Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
204 words
A metaphor environment control system of human interfaces of any application program for computers, which represents a plurality of metaphors that express various functions of the application program and presents a user with a pertinent function according the user's operations, characterized by including: an operational model for storing a user's operational information, a world model for storing the internal states of a plurality of metaphors to be manipulated, a display model for storing what states said plurality of metaphors are displayed in, an operation/display control block for rewriting said operational model depending upon the user's operation and changing the representations of said metaphors pertinently depending upon a change in said display model, an operational model/world model conversion rule for rewriting pertinent portions of said world and display models, taking a chance of a change in said operation/display control block for said operational model, a plurality of casual rules for rewriting other portion of said world model and a pertinent portion of said display model, taking a chance of rewriting said world model, and allowing one world model to request to launch a plurality of rules, and an ambiguity resolution block for selecting any one of said plurality of casual rules, when they are launched.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
80 words
A metaphor environment control system as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said ambiguity resolution block includes a task intention hierarchy in which task names corresponding to the user's operations are arranged in the form of a hierarchy structure, said task intention hierarchy being additionally provided with task transition-limiting information for limiting the transitions of tasks expressed by task names, so that whatever task is currently done by the user can always be identified according to the user's operations.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
77 words
A metaphor environment control system as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that said ambiguity resolution block is operable to resolve ambiguity when that one of said plurality of casual rules requested to be launched by the user's operation has been selected can be judged with some certainty from the user's task and transition-limiting information on the current task intention hierarchy, and is operable such that if not so, it inquires of the user about ambiguity resolution.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
84 words
A metaphor environment control system as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that when the result of ambiguity resolution done after judged with some certainty is contrary to the user's own prediction, said ambiguity resolution block allows the user to give a redo command by a particular operation and when the redo command is given, said ambiguity resolution block reverts the current state back to the state where said casual rules are in conflict with each other, inquiring of the user about ambiguity resolution.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
63 words
A metaphor environment control system as claimed in any one of Claims 2-4, characterized by including a personality adaptation block for creating or changing said task transition-limiting information added to said task intention hierarchy according to the result of the user's response to said inquiry about ambiguity resolution, making the ambiguity resolution done by said ambiguity resolution block slowly adaptative to the person.