System and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources

• US 9,043,712 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Surfcast, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Surfcast, Inc.
• Inventors: Santoro, Ovid, Lagermann, Klaus, Dechaene, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US13/163,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20120124498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 715763-765, 715/729, 715/738, 715/716, 715/790, 715/853, 715/740, 715/840
• US Class Current: 715/765
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/027 Arrangements and methods specific for the display of internet documents
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

A computerized method of presenting information from a variety of sources on a display device. Specifically the present invention describes a graphical user interface for organizing the simultaneous display of information from a multitude of information sources. In particular, the present invention comprises a graphical user interface which organizes content from a variety of information sources into a grid of tiles, each of which can refresh its content independently of the others. The grid functionality manages the refresh rates of the multiple information sources. The present invention is intended to operate in a platform independent manner.

Claims

1. A method executed by a device under the control of a program, the device including a memory for storing the program, the method comprising:

partitioning a visual display rendered by the device into an array of tiles, wherein each tile in the array of tiles is associated with an information source in a plurality of information sources, wherein content of a second tile of the array of tiles depends upon content of a first tile of the array of tiles;

assigning a first update rate to the first tile;

updating information from a first information source in the plurality of information sources presented to the first tile in accordance with the first update rate; and

updating content of the second tile based on the information updated to the first tile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein information from the first information source contains an identifier that is used in the assigning of the first update rate to the first tile.

3. An electronic readable memory to direct an electronic device to function in a specified manner, the memory comprising:

a first set of instructions to control communication with a plurality of information sources;

a second set of instructions to arrange a visual display rendered by the device into an array of tiles;

a third set of instructions to associate a first information source of said plurality of information sources to a first tile of said array of tiles and a second information source of said plurality of information sources to a second tile of said array of tiles, wherein content of the second tile of the array of tiles depends upon content of the first tile of the array of tiles; and

a fourth set of instructions to;

update the first tile with information from said first information source retrieved in accordance with a first update rate and to

update information to said second tile based on the information updated to the first tile.

4. The electronic readable memory of claim 3, wherein information from the first information source contains an identifier and wherein the first update rate is based upon the identifier.