Expandable and collapsible arrays of aligned documents

• US 9,733,801 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2015
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2011
• 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): STORK, KYLE R
• Application Number:
  US14/802,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20150324071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• 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: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

An embodiment provides a product comprising a machine-readable medium and machine-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform a method comprising providing expendable axes of user-selectable element displaying same user-selectable elements in corresponding axial locations along the axes of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements. A system and a graphical user interface providing the same are equally provided herein.

Claims

1. An apparatus for implementing a user interface adapted to display a plurality of substantially rectilinear axes of user-selectable elements on a display, the apparatus comprising:

a memory module; and

a processing unit in communication with the memory module, the processing unit being operative for executing computer readable program code stored on a non-transient computer readable medium for implementing a method for axially aligning same user-selectable elements displayed on a plurality of axes, the method comprising,

displaying a first expandable axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes, and

in response to an input provided by a user, displaying a first additional axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional axis of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements,

wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user comprises at least one user-selectable element of the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, wherein the at least one user-selectable element displayed on the first additional axis of user-selectable elements is axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further displaying a second axis of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein user-selectable elements of the second axis of user-selectable elements being a user-selectable element of the first expandable axis, the user-selectable elements displayed on the second additional axis of user-selectable elements being axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein user-selectable elements are displayed on the axes of user-selectable elements in accordance with a collation function.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the collation function is a chronological order, the first expandable array and the first additional array are displayed with a common timeline.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the chronological order further comprises units of time separated with time units on the axis of user-selectable elements.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein all the axes of user-selectable elements share the time units.

8. A method for axially aligning same user-selectable elements displayed on a plurality of axes, the method comprising,

displaying a first expandable axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes, and

in response to an input provided by a user, displaying a first additional axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional axis of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements,

wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user comprises at least one user-selectable element of the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, wherein the at least one user-selectable element displayed on the first additional axis of user-selectable elements is axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

9. The method of claim 8, further displaying a second axis of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein user-selectable elements of the second axis of user-selectable elements being a user-selectable element of the first expandable axis, the user-selectable elements displayed on the second additional axis of user-selectable elements being axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein user-selectable elements are displayed on the axes of user-selectable elements in accordance with a collation function.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the collation function is a chronological order, the first expandable array and the first additional array are displayed with a common timeline.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the chronological order further comprises units of time separated with time units on the axis of user-selectable elements.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein all the axes of user-selectable elements share the time units.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions that, then executed by a processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations for axially aligning same user-selectable elements displayed on a plurality of axes, the operations comprising,

displaying a first expandable axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, each user-selectable element of which array is associated with one or more attributes, all user-selectable elements of which array share in common one or more attributes, and

in response to an input provided by a user, displaying a first additional axis of user-selectable elements displaying a plurality of user-selectable elements along a substantially rectilinear orientation on the display, the first additional axis of user-selectable elements being adjacent and parallel from the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements,

wherein all user-selectable elements of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user share in common one or more attributes, and wherein each user-selectable element of the first additional axis that is displayed in response to the input provided by a user comprises at least one user-selectable element of the first expandable array of user-selectable elements, wherein the at least one user-selectable element displayed on the first additional axis of user-selectable elements is axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, further displaying a second axis of user-selectable elements, all user-selectable elements thereof sharing in common one or more attributes.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein user-selectable elements of the second axis of user-selectable elements being a user-selectable element of the first expandable axis, the user-selectable elements displayed on the second additional axis of user-selectable elements being axially located in a position substantially orthogonally aligned with its location on the first expandable axis of user-selectable elements to provide axial correspondence of user-selectable elements simultaneously displayed on more than one axis of user-selectable elements.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein user-selectable elements are displayed on the axes of user-selectable elements in accordance with a collation function.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the collation function is a chronological order, the first expandable array and the first additional array are displayed with a common timeline.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the chronological order further comprises units of time separated with time units on the axis of user-selectable elements.