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

• US 20080072168A1
• Filed: 10/01/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Conway, Matthew, Proffitt, Dennis, Jacquot, Stephen, Robertson, George
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• 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

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.

Claims

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.

2. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 wherein, for each of the thumbnails, the depth is a linear function of at least one parameter of the object associated with the thumbnail.

3. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 wherein, for each of the thumbnails, the depth is a polynomial function of at least one parameter of the object associated with the thumbnail.

4. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 wherein, for each of the thumbnails, the depth is an exponential function of at least one parameter of the object associated with the thumbnail.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one parameter includes at least one parameter selected from a group of parameters consisting of (a) click history, (b) age, (c) time since last use, (d) size, (e) file type, (f) associated application, (g) classification, and (h) author.

6. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 further comprising:

d) accepting inputs from the user input device;

e) determining a two-dimensional cursor location based on the accepted inputs; and

f) generating a cursor at the determined two-dimensional cursor location, to be rendered on the video display device.

7. The man-machine interface method of claim 6 further comprising:

g) if the two-dimensional location of the cursor is located on or over one of the thumbnails, defining a state of that thumbnail as active.

8. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 further comprising:

h) generating a pop-up information bar located over the active thumbnail, to be rendered on the video display device.

9. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 further comprising:

h) if the user input provides a selection input and if an active or floated thumbnail exists, then generating a higher resolution visual representation of the object represented by and associated with the active or floated thumbnail, at a preferred viewing location at a foreground of the three dimensional environment, to be rendered on the video display device.

10. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 further comprising:

h) if the user input provides a float input and if an active thumbnail exists, then setting the depth of the active thumbnail to a predetermined value and defining a state of the active thumbnail as floated.

11. The man-machine interface method of claim 9 wherein the act of generating the higher resolution visual representation of the object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail includes:

generating an animation which moves the higher resolution visual representation of the object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail from the location of the active thumbnail to the preferred viewing location at the foreground of the three dimensional environment, to be rendered on the video display device.

12. The man-machine interface method of claim 11 further comprising:

i) if the user input provides a deselection input and if a selected thumbnail exists, then generating a video output for moving the high resolution visual representation of the object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail to the two-dimensional location of the selected thumbnail, to be rendered on the video display device.

13. The man-machine interface method of claim 9 further comprising:

i) if the user input provides a sink input and if a floated thumbnail exists, then setting the depth of the floated thumbnail to a previous value and defining a state of the floated thumbnail as active.

14. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 further comprising:

h) if the user input provides a selection input and if an active thumbnail exists, then

i) invoking an application related to the object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail,

ii) loading the object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail into the application, and

iii) generating a video output of the application with the loaded object represented by and associated with the active thumbnail at a preferred viewing location, to be rendered on the video display device.

15. The man-machine interface method of claim 9 further comprising:

h) if the user input provides a selection input and if a floated thumbnail exists, then

i) invoking an application related to the object represented by and associated with the floated thumbnail,

ii) loading the object represented by and associated with the floated thumbnail into the application, and

iii) generating a video output of the application with the loaded object represented by and associated with the floated thumbnail at a preferred viewing location, to be rendered on the video display device.

16. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 further comprising:

h) if the user input provides a move input and if an active or floated thumbnail exists, then

i) updating the two-dimensional location of the active or floated thumbnail based on the move input.

17. The man-machine interface method of claim 16 wherein the move input is a left button mouse drag.

18. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 wherein the three-dimensional environment defines a foreground and a background, and

wherein the act of generating thumbnails, within the three-dimensional environment, at the determined two-dimensional locations and depths, to be rendered on the video display device, includes:

i) using perspective views so that any thumbnails in the foreground defined by the three-dimensional environment appear larger than any thumbnails in the background defined by the three-dimensional surface.

19. The man-machine interface method of claim 18 wherein a thumbnail partially occludes any thumbnails behind it, based on a viewing point.

20. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 further comprising:

d) accepting inputs from the user input device;

e) determining a viewing point two-dimensional location, depth and direction based on the accepted inputs; and

f) generating only that portion of the three-dimensional environment and only those thumbnails that are in front of the virtual viewing point determined in act (e), to be rendered on the video display device.