Computer user interface for document auto-summarization

• US 20080184145A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1992
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MONKEYmedia, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MONKEYmedia, Inc.
• Inventors: Gould, Eric Justin
• Granted Patent: US 8,370,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/00 Specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

A relativity controller is a scroll bar/window combination that provides a way to see data in relation to both the context of its wholeness and the salience of its contents. To accomplish this, the linear density or other appearance of the scroll bar (acting as a ruler or scale) varies with the density of the document salience (as indicated by different kinds of annotations or marks). It also provides a way to zoom between perspectives. This is usable on many different data types: including sound, video, graphics, calendars and word processors.

Claims

1. In a computerized system having a computer, storage means for information represented by a sequence of displayable objects, a display for displaying such objects, and a user control device for said computer, said computer having means for accessing the storage means and for causing the display to display certain of the objects under control of the control device, the improvement comprising:

(a) first means in the computer responsive to the user control device for selectively visibly marking on the display a first portion of the objects displayed for subsequent retrieval or emphasis.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

(b) second means for displaying alongside the displayed objects a scroll bar as part of the control device,

(c) third means connecting the second means to the first means such that marking of the object display causes a corresponding change in the appearance of those scroll bar portions located opposite the marked objects.

3. In a computerized system having a computer, storage means for information represented by a sequence of displayable objects, a display for displaying such objects, and a user control device for said computer, said computer having means for accessing the storage means and for causing the display to display certain of the objects under control of the control device, the improvement comprising:

(a) first means in the computer for displaying alongside the displayed objects a scroll bar as part of the control device,

(b) second means in the computer responsive to the user control device for selectively marking on the scroll bar an area corresponding to a first segment of the objects displayed for future retrieval or emphasis.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

(c) third means connected to the second means for transforming the object display into shrunken and non-shrunken segments corresponding to the marked areas and for causing a corresponding change in the appearance of those scroll bar portions located opposite the marked objects.

5. In a computerized system having a computer, storage means for information represented by a sequence of displayable objects, a display for displaying such objects, and a user control device for said computer, said computer having means for accessing the storage means and for causing the display to display certain of the objects under control of the Control device, the improvement comprising:

(a) first means in the computer responsive to the user control device for selectively shrinking the display of a first segment of the objects displayed to emphasize the display of a second segment of the displayed objects.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

(b) second means for displaying alongside the displayed objects a scroll bar as part of the control device,

(c) third means connecting the second means to the first means such that transformation of the object display into shrunken and non-shrunken segments causes a corresponding change in the appearance of those scroll bar portions located in proportion to the shrunken or non-shrunken object segments in the document.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the third means comprises means for changing the density of the appearance;

of the scroll bar, the density changes corresponding to the shrunken and non-shrunken segments.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the third means comprises means for changing the color or brightness at those portions of the scroll bar corresponding to the shrunken or non-shrunken segments.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising a perspective scalar button on the scroll bar, said computer-having fourth means responsive to activation of the perspective scalar button for modifying the level of shrinkage and thus the level of magnification of the non-shrunken segments.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein said fourth means is responsive to movement of the user control device in a direction perpendicular to the scroll bar.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein said control device includes a switch, a cursor is visible on the display, and said first means is responsive to the cursor being positioned on the displayed objects and to actuation of the switch to mark the second segment of the displayed objects.

12. The system of claim 6, further comprising a controller button on the scroll bar, said computer having fourth means for producing a cursor on the display whose position is controlled by the control device, said computer further having fifth means such that when the cursor is adjacent the controller button and the user activates a switch on the control device, sixth means are activated for controlling the level of emphasis of the second segment.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the sixth means includes means for displaying a perspective scalar cursor whose size or appearance indicates the said level of emphasis.

14. The system of claim 5, further comprising the computer having fourth means in response to actions of the control device for marking a segment of the displayed objects to constitute the second segment.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising the computer having fifth means to modify the appearance of the scroll bar to correspond in position to the location of the first and second segments.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising the computer having fifth means under user control for varying the degree of shrinkage of the first segment.

17. A method of changing the display of related objects in a computerized system having a relativity controller to magnify selected ones of the objects, comprising the steps:

(a) forming a normal display of a succession of the objects in which each object displayed occupies a part of the display in proportion to its size,

(b) forming on the display alongside the succession of objects a scroll bar haying an elongated area representing the beginning to the end of the succession of objects, a scroll thumb on the elongated area and whose location therein corresponds to a selected object of the succession of objects, and means associated with the scroll bar for activating a means for changing perspective scaling of the objects,

(c) providing for a user an interactive cursor control device having user-activated switches,

(d) providing on the display a cursor whose location is controlled by the control device,

(e) actuating the control device to mark a first segment of successive objects and to display on the scroll bar elongated area a first indication of the marked segment,

(f) activating the control device to activate the perspective scaling means to select a level of magnification of the marked segment thereby to cause objects not in the marked segment to occupy a smaller region of the display than they originally occupied to form additional regions adjacent the marked segment of objects and to cause the objects in the marked segment to expand to fill the additional regions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein step (e) is repeated to form a second indication at a different location along the scroll bar to define a second marked segment;

carrying out of step (f) causing objects not in the first or second marked segments to occupy smaller regions forming the additional regions into which the objects in the first and second marked segments can expand.