Expandable and collapsible arrays of documents

• US 9,122,374 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2011
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc., Maya-Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc.
• Inventors: Audet, Mathieu, Cassistat, Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): STORK, KYLE R
• Application Number:
  US13/244,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20120198389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,437 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/254, 715/255, 715/273, 715/854
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

An embodiment provides a product comprising a machine-readable medium and machine-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform a method comprising providing a first array of information elements adapted to be expanded into at least one other array of information elements on a display. Another embodiment provides a method of displaying information elements on a display of a computer system with arrays of information elements, the method comprising displaying a first array of information elements, expanding the first array of information elements into at least one other array of information elements, wherein the first array of information elements and the at least one other array of information elements have a commonality. A system and a graphical user interface providing same are equally provided herein.

Claims

1. An apparatus for implementing a user interface adapted to display a plurality of substantially rectilinear arrays of user-selectable elements on a display, the apparatus comprising:

a memory module; and

a processing unit in communication with the memory module, the processing unit being operative for executing computer readable program code stored on a non-transient computer readable medium for implementing

a method comprising,

displaying a first expandable array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes,

displaying an expansion actuator with the first expandable array, and

in response to selection of the expansion actuator by a user, displaying a first additional array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional array of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator comprises a user-selectable element of the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, and

in further response to selection of the expansion actuator, displaying a second additional array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the second additional array of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first additional array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array,

whereby the first expandable array is expandable by selection of the expansion actuator to display subsets thereof, each of which subsets is based on commonality of one or more attributes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising displaying an expansion actuator with the first additional array, and in response to selection of the expansion actuator displayed with the first additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising, in response to selection of the expansion actuator, displaying a second additional array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising displaying an expansion actuator with the second additional array, and in response to selection of the expansion actuator displayed with the second additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising displaying an expansion actuator with the first additional array, and in response to selection of the expansion actuator displayed with the first additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising displaying an expansion actuator with the second additional array, and in response to selection of the expansion actuator displayed with the second additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising, in response to selection of the expansion actuator, displaying a third additional array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the third additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the third additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising, displaying a closing icon with the first additional array, and hiding from view the first additional array upon selection of the closing icon associated therewith;

displaying a closing icon with the second additional array, and hiding from view the second additional array upon selection of the closing icon associated therewith; and

displaying a closing icon with the third additional array, and hiding from view the third additional array upon selection of the closing icon associated therewith.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first expandable array and the first additional array are displayed with a common timeline.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising determining the user-selectable elements of the first additional expandable array by performing a search upon the selection of the expansion actuator by the user.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising determining the user-selectable elements of the additional array by performing an additional search upon the selection of the expansion actuator by the user.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising displaying the first additional array under and at an indentation to the first expandable array.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising displaying the second additional array under and at an indentation to the first expandable array.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising determining any user-selectable elements of the first expandable array that are not included in any additional array, and displaying on a new array such determined user-selectable elements.

15. A method of displaying a plurality of substantially rectilinear arrays of user-selectable elements on a display, the method comprising:

displaying a first expandable array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes,

displaying an expansion actuator, and

in response to selection by a user of the expansion actuator, displaying a first additional array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional array of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying an expansion actuator with the first additional array, and in response to selection of the expansion actuator displayed with the first additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising, in response to selection of the expansion actuator, displaying a second additional array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining the one or more attributes shared in common by all user-selectable elements of the first expandable array by performing a search query;

and determining the one or more attributes shared in common by all user-selectable elements of the first additional array by performing an additional search query.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining any user-selectable elements of the first expandable array that are not included in any additional array, and displaying on a new array such determined user-selectable elements.

20. A method of displaying an array of user-selectable elements on a display, the method comprising:

displaying a first expandable array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes,

displaying an expansion actuator with the first expandable array, and

in response to selection by a user of the expansion actuator, displaying a first additional array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional array of user-selectable elements being parallel from the first expandable array of user-selectable selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array, and further displaying an expansion actuator with the first additional array, and in response to selection by a user of the expansion actuator displayed with the first additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array,

displaying a second additional array of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the second additional array of user-selectable elements being parallel from the first additional array of user-selectable elements, wherein all user-selectable elements of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the second additional array that is displayed in response to the selection of the expansion actuator is a user-selectable element of the first expandable array, and further displaying an expansion actuator with the second additional array, and in response to selection by a user of the expansion actuator displayed with the second additional array, displaying another array of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes, and each user-selectable element thereof being a user-selectable element of the first expandable array, and

aligning any user-selectable elements of the expandable arrays with corresponding user-selectable elements of the first expandable array of user-selectable elements.