Volume management system for volumetric displays

• US 7,839,400 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Inventors: Kurtenbach, Gordon Paul, Balakrishnan, Ravin, Fitzmaurice, George William
• Primary Examiner(s): Pappas; Peter-Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/183,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20040001112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,070 Days
• Field of Search: 345/782, 345/836, 345/757, 345/850, 345/800, 345/419
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/50 the image being built up from image elements distributed over a 3D volume, e.g. voxels
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/00 3D [Three Dimensional] image rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects

Abstract

The present invention is a system that manages a volumetric display using volume windows. The volume windows have the typical functions, such as minimize, resize, etc., which operate in a volume. When initiated by an application a volume window is assigned to the application in a volume window data structure. Application data produced by the application is assigned to the windows responsive to which applications are assigned to which windows in the volume window data structure. Input events are assigned to the windows responsive to whether they are spatial or non-spatial. Spatial events are assigned to the window surrounding the event or cursor where a policy resolves situations where more than one window surrounds the cursor. Non-spatial events are assigned to the active or working window.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface (GUI) method of managing a physical volumetric display, comprising:

creating a plurality of physical sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display;

associating a process with each of the physical sub-volumes, wherein the associating uses a data structure comprising a root node and a physical sub-volume node linked to the root node, the sub-volume node comprising a volume parameter defining a three-dimensional boundary of the physical sub-volume and information identifying an application supplying output to the physical sub-volume and receiving input from the physical sub-volume; and

applying display and control GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volumes and three-dimensional scenes, content and objects each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior to the physical sub-volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and limiting the operations to an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein each process operates with data of the associated physical sub-volume.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein input events are assigned to one of the physical sub-volumes responsive to a display input focus.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the applying display and control GUI operations to objects includes the manipulation of the objects, scenes, and content including dividing, shrinking, crushing, separating, and lassoing within the physical sub-volumes.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a physical volumetric display data structure of a computer storage, readable by a computer and controlling production of a physical volumetric display by the computer, the data structure comprising:

a root node defining a shape of a volumetric display space and three dimensional boundaries of the shape;

physical sub-volume nodes linked to a root node and each node identifying an application associated with a sub-volume, specifying a position of the physical sub-volume in the display space and specifying a three-dimensional boundary of the physical sub-volume and specifying an application of GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volume to three-dimensional objects, scenes and content each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior to the physical sub-volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and limiting the operations to an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.

6. A method of managing a physical volumetric display, comprising:

creating a physical sub-volume within the physical volumetric display by defining a three-dimensional boundary of the sub-volume within the volumetric display;

associating a process with the sub-volume; and

applying GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volumes to three-dimensional objects, scenes and content each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior to the physical volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and limiting the operations to an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.

7. A graphical user interface (GUI) method of managing a physical volumetric display, comprising:

creating physical sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display;

associating a process with each of the physical sub-volume, wherein the associating uses a data structure comprising a root node and a sub-volume node linked to the root node, the sub-volume node comprising a shape type and volume parameters of width, height and depth defining a three-dimensional boundary of the sub-volume, and information identifying an application supplying output to the sub-volume and receiving input from the sub-volume; and

applying display and control GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volumes to three-dimensional objects, scenes and content each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior to the physical volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and limiting the operations to an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.

8. A method, comprising:

creating a physical sub-volume in a physical volumetric display by defining a boundary of the sub-volume within the physical volumetric display where each dimension of the volume window is greater that one voxel in each of three dimensions;

associating a process with the physical sub-volume; and

applying GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volumes to three-dimensional objects, scenes and content each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior to the physical volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and limiting the operations to an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.

9. A graphical user interface (GUI) method, comprising:

creating a physical sub-volume within a physical volumetric display; and

assigning a GUI control operation for the physical sub-volume to the sub-volume and limiting an effect of the operation to an interior of the physical sub-volume having to the sub-volume to which the operation is directed and limiting an effect of the operation to an interior of the physical sub-volume having three-dimensional content viewable at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior of the physical volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque.

10. A graphical user interface (GUI) method of managing a physical volumetric display, comprising:

creating a plurality of physical sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display;

associating a process with each of the physical sub-volumes, wherein the associating uses a data structure comprising a root node and a physical sub-volume node linked to the root node, the sub-volume node comprising a volume parameter defining a three-dimensional boundary of the physical sub-volume and information identifying an application supplying output to the physical sub-volume and receiving input from the physical sub-volume; and

applying display and control GUI operations directed to the physical sub-volumes to three-dimensional objects, scenes, and content each viewable within the physical sub-volumes at all times from three-hundred and sixty degrees in all directions, certain scenes, content and objects interior of the physical volumes only viewable and receiving operations based on a viewing angle responsive to non-opaque boundaries of the physical sub-volumes, the boundaries being both opaque and non-opaque, and applying the operations to objects anywhere in an interior of each of the physical sub-volumes to which the operations are directed.