Architecture and engine for time line based visualization of data
First Claim
1. A system that facilitates visualizing data comprising:
- a data store comprising two or more objects;
a visualization component that organizes at least two or more objects from the data store into a plurality of subject matter bands, each of the subject matter bands pertaining to only a single category of subject matter that is distinct from other subject matter bands, wherein objects not related to the subject matter of each particular band are excluded from inclusion in that particular subject matter band and wherein the object(s) within each subject matter band are further organized based at least in part upon each object'"'"'s time parameter, to make the object(s) within each subject matter band available for view by at least a user by subject matter within distinct subject matter bands and within each subject matter band in a time-based manner, the visualization component being configured to organize the at least two or more objects from the subject matter bands into a search results band, the search results band including a plurality of objects from the subject matter bands that match a user-entered search term, the plurality of matching objects being organized in the time-based manner; and
a display component that displays the at least two or more objects as organized in the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band, the display component being configured to display the plurality of subject bands and the search results band together in an arrangement in which the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band extend in generally the same direction;
wherein, in response to a user query that includes the user-entered search term,the visualization component uses the user-entered search term to retrieve, from at least two of the subject matter bands, the plurality of matching objects; and
the display component displays, in the search results band, the plurality of matching objects retrieved from the at least two of the subject matter bands.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The subject invention provides a unique system and method that facilitates management and navigation of various data objects by making use of a unique time-line based navigation tool. In particular, objects can organized into a plurality of bands based on their respective subject matter. Each band can be created to designate a particular topic. Objects are organized within the appropriate bands based in part on a time parameter such as a time or date that the object was created, for example. The navigation tool allows a user to navigate or browse through the bands and objects according to a desired time parameter or range of time. Zooming and other browsing options are available to the user to view objects of interest at varying levels of detail. The objects are represented as ASCII thumbnails that are operational. Thus, the content of any object can be modified directly via the thumbnail.
195 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system that facilitates visualizing data comprising:
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a data store comprising two or more objects; a visualization component that organizes at least two or more objects from the data store into a plurality of subject matter bands, each of the subject matter bands pertaining to only a single category of subject matter that is distinct from other subject matter bands, wherein objects not related to the subject matter of each particular band are excluded from inclusion in that particular subject matter band and wherein the object(s) within each subject matter band are further organized based at least in part upon each object'"'"'s time parameter, to make the object(s) within each subject matter band available for view by at least a user by subject matter within distinct subject matter bands and within each subject matter band in a time-based manner, the visualization component being configured to organize the at least two or more objects from the subject matter bands into a search results band, the search results band including a plurality of objects from the subject matter bands that match a user-entered search term, the plurality of matching objects being organized in the time-based manner; and a display component that displays the at least two or more objects as organized in the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band, the display component being configured to display the plurality of subject bands and the search results band together in an arrangement in which the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band extend in generally the same direction; wherein, in response to a user query that includes the user-entered search term, the visualization component uses the user-entered search term to retrieve, from at least two of the subject matter bands, the plurality of matching objects; and the display component displays, in the search results band, the plurality of matching objects retrieved from the at least two of the subject matter bands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An object management and visualization method comprising:
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populating at least one data store with a plurality of objects; organizing two or more of the objects into a plurality of subject matter bands, each of the subject matter bands pertaining to only a single category of subject matter that is distinct from other subject matter bands, such that objects within each distinct subject matter band are related by subject matter content, wherein the two or more objects within the plurality of subject matter bands are further organized within the subject matter bands based at least in part upon each object'"'"'s time parameter to facilitate making the two or more objects available for view by a user organized in a subject matter manner and a time-based manner; organizing, into a search results band, a plurality of objects from the subject matter bands that match a user-entered search term, the matching objects being organized in the time-based manner; and displaying the two or more objects as temporally organized within each of the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band, the plurality of subject bands and the search results band being displayed together in an arrangement in which the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band extend in generally the same direction; wherein the matching objects are retrieved from at least two of the subject matter bands and displayed in the search results band in response to a user query that includes the user-entered search term. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable components that perform a object management and visualization method, the method comprising:
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populating at least one data store with a plurality of objects; organizing two or more of the objects into a plurality of subject matter bands, each of the subject matter bands pertaining to only a single category of subject matter that is distinct from other subject matter bands, such that objects within each distinct subject matter band are related by subject matter content, wherein the two or more objects within the plurality of subject matter bands are further organized within the subject matter bands based at least in part upon each object'"'"'s time parameter to facilitate making the two or more objects available for view by a user organized in a subject matter manner and a time-based manner; organizing, into a search results band, a plurality of objects from the subject matter bands that match a user-entered search term, the matching objects being organized in the time-based manner; and displaying the two or more objects as temporally organized within each of the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band, the plurality of subject bands and the search results band being displayed together in an arrangement in which the plurality of subject matter bands and the search results band extend in generally the same direction; wherein the matching objects are retrieved from at least two of the subject matter bands and displayed in the search results band in response to a user query that includes the user-entered search term.
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Specification