Computer system, user interface component and method utilizing non-linear scroll bar

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively updating the current portion of the document displayed in the window in response to user manipulation of the scroll bar.

Claim 4

The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the scroll bar includes displaying the scroll bar along a perimeter of the window.

Claim 5

The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the scroll bar includes visually distinguishing the first and second regions.

Claim 6

The method of claim 4, wherein visually distinguishing the first and second regions includes rendering a boundary display element delineating the first and second regions.

Claim 7

The method of claim 4, wherein visually distinguishing the first and second regions includes rendering the first and second regions with first and second visual representations.

Claim 8

The method of claim 6, wherein the first and second visual representations are distinguished in a manner selected from the group consisting of shading, coloring, patterning, displaying an icon, displaying alphanumeric information, and combinations thereof.

Claim 9

The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the scroll bar includes displaying a slider on the scroll bar, the slider including a current scroll bar position on the scroll bar that is associated with a current document position for the document displayed in the window.

Claim 10

The method of claim 8, wherein the scroll bar is vertically aligned to scroll the document vertically through the window, and wherein the current document position for the document is that which is currently displayed at the top of the window.

Claim 11

The method of claim 8, wherein selectively updating the current portion of the document displayed in the window includes: (a) scrolling through the document at the first rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the first region of the scroll bar; and (b) scrolling through the document at the second rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the second region of the scroll bar.

Claim 12

The method of claim 8, further comprising defining the first and second regions of the scroll bar by establishing at least one boundary delineating each region, each boundary having associated therewith a document position and a scroll bar position.

Claim 13

The method of claim 11, wherein each region is defined between a pair of boundaries, wherein the rate of scroll for each region is defined as the ratio of the difference between the document positions for the pair of boundaries to the difference between the scroll bar positions for the pair of boundaries.

Claim 14

The method of claim 12, wherein selectively updating the current portion of the document displayed in the window includes, in response to user manipulation of the slider to a predetermined scroll bar position on the scroll bar: (a) determining immediately preceding and succeeding boundaries for the predetermined scroll bar position; (b) determining a scroll bar offset from the predetermined scroll bar position to the scroll bar position for the immediately preceding boundary; (c) scaling the scroll bar offset by the rate of scroll defined for the region delineated by the immediately and succeeding boundaries to define a document offset; and (d) summing the document offset with the document position for the immediately preceding boundary to determine the current document position.

Claim 15

The method of claim 8, further comprising dynamically defining the first and second regions of at least one of the document and the scroll bar.

Claim 16

The method of claim 14, wherein dynamically defining includes defining the first and second regions of the document and of the scroll bar in response to a history of user manipulation of the scroll bar.

Claim 17

The method of claim 15, wherein dynamically defining further includes tracking a navigation history for a user.

Claim 18

The method of claim 16, wherein dynamically defining further includes: (a) creating a plurality of boundaries, each boundary having associated therewith a document position and a scroll bar position, wherein each adjacent pair of boundaries defines a document region and a scroll bar region; and (b) based upon the navigation history for the user, adjusting at least one of the document and scroll bar positions of selected boundaries to emphasize more frequently navigated regions.

Claim 19

The method of claim 17, wherein creating a plurality of boundaries includes: (a) retrieving from the navigation history a set of directional change positions, each of which being representative of a scroll bar position in which a direction of navigation was reversed by a user; and (b) creating a boundary for each directional change position.

Claim 20

The method of claim 17, wherein creating a plurality of boundaries includes creating a plurality of evenly-spaced boundaries, each having evenly-spaced document and scroll bar positions relative to other boundaries.

Claim 21

The method of claim 17, wherein adjusting at least one of the document and scroll bar positions of selected boundaries includes: (a) determining from the navigation history a frequency of navigation associated with each pair of boundaries; (b) determining an expansion factor for each pair of boundaries based upon the associated frequency of navigation; and (c) adjusting at least one of the document and scroll bar positions for selected boundaries based upon the expansion factors determined for each pair of boundaries.

Claim 24

A user interface component configured to be displayed on a computer display to receive user input for manipulating a window displayed on the computer display, the window of the type having at least a portion of a document displayed therein, the document including at least first and second regions, the user interface component comprising: (a) a scroll bar display element displayed on the computer display; and (b) first and second regions defined on the scroll bar display element, the first region mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 25

A user interface component configured to be displayed on a computer display to receive user input for manipulating a window displayed on the computer display, the window of the type having at least a portion of a document displayed therein, the document including at least first and second regions, the user interface component comprising: (a) a scroll bar display element displayed on the computer display; and (b) first and second regions defined on the scroll bar display element, the first region mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 26

The user interface component of claim 22, further comprising a user control displayed on the computer display in association with the scroll bar display element, the user control responsive to user input to update the current portion of the document displayed in the window.

Claim 27

The user interface component of claim 23, wherein the scroll bar display element is displayed along a perimeter of the window.

Claim 28

The user interface component of claim 23, wherein the first and second regions of the scroll bar display element are respectively displayed in first and second visually distinguishable representations.

Claim 29

The user interface component of claim 23, further comprising a boundary display element delineating the first and second regions of the scroll bar display element.

Claim 30

The user interface component of claim 23, wherein the user control comprises a slider including a current scroll bar position on the scroll bar display element that is associated with a current document position for the document displayed in the window.

Claim 31

The user interface component of claim 27, wherein the slider is configured to scroll the portion of the document displayed in the window at the first rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the first region of the scroll bar display element, and to scroll the portion of the document displayed in the window at the second rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the second region of the scroll bar display element.

Claim 32

The user interface component of claim 27, further comprising at least one boundary delineating the first and second regions of the scroll bar display element, each boundary having associated therewith a document position and a scroll bar position.

