USER INTERFACES

• US 20140201656A1
• Filed: 03/14/2014
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Industry Software Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Kendall, Geoff, Rivers, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,886,178 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/765
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/00 Geometric image transformations in the plane of the image

Abstract

User interface (UI) techniques, and more particularly to graphical user interface (GUI) techniques providing 3-dimensional (3-D) renditions. A method of displaying one or more graphical objects, the method being carried out in an electronic device, the device having processing circuitry, memory and a display device, the method comprising: obtaining first image data, the first image data defining at least one two-dimensional graphical component; performing a transformation operation on the first image data to generate second image data, the second image data defining, for the or each graphical component, a modified form of the graphical component; using said second image data, displaying the modified form whereby the or each graphical component has the appearance of having a component of dimension perpendicular the plane of the display device. Also disclosed method of displaying one or more moving graphical objects, the method being carried out in an electronic device, the device including processing circuitry, memory and a display device, the method comprising: obtaining first image data, the first image data defining at least one two-dimensional graphical component; for each of one or more instants during a predetermined time period, performing a transformation operation on the first image data to generate second image data, the second image data defining, for the or each graphical component, a modified form of the graphical component; and using said second image data, displaying the modified form; thereby at one more of said instants generating a rendition of the or each graphical component so as to appear to having a component of dimension perpendicular the plane of the display device, whereby the two-dimensional object appears to move within a three-dimensional space. This invention concerns GUIs employed by users to interact with electronic devices having a display f0b, in particular but not limited to hand-held devices with small screens.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A method of processing image data, the method being carried out in an electronic device, the device having processing circuitry, memory and a display device, the method comprising:

performing a transformation operation on a first image data of at least one two-dimensional graphical component to generate second image data, the second image data defining, for the at least one graphical component, a modified form of the graphical component; and

displaying, using said second image data, the modified form,

wherein the at least one graphical component has the appearance of having a component of dimension perpendicular the plane of the display device, and

wherein performing the transformation operation includes determining whether a first graphical component that is in modified form intersects with a concurrently displayed second graphical component that is in modified form and, if they are intersecting, determining whether to merge the first and second intersecting graphical components based on an area of the merged components.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second intersecting graphical components comprises:

determining if both of the first and second intersecting graphical components comprise dirty regions; and

if the first and second intersecting graphical components comprise dirty regions, determining whether merging the concurrently displayed first and second intersecting graphical components would be more efficient than leaving them as concurrently displayed, intersecting graphical components.

19. The method according to claim 18, comprising:

if merging the concurrently displayed first and second intersecting graphical components would be more efficient than leaving them as concurrently displayed, merging the first and second intersecting graphical components to form a merged region that comprises a geometrical union of the first and second intersecting graphical components.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the transformation operation further includes:

initializing a region list from bounding boxes of all elements shown in a preceding video frame;

adding a region to the region list for the bounding box of each element contained in the new frame;

sorting the bounding boxes into order of distance from the plane of the display (z-order); and

discarding regions that are hidden behind others or are outside the periphery of the display.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second graphical components further comprises:

determining if one of the first and second graphical components comprises a dirty region and the other comprises a non-dirty region; and

if one of the first and second graphical components comprises a dirty region and the other comprises a non-dirty region, marking the non-dirty region as dirty.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second graphical components further comprises:

determining whether the merged region would intersect a non-dirty region prior to merging the first and second graphical components; and

if the merged region would intersect a non-dirty region prior to merging the first and second graphical components, then not merging the first and second graphical components.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein performing the transformation operation further comprises:

painting a 2D background into each dirty region; and

painting all dirty regions in Z-order.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein determining whether merging the first and second graphical components would be more efficient than not merging them comprises:

determining if a resulting merged region would have an area that is less than the product of a threshold factor multiplied by the sum of the areas of the first and second graphical components.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one graphical component comprises a dirty region when the component'"'"'s constituent graphical elements change during the transformation and need to be repainted.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions thereon for executing a method of processing image data, the method comprising:

performing a transformation operation on a first image data of at least one two-dimensional graphical component to generate second image data, the second image data defining, for the at least one graphical component, a modified form of the graphical component; and

using said second image data, displaying the modified form whereby the or each graphical component has the appearance of having a component of dimension perpendicular the plane of the display device,

wherein performing the transformation operation includes determining whether a first graphical component that is in modified form intersects with a concurrently displayed second graphical component that is in modified form and, if they are intersecting, determining whether to merge the first and second intersecting graphical components based on an area of the merged components.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 26, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second intersecting graphical components comprises:

determining if both of the first and second intersecting graphical components comprise dirty regions; and

if the first and second intersecting graphical components comprise dirty regions, determining whether merging the concurrently displayed first and second intersecting graphical components would be more efficient than leaving them as concurrently displayed, intersecting graphical components.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 27, wherein the method further comprises:

if merging the concurrently displayed first and second intersecting graphical components would be more efficient than leaving them as concurrently displayed, merging the first and second intersecting graphical components to form a merged region that comprises a geometrical union of the first and second intersecting graphical components.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the transformation operation further comprises:

initializing a region list from bounding boxes of all elements shown in a preceding video frame;

adding a region to the region list for the bounding box of each element contained in the new frame;

sorting the bounding boxes into order of distance from the plane of the display (z-order); and

discarding regions that are hidden behind others or are outside the periphery of the display.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second graphical components further comprises:

determining if one of the first and second graphical components comprises a dirty region and the other comprises a non-dirty region; and

if one of the first and second graphical components comprises a dirty region and the other comprises a non-dirty region, marking the non-dirty region as dirty.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein determining whether to merge the first and second graphical components further comprises:

determining whether the merged region would intersect a non-dirty region prior to merging the first and second graphical components; and

if the merged region would intersect a non-dirty region prior to merging the first and second graphical components, then not merging the first and second graphical components.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein performing the transformation operation further comprises:

painting a 2D background into each dirty region; and

painting all dirty regions in Z-order.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein determining whether merging the first and second graphical components would be more efficient than not merging them comprises:

determining if a resulting merged region would have an area that is less than the product of a threshold factor multiplied by the sum of the areas of the first and second graphical components.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the at least one graphical component comprises a dirty region when the component'"'"'s constituent graphical elements change during the transformation and need to be repainted.

35. A method of processing image data, the method comprising:

deriving a user'"'"'s interaction or selection related to one of a plurality of graphical components;

determining the one of the plurality of graphical components the interaction or selection relates to;

determining a 2D bounding box containing the one of the plurality of graphical components on a 2D display, and determining whether a user interface pointer on the 2D display is contained in the determined bounding box;

if the determined bounding box does contain the user interface pointer, then determining which one of a list of 3D GUI components corresponds to the determined bounding box and mapping a ray from the pointer position through space in a depth direction perpendicular to the 2D display and in the region of the determined 3D GUI component; and

if the ray intersects with the determined 3D GUI component, routing an event to the determined 3D GUI component.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein determining which one of a list of 3D GUI components corresponds to the determined bounding box comprises:

sorting the 3D GUI components into depth order; and

selecting the 3D GUI component that is closest to the front as the one that corresponds to the determined bounding box.