Display device with a focus buoy facility

• US 7,007,241 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 02/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Boeuf, Patrick Gaston Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): PESIN, BORIS M
• Application Number:
  US09/840,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20020080185A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,771 Days
• Field of Search: 345/805, 345/802, 345/711, 345/794, 345/859, 345/767, 345/779, 345/790, 345/788, 345/804, 345/762
• US Class Current: 715/802
• 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: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

Data processing system comprising at least a processing unit executing simultaneously a number of application programs, a memory for storing the application programs, a display subsystem for displaying on a screen a plurality of windows associated respectively with a plurality of application programs, each window being able to overlay partially or totally one or several windows already displayed on the screen, and a mouse for moving a cursor to a selected location of the screen. The display subsystem displays a focus buoy associated with each window at the same time the window is displayed, stores the coordinates of the location at which the focus buoy is displayed in a table in the memory, and in response to simply shaking the mouse, displays the focus buoys at each location defined in the table.

Claims

1. Data processing system comprising at least a processing unit capable of executing simultaneously a number of application programs, a memory for storing said application programs, a display subsystem for displaying on a screen a plurality of windows associated respectively with a plurality of application programs, each window being able to overlay partially or totally one or several windows already displayed on said screen, and a mouse for moving a cursor to a selected location of said screen;

said system being characterized in that the display subsystem comprises;

a plurality of focus buoys associated respectively with each of the plurality of windows, each focus buoy being displayed at a location on or beside its respective window only when its respective application is open,

a table in said memory for storing the coordinates of which each focus buoy is displayed,

whereby the display subsystem displays each focus buoy at each location defined in said table by shaking said mouse and whereby the user may click any one of the displayed focus buoys to get the focus of its respective window.

2. Data processing system according to claim 1, wherein said table further comprises, for each of said windows displayed on said screen, an identification of said associated application program, a pointer to the corresponding window, and the location of the focus buoy associated with said window.

3. Data processing system according to claim 2, wherein said table further comprises, for each of said windows, an alternative location displayed at any location of the window or beside the window for its respective focus buoy at which to display said focus buoy if the real location is the same as the location of a focus buoy associated with a window being already displayed on said screen.

4. Data processing system according to claim 1, wherein a little window including the title of the window is also displayed with the focus buoy associated with each window when the focus buoys defined in said table are displayed on said screen in response to simply shaking of said mouse.

5. Data processing system according to claim 2, wherein a little window including the title of the window is also displayed with the focus buoy associated with each window when the focus buoys defined in said table are displayed on said screen in response to simply shaking of said mouse.

6. Data processing system according to claim 1, wherein said display subsystem displays the window associated with a focus buoy being displayed in response to simply shaking of said mouse after said focus buoy has been selected and clicked by using said mouse.

7. Data processing system according to claim 5, wherein said display subsystem further displays the window associated with a focus buoy being displayed in response to simply shaking of said mouse after said focus buoy has been selected and clicked by using said mouse.

8. Data processing system according to claim 1 wherein said focus buoys being displayed on said screen are removed from display in response to simply shaking of said mouse a second time after said focus buoys have been displayed in response to simply shaking of said mouse.

9. Data processing system according to claim 4 wherein said focus buoys being displayed on said screen are removed in response to simply shaking of said mouse a second time after said focus buoys have been displayed in response to simply shaking of said mouse.

10. Data processing system according to claim 1, wherein said windows are removed from said screen when said focus buoys are displayed on said screen after said mouse has been shaken.

11. A method of displaying windows in a computer having display subsystem, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) opening an application, the application opening a window on the display subsystem;

(b) creating a first focus buoy associated with the window, the first focus buoy displayed on the window;

(c) storing the location on the display subsystem of the first focus buoy in a memory;

(d) opening a subsequent application, the subsequent application opening a subsequent window on the display subsystem;

(e) creating a subsequent focus buoy associated with the subsequent window, the subsequent focus buoy displayed on the subsequent window;

(f) storing the location on the display subsystem of the subsequent focus buoy in the memory;

(g) overlaying the first window and the first focus buoy on the display subsystem with the subsequent window thereby making the first focus buoy and all or some of the first window not visible; and

(h) shaking a mouse connected to the computer and the display subsystem to display the first focus buoy.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising simultaneously removing the window and the subsequent widow and displaying the first focus buoy and the subsequent focus buoy in response to shaking the mouse.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising shaking the mouse again to remove the first focus buoy.

14. A method of opening and closing windows in a computer system having a display subsystem, comprising:

(a) opening a plurality of applications,

(b) opening at least two windows in the display subsystem, the windows associated with two of the plurality of applications;

(c) creating at least two focus buoys on the display subsystem, each focus buoy associated with and located on the open window;

(d) recording the location of the focus buoys in memory;

(e) layering the at least two windows so that the underlying windows and their respective focus buoys are partially or completely not visible to a user;

(f) shaking a mouse so that all the underlying focus buoys are displayed on the display; and

(g) obtaining the focus of a window by clicking on its associated focus buoy.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising removing the open windows from the display subsystem.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising displaying a little window having the title of the associated window with each of the displayed focus buoys.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising removing the focus buoys from the display subsystem by shaking the mouse again.