VISUALIZING RELATED EVENTS WITHIN A TIMELINE

• US 20130086501A1
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Published: 04/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: STEIN, Elisabeth Rinderknecht, CHOW, Chadwick
• Granted Patent: US 9,519,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/772
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries

Abstract

A timeline visualization system displays one or more groups of related events over a specified period of time within a timeline, where each group of related events is represented within the timeline as an event group. When a user interacts with the timeline, the event group expands and displays all the related events within the event group in a layer on top of the timeline. When a user interacts with the timeline a second time, the event group collapses, and the timeline (including the one or more event groups), is once again displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to display a timeline, the instructions comprising:

receiving data that represents a plurality of events within a timeline;

creating an event group that comprises at least two events of the plurality of events, wherein the at least two events are related events based on a criteria;

displaying the event group within the timeline;

displaying an expanded view of the event group over the timeline in response to a first user interaction, wherein the expanded view comprises the at least two events of the event group; and

removing the display of the expanded view in response to a second user interaction.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the event group comprises a counter, wherein the counter indicates a number of related events that the event group comprises.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the instructions further comprising displaying a scrolling mechanism within the expanded view of the event group, wherein the scrolling mechanism scrolls through the at least two events of the event group.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the instructions further comprising animating a display of the event group in response to a third user interaction.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the receiving data further comprising receiving data from a collection model, wherein a collection model is an object that retrieves one or more data records from a data store and stores the data records within the object.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein each data record of the one or more data records represents an event and comprises a key and event information;

the instructions further comprising storing each key of the at least two events of the event group within an event group object;

wherein the event group object represents the event group and comprises one or more keys.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the criteria is defined so that two or more events are related when they occur approximately on a same date and/or time.

8. The computer-readable medium if claim 7, the criteria is further defined so that the two or more events are related when they are also events that are part of a common overall transaction.

9. A computer-implemented method for displaying a timeline, comprising:

receiving data that represents a plurality of events within a timeline;

creating an event group that comprises at least two events of the plurality of events, wherein the at least two events are related events based on a criteria;

displaying the event group within the timeline;

displaying an expanded view of the event group over the timeline in response to a first user interaction, wherein the expanded view comprises the at least two events of the event group; and

removing the display of the expanded view in response to a second user interaction.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the event group comprises a counter, wherein the counter indicates a number of related events that the event group comprises.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising displaying a scrolling mechanism within the expanded view of the event group, wherein the scrolling mechanism scrolls through the at least two events of the event group.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising animating a display of the event group in response to a third user interaction.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the receiving data further comprising receiving data from a collection model, wherein a collection model is an object that retrieves one or more data records from a data store and stores the data records within the object.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein each data record of the one or more data records represents an event and comprises a key and event information;

the computer-implemented method further comprising storing each key of the at least two events of the event group within an event group object;

wherein the event group object represents the event group and comprises one or more keys.

15. A timeline visualization system, comprising:

a data receiving module configured to receive data that represents a plurality of events within a timeline;

an event group module configured to create an event group that comprises at least two events of the plurality of events, wherein the at least two events are related events based on a criteria; and

a display module configured to display the event group within the timeline;

wherein the display module is further configured to display an expanded view of the event group over the timeline in response to a first user interaction, wherein the expanded view comprises the at least two events of the event group; and

wherein the display module is further configured to remove the display of the expanded view in response to a second user interaction.

16. The timeline visualization system of claim 15, wherein the event group comprises a counter, wherein the counter indicates a number of related events that the event group comprises.

17. The timeline visualization system of claim 15, wherein the display module is further configured to display a scrolling mechanism within the expanded view of the event group, wherein the scrolling mechanism scrolls through the at least two events of the event group.

18. The timeline visualization system of claim 15, wherein the display module is further configured to animate a display of the event group in response to a third user interaction.

19. The timeline visualization system of claim 15, wherein the data receiving module is further configured to receive data from a collection model, wherein a collection model is an object that retrieves one or more data records from a data store and stores the data records within the object.

20. The timeline visualization system of claim 19, wherein each data record of the one or more data records represents an event and comprises a key and event information;

wherein the event group module is further configured to store each key of the at least two events of the event group within an event group object; and

wherein the event group object represents the event group and comprises one or more keys.