Method and apparatus for displaying data element axes

• US 9,519,693 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc., Maya-Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: 9224-5489 Quebec Inc.
• Inventors: Audet, Mathieu, Cassistat, Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Hicks, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/804,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20130332453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,370 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• 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

Abstract

An aspect of the invention hereby presented provides a means to display a first set of, for instance, documents in conjunction with a second set of documents when the second set of documents would not necessarily fit in the query used to select the documents of the first set of documents and/or would not necessarily fit the collation of the first set of documents. The second set of documents so located in relationship with the first set of documents having a beneficial effect for the understanding of the first set of documents. A system and a GUI thereof is also hereby presented.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations for displaying an array of time-stamped user-selectable elements on a display, the operations comprising:

selecting a first set of user-selectable elements on a basis of a first filtering criterion;

using a first chronological order for ordering the selected first set of user-selectable elements;

selecting a second set of user-selectable elements on a basis of an association with a reference computer-readable element from the first set of user-selectable elements;

selecting an ordering of the second set of user-selectable elements;

identifying a position along the ordering of the first set of user-selectable elements for locating and interleaving the second set of user-selectable elements within the first set of user-selectable elements along the axis of user-selectable elements in conjunction with the reference user-selectable element from the first chronologically ordered set of user-selectable elements; and

displaying a combined set of user-selectable elements including the first set of user-selectable elements and the interleaved second set of user-selectable elements in an axis of user-selectable elements displaying the user-selectable elements in a single line of user-selectable elements disposed in a substantially rectilinear formation corresponding with the first chronological order, the first set of user-selectable elements being ordered on a basis of the first chronological order, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is displayed on a basis of the identified position along the first ordered set of user-selectable elements in graphical juxtaposition with the reference user-selectable element, the second set of time-stamped user-selectable elements being anachronically ordered in respect with the first chronological order of the first set of user-selectable elements.

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

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

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is adapted to be ordered on a basis of a collation function.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the collation function is a second chronological order.

6. 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 identified position is chronologically after the reference user-selectable element.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is axially collapsible.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein a visual distinctive feature is adapted to be applied to the second set of user-selectable elements to further distinguish the second set of user-selectable elements from the first set of user-selectable elements.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is adapted to be displayed at an angle in respect with the axis of user-selectable elements.

11. A computerized system configured to read computer-executable instructions adapted to enable a program enabling an interface adapted to order and display computer-readable files, the computerized system comprising:

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

a display configured to display the interface;

the program, when executed, being operative to;

select a first set of user-selectable elements on a basis of a first filtering criterion;

using a first chronological order for ordering the selected first set of user-selectable elements;

select a second set of user-selectable elements on a basis of an association with a reference computer-readable element from the first set of user-selectable elements;

select and ordering of the second set of user-selectable elements;

identify a position along the ordering of the first set user-selectable elements for locating and interleaving the second set of user-selectable elements within the first set of user-selectable elements along the axis of user-selectable elements in conjunction with the reference user-selectable element from the first chronologically ordered set of user-selectable elements; and

display a combined set of user-selectable elements including of the first set of user-selectable elements and the interleaved second set of user-selectable elements in an axis of user-selectable elements displaying the user-selectable elements in a single line of user-selectable elements disposed in a substantially rectilinear formation corresponding with the first chronological order, the first set of user-selectable elements being ordered on a basis of the first chronological order, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is displayed on a basis of the identified position along the first ordered set of user-selectable elements in graphical juxtaposition with the reference user-selectable element, the second set of time-stamped user-selectable elements being anachronically ordered in respect with the first chronological order of the first set of user-selectable elements.

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

13. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein the second set of computer-readable files is adapted to be ordered on a basis of a second collation function.

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

15. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein the identified position is chronologically after the reference user-selectable element.

16. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is axially collapsible.

17. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein a visual distinctive feature is adapted to be applied to user-selectable elements to further distinguish user-selectable elements from the first set of user-selectable elements.

18. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is adapted to be displayed at an angle in respect with the axis of user-selectable elements.

19. A method of combining a plurality of sets of documents on a display, the method comprising:

selecting a first set of user-selectable elements on a basis of a first filtering criterion;

selecting a second set of user-selectable elements on a basis of an association with a reference computer-readable element from the first set of user-selectable elements;

selecting an ordering of the second set of user-selectable elements;

identifying a position along the chronological order of the first set of user-selectable elements for locating and interleaving the second set of user-selectable elements within the first set of user-selectable elements on an axis of user-selectable elements in conjunction with the reference user-selectable element from the first chronologically ordered set of user-selectable elements;

displaying and ordering the first set of user-selectable elements in accordance with an order defined on a basis of a first collation function; and

displaying a combined set of user-selectable elements including of the first set of user-selectable elements and the interleaved second set of user-selectable elements on the axis of user-selectable elements displaying the user-selectable elements in a single line of user-selectable elements disposed in a substantially rectilinear formation corresponding with the first chronological order, the first set of user-selectable elements being ordered on a basis of the first chronological order wherein the second set of user-selectable elements is displayed on a basis of the identified position along the first ordered set of user-selectable elements in graphical juxtaposition with the reference user-selectable element, the user-selectable elements of the second set of time-stamped user-selectable elements being anachronically ordered in respect with the first chronological order of the first set of user-selectable elements.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein at least some of user-selectable elements are user-selectable icons.