METHODS, APPARATUS AND DATA STRUCTURES FOR PROVIDING A USER INTERFACE TO OBJECTS, THE USER INTERFACE EXPLOITING SPATIAL MEMORY AND VISUALLY INDICATING AT LEAST ONE OBJECT PARAMETER
First Claim
1. A man-machine interface method for permitting a user to act on thumbnails, each thumbnail representing an associated object containing information, for use with a machine having a video display device and a user input device, the man-machine interface method comprising:
- a) generating a three-dimensional environment, having a depth, to be rendered on the video display device;
b) determining a two-dimensional location and a depth of each of the thumbnails in the three-dimensional environment, wherein, for each of the thumbnails, the depth is a function of at least one parameter of the object associated with the thumbnail; and
c) generating the thumbnails within the three-dimensional environment, at the determined two-dimensional locations and depths, to be rendered on the video display device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A graphical user interface in which object thumbnails are rendered in a three-dimensional environment and which exploits spatial memory. The objects may be moved, continuously, with a two-dimensional input device. Pop-up title bars may be rendered over active objects. Intelligent help may be provided to the user, as visual indicators, based on proximity clustering or based on matching algorithms. The simulated location of the object thumbnails in a direction orthogonal to the surface is based on function, such as a linear, polynomial, or exponential function for example, of one or more object properties, such as number of mouse clicks since selected, age, size, etc.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A man-machine interface method for permitting a user to act on thumbnails, each thumbnail representing an associated object containing information, for use with a machine having a video display device and a user input device, the man-machine interface method comprising:
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a) generating a three-dimensional environment, having a depth, to be rendered on the video display device;
b) determining a two-dimensional location and a depth of each of the thumbnails in the three-dimensional environment, wherein, for each of the thumbnails, the depth is a function of at least one parameter of the object associated with the thumbnail; and
c) generating the thumbnails within the three-dimensional environment, at the determined two-dimensional locations and depths, to be rendered on the video display device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification