Method and system for displaying status of critical indicators on diverse display devices
First Claim
1. A method of displaying information, comprising:
- superimposing a first icon upon a first or second portion of a reference shape indicative of whether a present value of a first monitored variable corresponding to the first icon is within a first predetermined higher-interest range or within a first predetermined lower-interest range, wherein the first portion of the reference shape corresponds to the first predetermined higher-interest range and the second portion of the reference shape corresponds to the first predetermined lower-interest range; and
superimposing a first alternative status icon upon the reference shape such that the first alternative status icon is positioned over the second of the reference shape when the first icon is positioned over the second portion of the reference shape, and the first alternative status icon is positioned over the second portioned of the reference shape when the first icon is positioned over the first portioned of the reference shape, wherein the first alternative status icon correspond to an alternative status of the first monitored variable.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a system and method for displaying status of critical indicators or variables, icons representing the indicators are displayed in superposition with a reference shape. The reference shape is divided into “higher-interest” and “lower-interest” portions, such that display of an icon over the higher-interest portion of the reference shape indicates a higher-interest value of the corresponding variable. The reference shape is preferably elongated horizontally, with its upper portion designated as the higher-interest portion and its lower portion designated the lower-interest portion. Each monitored variable may be allocated a vertical “slice” of the reference shape, such that the position of the corresponding icon when the variable is in the higher-interest state is laterally aligned with the position of the icon when the variable is in the lower-interest state. In some embodiments, a single icon representing the present status of the corresponding variable is positioned over either the higher-interest or lower-interest portion of the reference shape. Alternatively, two icons may be used for each variable, where one is positioned over the higher-interest portion and the other over the lower-interest portion. This representation is believed to make the status of each monitored variable visible at a glance. The simplicity of the representation may allow it to be used effectively on various computational devices, including those with small, monochrome displays.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of displaying information, comprising:
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superimposing a first icon upon a first or second portion of a reference shape indicative of whether a present value of a first monitored variable corresponding to the first icon is within a first predetermined higher-interest range or within a first predetermined lower-interest range, wherein the first portion of the reference shape corresponds to the first predetermined higher-interest range and the second portion of the reference shape corresponds to the first predetermined lower-interest range; and
superimposing a first alternative status icon upon the reference shape such that the first alternative status icon is positioned over the second of the reference shape when the first icon is positioned over the second portion of the reference shape, and the first alternative status icon is positioned over the second portioned of the reference shape when the first icon is positioned over the first portioned of the reference shape, wherein the first alternative status icon correspond to an alternative status of the first monitored variable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for displaying information, said system comprising:
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a display screen;
a display controller operably coupled to the display screen, wherein the display controller is adapted to display a reference shape on the display screen, and wherein the display controller is further adapted to display a present status icon and an alternative status icon corresponding to the present status and alternative status, respectively, of a monitored variable on the display screen, such that the present status icon and alternative status icon are superimposed on the reference shape, and the present status icon is positioned over a first portion of the reference shape when a present value of the monitored variable is within a predetermined higher-interest range and the alternative status icon is within a second portion of the reference shape, and the present status icon is superimposed over the second portion of the reference shape when the present value of the monitored variable is within a predetermined lower-interest range and the alternative status icon is within the first portion of the reference shape; and
a storage medium operably coupled to the display controller, wherein the storage medium is adapted to store information relating to the predetermined higher-interest and lower-interest ranges. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer-usable carrier medium, comprising:
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first program instructions executable on a computational device for displaying a reference shape upon a display screen associated with the computational device;
second program instructions executable on the computational device for displaying a first present status icon upon the display screen such that the first present status icon is superimposed on the reference shape, wherein the first present status icon corresponds to the present status of a first monitored variable, and wherein the first present status icon is positioned over a first portion of the reference shape when a present value of the first variable is within a first predetermined higher-interest range, and the first present status icon is positioned over a second portion of the reference shape when the present value of the first variable is within a first predetermined lower-interest range; and
third program instructions executable on the computational device for displaying a first alternative status icon upon the display screen such that the first alternative status icon is superimposed on the reference shape, wherein the first alternative status icon corresponds to an alternative status of the first monitored variable, and wherein the first alternative status icon is positioned over the first portion of the reference shape when the first present status icon is positioned over the second portion of the reference shape, and the first alternative status icon is positioned over the second portion of the reference shape when the first present status icon is positioned over the first portion of the reference shape. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification