Method of communication using sized icons, text, and audio

• US 5,973,694 A
• Filed: 04/21/1998
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chatham Telecommunications Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Chatham Telecommunications Incorporated
• Inventors: Leifer, Larry J., Steele, Richard D., Gonsalves, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Application Number:
  US09/071,063
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326-358, 345/978, 345/970, 345/439, 434/112, 434/116, 434/118
• US Class Current: 715/835
• 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: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/978 Audio interaction as part of an operator interface

Abstract

Language oriented information is communicated to and from a user by the use of a computer with a dynamic graphics display, having a pointing device for visually indicating a position through a cursor on the display. Various embodiments of the method include calling an icon to attention when the cursor is positioned on the icon, auto projecting an icon when it is activated, changing the icon image to denote its terminal node status, varying the play back speed of the audio/visual aspect of an icon, moving among different layers of a hierarchical database, and text searching and matching with icons.

Claims

1. A method of visually indicating to a user of a computer, having a plurality of data elements arranged in a tree structure with a root data element and a plurality of terminal node data elements, with each data element having a corresponding icon, said method comprising the steps of:

a) displaying one or more icons;

b) activating one of the icons displayed;

c) displaying one or more icons corresponding to the data elements of the icon activated in a direction away from the root data element;

d) continuing with the steps of b) and c) until an icon corresponding to the terminal node data element is displayed;

then

e) activating the icon corresponding to the terminal node data element;

f) changing the display of the activated icon in response to the activation to indicate the terminal node status of the data element, as represented by the activated icon; and

g) resuming the display of a representation of the activated icon.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said resuming step displays the representation of the icon after a period of pre-determined delay.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said resuming step displays the representation of the icon immediately after a second activation.

4. A method of displaying graphical images having a hierarchical tree structure arranged in a plurality of layers, including an image in a root layer and a plurality of images in a terminal layer, said method comprising the steps of:

displaying a graphical image of the current layer, said graphical image having a plurality of icons, each of said plurality of icons being a graphical representation of a layer between the current layer and the terminal layer;

displaying one or more images in the layers between the current layer and the root layer, arranged in a sequential order;

activating one of said icons;

displaying a graphical image of the layer represented by the activated icon, as the current layer; and

displaying the image of the activated icon in the next of said sequential order.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said order is vertically arranged.

6. A method of displaying graphical images having a hierarchical tree structure arranged in a plurality of layers, including an image in a root layer and a plurality of images in a terminal layer, said method comprising the steps of:

displaying a graphical image of the current layer, said graphical image having a plurality of icons, each of said icons being a graphical representation of a layer between the current layer and the terminal layer;

displaying one or more images in the layers between the current layer and the root layer, arranged in a sequential order;

activating one of said images arranged in the sequential order to form an activated image;

displaying a first image represented by the activated image in the current layer; and

displaying the one or more images in the sequential order, representing the layers between the root layer and the current layer.

7. A method of communicating language oriented information between a language proficient user, and a language deficient user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

inputting one or more text words by the language proficient user;

searching by the computer for a graphical icon corresponding to each inputted text word; and

displaying each of the graphical icons corresponding to each of the one or more inputted text words, on the display.

8. A method of communicating language oriented information having a plurality of text words, each word with a corresponding icon, arranged in a hierarchical tree structure in a plurality of layers between a root layer and a terminal layer, said communication is between a first user, who is language deficient, and a second user, by the use of a computer with a display device having a pointing device for visually indicating a position through a cursor means, on the display device, with the display device displaying icons of the current layer, said method comprising the steps of:

inputting a portion of a text word by the first user;

searching by the computer, between the current layer and the terminal layer, for one or more text words, each having a portion corresponding to the inputted portion of the text word; and

displaying on the display device, each of the graphical icons corresponding to the one or more text words found in the searching step.