Method and apparatus for indicating a change in status of an object and its disposition using animation
First Claim
1. A method for changing a status of an object having an image displayed on a display screen of a pointer based computer system having a graphical user interface and providing a user with visual feedback indicative of the change in status, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a change in status command indicating a desired status of a selected object having an image displayed on the display screen of the computer system, the change in status command being initiated using the pointer, the desired status of the selected object being established prior to movement of the image which is indicative of the desired status, and the image of the selected object having an initial visual appearance indicative of the initial status;
modifying the visual appearance of the image of the selected object displayed on the display screen through graphical animation to provide the user with an animated indication of the change in status of the selected object, the modifying being done in response to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user;
automatically moving said modified image of the selected object across the display to a position that overlaps an icon on the screen which indicates the disposition of said object, said moving being done in response to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; and
automatically executing the change in status command on the selected object without any additional input from the user.
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Abstract
A method characterized by the steps of: a) determining an action to be taken on an object on a computer screen which changes the status of the object; b) modifying the visual appearance of the object through animation to reflect the change in status; and c) automatically moving the modified object on the screen to indicate the disposition of the object. With a delete or "trashing" action, an object is crumpled on screen to indicate that the object has become trash, and the crumpled object is moved across the screen and into a trash can icon to indicate its final disposition. The apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a pen-based computer system, where a stylus may be used to select and activate the object on the screen.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for changing a status of an object having an image displayed on a display screen of a pointer based computer system having a graphical user interface and providing a user with visual feedback indicative of the change in status, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a change in status command indicating a desired status of a selected object having an image displayed on the display screen of the computer system, the change in status command being initiated using the pointer, the desired status of the selected object being established prior to movement of the image which is indicative of the desired status, and the image of the selected object having an initial visual appearance indicative of the initial status; modifying the visual appearance of the image of the selected object displayed on the display screen through graphical animation to provide the user with an animated indication of the change in status of the selected object, the modifying being done in response to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; automatically moving said modified image of the selected object across the display to a position that overlaps an icon on the screen which indicates the disposition of said object, said moving being done in response to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; and automatically executing the change in status command on the selected object without any additional input from the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A pointer based computer system comprising:
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computer processing unit; display assembly coupled to said computer processing unit, said display assembly including a screen displaying at least one object; a pointer for inputting information to the computer processing unit; means for receiving a change in status command indicating the desired status of a selected object displayed on the display screen of the pointer based computer system, the change in status command being initiated using the pointer, the desired status of the selected object being established prior to movement of the image which is indicative of the desired status, and the selected object having an initial visual appearance indicative of an initial status; modification means for modifying the visual appearance of the image of the selected object displayed on the display screen through graphical animation to provide the user with an animated indication of the change in status of the selected object, the modification means being responsive to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; means for automatically moving said modified image of the selected object across the display screen to a position that overlaps an icon displayed on the screen which indicates the disposition of said object, said means for automatically moving said modified image being responsive to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; and means for executing the change in status command on the selected object, said means for executing the change in status command being responsive to the change in status command without requiring any additional inputs from the user. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for deleting an object having an image displayed on a display screen of a pointer based computer system having a graphical user interface and providing a user with visual feedback indicative of the deletion, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a deletion command indicating a desired deletion of a selected object having an image displayed on the display screen of the computer system, the change in status command being initiated using the pointer, and the image of the selected object having an initial visual appearance indicative of the initial status; automatically modifying the visual appearance of the image of the selected object displayed on the display screen through graphical animation to provide the user with an animated indication of the deletion of the selected object, the modifying being done in response to the deletion command, the graphical animation including an animation that appears as a crumpling of the image of the selected object; automatically moving said modified image of the selected object across the display to a position that overlaps an icon on the screen which indicates the deletion of the selected object; and executing the deletion command on the selected object. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer readable medium storing a computer program for deleting an object having an image displayed on a display screen of a pointer based computer system having a graphical user interface and providing a user with visual feedback indicative of the deletion, the computer program comprising instructions for:
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receiving a deletion command indicating a desired deletion of a selected object having an image displayed on the display screen of the computer system, the change in status command being initiated using the pointer, and the image of the selected object having an initial visual appearance indicative of the initial status; modifying the visual appearance of the image of the selected object displayed on the display screen through graphical animation to provide the user with an animated indication of the deletion of the selected object, the modifying being done in response to the deletion command without requiring any additional inputs from the user, the graphical animation including an animation that appears as a crumpling of the image of the selected object; automatically moving said modified image of the selected object across the display to a position that overlaps an icon on the screen which indicates the deletion of the selected object, said moving being done in response to the deletion command without requiring any additional inputs from the user; and automatically executing the deletion command on the selected object without any additional input from the user. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A computer readable medium storing a computer program for visually animating a deletion of a computer object represented by a corresponding object image displayed on a display screen of a display assembly in a computer system, the computer program comprising instructions for:
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indicating that the computer object is selected for deletion by selecting the corresponding object image displayed on the display screen of the display assembly; animating a crumpling of the selected corresponding object image that is displayed on the display screen wherein the animated crumpling includes the substeps of; dividing said corresponding object image of the selected computer object into a plurality of portions; and converging said portions towards a central area of said corresponding object image of the selected computer object; replacing said portions with a sprite image representing said crumpled corresponding object image; and automatically moving said sprite image representing said crumpled corresponding object image across said display screen to a position that overlaps an icon on the display screen which indicates the deletion of said computer object. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification