Patent US5847708A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5847708A
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Method and apparatus for sorting information
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 1996-09-25
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Granted: 1998-12-08
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Expires: 2016-09-25
Abstract
Abstract A sorting technique in which a computer system or other data processing device interacts with a user to develop a spatial structure to represent information, such as a set of documents, according to a particular user's viewpoint. As a result of developing the spatial structure, and based on the structure, the system is able to sort other information, including its placement with respect to the other information in the spatial structure. The spatial structure also enables retrieval, searching and filtering information.
Inventors
- 👤 Gregory J. Wolff
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 22:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F7/00; G06F7/22; G06F7/24; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/954; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/048; G06F3/0481; G06F3/04815; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S715/00; Y10S715/961; Y10S715/965; Y10S715/966; Y10S715/968
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 49
Claim 1
Independent Claim
67 words
A system-implemented method for sorting information comprising the system-implemented steps of: adjusting a similarity measure corresponding to and based on positioning, within a spatial arrangement of a plurality of documents representations on a display, in response to a user positioning a document representation within the spatial arrangement; presenting an additional document representation on the display; positioning the additional document representation on the display using the similarity measure.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
67 words
A system-implemented method for sorting information comprising the system-implemented steps of: adjusting a similarity measure corresponding to and based on positioning, within a spatial arrangement of a plurality of documents representations on a display, in response to a user positioning a document representation within the spatial arrangement; presenting an additional document representation on the display; positioning the additional document representation on the display using the similarity measure.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the representation similarity measure is based on a set of metrics.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method defined in claim 1 wherein the step of positioning an additional document representation comprises moving icons from an initial position to a preferred position in sequence.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method defined in claim 3 further comprising the steps of: manually moving one of the icons to a new location on the display; and updating the similarity measure based on the new location of said one of the icons.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method defined in claim 4 further comprising the step of updating at least one feature metric.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method defined in claim 4 wherein the step of updating comprises computing a similarity measure over the set of metrics for a document corresponding to said one of the icons.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method defined in claim 4 wherein the step of updating further comprises adjusting coefficients.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the individual documents comprise World Wide Web documents.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method defined in claim 1 wherein the step of determining comprises adjusting the similarity measure to reduce a difference between a computed distance and a spatial distance between the positioned document representations.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method defined in claim 1 wherein the step of adjusting the similarity measure comprises adjusting weights associated with feature metrics upon which the similarity measure is based.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method defined in claim 1 wherein the step of adjusting the similarity measure comprises adjusting the similarity measure to match a user's notion of document similarity.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method defined in claim 1 further comprising the step of determining similarity based on underlying metrics that approximate a user's cognitive structuring of the plurality of document representations.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
82 words
An interactive method for sorting information comprising the system-implemented steps of: developing a spatial structure for a set of documents through interaction with a user positioning document representations, representing the set of documents, on a display based on the spatial structure to create a multi-dimensional document map; and adjusting a similarity measure corresponding to and based on positioning, within the spatial structure, of the document representations on the display, in response to a user positioning a document representation within the spatial structure.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
82 words
An interactive method for sorting information comprising the system-implemented steps of: developing a spatial structure for a set of documents through interaction with a user positioning document representations, representing the set of documents, on a display based on the spatial structure to create a multi-dimensional document map; and adjusting a similarity measure corresponding to and based on positioning, within the spatial structure, of the document representations on the display, in response to a user positioning a document representation within the spatial structure.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the spatial structure is developed using a similarity measure comprised of feature metrics.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the step of developing a spatial structure comprises learning relationships between individual documents in the set of documents that have been positioned by a user.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method defined in claim 13 wherein the step of developing comprises constructing a set of metrics for use in determining document relevance.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of spatially arranging a plurality of icons on the display according to at least one of the set of metrics.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method defined in claim 13 wherein the step of positioning document representations comprises the steps of: displaying each document representation at a predetermined location on the display; and moving each document representation to another location on the display based on a set of metrics.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the step of positioning further comprises the steps of: manually moving one of the document representations to a new location on the display; and updating the similarity measure to reduce discrepancy between the similarity measure and distance between the document representations.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of selecting one of the document representations to retrieve its corresponding document in the set of documents.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the step of selecting comprises positioning a cursor on said one of the document representations using a cursor control device and depressing a button on the cursor control device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the steps of: selecting an area between document representations; and performing a search to locate documents similar to the documents corresponding to the document representations around the selected area.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method defined in claim 22 wherein the step of performing the search locates documents similar to documents nearby the area as determined by the similarity measure.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method defined in claim 22 the step of performing a search comprises the steps of: constructing a search query; and identifying documents that match the search query.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method defined in claim 22 wherein the step of selecting comprises circling an area.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method defined in claim 13 further comprising the steps of filtering documents based on locations on the display.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
53 words
A method for sorting information comprising: creating a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; identifying a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; adjusting the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
53 words
A method for sorting information comprising: creating a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; identifying a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; adjusting the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method defined in claim 27 wherein the step of determining similarity comprises computing the similarity measure by combining weighted feature metrics.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method defined in claim 28 further comprising adjusting weights of the feature metrics to reduce a difference between a computed distance and a spatial distance of the position document representations.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method defined in claim 27 wherein the step of creating the spatial arrangement comprises creating a cognitive map of document icons arranged according to a user's notion of document similarity.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method defined in claim 27 further comprising the step of manually moving a document representation to a new location.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method defined in claim 27 wherein the step of adjusting the similarity measure comprises adjusting coefficients associated with feature metrics associated with the plurality of document representations.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
60 words
An apparatus for sorting information comprising: means for creating a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; means for identifying a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; and means for adjusting the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
60 words
An apparatus for sorting information comprising: means for creating a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; means for identifying a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; and means for adjusting the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus defined in claim 33 wherein the means for determining similarity comprises means for computing the similarity measure by combining weighted feature metrics.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus defined in claim 34 further comprising means for adjusting weights of the feature metrics to reduce a difference between a computed distance and a spatial distance of the position document representations.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus defined in claim 33 wherein the means for creating the spatial arrangement comprises means for creating a cognitive map of document icons arranged according to a user's notion of document similarity.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus defined in claim 33 further comprising means for moving a document representation to a new location.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus defined in claim 33 wherein the means for adjusting the similarity measure comprises means for adjusting coefficients associated with feature metrics associated with the plurality of document.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer system product comprising a computer medium storing executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the system to: create a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; identify a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; adjust the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer system product comprising a computer medium storing executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the system to: create a spatial way out of a plurality of document representations on a display; identify a similarity measure based on the spatial arrangement; adjust the similarity measure in response to a change being made in the spatial arrangement due to a new placement of a document representation.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system product defined in claim 39 further comprising executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to compute the similarity measure by combining weighted feature metrics.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
42 words
The computer system product defined in claim 40 further comprising executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to adjust weights of the feature metrics to reduce a difference between a computed distance and a spatial distance of the position document representations.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
35 words
The computer system product defined in claim 39 further comprising executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to create a cognitive map of document icons arranged according to a user's notion of document similarity.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system product defined in claim 39 further comprising executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to move a document representation to a new location.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
32 words
The computer system product defined in claim 39 further comprising executable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to adjust coefficients associated with feature metrics associated with the plurality of document representations.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-12-07 | 2002-06-08 | 2002-12-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-12-07 | 2006-06-08 | 2006-12-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-12-07 | 2010-06-08 | 2010-12-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |