Methods, apparatus and data structures for providing a user interface which facilitates decision making

• US 7,263,667 B1
• Filed: 06/09/1999
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Robbins, Daniel C., Robertson, George G., van Dantzich, Maarten R., Thiel, David D., Hoellerer, Tobias Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/329,140
• Time in Patent Office: 3,002 Days
• Field of Search: 345/782, 345/848, 345/850, 345/857, 715/757, 715/782, 715/804, 715/848, 715/738, 715/745, 715/805, 715/512, 715/537, 715/541
• US Class Current: 715/782
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A user interface for facilitating a decision making process, such as planning a trip. A unified view of various types of information related to an event may be provided. The unified view may be presented in a simulated three-dimensional environment having different types of information depicted on different windows. Different types of information related to a common event may be visually linked. A window showing a particular type of information may be brought into a focus view for closer inspection by a user. Alternative decisions may be depicted to permit vagueness or uncertainty, particularly at early iterations in the decision making process.

Claims

1. A man-machine interface method for assisting a user in a decision making process, for use with a machine having a video monitor device and a user input device, the man-machine interface method comprising:

accepting a decisional event from the user input device, the decisional event utilized as a basis to query one or more external or internal data sources to gather first and second information related to the decisional event, the decisional event employed to determine a state of a man-machine interface;

generating a three-dimensional display for output on the video monitor device where the determined state is a standby state, the display including

a first window displaying first information of a first type, the first information being related to the decisional event, and

a second window displaying second information of a second type, the second information being related to the decisional event; and

generating a visual indicator that associates the first information of the first window and the second information of the second window.

2. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the display generated simulates a three-dimensional environment in which the first and second windows reside.

3. The man-machine interface method of claim 2, the first and second windows are represented as sides of an unfolded geometric object.

4. The man-machine interface method of claim 2, the first and second windows are represented as sides of an unfolded cube.

5. The man-machine interface method of claim 2, each of the first and second windows include a maximize button,

when the maximize button of the first window is selected, a display having the first window, arranged in normal, head-on, view, is generated, and

when the maximize button of the second window is selected, a display having the second window, arranged in normal, head-on, view, is generated.

6. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the visual indicator is selected from at least one of a colored line, a colored ray, and a colored arc.

7. The man-machine interface method of claim 6, the visual indicator is translucent.

8. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the first window includes alternative representations of the first information, each of which is related to the decisional event.

9. The man-machine interface method of claim 8, the first window depicts a calendar having a number of alternative time sequences, the alternative representations of the first information may be an alternative time duration on each of the alternative time sequences.

10. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 further comprising:

forming a search query based, at least in part, on contents of the decisional event.

11. The man-machine interface method of claim 10, the search query is further based, at least in part, on a user profile.

12. The man-machine interface method of claim 10 further comprising:

returning a result of the search query;

determining whether the result includes any information of the first type or of the second type; and

if the result includes any information of the first type, generating a visual representation of such information on the first window, and if the result includes any information of the second type, generating a visual representation of such information on the second window.

13. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the first window is a bulletin board, and

a note, having contents entered by a user, is arranged on the bulletin board and defines the decisional event.

14. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the first window is a map, and

a place of the map related to the decisional event includes a marker.

15. The man-machine interface method of claim 14, the marker is a colored circle.

16. The man-machine interface method of claim 15, the marker is translucent.

17. The man-machine interface method of claim 15, the second window is a bulletin board, and

a note, having contents entered by a user, is arranged on the bulletin board, defines the decisional event and has a color which matches the color of the marker.

18. The man-machine interface method of claim 1, the first window is an information browser.

19. The man-machine interface method of claim 18 further comprising:

forming a search query based, at least in part, on contents of the decisional event.

20. The man-machine interface method of claim 19, the search query is further based, at least in part, on a user profile.

21. The man-machine interface method of claim 19 further comprising:

submitting the search query to the information browser;

returning a result of the search query;

determining whether the result includes any information of the second type; and

if the result includes any information of the second type, generating a visual representation of such information on the second window.

22. The man-machine interface method of claim 21, the information browser is selected from at least one of a browser for browsing HTML pages, a browser for browsing documents, a browser for browsing databased files, a browser for browsing a schedule, a browser for browsing a to do list, and a browser for browsing contacts.

23. The man-machine interface method of claim 21, the second window is a map, and the information of the second type includes places and addresses.

