Method for producing color representations of quantifiable data by maximizing differential perception of colors

Claim 1

A method for displaying in color, in a manner which shall be maximally differentiable to an interpreter, any measure of a physical quantity which is itself a function of a physical quantity, whether continuous or discretely sampled, which comprises the following steps: defining a color display dynamic range, which includes a plurality of subranges; associating said measure of said physical quantity with a subrange; associating said subrange with a point of a color sphere, wherein each point of said color sphere is defined by a radial distance, a latitudenal equivalent value angle and a longitudenal equivalent hue angle, such that the distribution density of said latitudenal equivalent value angles of said points is substantially proportional to the sine of said latitudenal equivalent value angle and said longitudenal equivalent hue angle is determined by a preselected color contrast parameter that relates the latitudenal equivalent value angle and longitudenal equivalent hue angle associated with said point, and wherein the distribution density of said longitudenal equivalent hue angles is substantially proportional to a weighting function determined by the ability of an interpreter to identify unambiguously the hue corresponding to each of said longitudenal equivalent hue angles; converting the spherical coordinate representation of said point into an equivalent first Cartesian coordinate representation with a longitudenal reference axis chosen to correspond to a primary reference hue angle; creating a second Cartesian coordinate system by scaling, translating, and rotating the axes of said first Cartesian coordinate system so that the origin thereby created corresponds to a pole of the color sphere and the axes thereby created make equal angles with the polar axis of said color sphere, with the longitudenal direction of said reference axis preserved after transformation; converting said first Cartesian coordinate representation of said point into a representation in said second Cartesian coordinate system; interpreting the coordinates of said point in said second coordinate system directly in the manner of a one-to-one transformation as the amounts of each of the primary hues necessary to produce the color associated with said subrange and said measure associated therewith; and compositing the amounts of said primary hues corresponding to said measure into a final display.

Claim 2

A method for displaying in color, in a manner which shall be maximally differentiable to an interpreter, any measure of a physical quantity which is itself a function of a physical quantity, whether continuous or discretely sampled, which comprises the following steps: defining a color display dynamic range, which includes a plurality of subranges; associating said measure of said physical quantity with a subrange; associating said subrange with a point of a color sphere, wherein each point of said color sphere is defined by a radial distance, a latitudenal equivalent value angle and a longitudenal equivalent hue angle, such that the distribution density of said latitudenal equivalent value angles of said points is substantially proportional to the sine of said latitudenal equivalent value angle and said longitudenal equivalent hue angle is determined by a preselected color contrast parameter that relates the latitudenal equivalent value angle and longitudenal equivalent hue angle associated with said point, and wherein the distribution density of said longitudenal equivalent hue angles is substantially proportional to a weighting function determined by the ability of an interpreter to identify unambiguously the hue corresponding to each of said longitudenal equivalent hue angles; converting the spherical coordinate representation of said point into an equivalent first Cartesian coordinate representation with a longitudenal reference axis chosen to correspond to a primary reference hue angle; creating a second Cartesian coordinate system by scaling, translating, and rotating the axes of said first Cartesian coordinate system so that the origin thereby created corresponds to a pole of the color sphere and the axes thereby created make equal angles with the polar axis of said color sphere, with the longitudenal direction of said reference axis preserved after transformation; converting said first Cartesian coordinate representation of said point into a representation in said second Cartesian coordinate system; interpreting the coordinates of said point in said second coordinate system directly in the manner of a one-to-one transformation as the amounts of each of the primary hues necessary to produce the color associated with said subrange and said measure associated therewith; and compositing the amounts of said primary hues corresponding to said measure into a final display.