having a different format than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content accessible via a different application than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content having a different resolution than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises retrieving the content reference from metadata associated with the cell.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises a reference to one or more other cells, and wherein outputting the content via the cell comprises outputting the one or more other cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the reference to the one or more cells comprises a query.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content, wherein the second content includes a second visual representation associated with the second zoom state; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the visual representation and the second visual representation have different semantic density.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell comprises at least one of:

a reference to one or more documents;

a reference to one or more websites;

a reference to one or more audio files; and

a reference to one or more video files.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell comprises at least one of:

a reference to a channel;

a reference to a world; and

a reference to a template.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell comprises a reference to an application.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell comprises a reference to the visual representation.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein resolving the content reference comprises at least one of:

a fetch request; and

a query request.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises a query for at least one cell satisfying at least one parameter, and wherein resolving the content reference to obtain the content comprises executing the query to retrieve the at least one cell satisfying the at least one parameter.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises a reference to a template specifying an arrangement of at least one cell, and wherein resolving the content reference to obtain the content comprises retrieving the template.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein resolving the content reference to obtain the content comprises:

identifying an information object associated with the content reference; and

obtaining the content from the information object.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the zoom state comprises:

receiving an indication of a content event; and

determining the zoom state based on the content event.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a content event; and

changing the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state in response to the indication of the content event.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a content event; and

changing the content outputted via the cell in response to the indication of the content event.

59. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of an updated cell size associated with the cell;

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state for the updated cell size;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

60. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of an updated cell shape associated with the cell;

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state for the updated cell shape;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

61. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of an updated display device associated with the cellular environment;

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state for the updated display device;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

62. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of an updated layout associated with the cellular environment;

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state for the updated layout;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

63. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the one or more cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment represent a surface of a sphere.

64. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the one or more cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment represent a surface of a cube.

65. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the one or more cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment represent a planar surface.

31. The method of 30, further comprising assembling the at least one cell in the template according to the arrangement specified in the template.

36. A method of rendering a graphic in a user interface, comprising:

receiving an indication of a first zoom state associated with the graphic;

outputting a first image as a texture for the graphic at the first zoom state;

receiving an indication of a second zoom state associated with the graphic; and

outputting a second image as the texture for the graphic at the second zoom state, wherein the first image and the second image are mutually non-derivable.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first image and the second image are in different formats.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image is pre-generated.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image has a dimension that is a power of two.

40. An apparatus for outputting information via one or more cells arranged geometrically in a cellular environment, the apparatus comprising:

a user input module, which receives an indication of a zoom state in the cellular environment;

a selection module, in communication with the user input module, which determines a cell that is visible in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state, wherein the selection module determines a content reference associated with the cell visible in the cellular environment at the zoom state;

a content resolution module, in communication with the selection module, which resolves the content reference to obtain content, wherein the content includes a visual representation associated with the zoom state; and

a user output module, in communication with the content resolution module, which outputs the content via the cell.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the content reference associated with the cell includes a reference to a plurality of cells, wherein the user input module receives a second indication of a second zoom state, wherein the selection module determines a second content reference associated with the second zoom state, wherein the content resolution module resolves the second content reference to obtain a second content, wherein the second content includes a second visual representation associated with the second zoom state, and wherein the user output module outputs the second content via the plurality of cells.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state comprises at least one of:

a reference to a channel;

a reference to a world;

a reference to a template; and

a query.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the content outputted via the cell includes content having at least two different media types.

44. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state is associated with a different media type than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

45. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content having a different media type than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

46. An apparatus for rendering a graphic in a user interface, comprising:

a user input module, which receives an indication of a first and second zoom state associated with the graphic;

a selection module, in communication with the user input module, which determines a first image associated with the first zoom state and a second image associated with the second zoom state, wherein the first image and the second image are mutually non-derivable; and

a user output module, which outputs the first image as a texture for the graphic at the first zoom state and outputs the second image as the texture for the graphic at the second zoom state.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image is pre-generated.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image has a dimension that is a power of two.

49. A computer program product for outputting information via one or more cells arranged geometrically in a cellular environment, the computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and adapted to perform operations comprising:

receiving an indication of a zoom state in the cellular environment;

for a cell that is visible in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state;

determining a content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state;

resolving the content reference to obtain content, wherein the content includes a visual representation associated with the zoom state; and

outputting the content via the cell.

50. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining which cells are arranged geometrically in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state; and

determining which of the cells arranged geometrically in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state are visible in the cellular environment at the indicated zoom state.

51. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state;

resolving the second content reference to obtain second content, wherein the second content includes a second visual representation associated with the second zoom state; and

outputting the second content via the cell.

52. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the content reference associated with the cell comprises at least one of:

a reference to a channel;

a reference to a world;

a reference to a template; and

a query.

53. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the content outputted via the cell includes content having at least two different media types.

54. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the content outputted via the cell at the zoom state is associated with a different media type than content outputted via the cell at a second zoom state.

55. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the content reference associated with the cell at the zoom state is associated with content having a different media type than content associated with a second content reference associated with the cell at a second zoom state.

56. A computer program product for rendering a graphic on a user interface, the computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and adapted to perform operations comprising:

receiving an indication of a first zoom state associated with the graphic;

outputting a first image as a texture for the graphic at the first zoom state;

receiving an indication of a second zoom state associated with the graphic; and

outputting a second image as the texture for the graphic at the second zoom state, wherein the first image and the second image are mutually non-derivable.

57. The computer program product of claim 56, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image is pre-generated.

58. The computer program product of claim 56, wherein at least one of the first image and the second image has a dimension that is a power of two.