Method and device for finding, collecting and acting upon units of information

• US 7,559,039 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2003
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brad Ridgley, Samuel A. Lucente II
• Original Assignee: Brad Ridgley, Samuel A. Lucente II
• Inventors: Ridgley, Brad, Lucente, Samuel A. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax; Steven P
• Application Number:
  US10/341,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20030160832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,367 Days
• Field of Search: 715/802, 715/801, 715/803, 715/804, 715/805, 715/811, 715826-828, 715853-855, 715770-773, 715/712, 715/745, 715/780, 715/777, 715/767, 715765-766, 715/823, 703/2, 703/11
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957

Abstract

An information interface and method for finding, collecting and acting upon information which has been arranged in hierarchical form. In its best mode of implementation, the interface has a display area with four components: a content area for showing units of information at a particular level in a hierarchy, a context area for showing the information node which is parent to the displayed level of units, an identity area for showing the sequence of such parents in the user'"'"'s navigation history through the information relative to the currently displayed level, and a desire area for the user to collect and act upon desired units of information. The method of the invention provides two functions: one for clarification, for navigating the hierarchy of information, moving forward and backward through the nodes and branches; and a second for memorization, for collecting desired units of information and then acting upon them. The invention further provides for partition of a displayed level into sections no larger than the number of sub-areas in the content area, thereby accommodating levels larger than the number of content sub-areas provided for the display device.

Claims

1. A user interface, comprising:

means for displaying a body of information for a user on a portable display device;

means for said user to clarify units of information in said body of information, said clarifying being to use a CLARIFICATION process to find one or more of said units of information, said CLARIFICATION process being a group of CLARIFICATION functions for navigation through said body of information and being invoked by user designation of display elements presented to said user by said displaying means; and

means for said user to memorize said units of information, said memorizing being to invoke a MEMORIZATION process upon said one or more found units of information, said MEMORIZATION process being initiated by user designation of MEMORIZATION display elements presented to said user by said displaying means, and being consummated by an action denoted by one or more of said found units of information,

wherein said body of information is organized into layers, each said layer being subordinate to a unit of information in another layer and each unit of information in said body of information being part of one or more of said layers, each of one or more of said layers being a layer in each of a plurality of hierarchies, each of said plurality of hierarchies having a plurality of levels of subordination and a plurality of layers, a plurality of said plurality of layers in each hierarchy each containing a plurality of units of information,

wherein said portable display device has a limited display area that includes a content area for displaying any one of said layers containing one or more of said units of information,

wherein said content area is divided into a limited number (Ln) of content sub-areas as necessary for conveniently displaying said units of information on said portable display device, said limited number being specified for said limited display area on said portable display device, there being at least one of said layers wherein a total of said one or more of said units of information is a greater number than said limited number, both said limited number and said greater number being integers, and said layer having said greater number of information units is a greater layer,

wherein said units of information in said greater layer (the number of said units being=Gn) are partitioned into a plurality of sections, each section containing a number of items, the number of items in each of said plurality of sections except a last section being a display number (Dn) equal to or less than the said limited number (Dn=<

Ln) of content sub-areas into which said content area is divided, said display number being the same for each of said sections except said last section, the number of items in said last section being a remainder (Rn) of said units of information in said greater layer after subtraction of each of said sections except said last section, each of said sections except said last section having said display number (Dn) of said units of information, said remainder (Rn) being equal to or less than said display number (Rn=Gn−

xDn=<

Dn, where x=the number of said sections except said last section), there being provided means for selecting which one of said plurality of sections is displayed in said content area, said selecting means thereby enabling display in said content area of said portable display device of a selected one of said sections, and

wherein said clarifying means further comprises;

means for selecting one of said displayed units of information; and

means for subsequently displaying in said content area a layer of said body of information which is subordinate to said selected unit of information, said subsequent display of said subordinate layer thereby replacing said display of said layer,

further comprising a navigational control for subsequent redisplay in said content area of the layer most recently replaced by said clarifying means.

2. The interface of claim 1, wherein said selecting means is a control for navigating among said sections.

3. The interface of claim 2, wherein said control is the number “

9”

on a keypad.

4. The interface of claim 2, wherein said control is an icon in the display area.

5. The interface of claim 1, wherein said partitioning is done by sectioning the layer into alphabetically contiguous groups.

6. The interface of claim 1, wherein said partitioning is done via separate partitions and sub-partitions for information items contained in CONTENT, IDENTITY and DESIRE areas.

7. The interface of claim 1, wherein the limited display area is configured to contain a CONTEXT area, a DESIRE area, and a CONTENT area.

8. The interface of claim 1, wherein the limited display area is configured to contain a CONTEXT area, an IDENTITY area, and a DESIRE area, with said navigation control being usable to provide display of information items within the CONTENT area, the IDENTITY area and DESIRE area, respectively.

9. The interface of claim 1, wherein said limited number is the integer one.

10. The interface of claim 1, wherein the number of said partitions is two or more, said limited number is two or more, and each partition except a last partition contains said limited number of information units.

11. The interface of claim 10, wherein said limited number is three.

12. The interface of claim 10, wherein said limited number is nine.

13. The interface of claim 11, wherein said partitioning is done via separate partitions and sub-partitions for information items contained in CONTENT, IDENTITY and DESIRE areas.