Image display processing apparatus that automatically changes position of sub-window relative to main window depending on distance at watch sub window is commanded to be displayed

• US 6,954,906 B1
• Filed: 09/29/1997
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nashida, Tatsushi, Kamachi, Teruhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US08/939,064
• Time in Patent Office: 2,934 Days
• Field of Search: 345/330, 345/332, 345/342, 345/346, 345/355, 345/340, 345/753, 345/755, 345/759, 345/788, 345/804, 345/848, 345/781, 345/757, 345/798, 345/799, 345/800, 345/797, 345/796, 395/200
• US Class Current: 715/799
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• 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

To display a window for displaying auxiliary information near a window for displaying main information. When a drag operation is performed to move a multiuser window to a predetermined position and display there, if the distance of the multiuser window to the main window when the drag operation is cleared is within reference value L_R and the distance of the top side of the multiuser window to the top side of the main window is within reference value H_R, then the multiuser window is automatically moved such that the side of the multiuser window comes in contact with the side of the main window and the top end of the multiuser window comes in alignment with the top end of the main window on a horizontal line.

Claims

1. An image display processing apparatus for displaying in a single display window a main window for displaying main information and a sub window for displaying accompanying information associated with said main information, said sub window having a height and width independent of a height and width of said main window, the image display processing apparatus comprising:

a display position moving means for moving said sub window from a first position, at which said sub window is initially displayed, to a user-specified position; and

an automatic arrangement changing means for automatically moving said sub window to a position adjacent to said main window when said user-specified position is such that a distance between said sub window and said main window is less than a preset predetermined value, with the height and width of the sub-window remaining independent of the height and width of the main window.

2. The image display processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when said user-specified position is such that a vertical distance between an upper side of said sub-window and an upper side of said main window is less than said preset predetermined value, said automatic arrangement changing means moves said sub window such that the upper side of said sub window comes into alignment with an upper side of said main window.

3. The image display processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said main window displays a three-dimensional virtual reality space image corresponding to three-dimensional graphics data; and

said sub window displays content of a chat performed via an avatar, which is an alter ego of a user and movable within said three-dimensional virtual reality space.

4. The image display processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said three-dimensional graphics data is described in VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language).