Volume management system for volumetric displays

• US 7,986,318 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2006
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Inventors: Kurtenbach, Gordon Paul, Balakrishnan, Ravin, Fitzmaurice, George William
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Xiao M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoang; Phi
• Application Number:
  US11/345,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20060125822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,000 Days
• Field of Search: 348/42, 600/443
• 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 method of managing a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating one or more physical sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display each having three physical dimensions and each occupying a physical volume space in the physical volumetric display;

providing application data to windows corresponding to one or more applications assigned to each of the sub-volumes; and

assigning GUI control operations based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display for the physical sub-volumes to the sub-volumes and applying an effect of the operations anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the operations are directed.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sub-volumes are delimited by visible boundaries.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sub-volumes have a shape comprising one of cubic, cylindrical or pie wedges.

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

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein input focus comprises the sub-volume enclosing the cursor for spatial input events and the active sub-volume for non spatial input events.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sub-volumes have functions comprising one of open, close, resize, maximize, minimize, move, or hide.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the open function allocates a three-dimensional region within the display for an application having an origin and highlights a three-dimensional boundary of the region, displaying display outputs of the application in the region, and sending all the cursor events to the application when a cursor is within the region.

8. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the minimize function substitutes a three-dimensional icon for a designated sub-volume and places icon at a designated position within the display.

9. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the maximize function expands a designated sub-volume until the sub-volume contacts a boundary of the display and scales contents of the sub-volume in proportion to the change in volume.

10. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the move function moves a three-dimensional sub-volume in accordance with a three-dimensional motion vector.

11. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the resize function determines whether an active sub-volume encounters an inactive sub-volume in three dimensions.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein application requests are mapped to corresponding sub-volumes responsive to the sub-volume assigned to the application.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein an active sub-volume having a size can have the size changed and the method comprising resizing a sub-volume that abuts the active sub-volume responsive to the change in size of an active window.

14. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sub-volumes have a shape comprising irregular or spherical.

15. A method of managing a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display each having three physical dimensions and each occupying a volume space within a volumetric display;

associating a process with each of the sub-volumes; and

assigning GUI operations based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display for the physical sub-volumes to the sub-volumes and applying an effect of the operations anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the operations are directed.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage storing instructions when executed by a processor is used for controlling a computer by creating one or more sub-volumes having three physical dimensions and each occupying a volume space in a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, providing application data to the windows corresponding to one or more applications assigned to each of the windows, and assigning GUI operations based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display for the sub-volumes to the sub-volumes and applying the operations anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the operations are directed.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

a volumetric display apparatus having a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions;

an input system producing input events; and

a computer creating physical sub-volumes having three physical dimensions and each occupying a volume space within the display, assigning application data to the windows responsive to applications assigned to the windows, and assigning input events based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display to the sub-volumes responsive to input focus and applying the events anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the events are directed.

18. A display, comprising:

a physical volumetric display space having three physical dimensions; and

a physical subvolume positioned in the display space and having a physical three-dimensional boundary, occupying a volume space and assigning GUI control operations based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display assigned to the subvolume and applying an effect anywhere in an interior of the physical volumetric display space to which the operations are directed.

19. A display as recited in claim 18, wherein the sub-volume window has a title bar indicating a sub-volume orientation and a front of the sub-volume.

20. A method of managing a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating a physical sub-volume having three physical dimensions and occupying a volume space in the volumetric display;

displaying information in the volume window; and

assigning an input GUI control operation event to the sub-volume responsive to input focus and applying the event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the event is assigned.

21. A display, comprising:

a volumetric display space having three physical dimensions; and

a physical sub-volume having three physical dimensions positioned in and occupying a volume space in the display space, displaying data and applying an input GUI control operation event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display assigned to the sub-volume anywhere in the sub-volume to which the event is assigned.

22. A display, comprising:

a physical volumetric display space having three physical dimensions;

a volume menu bar having three physical dimensions positioned in and occupying a volume space in the display space and displaying menu items; and

a physical sub-volume associated with the menu bar and applying an input event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display of one of the menu items limited anywhere in the sub-volume.

23. A display, comprising:

a physical volumetric display space having three physical dimensions;

a volume icon having three physical dimensions positioned in and occupying a volume space in the display space and initiating a function when activated; and

a physical sub-volume associated with the icon and applying an input event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display of the icon anywhere in the sub-volume.

24. A method of managing a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating a sub-volume having three physical dimensions occupying a volume space in the volumetric display; and

providing application data to a window and where display elements activated do not all reside on a single plane; and

assigning an input event to the sub-volume responsive to input focus and applying the event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display anywhere in the sub-volume to which the event is assigned.

25. A method of managing a volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating a sub-volume having three physical dimensions; and

assigning an input GUI control operation event to the sub-volume responsive to input focus and applying an effect of the event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display anywhere in an interior of the sub-volume to which the event is assigned.

26. A method of managing a physical volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating one or more physical sub-volumes within the physical volumetric display each having three physical dimensions and each occupying a physical volume space in the physical volumetric display;

providing application data to windows corresponding to one or more applications assigned to each of the sub-volumes; and

assigning GUI drawing control operations for the physical sub-volumes to the sub-volumes and applying a drawing effect of the operations based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display anywhere in an interior of the physical sub-volume to which the operation is directed.

27. A method of managing a volumetric display having three physical dimensions, comprising:

creating a sub-volume having three physical dimensions; and

assigning a drawing input GUI control operation event to the sub-volume responsive to input focus and applying an effect of the event based on user-made hand gestures directly defining a virtual plane as a volume between two hands in the physical volumetric display anywhere in an interior of the sub-volume to which the event is assigned.