Method and apparatus for presenting information

• US 7,587,681 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kita, Kensuke, Horie, Hiromasa, Kake, Tomokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dasgupta; Soumya
• Application Number:
  US10/858,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20050010599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,925 Days
• Field of Search: 715/848, 715/782, 715/810
• US Class Current: 715/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

Files such as musical pieces are represented in symbols such as a star, and are clustered based on the attribute of each file so as to be allocated in an information space. An impression, such as “refreshing”, on the musical piece corresponding to the file is represented and given in the form of emotion. The initial search for a file is carried out by roughly cutting out a marked-out space. When narrowed down, the file is linearly developed so as to support a user selection.

Claims

1. A method for presenting information, the method including:

representing a plurality of information elements using symbols, wherein each information element is separately executable via a computer by a user action on a corresponding symbol;

mapping the information elements to corresponding symbols on a first information space and a second information space;

displaying the first information space on a computer; and

initiating a morphing from the first information space to the second information space, wherein the first information space is different from the second information space and each symbol on the first information space maps to a respective symbol on the second information space and a cluster of symbols on the first information space is different from a cluster of symbols on the second information space, and

wherein the morphing is instructed by a space motion instructing unit,

wherein the space motion instructing unit instructs the morphing when there is no user action for a predetermined period of time, and

wherein, when a user action interrupts the morphing process, the currently displayed morphed information space and the respective symbols are presented to the user for interaction.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first information space is a three-dimensional space and the morphing is made to the second information space by moving a viewpoint from which the three-dimensional space is viewed.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first information space is determined in a manner such that an attribute of one of the information elements serves as a space axis, and wherein the morphing to the second information space is carried out by switching the attribute.

4. A method according to claim 1, further including assigning to each of the clusters of information elements a marker indicative of a characteristic when the associated cluster is allocated in at least one of the first information space and the second information space.