24. A man-machine interface for assisting a user in a decision making process, for use with a machine having a video monitor device and a user input device, the man-machine interface comprising:

a standby state in which a display including a simulated three dimensional environment having

a first window displaying first information of a first type, the first information defining an aspirational event utilized to automatically acquire first and second information related to the aspirational event from the Internet or local data sources, and

a second window displaying second information of a second type, the second information being related to the aspirational event and is generated for rendering on the video monitor device, the first information in the first window and the second information in the second window associated via a visual link;

a first window update state during which the user can update the first window by entering commands via the user input device;

a second window update state during which the user can update the second window by entering commands via the user input device;

a first window focus view state in which a display including the first window, arranged in a normal head-on view, is generated for rendering on the video monitor device; and

a second window focus view state in which a display including the second window, arranged in a normal head-on view, is generated for rendering on the video monitor device.

25. The man-machine interface of claim 24, when in the standby state,

if a first user command is received from user input device, the first window update state is entered,

if a second user command is received from user input device, the second window update state is entered,

if a third user command is received from user input device, the first window focus view state is entered, and

if a fourth user command is received from the user input device, the second window focus view state is entered.

26. The man-machine interface of claim 25, the first user command is locating a cursor over the first window, the second user command is locating a cursor over the second window, the third user command is clicking a maximize button of the first window, and the fourth user command is clicking a maximize button of the second window.

27. The man-machine interface of claim 25, each of the first window focus view state and the second window focus view state include a world-in-miniature tool which includes a representation of the standby state.

28. The man-machine interface of claim 25, when in the first window focus view state,

if a first user command is received from the input device, the standby state is entered, and

if a second user command is received from the input device, the second windows focus view state is entered.

29. The man-machine interface of claim 28, the first user command is a click on a minimize button on the first window and the second user command is a flicking gesture.

30. A method for managing a man-machine interface, including:

providing a first window for displaying first information of a first type, the first information being related to an inclinational event, the inclinational event generates a query utilized to collect at least first and second information related to the inclinational event from the Internet, and

providing a second window for displaying second information of a second type, the second information being related to the inclinational event, for assisting a user in a decision making process, for use with a machine having a video monitor device and a user input device;

accepting user commands from the user input device;

updating states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted;

determining a state of the man-machine interface based on the user commands accepted; and

if the state of the man-machine interface is a standby state, generating a display of a three dimensional environment including the first and second windows for rendering on the video monitor device, and

generating a visual link from the first information in the first window to the second information in the second window

if the state of the man-machine interface is a first window focus view state, generating a display of the first window in a normal, head on, view, and

if the state of the man-machine interface is a second window focus view state, generating a display of the second window in a normal, head on, view.

31. The method of claim 30, updating states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted includes:

generating an query based on at least one of the (a) the user inputs and (b) a user profile;

processing the query to generate a return; and

determining whether the return includes information of the first type or information of the second type, if the return includes information of the first type, the first window is updated, and if the return includes information of the second type, the second window is updated.

32. The method of claim 30, the first window is a bulletin board, and the updating states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted includes:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining whether a note creation command was entered and if so, accepting text via the user input device;

determining whether a note edit command was entered and if so, editing a note based on entries from the user input device;

determining whether a note posting command was entered and if so,

generating a query based on the contents of the note,

processing the query to generate a return, and

determining whether the return includes an information of the second type and if so, updating the second window; and

determining whether a note move command was entered and if so, updating a location of the note on the bulletin board.

33. The method of claim 32, the note creation command is a mouse click when a cursor is located over an empty part of the bulletin board,

the note edit command is a mouse click when a cursor is located over an existing note on the bulletin board,

a note posting command is a flicking gesture, and

a note move command is a mouse drag.

34. The method of claim 32, if one of a note creation command and a note edit command is entered displaying the note in a normal, head on, view in a foreground of the three dimensional environment.

35. The method of claim 30 the first window is a map,

the map includes a marker at a location associated with the inclinational event, and

the updating states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted includes:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining whether a marker delete command is entered and if so, deleting the marker from the map, and

determining whether a marker move command is entered and if so, moving the marker on the map.

36. The method of claim 35, if a marker move command is entered, the inclinational event is updated to reflect its new location.

37. The method of claim 30, the first window is a calendar,

the calendar includes a number of alternative time lines,

the calendar includes an interval at a data associated with the inclinational event, in each of the alternative time lines, and

the updating states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted includes:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining a selected one of the alternative time lines,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a move command and if so, moving the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a lengthen command and if so, lengthening the duration of the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a shorten command and if so, shortening the duration of the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a deletion command and if so, deleting the interval, and

determining whether an interval creation command is entered and if so, generating an interval in at least the selected one of the alternative time lines.

