Patent US5903267A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5903267A
Expired / Lapsed
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Document interface mechanism and method for navigating through large documents
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1997-07-11
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Granted: 1999-05-11
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Expires: 2017-07-11
Abstract
Abstract The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling the scroll rate of a scroll bar slider in a graphical user interface. The preferred embodiment uses a domain mechanism that divides large documents into multiple domains. The document is displayed in a viewing window with the slider moving the document from one of the current domain to the other end. Because the slider only moves within one domain, and not the whole document, the slider sensitivity is reduced such that it can be effectively used to scroll through documents. The document can be moved within the viewing window to other domains by activating one of a plurality of domain marks, where each domain mark represents a domain not currently scrollable with the slider. Thus, the entire document can be easily browsed while the scroll rate is maintained at an effective level. This provides a user with a high degree of control when viewing all sizes of documents.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark E. Fisher
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 01:03
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/048; G06F3/0484; G06F3/0485; G06F3/04855
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
90 words
An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; a program residing in the memory, said program providing an interface for viewing a document comprising a scroll bar mechanism and a plurality of domain marks, wherein said interface divides said document into a plurality of domains, and wherein a selected one of said plurality of domains is viewable with said scroll bar mechanism, and wherein said scroll bar mechanism is switched to view other of said plurality of domains using said domain marks.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
90 words
An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; a program residing in the memory, said program providing an interface for viewing a document comprising a scroll bar mechanism and a plurality of domain marks, wherein said interface divides said document into a plurality of domains, and wherein a selected one of said plurality of domains is viewable with said scroll bar mechanism, and wherein said scroll bar mechanism is switched to view other of said plurality of domains using said domain marks.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said scroll bar mechanism includes a slider which slides in a scroll bar area, and wherein said interface displays a top of said selected domain when said slider is at the top of said scroll bar area and wherein said interface displays a bottom of said selected domain when said slider is at the bottom of said scroll bar area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said interface divides said document such that each of said plurality of domains has a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said maximum dimension is defined to assure that said scroll bar mechanism has a slider sensitivity less than a defined maximum slider sensitivity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said maximum slider sensitivity is determinable by a user of said program.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said maximum dimension is determinable by a user of said program.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said scroll bar mechanism automatically creates additional domains when additional dimension is added to said document such that a domain exceeds said maximum dimension.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plurality of domain marks includes a plurality of super domain marks, each super domain mark having a corresponding plurality of sub-domain marks.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said activating a super-domain mark causes the corresponding sub-domain marks to be displayed.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each of said sub-domain marks corresponds to a portion of said document having a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for displaying a document on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: a) dividing said document in to a plurality of domains, each of said domains having a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; b) displaying a first document domain of said document in a viewing window having a scroll-bar for navigating in said first document domain; and c) forming a plurality of domain marks corresponding to said plurality of domains other than said first domain.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for displaying a document on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: a) dividing said document in to a plurality of domains, each of said domains having a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; b) displaying a first document domain of said document in a viewing window having a scroll-bar for navigating in said first document domain; and c) forming a plurality of domain marks corresponding to said plurality of domains other than said first domain.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of activating one of said plurality of domain marks such that said viewing window displays another of said plurality of domains.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of forming a new domain mark corresponding to said first document domain.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 11 wherein said plurality of domains comprises a plurality of super-domains, each of said super-domains including a plurality of sub-domains, and wherein said plurality of domain marks correspond to said plurality of super-domains.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of forming a new domain and a corresponding new domain mark when data is added to said document such that at least one of said plurality of domains has a dimension which exceeds said maximum dimension.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of a user defining said maximum dimension.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of a user defining a maximum slider sensitivity and further comprising the step of determining said maximum dimension based upon said maximum slider sensitivity.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
83 words
A program product comprising: (A) a program, said program providing an interface for viewing a document comprising a scroll bar mechanism and a plurality of domain marks, wherein said interface divides said document into a plurality of domains, and wherein a selected one of said plurality of domains is viewable with said scroll bar mechanism, and wherein said scroll bar mechanism is switched to view other of said plurality of domains using said domain marks; and (B) signal bearing media bearing said program.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
83 words
A program product comprising: (A) a program, said program providing an interface for viewing a document comprising a scroll bar mechanism and a plurality of domain marks, wherein said interface divides said document into a plurality of domains, and wherein a selected one of said plurality of domains is viewable with said scroll bar mechanism, and wherein said scroll bar mechanism is switched to view other of said plurality of domains using said domain marks; and (B) signal bearing media bearing said program.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
67 words
The program product of claim 18 wherein said scroll bar mechanism includes a slider which slides in a scroll bar area, and wherein said interface displays a top of said selected domain when said slider is at the top of said scroll bar area and wherein said interface displays a bottom of said selected domain when said slider is at the bottom of said scroll bar area.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
The program product of claim 18 wherein said signal bearing media comprises recordable media.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
The program product of claim 18 wherein said signal bearing media comprises transmission media.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The program product of claim 18 wherein said interface divides said document such that each of said plurality of domains a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The program product of claim 18 wherein said plurality of domain marks includes a plurality of super domain marks, each super domain marks having a corresponding plurality of sub-domain marks.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus comprising: a) at least one processor; b) a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and c) a computer program residing in the memory, said computer program providing an interface for viewing a large document, said interface including: i) a dividing mechanism, said dividing mechanism dividing said large document into a plurality of domains such that each of said plurality of domains has a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; ii) a viewing window displaying a portion of said large document iii) a scroll bar mechanism, said scroll bar mechanism including a slider for moving within one of said plurality of domains in said large document; iv) a plurality of domain marks, said plurality of domain marks moving said document in said viewing window to a corresponding domain when said domain mark is activated.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus comprising: a) at least one processor; b) a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and c) a computer program residing in the memory, said computer program providing an interface for viewing a large document, said interface including: i) a dividing mechanism, said dividing mechanism dividing said large document into a plurality of domains such that each of said plurality of domains has a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; ii) a viewing window displaying a portion of said large document iii) a scroll bar mechanism, said scroll bar mechanism including a slider for moving within one of said plurality of domains in said large document; iv) a plurality of domain marks, said plurality of domain marks moving said document in said viewing window to a corresponding domain when said domain mark is activated.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for displaying a document on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: a) determining a dimension of said document; b) dividing said dimension by a defined maximum dimension, said division determining a domain number; c) dividing said document in to a number of domains equal to said domain number, each of said domains having a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; d) forming a scroll bar mechanism for displaying a first of said number of domains in a viewing window, said scroll bar mechanism providing a means for navigating in said first of said number of domains; and e) forming a plurality of domain marks corresponding to said plurality of domains other than said first domain.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for displaying a document on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: a) determining a dimension of said document; b) dividing said dimension by a defined maximum dimension, said division determining a domain number; c) dividing said document in to a number of domains equal to said domain number, each of said domains having a dimension less than a defined maximum dimension; d) forming a scroll bar mechanism for displaying a first of said number of domains in a viewing window, said scroll bar mechanism providing a means for navigating in said first of said number of domains; and e) forming a plurality of domain marks corresponding to said plurality of domains other than said first domain.
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