Three-dimensional window displaying apparatus and method thereof

• US 6,542,168 B2
• Filed: 07/29/1997
• Issued: 04/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Nakagaki, Yoshihiro, Negishi, Hisashi, Tsuchi, Yasuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thomas T.
• Application Number:
  US08/902,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20020080182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,072 Days
• Field of Search: 345/340, 345/355, 345/339, 345/342, 345/427, 345/419, 345/976, 345/781, 345/848, 345/764, 345/788, 345/732
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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

In the window system, patterns of windows, icons, buttons, and so forth are defined in a body coordinate system. The window system has definition data for a process corresponding to a button and so forth. The definition data has a displaying portion including a display command for displaying a window and so forth. The displaying portion causes a window and so forth to be displayed on a display unit corresponding to designated coordinate values. The displaying portion has a three-dimensional displaying portion that rearranges each object from the body coordinate system to the world coordinate system corresponding to designated coordinate values and projects the resultant object on a screen at a designated view point. The three-dimensional displaying portion supplies coordinate values for three-dimensionally displaying the object to the displaying portion.

Claims

1. A window display apparatus for displaying a plurality of windows of a window operating system on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

a virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

an image generating unit generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by said virtual distance defining unit, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated, from a depth direction diagonal to said depth direction,

wherein the images generated by said image generating unit are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point.

2. A window displaying apparatus for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

a virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows, wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

a unit generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by said virtual distance defining unit, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated, from a direction diagonal to said depth direction and displaying an overlapped portion of the windows on the display unit.

3. A window displaying apparatus for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit and displaying an object on the windows, the object being operated under an environment, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

a virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

a generating unit generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by said virtual distance defining unit, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, and an image of the object,

wherein the images generated by said image generating unit are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to the view point.

5. The window displaying apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the object corresponds to a predetermined process, and when the object is operated, the predetermined process performed.

4. A window displaying apparatus for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit and displaying an object on the windows, the object being operated under an environment, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

a generating unit generates images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined, the images being viewed from the view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, and an image of the object and displaying an overlapped portion of the windows and the object at the overlapped portion on the display unit.

6. A window displaying method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth′

position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined at the virtual distance defining step, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated, from a direction diagonal to said depth direction wherein the images generated by said generating are displayed on the display unit and transformed as whole according to movement of the view point.

7. A window displaying method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined at the virtual distance defining step, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, and displaying an overlapped portion of the windows on the display unit wherein the images generated by said generating are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point.

8. A method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit and displaying an object on the windows, the object being operated under an environment, at least part of the windows overlapping with each other, comprising:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined at the virtual distance defining step, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, the images being transformed as a whole according to movement of the viewpoint, and an image of the object.

9. A method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display unit and displaying an object on the windows, the object being operated under an environment provided by the window operating system, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined at the virtual distance defining step, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, the images being transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point, and an image of the object, and displaying an overlapped portion of the windows and the object at the overlapped portion of the display unit.

10. A storage medium from which a computer that displays a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, reads data that causes the computer to perform:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by the virtual distance defining function, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth directions wherein the images generated by said generating are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point.

11. A storage medium from which a computer that displays a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, reads data that causes the computer to perform:

defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by the virtual distance defining function, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, and displaying an overlapped portion of the windows on the display units wherein the images generated by image generating are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point.

12. A controller for enabling the display of a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

a virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

a unit generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by said virtual distance defining unit, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, and the images generated by said image generating unit are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point.

13. The controller claimed in said claim 12, wherein said controller further controls displaying an object on the windows on the display device.

14. A controller for enabling the display of a plurality of windows on a display unit, at least part of the windows overlapping, comprising:

a virtual distance defining unit defining virtual distances in a depth direction to the windows wherein each window is substantially parallel;

a window rearranging unit rearranging an order of the windows so that a window which is selected is placed as a top window, so that depth position information of the selected window is changed with depth position information of a current top window; and

an image generating unit generating images of the windows whose virtual distances have been defined by said virtual distance defining unit, the images being viewed from a view point freely designated from a direction diagonal to said depth direction, the images generated by said image generating unit are displayed on the display unit and transformed as a whole according to movement of the view point, and controlling display of an overlapped portion of the windows on the display unit.

15. The controller claimed in claim 14, wherein said controller further controls to display an object on the windows on the display device.