Electronic calendar auto-summarization

• US 8,392,848 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2008
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MONKEYmedia, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MONKEYmedia, Inc.
• Inventors: Gould, Eric Justin
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US12/248,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 715/800, 715/751, 715/784, 715/963, 705/7.18, 358/1.18, 368/29
• US Class Current: 715/801
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/973 Scroll tool, e.g. window scroll bar

Abstract

A relativity controller is a scroll bar/window combination that provides a way to see data in relation to both the context of its wholeness and the salience of its contents. To accomplish this, the linear density or other appearance of the scroll bar (acting as a ruler or scale) varies with the density of the document salience (as indicated by different kinds of annotations or marks). It also provides a way to zoom between perspectives. This is usable on many different data types: including sound, video, graphics, calendars and word processors.

Claims

1. A system comprised of a microprocessor and microprocessor-supporting hardware components configured with instructions enabling the system to present for display a user interface with a visual representation of a time-based calendar divisible into equal units of time, wherein non-salient units of time do not contain salient content and salient units of time contain salient content and wherein the configured system is capable of simultaneously allocating each non-salient unit of time less display space than each salient unit of time without uniformly zooming all units of time, thereby allowing the configured system to present additional unit(s) of time simultaneously for display, and wherein the configured system is capable of presenting the user interface with an alternate visual representation of the calendar in which the configured system allocates equal display space to all units of time regardless of whether said units of time contain salient content.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time is controllable by a user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the salience of content is based in part on the presence of such content.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the salience of content is determined in part by user input.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the user control for the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time includes a slider.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the slider includes a thumb graphic that indicates the degree to which less space is allocated to non-salient units of time.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time may be enabled or disabled by a user.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the non-salient unit(s) of time is not allocated any display space while at least one unit of time before and one unit of time after such unit are both allocated display space.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein all non-salient unit(s) of time are not allocated any display space.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein only salient unit(s) of time are presented for display.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the time-based calendar presented for display includes graphical element(s).

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interface further comprises a scroll bar having displayable indicia of the location of salient unit(s) of time in the calendar.

13. One or more computer readable storage media, wherein said computer readable storage media is not a propagated signal(s), comprising instructions which are capable of configuring a microprocessor-based system to present for display a user interface with a visual representation of a time-based calendar divisible into equal units of time, wherein non-salient units of time do not contain salient content and salient units of time contain salient content and wherein the instructions are capable of configuring the system with the capability to simultaneously allocate each non-salient unit of time less display space than each salient unit of time without uniformly zooming all units of time, thereby allowing the configured system to present additional unit(s) of time simultaneously for display, and wherein the instructions are capable of configuring the system with the capability to present the user interface with an alternate visual representation of the calendar in which the configured system allocates equal display space to all units of time regardless of whether such units of time contain salient content.

14. The media of claim 13 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time is controllable by a user.

15. The media of claim 13 wherein the salience of content is based in part on the presence of such content.

16. The media of claim 13 wherein the salience of content is determined in part by user input.

17. The media of claim 14 wherein the user control for the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time includes a slider.

18. The media of claim 17 wherein the slider includes a thumb graphic that indicates the degree to which less space is allocated to non-salient units of time.

19. The media of claim 13 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time may be enabled or disabled by a user.

20. The media of claim 13 wherein at least one of the non-salient unit(s) of time is not allocated any display space while at least one unit of time before and one unit of time after such unit are both allocated display space.

21. The media of claim 13 wherein all non-salient unit(s) of time are not allocated any display space.

22. The media of claim 13 wherein only salient unit(s) of time are presented for display.

23. The media of claim 13 wherein the time-based calendar presented for display includes graphical element(s).

24. The media of claim 13 wherein the user interface further comprises a scroll bar having displayable indicia of the location of salient unit(s) of time in the calendar.

25. A method of presenting for display a user interface with a visual representation of a time-based calendar divisible into equal units of time, wherein non-salient units of time do not contain salient content and salient units of time contain salient content, comprising:

presenting the user interface with one visual representation of the calendar by simultaneously allocating less display space to each non-salient unit of time than the display space allocated to each salient unit of time without uniformly zooming all units of time, thereby allowing additional unit(s) of time to be presented simultaneously for display, and presenting the user interface with an alternate visual representation of the calendar by allocating equal display space to all units of time regardless of whether such units of time contain salient content.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time is controllable by a user.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the salience of content is based in part on the presence of such content.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein the salience of content is determined in part by user input.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the user control for the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time includes a slider.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the slider includes a thumb graphic that indicates the degree to which less space is allocated to non-salient units of time.

31. The method of claim 25 wherein the allocation of less display space to non-salient units of time may be enabled or disabled by a user.

32. The method of claim 25 wherein at least one of the non-salient unit(s) of time is not allocated any display space while at least one unit of time before and one unit of time after such unit are both allocated display space.

33. The method of claim 25 wherein all non-salient unit(s) of time are not allocated any display space.

34. The method of claim 25 wherein only salient unit(s) of time are presented for display.

35. The method of claim 25 wherein the time-based calendar presented for display includes graphical element(s).

36. The method of claim 25 wherein the user interface further comprises a scroll bar having displayable indicia of the location of salient unit(s) of time in the calendar.

37. The method of claim 25 wherein the presenting of the user interface with the alternate visual representation of the calendar occurs before the presenting of the user interface with the one visual representation of the calendar.

38. The method of claim 25 wherein the presenting of the user interface with the alternate visual representation of the calendar occurs after the presenting of the user interface with the one visual representation of the calendar.