Graphical user interface for displaying and navigating in a directed graph structure

• US 7,240,289 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2002
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1993
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Frank, Edward H., Gosling, James A., Clanton, Charles H. III, Warth, Chris, LaVallee, David A., Palrang, Joseph M., Naughton, Patrick J., Sheridan, R. Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Sy D.
• Application Number:
  US10/052,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20020060701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,987 Days
• Field of Search: 715/740, 715/844, 715/716, 715/744, 715/839
• US Class Current: 715/740
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/14 with provision for individual teacher-student communication
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0025 in a remote control unit remote control tuning in general H03J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/25 Remote control device with display
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/26 Remote control device with touch screen display
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 : for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4113 : PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 : having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 : home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 : User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 : involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 : for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 : for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 : Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43622 : Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 : for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 : for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 : using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 : End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/977 : Dynamic icon, e.g. animated or live action

Abstract

An intuitive graphical user interface is based upon a geographic map structure, and includes a system for controlling remote external electronic devices. In the defined graphical user interface, each space of the geographic map structure is rendered on a touch screen display as a graphic image of a geographic space. Within each space are colored cartoon-like icons called “objects” which can be selected and manipulated by the user. Certain objects, referred to as portals, transport the user from one space to another space when Selected. Other objects, referred to as buttons, perform associated actions or functions when Selected. The graphical user interface is displayed on a hand-held display device used to control remote devices. Each remote electronic device transmits a user interface program object that defines a graphical user interface to the display device. The hand-held display devices displays the graphical user interface associated with the remote device when a user selects an icon associated with the remote device on the display device'"'"'s touch screen display.

Claims

1. A method of providing an interactive display on a display device in a network that controls a remote device in the network, the method comprising:

selecting a display object on a device display in the network;

generating, at the display device, a request associated with the selected display object;

initializing, at the display device, a communications manager that monitors communications with the remote device;

sending the request to the remote device in the network so that a corresponding remote method is invoked;

receiving, at the display device, a reply from the remote device when the communication manager fails to detect communications errors; and

displaying an interactive graphical interface on the display device when the received reply corresponds to the selected display object.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the received reply to determine whether the reply corresponds to the selected display object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding time to a timer of the communications manager when the remote device requests additional time for sending the reply.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring communications with the remote device comprises:

setting a countdown timer to a predetermined value;

resetting the countdown timer to the predetermined value when the countdown timer expires;

monitoring a number of times the countdown timer expires before the reply is received from the remote device; and

terminating communications with the remote device when the number of times the countdown timer expires reaches a predetermined limit.

5. A method, of providing an interactive display associated with a remote device in a network and based on a selected display object on a display device in the network, the method comprising:

initializing a communications manager of the display device;

sending a request from the controller to the remote device;

processing the request at the remote device so that an associated method is invoked;

returning a reply to the display device based on the invoked method when the communications manager maintains a network connection with the remote device;

displaying, on the display device, a graphical interface associated with the returned reply; and

analyzing the returned reply to determine whether the reply corresponds to the selected display object;

wherein maintaining a network connection comprises;

setting a countdown timer of the communications manager to a predetermined value;

resetting the countdown timer to the predetermined value when the countdown timer expires;

adding additional time to the countdown timer when the remote device requests additional time for sending the reply; and

monitoring a number of times the countdown timer expires before the reply is received from the remote device.

6. A computer readable medium including instructions for directing a display device in a network to perform a method of providing an interactive graphical display based on a selected display object, said instructions comprising:

a module for generating a request associated with the selected display object;

a module for initializing a communication manager so that communication errors are detected;

a module for sending the generated request to a remote device in the network;

a module for receiving a reply from the remote device when no communication errors are detected; and

a module for displaying the interactive graphical display when the reply corresponds to the selected display object.

7. The computer readable medium instructions of claim 6, further comprising:

a module for analyzing the received reply to determine whether the reply corresponds to the selected display object.

8. The computer readable medium instructions of claim 6, further comprising:

a module for setting a countdown timer to a predetermined value;

a module for resetting the countdown timer to the predetermined value when the countdown timer expires;

a module for monitoring a number of times the countdown time expires before the reply is received from the remote device; and

a module for terminating communications with the remote device when the number of times the countdown timer expires meets a predetermined limit.