Timeline for presenting information

• US 8,601,392 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2008
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc., Maya-Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc.
• Inventors: Audet, Mathieu
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdul-Ali, Omar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jiang, Haimei
• Application Number:
  US12/125,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,021 Days
• Field of Search: 715/810, 715/761
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/34 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• 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: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions providing a method of displaying arrays of computer-readable files, the method comprising causing a first array of computer-readable files to be displayed, said first array of computer-readable files being displayed along a timeline according to a first timescale; causing a second array of computer-readable files to be displayed, said second array of computer-readable files being displayed along a timeline according to a second timescale. An interface, a computerized system and a method for providing same is also disclosed therein.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, provide an interface adapted to display user-selectable elements by performing a method comprising:

causing a first array of user-selectable elements to be displayed along a first axis having a first timeline having a first timescale, the first timescale having a time distribution that is substantially constant, wherein equal lengths of time are visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the first axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the first timeline at variable intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements; and

causing a second array of user-selectable elements to be displayed with the first array of user selectable elements on a common display, the second array of user-selectable elements being displayed along a second axis having a second timeline having a second timescale, the second timescale having a time distribution that is substantially variable, wherein equal lengths of time are not visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the second axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the second timeline at substantially constant intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements,

whereby the first timescale represents time in a linear fashion and the second timescale represents time in a non-linear fashion.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are computer-readable files.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are documents.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first array of user-selectable elements and the second array of user-selectable elements are adapted to individually move in respect to another.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first and second timelines comprise time-marks adapted to discriminate durations of time.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein a duration of time is to be omitted from the timeline.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the timescale of at least one of the arrays of user-selectable elements is modifiable to another timescale.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least one array of user-selectable elements is adapted to include an invisible time unit.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, provide an interface adapted to display documents by performing a method comprising:

causing a first axis of documents to be displayed, the first axis of documents being displayed along a first timeline having a first timescale, the first timescale having a time distribution that is substantially constant, wherein equal lengths of time are visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the first axis and wherein a plurality of the documents are displayed along the first timeline at variable intervals of distance between adjacent documents; and

causing a second axis of documents to be displayed, the second axis of documents being displayed with the first array of documents on a common display, the second array of documents being displayed along a second timeline having a second timescale, the second timescale having a time distribution that is substantially variable, wherein equal lengths of time are not visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the second axis and wherein a plurality of the documents are displayed along the second timeline at substantially constant intervals of distance between adjacent documents,

whereby the first timeline has a linear timescale and the second timeline has a non-linear timescale.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the axes are to be rectilinearly arranged and wherein the second axis of documents is to be displayed in parallel relation to the first axis of documents.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the axes are to be rectilinearly arranged and wherein the second axis of documents is to be displayed in non-parallel relation to the first axis of documents.

10. A computerized system configured to read computer-executable instructions adapted to provide an interface adapted to display arrays of user-selectable elements, the computerized system comprising:

a processing unit configured to process the computer executable instructions; and

a display configured to display the interface;

the computer-executable instructions, when executed, being operative to;

cause a first array of user-selectable elements to be displayed along a first axis having a first timeline having a first timescale, the first timescale having a time distribution that is substantially constant, wherein equal lengths of time are visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the first axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the first timeline at variable intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements; and

cause a second array of user-selectable elements to be displayed with the first array of user selectable elements on a common display, the second array of user-selectable elements being displayed along a second axis having a second timeline having a second timescale, the second timescale having a time distribution that is substantially variable, wherein equal lengths of time are not visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the second axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the second timeline at substantially constant intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements,

whereby the first timescale represents time in a linear fashion and the second timescale represents time in a non-linear fashion.

11. The computerized system of claim 10, wherein at least some of the user-selectable elements are documents.

12. The computerized system of claim 10, wherein the arrays of user-selectable elements are adapted to individually move one in respect to another.

13. The computerized system of claim 10, wherein the interface is adapted to omit a unit of time of at least one of the first array of user-selectable elements and the second array of user-selectable elements.

14. A method of displaying arrays of user-selectable elements on a common display of a computer system at a common time, the method comprising:

causing, via at least one processor of the computer system, a first array of user-selectable elements to be displayed along a first axis having a first timeline on the display, the first timeline having a first timescale, the first timescale having a time distribution that is substantially constant, wherein equal lengths of time are visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the first axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the first timeline at variable intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements; and

causing, via the at least one processor of the computer system, a second array of user-selectable elements to be displayed along a second axis having a second timeline on the display, the second timescale having a time distribution that is substantially variable, wherein equal lengths of time are not visually represented in equal lengths of distance along the second axis and wherein a plurality of the user-selectable elements are displayed along the second timeline at substantially constant intervals of distance between adjacent user-selectable elements,

whereby the first timescale represents time in a linear fashion, and the second timescale represents time in a non-linear fashion.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user-selectable elements are documents.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first and second arrays are displayed in parallel relation to one another.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the first and second arrays are displayed in non-parallel relation to one another.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising responding to user input by moving one or both of the arrays, the arrays being movable independent of one another.