Apparatus for viewing information in virtual space using multiple templates

• US 6,751,620 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2001
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Buffalo Patents, LLC
• Original Assignee: Geophoenix
• Inventors: Orbanes, Julian, Guzman, Adriana
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Application Number:
  US09/782,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20020069215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,217 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/1-3, 707/102, 707/100, 709/217, 709/218, 709/203, 345/419, 345/427, 345/629, 345/760
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• 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: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The invention provides method and apparatus for viewing information. In one embodiment, the system of the invention enables the user to view displayed information in a way that is comparable to a selected physical paradigm. Example physical paradigms include, but are not limited to, financial, educational, governmental, sports, media, retail, travel, geographic, real estate, medical, physiological, mechanical, surveillance, agricultural, industrial, infrastructure, scientific and other like paradigms. By presenting information to the user in a way that more closely mimics physical paradigms, the system provides an intuitive mechanism for the user to view, search through and interact with displayed information in an unrestricted manner. In another embodiment, the appearance is a graphical representation of one or more data objects, related to other data objects through hierarchical relationships defined by one or more templates. As the user adjusts the viewing perspective, the appearance changes in a seemingly continuous, non-discrete manner.

Claims

1. A system for viewing information, said system comprising,

a computing device adapted to employ a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects, to generate an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user, to enable said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion, to store said data objects associated with said plurality of first spatial paradigms in a storage module according to said hierarchical relationships defined by said plurality of templates, and to deconstruct at least one prior existing hierarchical relationship between said data objects before storing said data objects.

2. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to determine said appearance for said subset of said data objects, wherein said appearance of said subset of said data objects is dependent, at least in part, on hierarchical relationships determined by at least one of said first plurality of templates and said super template, and said viewing perspective of said user.

3. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to change said appearance in a seemingly continuous, non-discrete manner in response to said user commanding an adjustment of said viewing perspective.

4. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable a party to define at least a portion of said hierarchical relationships between at least a portion of said data objects for a particular data source.

5. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable a party to specify said physical paradigm.

6. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to re-profile said at least one data source to update said data objects stored in said storage module.

7. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to extract data objects associated with said plurality of first physical paradigms from at least one Web server computer.

8. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to extract said data objects associated with said plurality of first physical paradigms from at least one of a legacy database, a live information feed, a substantially real-time source, a file system, a storage device, a simulation, a model and a file.

9. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to provide said virtual appearance for each of said subset of said data objects by rendering selected details of said subset of said data objects, wherein said selected details approximate a physical appearance that said subset of said data objects would have to a user having said viewing perspective.

10. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a virtual distance between said user and said subset of said data objects, and to determine said appearance of said subset of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said virtual distance.

11. A system according to claim 10 further adapted to display more detail for ones of said data objects in response to said virtual distance decreasing.

12. A system according to claim 10 further adapted to display less detail for ones of said data objects in response to said virtual distance increasing.

13. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to enter a term, to determine a correspondence between any of said plurality of data objects and said term, and in response to determining a correspondence, to include corresponding ones of said plurality of data objects in said subset of said data objects.

14. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a viewing direction for said user, to define an angle between said viewing direction and at least one of said objects, and to determine said appearance of said at least one of said data objects, at least in part, in dependence on said angle.

15. A system according to claim 14 further adapted to fixing said viewing direction.

16. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to define a virtual position of said user in relation to said subset of said data objects, to cache graphical information for one ore more data objects virtually located within a predefined vicinity of said user, and to employ said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or m ore data objects in response to said user navigating within a predefined virtual distance of said at least one of said one or more data objects.

17. A system according to claim 16 further adapted to determine whether data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity based on predefined coordinates of said data objects in said virtual representation, starting from the virtual position of said user.

18. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to enable said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion using a pan control, a zoom-in control, and zoom-out control.

19. A system according to claim 18 wherein, with respect to a hierarchical level of a current data object, said pan control enables navigation to another data object located at said hierarchical level of said current data object, said zoom-in control enables navigation to another data object at another hierarchical level that is a child to said hierarchical level of said current data object, and said zoom-out control enables navigation to another data object at another hierarchical level that is a parent to said hierarchical level of said current data object.

20. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising,

employing a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects, to generate an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user,

enabling said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion,

storing said data objects associated with said plurality of first spatial paradigms in a storage module according to said hierarchical relationships defined by said plurality of templates, and

deconstructing at least one prior existing hierarchical relationship between said data objects before storing said data objects.

21. A method for viewing information, said method comprising,

employing a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects, to generate an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user,

enabling said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion,

storing said data objects associated with said plurality of first spatial paradigms in a storage module according to said hierarchical relationships defined by said plurality of templates, and

deconstructing at least one prior existing hierarchical relationship between said data objects before storing said data objects.

22. A system for viewing information, said system comprising,

a computing device adapted to employ a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects, to generate an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user, to enable said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion, to define a virtual position of said user in relation to said subset of said data objects, to cache graphical information for one ore more data objects virtually located within a predefined vicinity of said user, to employ said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or more data objects in response to said user navigating within a predefined virtual distance of said at least one of said one or more data objects, and to determine whether one or more data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity in dependence hierarchical relationships of said data objects and a hierarchical relationship defined by a party.

23. A system according to claim 22 further adapted to store said data objects associated with said plurality of first spatial paradigms in a storage module according to said hierarchical relationships defined by said plurality of templates.

24. A system according to claim 23 further adapted to deconstruct at least one prior existing hierarchical relationship between said data objects before storing said data objects.

25. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising,

employing a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects,

generating an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user,

enabling said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion, to define a virtual position of said user in relation to said subset of said data objects,

caching graphical information for one ore more data objects virtually located within a predefined vicinity of said user,

employing said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or more data objects in response to said user navigating within a predefined virtual distance of said at least one of said one or more data objects, and

determining whether one or more data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity in dependence on hierarchical relationships of said data objects and a hierarchical relationship defined by a party.

26. A method for viewing information, said method comprising,

employing a plurality data objects contained within at least one data source, a plurality of templates, wherein each of said plurality of templates relates to one of a plurality of first spatial paradigms, and defines hierarchical relationships between said plurality of data objects, and a super template, wherein said super template relates to a second spatial paradigm, and defines further hierarchical relationships between said data objects,

generating an appearance of a subset of said data objects associated with both of at least one of said first spatial paradigms and said second spatial paradigm in a virtual space from an adjustable viewing perspective of a user,

enabling said user to navigate said data objects in a substantially unrestricted fashion, to define a virtual position of said user in relation to said subset of said data objects,

caching graphical information for one ore more data objects virtually located within a predefined vicinity of said user,

employing said cached graphical information to provide said virtual appearance for at least one of said one or more data objects in response to said user navigating within a predefined virtual distance of said at least one of said one or more data objects, and

determining whether one or more data objects are virtually located within said predefined vicinity in dependence hierarchical relationships of said data objects and a hierarchical relationship defined by a party.