Three dimensional data display method utilizing view point tracing and reduced document images

Claim 2

A data display method in a virtual 3-D coordinate space having an X axis along a first direction of a 2-D screen, a Y axis along a second direction of said 2-D screen, and a Z axis along a virtual depth direction with respect to said 2-D screen, comprising the steps of: generating a content of data as a reduced image; setting an attribute of each item of said data to each of said X axis and said Z axis within a space; displaying a list of the content of each item of said data on said screen by displaying said reduced image at a position having an X coordinate and a Z coordinate corresponding to a value of the attribute of each item of said data; and superimposing a trace of a view point within said space on said reduced image within said screen based on the view point inputted successively in said space, said view point being indicative of which part of said space should be displayed at which angle as an image, each view point which is inputted from a pointing device is stored as history in time series and a trace indicative of the past movement path of the view points is drawn on the screen based on the stored data of the view points, wherein, a dark portion and a bright portion are provided in the trace and the bight portion moves within the trace of the view points in a direction in which the view point moves from the latest one to the older ones.

Claim 3

The data display method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of: displaying a screen in such a manner to successively change from a display seen from a new view point to a display seen from an older view point along trace of movement of said view point.

Claim 4

The data display method of claim 1 , wherein said list displaying step includes the sub-step of: displaying specified data at a front position within said screen.

Claim 5

The data display method of claim 1 , wherein said list displaying step includes the sub-step of: turning an image invisible when a distance to said view point is not greater than a predetermined value so as not to be displayed on said screen.

Claim 6

The data display method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of: turning an image into translucent while said image is being turned into visible/invisible.

Claim 7

The data display method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of: displaying an image being flipped down within said screen when said image is erased, and displaying an image being flipped up within said screen when said image is to appear.

Claim 8

The data display method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of: displaying an image which is moving in a direction from inside to outside of said screen when said image is erased, and displaying an image which is moving in a direction from outside to inside of said screen when said image is to appear.

Claim 9

The data display method of claim 1 , wherein said list displaying step includes the sub-steps of: computing density of the data in a partial space within said space; judging whether the data in said partial space are dense or not; displaying a group figure if the data in said partial space are dense instead of displaying images of all the data residing in said partial space, said group figure indicating that the data are dense in said partial space.

Claim 10

A data display method in a virtual 3-D coordinate space having a X axis along a first direction of a 2-D screen, a Y axis along a second direction of said 2-D screen, and a Z axis along a virtual depth direction with respect to said 2-D screen, comprising the steps of: setting an attribute of each item of data to each of said X axis and said Z axis within a space; generating polyhedrons each having a front surface parallel to an XY plane and an attribute information display surface within said space, said front surface and said attribute information display surface being different from each other; displaying a content of each item of said data as a reduced image on the front surface of said each polyhedron; displaying a list of the content of each item of said data on said screen by placing a corresponding polyhedron at a position having an X coordinate and a Z coordinate corresponding to a value of the attribute of each item of said data; and displaying a value of an attribute as attribute information of each kind of said data on said attribute information display surface of said each polyhedron, said attribute being different from said two attributes, wherein said attribute information displaying step includes the sub-step of: displaying said attribute information of each kind of a rear surface of said each polyhedron, wherein the rear surface is a surface which is not visible when the polyhedron is virtually displayed in 3-D space, and the rear surface is displayed when the polyhedron is virtually reversed upon rotation of the polyhedron upon an axis.

Claim 11

A data display method in a virtual 3-D coordinate space having a X axis along a first direction of a 2-D screen, a Y axis along a second direction of said 2-D screen, and a Z axis along a virtual depth direction with respect to said 2-D screen, comprising the steps of: setting an attribute of each item of data to each of said X axis and said Z axis within a space; generating polyhedrons each having a front surface parallel to an XY plane and an attribute information display surface within said space, said front surface and said attribute information display surface being different from each other; displaying a content of each item of said data as a reduced image on the front surface of said each polyhedron; displaying a list of the content of each item of said data on said screen by placing a corresponding polyhedron at a position having an X coordinate and a Z coordinate corresponding to a value of the attribute of each item of said data; and displaying a value of an attribute as attribute information of each kind of said data on said attribute information display surface of said each polyhedron, said attribute being different from said two attributes, wherein said attribute information displaying step includes the sub-step of: displaying said attribute information of each kind of a rear surface of said each polyhedron, wherein the rear surface is a surface which is not visible when the polyhedron is virtually displayed in 3-D space, and the rear surface is displayed when the polyhedron is virtually reversed upon rotation of the polyhedron upon an axis.