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EP0435601A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Display of hierarchical three-dimensional structures

Assignee: Business Objects Americas Inc
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Filing: 1990-12-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-12-21
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Abstract

Abstract A processor presents a sequence of images of a hierarchical structure that is perceived as three-dimensional. The hierarchical structure includes conic substructures (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) that can have vertical or horizontal axes. Each cone (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) has a parent node at its vertex and children nodes along its base, each with a link to the parent node. Each child can in turn be at the vertex of another cone. The cones (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) can be rotated in steps that produce the perception of object constancy for each node. For example, if the user requests that an indicated node be moved to a primary viewing position, each of the cones along the path from the indicated node to the root node is rotated in the direction that most directly moves the indicated node to the primary viewing position. Each node can include a selectable unit for indicating it, and a node can also include a grow tab that can be selected to request presentation of its children nodes and links to them. The user can request that the children nodes of a node be replaced by a grow tab. To reduce the computation necessary for each step of rotation, the position relative to a cone's axis for each of 80 points on the base of a cone (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) is computed for a level of the hierarchy and is then stored in an array for subsequent use in positioning nodes on that level. The base point (52) of each node on a rotating cone can then be changed in a linked node data structure, and its new position can then be obtained by simple arithmetic operations using the axis coordinates and the appropriate data from the array. The base of each array can be a polygon whose vertices are nodes, and the base shape can be presented as a shadow to provide additional information and strengthen the perception of three dimensions, or, the profiles of the cones can be presented as a shadow.

Inventors

  • 👤 George G. Robertson
  • 👤 Jock D. Mackinlay
  • 👤 Stuart K. Card

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-26 07:09
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T11/00; G06T11/20; G06T11/26; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/048; G06F3/0481; G06F3/04815; G06T17/00; G06T17/005; G06F2203/00; G06F2203/048; G06F2203/04802

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim 228 words
A method of operating a processor connected for providing image data to an image output device that includes a display, the image output device presenting images on the display in response to the image data, the method comprising: providing first image data so that the image output device presents a first image, the first image including a first hierarchical structure that is perceptible as three-dimensional, the first structure including a first plurality of nodes and a first plurality of links, each of the first plurality of links being perceptible as connecting one of the first plurality of nodes to another of the first plurality of nodes; and providing second image data so that the image output device presents a second image, the second image including a second hierarchical structure that is perceptible as three-dimensional and that is perceptibly different from the first structure; the second structure including a second plurality of nodes and a second plurality of links, each of the second plurality of links being perceptible as connecting one of the second plurality of nodes to another of the second plurality of nodes; each of the second plurality of nodes being perceptible as a continuation of a respective one of the first plurality of nodes, each of the second plurality of links being perceptible as a continuation of a respective one of the first plurality of links.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 51 words
The method of claim 1, in which each link of the first and second pluralities of links is perceptible as having a length, the perceptible length of each of the second plurality of links being the same as the perceptible length of the respective one of the first plurality of links.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 1 or 2, in which the first and second structures have equal numbers of hierarchical levels.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 47 words
The method of claim 3, in which each hierarchical level includes at least one conic substructure, second and fourth ones of the conic substructures of the second structure being perceptible respectively as rotated continuations of first and third ones of the conic substructures of the first structure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 57 words
The method of claim 4, in which the perceptible rotation from the first conic substructure to the second conic substructure is about a first axis, and the perceptible rotation from the third conic substructure to the fourth conic substructure is about a second axis, the first and second axes of perceptible rotation being parallel to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 14 words
The method of claim 5, in which the first and second axes are vertical.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 14 words
The method of claim 5, in which the first and second axes are horizontal.
Claim 8
Independent Claim 75 words
The method of any preceding claim, in which the first structure includes a conic substructure having a vertex and a base, the first plurality of nodes including a parent node at the vertex and a plurality of children nodes at the base, the first plurality of links including, for each of the children nodes, a respective link in the conic substructure, the respective link being perceptible as connecting the parent node to the children node.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 55 words
The method of claim 8, in which the conic substructure is perceptible as having an axis and a profile shape in a first plane that includes the axis, the first image further including a first projected shape that is perceptible as a projection of the profile shape of the conic substructure onto a second plane.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 83 words
The method of claim 9, in which first and second ones of the respective links have positions that define the profile shape in the first plane and the second plane is perceptible as parallel to the first plane, the step of providing the first image data further comprising the substep of determining the positions of the first and second respective links and using the positions both to prepare first structure data defining the first structure and projection data defining the first projected shape.

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