Navigation of information via visual representations including nodes and contexts

• US 8,606,829 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2012
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ServStor Technologies, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Gould, Eric Justin, Buckmaster, Janna, Wilkens, Todd, Trisnadi, Paulus W.
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US13/407,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20120226989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705, 707/796, 707/797, 707/798, 707/803, 707/805, 707/999.1, 707/999.101, 715/205, 715/853, 715/854
• US Class Current: 707/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/748 Hypervideo linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object in the context of video distribution systems H04N21/858
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A collection of information that includes contexts and one or more nodes is navigable via display of a first visual representation that includes a representation of a first node. Two other contexts that may reference the first node can be selected in order to navigate directly from the first visual representation to a visual representation corresponding to one of the other contexts. Thus, a second visual representation may include a different view that corresponds to a selected referencing context. Navigation may include cycles in some embodiments (as opposed to acyclic graphs or directed acyclic graphs, which may not allow cycles). Visual representation may be depicted via a web page. In some embodiments, nodes are files and contexts are directories. Nodes may also include media content in some embodiments.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing access to a collection of information via a computer system, wherein the collection of information includes a plurality of contexts, wherein each of the plurality of contexts includes one or more of a plurality of nodes;

the computer system causing a first visual representation to be presented on a display, wherein the first visual representation includes a representation of a first node that is within a first context and representations of at least two others of the plurality of contexts, wherein the at least two other contexts reference the first node, and wherein one or more portions of the display are selectable to navigate directly from the first visual representation to visual representations corresponding to each of the at least two other contexts;

the computer system receiving input indicative of a selected one of the at least two other contexts; and

responsive to the input, the computer system causing a second visual representation to be presented on the display, wherein the second visual representation corresponds to the selected other context.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two other contexts include a second context including a reference to the first node.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reference to the first node is a second node that is within the second context and is an exact copy of the first node.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the reference to the first node is a second node that is within the second context and has essentially the same content as the first node.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the reference to the first node is a second node that incorporates a portion of the first node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first visual representation corresponds to a web page.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected other context includes at least two nodes.

8. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the computer system to perform operations comprising;

providing information specifying a first visual representation to a remote computing device, wherein the first visual representation includes a representation of a first node, wherein the first node is one of a plurality of nodes within a collection of information, wherein the collection of information also includes a plurality of contexts, each of which includes one or more of the plurality of nodes, wherein the first node is within a first context and is referenced within at least two other contexts of the collection of information, wherein the computer system is configured to allow direct navigation from the first visual representation to visual representations corresponding to each of the at least two other contexts;

receiving input indicative of a selected one of the at least two other contexts from the remote computing device;

responsive to the input, providing information specifying a second visual representation to the remote computing device, wherein the second visual representation corresponds to the selected other context, and wherein the second visual representation is usable to navigate directly from the first visual representation to the second visual representation.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the collection of information is a file system, wherein one or more of the plurality of nodes are files, and wherein one or more of the plurality of contexts are directories.

10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the first node and a second node in the selected other context are files, and wherein the first and second nodes are different versions of the same word processing document.

11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the collection of information includes a first reference to the first node, wherein the first reference is a second node that is an exact copy of the first node.

12. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the selected other context includes at least two nodes.

13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the collection of information includes a first reference to the first node, wherein the first reference indicates a second node that includes a copyright signature of the first node.

14. A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable to cause a computing device to perform operations comprising:

providing access to a collection of information, wherein the collection of information includes a plurality of contexts, wherein each of the plurality of contexts includes one or more of a plurality of nodes, and wherein the collection of information includes a first node that is within a first context and that is referenced within at least two others of the plurality of contexts;

causing a first visual representation to be presented on a display, wherein the first visual representation includes representations of the first node, the first context, and the at least two other contexts, wherein one or more portions of the display are selectable to navigate directly from the first visual representation to visual representations corresponding to each of the at least two other contexts;

receiving input indicative of a selected one of the at least two other contexts; and

responsive to the input, transmitting information usable to cause the display to navigate directly from the first visual representation to a second visual representation corresponding to the selected other context.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the first visual representation identifies all nodes within the collection of information that reference the first node.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the selected other context includes at least two nodes.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the selected other context contains a second node that includes a compressed version of the first node.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the selected other context contains a second node that includes at least a portion of the first node.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the at least two other contexts include a second context including a reference to the first node, wherein the reference to the first node indicates a second node that is within the second context and is an exact copy of the first node.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the first visual representation corresponds to a web page, and wherein the first node is media content that exists as part of a web site including the web page.