Graphical user interface with moveable, mergeable elements

• US 6,857,106 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2000
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Listen.com, Inc. (RealNetworks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brouaux, Alexandre Marc Jacques
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US09/663,296
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 345/837, 345/835, 345/840, 345/839, 345/836, 345/811, 345/762, 345/763, 345/765, 345/764, 345/768, 345/629, 345/630, 345/634, 345/639, 345/640
• US Class Current: 715/837
• 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

Abstract

A Graphical User Interface or “GUI” for use with a computer operating systems that operates dynamically according to the user'"'"'s preferences. Each element of the GUI is surrounded by a dynamic edge which allows the user to combine two or more elements together to create a visually coherent unit in real time. Users can merge or fuse together two or more edges together thus creating a combined group that has aspects and qualities from the constituent elements. Particular colors and color combinations can be created by the user along with the user selected shapes and sizes of individual elements selected from a library of element shapes and sizes. The grouped elements can then be separated back to the individual elements for use in different applications or other groupings as later desired by the user.

Claims

1. A method utilizing a graphical user interface in a computer system coupled with an input device, comprising:

executing an application program with a graphical user interface comprising a plurality of elements, each element comprising a core region selectable by a user to invoke one or more commands associated with the element and an edge region surrounding at least a portion of the core region;

signaling a user command with the input device;

moving one or more elements in response to the signal; and

changing the graphical representation of one or more of the elements by joining two or more elements to form a group of elements when the two or more elements are positioned so that their edge regions overlap, the formed group of elements indicating the core regions for each element of the group and a combined edge region.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input to move an element in a group of joined elements; and

separating the moved element from the group when the edge region of the moved element does not overlap with any of the edge regions of the remaining elements of the group.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input to move a group of joined elements; and

repositioning the group of joined elements within the user interface according to the user input, preserving the spatial relationship among the joined elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each element has a color, and changing the graphical representation of two or more elements of different color comprises forming an overlapping region between the two or more elements, the color of the overlapping region derived from the colors of each of the two or more elements.

5. A computer-implemented method for adjusting a graphical user interface of a computer program, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of elements, each element associated with at least one function of the computer program and comprising;

a functional core region that is selectable using an input device to invoke the function(s) associated with the element,

a dynamic edge that changes shape when the element is merged with one or more other elements, the dynamic edge forming a continuous dynamic edge with the dynamic edge(s) of the other element(s) merged therewith;

receiving an indication from the input device to move one or more elements within the graphical user interface; and

in response to receiving an indication to move a first element so that the dynamic edge of the first element overlaps the dynamic edge of a second element, merging the first and second elements to form a group, the group indicating the functional core regions of the first and second elements.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a user input to move the group of the first and second elements within the user interface; and

in response to a reception of the user input to move the group, repositioning the group of elements within the user interface while preserving the spatial relationship among the merged elements of the group.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

in response to a reception of a user input, moving a third element to a position overlapping the group of first and second elements and merging the third element with the first and second elements to form a new group.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

responding to a user input by moving the third element to a position not overlapping the first and second elements and removing the third element from the group of merged elements to reform the group.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein each element has at least one color, and each group of merged elements includes an overlapping region between the elements, the color of the overlapping region derived from the colors of each of the elements that form the overlapping region.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the first and second elements are of a different color, the method further comprising:

a step for fusing the colors of the first and second elements in an overlapping region therebetween.

11. A computer program product for adjusting a graphical user interface of a computer program, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code for performing the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of elements, each element associated with at least one function of the computer program and comprising;

a functional core region that is selectable using an input device to invoke the function(s) associated with the element,

a dynamic edge that changes shape when the element is merged with one or more other elements, the dynamic edge forming a continuous dynamic edge with the dynamic edge(s) of the other element(s) merged therewith;

receiving an indication from the input device to move one or more elements within the graphical user interface; and

in response to receiving an indication to move a first element so that the dynamic edge of the first element overlaps the dynamic edge of a second element, merging the first and second elements to form a group, the group indicating the functional core regions of the first and second elements.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a user input to move the group of the first and second elements within the user interface; and

in response to a reception of a user input to move the group, repositioning the group of elements within the user interface while preserving the spatial relationship among the merged elements of the group.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, the computer program code further for performing the operations:

in response to a reception of a user input to move a third element to a position overlapping the group of first and second elements, merging the third element with the first and second elements to reform the group.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, the computer program code further for performing the operations:

in response to a reception of a user input to move the third element to a position not overlapping the first and second elements, removing the third element from the group of merged elements to reform the group.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein each element has at least one color, and each group of merged elements includes an overlapping region between the elements, the color of the overlapping region derived from the colors of each of the elements that form the overlapping region.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer program product is a media rendering software application.