Claim 33

The user interface component of claim 29, wherein each region is defined between a pair of boundaries, wherein the rate of scroll for each region is defined as the ratio of the difference between the document positions for the pair of boundaries to the difference between the scroll bar positions for the pair of boundaries.

Claim 34

The user interface component of claim 23, wherein the rate of scroll for each region is dynamically adjustable in response to a user navigation history.

Claim 35

A computer system, comprising: (a) a computer display; and (b) a processor, coupled to the computer display, the processor configured to display a window on the computer display; to display at least a portion of a document in the window, the document including at least first and second regions; and to display a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 36

A computer system, comprising: (a) a computer display; and (b) a processor, coupled to the computer display, the processor configured to display a window on the computer display; to display at least a portion of a document in the window, the document including at least first and second regions; and to display a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 37

The computer system of claim 32, wherein the processor is further configured to selectively update the current portion of the document displayed in the window in response to user manipulation of the scroll bar.

Claim 38

The computer system of claim 33, wherein the processor is further configured to display the scroll bar along a perimeter of the window.

Claim 39

The computer system of claim 33, wherein the processor is further configured to display the scroll bar with the first and second regions visually distinguished.

Claim 40

The computer system of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to display a boundary display element delineating the first and second regions of the scroll bar.

Claim 41

The computer system of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to render the first and second regions with first and second visual representations.

Claim 42

The computer system of claim 33, wherein the processor is further configured to display a slider on the scroll bar, the slider including a current scroll bar position on the scroll bar that is associated with a current document position for the document displayed in the window.

Claim 43

The computer system of claim 38, wherein the processor is further configured to: (a) scroll through the document at the first rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the first region of the scroll bar; and (b) scroll through the document at the second rate of scroll in response to user manipulation of the slider when the slider is disposed in the second region of the scroll bar.

Claim 44

The computer system of claim 38, wherein the processor is further configured to define the first and second regions of the scroll bar by establishing at least one boundary delineating each region, each boundary having associated therewith a document position and a scroll bar position.

Claim 45

The computer system of claim 33, wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically define the first and second regions of at least one of the document and the scroll bar.

Claim 46

The computer system of claim 41, wherein the processor is further configured to track a navigation history for a user, and in response to the navigation history, to define the first and second regions of the document and of the scroll bar.

Claim 47

The computer system of claim 41, wherein the processor is further configured to create a plurality of boundaries, each boundary having associated therewith a document position and a scroll bar position, wherein each adjacent pair of boundaries defines a document region and a scroll bar region; and based upon the navigation history for the user, to adjust at least one of the document and scroll bar positions of selected boundaries to emphasize more frequently navigated regions.

Claim 48

A program product, comprising: (a) a program configured to perform a method of displaying a document on a computer display, the method comprising: (1) displaying at least a portion of a document in a window on a computer display, the document including at least first and second regions; and (2) displaying a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different; and (b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.

Claim 49

A program product, comprising: (a) a program configured to perform a method of displaying a document on a computer display, the method comprising: (1) displaying at least a portion of a document in a window on a computer display, the document including at least first and second regions; and (2) displaying a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different; and (b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.

Claim 50

The program product of claim 44, wherein the signal bearing media comprises a recordable type media.

Claim 51

The program product of claim 44, wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission type media.

Claim 54

The method of claim 47, wherein the variable represents a document position in a document, the method further comprising displaying at least a portion of the document in a window on the computer display.

Claim 55

The method of claim 47, wherein the non-linear mapping is defined by first and second rates of scroll, the first and second rates of scroll being different from one another, the first rate of scroll provided by mapping a first subrange in the range of values for the variable to a first region of the scroll bar, and the second rate of scroll provided by mapping a second subrange in the range of values for the variable to a second region of the scroll bar.

Claim 56

The method of claim 49, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are respectively uniform throughout the first and second regions of the scroll bar.

Claim 61

A user interface component configured to be displayed on a computer display to receive user input for manipulating a window displayed on the computer display, the window of the type having at least a portion of a document displayed therein, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions, the user interace component comprising: (a) a scroll bar display element displayed on the computer display; and (b) first and second regions defined on the scroll bar display element, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 62

A user interface component configured to be displayed on a computer display to receive user input for manipulating a window displayed on the computer display, the window of the type having at least a portion of a document displayed therein, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions, the user interace component comprising: (a) a scroll bar display element displayed on the computer display; and (b) first and second regions defined on the scroll bar display element, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 63

A computer system, comprising: (a) a computer display; and (b) a processor, coupled to the computer display, the processor configured to display a window on the computer display; to display at least a portion of a document in the window, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions; and to display a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 64

A computer system, comprising: (a) a computer display; and (b) a processor, coupled to the computer display, the processor configured to display a window on the computer display; to display at least a portion of a document in the window, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions; and to display a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different.

Claim 65

A program product, comprising: (a) a program configured to perform a method of displaying a document on a computer display, the method comprising: (1) displaying at least a portion of a document in a window on a computer display, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions; and (2) displaying a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different; and (b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.

Claim 66

A program product, comprising: (a) a program configured to perform a method of displaying a document on a computer display, the method comprising: (1) displaying at least a portion of a document in a window on a computer display, the document including at least first and second regions, each region of the document bounded by a pair of document positions; and (2) displaying a scroll bar on the computer display, the scroll bar including at least first and second regions, each region of the scroll bar bounded by a pair of scroll bar positions, the first region of the scroll bar mapped to the first region of the document to provide a first rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the first region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the first region of the scroll bar, and the second region of the scroll bar mapped to the second region of the document to provide a second rate of scroll associated with the ratio of the difference between the pair of document positions for the second region of the document to the difference between the pair of scroll bar positions for the second region of the scroll bar, wherein the first and second rates of scroll are different; and (b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.