38. The method of claim 30, if the state of the man-machine interface is the standby state, and if the first window is maximized, the first window focus view state is entered, and

if the state of the man-machine interface is the standby state, and if the second window is maximized, the second window focus view state is entered.

39. The method of claim 30, if the state of the man-machine interface is the first window focus view state, and if the first window is minimized, the standby state is entered, and

if the state of the man-machine interface is the first window focus view state, and if a flicking gesture is entered, the second window focus view state is entered.

40. A system for assisting a user in a decision making process, the system comprising:

an input facility for accepting user inputs;

a processing facility for;

accepting user inputs from the input facility, the user inputs used to access a plurality of external informational resources to produce a plurality of information related to a desirous event;

determining the desirous event based on user inputs from the input facility;

determining first information of a first type, the first information being related to the desirous event;

determining second information of a second type, the second information being related to the desirous event;

determining a first window including a visual representation of the first information;

determining a second window including a visual representation of the second information, the visual representation of the first information included in the first window and the visual representation of the second information included in the second window associated via a visual indicator;

generating a simulated three dimensional environment;

determining a display state based on user inputs from the input facility; and

generating video outputs including;

the first and second windows arranged in the simulated three dimensional environment when a first display state is determined, the first display state being a standby state;

the first window, in a normal, head on, view when a second display state is determined; and

the second window, in a normal, head on, view when a third display state is determined; and

a video monitor unit for rendering the video outputs generated by the processing facility.

41. The system of claim 40, the processing facility further updates states of the first and second windows based on the user commands accepted by the input facility.

42. The system of claim 41, the processing facility updates states of the first and second windows by:

generating an query based on at least one of the user inputs and a user profile;

processing the query to generate a return; and

determining whether the return includes information of the first type or information of the second type, if the return includes information of the first type, the first window is updated, and if the return includes information of the second type, the second window is updated.

43. The system of claim 41, the first window is a bulletin board, and the processing facility updates states of the first and second windows by:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining whether a note creation command was entered and if so, accepting text via the user input device,

determining whether a note edit command was entered and if so, editing a note based on entries from the user input device;

determining whether a note posting command was entered and if so,

generating a query based on the contents of the note,

processing the query to generate a return, and

determining whether the return includes any information of the second type and if so, updating the second window; and

determining whether a note move command was entered and if so, updating a location of the note on the bulletin board.

44. The system of claim 43, the note creation command is a mouse click when a cursor is located over an empty part of the bulletin board,

the note edit command is a mouse click when a cursor is located over an existing note on the bulletin board,

a note posting command is a flicking gesture, and

a note move command is a mouse drag.

45. The system of claim 43, if one of a note creation command and a note edit command is entered, the note is displayed, on the video monitor, in a normal, head on, view in a foreground of the three dimensional environment.

46. The system of claim 41, the first window is a map,

the map includes a marker at a location associated with the desirous event, and

the processing facility updates states of the first and second windows by:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining whether a marker delete command is entered and if so, deleting the marker from the map, and

determining whether a marker move command is entered and if so, moving the marker on the map.

47. The system of claim 46, if a marker move command is entered, the processing facility updates the desirous event to reflect its new location.

48. The system of claim 41, the first window is a calendar,

the calendar includes a number of alternative time lines,

the calendar includes an interval at a date associated with the desirous event, in each of the alternative time lines, and

the processing facility updates states of the first and second windows by:

determining whether a cursor is on the first window and if so,

determining a selected one of the alternative time lines,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a move command and if so, moving the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a lengthen command and if so, lengthening the duration of the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a shorten command and if so, shortening the duration of the interval,

determining whether an interval in the selected one of the alternative time lines is subject to a deletion command and if so, deleting the interval, and

determining whether an interval creation command is entered and if so, generating an interval in at least the selected one of the alternative time lines.

49. A tangible medium storing or communicating machine readable instructions which, when executed by a machine, performs:

accepting an expectational event from the user input device;

employing the expectational event to ascertain a state of a man-machine interface;

querying at least one internal data source and the Internet to access at least first information of a first type and second information of a second type related to the expectational event; and

based on the ascertained state being a standby state, generating a three-dimensional display environment for output on the video monitor device, the display environment including

a first window displaying first information of a first type, the first information being related to the expectational event, and

a second window displaying second information of a second type, the second information being related to the expectational event; and

utilizing a visual link between the first information of the first type displayed in the first window and the second information of the second type displayed in the second window.