Dynamic control of graphic representations of data

• US 7,369,127 B1
• Filed: 08/09/2004
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: Hull, Doug
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung; Kee M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAMS, MICHELLE L
• Application Number:
  US10/914,819
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 345/440, 345/440.1, 715/974, 715/964, 715/502
• US Class Current: 345/440
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

The present invention provides user selections to control of one or more graphical representations of data in a graphical display. User selections can include parts of the graphical display, such as tick marks, offset bars scale values, combination bars and/or the graphical representations themselves. Repositioning and resealing of the graphical representations may be performed without rescaling of the underlying data. Multiple series of data may be viewed and quickly moved and/or rescaled to determine trends and/or relationship between and/or among the series of data.

Claims

1. A computer storage device storing computer executable instructions, the storage device comprising:

instructions for providing a graphical display including a first graphical representation of a first group of data and a second graphical representation of a second group of data;

instructions for providing a first user selections corresponding to the first graphical representation along a first portion of a first axis;

instructions for providing a second user selection corresponding to the second graphical representation along a second portion of the first axis;

instructions for changing the first graphical representation in response to movement of the first user selection relative to the first axis; and

instructions for changing the second graphical representation in response to movements of the second user selection relative to the first axis.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is a selection of an upper tick mark that, when moved, changes an upper offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

3. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is a selection of a lower tick mark that, when moved, changes a lower offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

4. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is a selection of an offset bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

5. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is a selection of a combination bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset and both an upper scale value and a lower scale value corresponding to the first graphical representation.

6. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is a selection of the first graphical representation of the first group of data that, when moved, changes both an upper scale value and a lower scale value.

7. The storage device of claim 1, wherein movement of the first user selection comprises movement by dragging.

8. The storage device of claim 7, further comprising:

instructions for interactive resealing of the first graphical representation of the first group of data in response to movement of the first user selection.

9. The storage device of claim 1, wherein movement of the first user selection comprises movement by keyboard entry.

10. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first group of data is a series of data.

11. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the second user selection is a selection of an upper tick mark that, when moved, changes an upper offset corresponding the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

12. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the second user selection is a selection of a lower tick mark that, when moved, changes a lower offset corresponding to the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

13. The storage device of claim 1, when the second user selection is a selection of a scale bracket, wherein movement of the scale bracket along the first axis is performed by movement of an offset bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset corresponding to the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

14. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the second user selection is a selection of a combination car that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset and both an upper scale value and a lower scale value corresponding to the second graphical representation.

15. The storage device of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions for changing the graphical representation of the first group of data and the graphical representation of the second group of data in response to movement of a third user selection relative of the first axis.

16. The storage device of claim 1, wherein movement of the second user selection does not change the second group of data.

17. The storage device of claim 1, wherein movement of the first user selection does not change the first group of data.

18. The storage device of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions for changing the first graphical representation of the first group of data relative to a second axis by movement of a third user selection relative to the second axis.

19. The storage device of claim 1, where the graphical display is provided in a graphical modeling environment.

20. A method for dynamically controlling graphical representations of data, comprising:

displaying a graphical display including a first graphical representation of a first group of data and a second graphical representation of a second group of data;

displaying a first user selection corresponding to the first graphical representation along a first portion of a first axis and a second user selection corresponding to the second graphical representation along a second portion of the first axis;

changing the graphical representation of the first group of data in the display in response to movement of the first user selection relative to the first axis, and

changing the second graphical representation of the second group of data in the display in response to movement of the second user selection relative to the first axis.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first user selection is a selection of an upper tick mark that, when moved, changes an upper offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the first user selection is a selection of a lower tick mark that, when moved, changes a lower offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the first user selection is a selection of an offset bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset corresponding to the first graphical representation.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the first user selection is a selection of a combination bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset and both an upper scale value and a lower scale value corresponding to the first graphical representation.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the first user selection is a selection of the first graphical representation of the first group of data that, when moved, changes both an upper scale value and a lower scale value.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein movement of the first user selection results in interactive resealing of the first graphical representation of the first group of data in response to movement of the first user selection.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the first group of data is a series of data.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the second user selection is a selection of an upper tick mark that, when moved, changes an upper offset corresponding to the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein the second user selection is a selection of a lower tick mark that, when moved, changes a lower offset corresponding to the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein the second user selection is a selection of a scale bracket, wherein movement of the scale bracket along the first axis is performed by movement of an offset bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset corresponding to the second graphical representation, without changing the first graphical representation.

31. The method of claim method 20, wherein the second user selection is a selection of a combination bar that, when moved, changes both an upper offset and a lower offset and both an upper scale value and a lower scale value corresponding to the second graphical representation.

32. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

changing the first graphical representation of the first group of data and the second graphical representation of the second group of data in response to movement of a third user selection relative to the first axis.

33. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

changing the first graphical representation of the first group of data relative to a second axis by movement of a third user selection relative to the second axis.

34. The method of claim 20, wherein the graphical display is provided in a graphical modeling environment.