Xerox Corporation

Frank G Halasz

Thomas P Moran

Scott Alan Elrod

Richard H Bruce

Richard J Goldstein

Dallas R Grove

Michael K McCall

Malcolm S Smith

Elin R Pederson

Elin R Pedersen

A computer-controlled graphics display system using object-based representations of the displayed objects, and cooperating with a user-operated motion-sensitive input device. A powerful user interface technique called 'wiping' is described. This allows selection by the user of target objects to be acted on by accessing an applicator and sweeping the applicator over the display. Selected objects are determined by selection criteria including spatial intersection of the applicator sweep stroke with the displayed object, and time of object creation. The effect on the selected objects is on the entire object and is determined by an operator associated by the user with the applicator, such as object grouping, deletion, coloring, uncoloring, thickening, or object size relocation.

Wiping metaphor as a user interface for operating on graphical objects

A computer-controlled graphics display system providing improved means for selecting objects for joint action. The invention helps the user of a graphical user interface more easily select a group of objects that are meaningfully related to each other. Objects are usually created serially in time by a user, but they are typically selected by spatial grouping in graphical user interfaces. The invention shows that such a spatial grouping can be refined by considering the temporal grouping of objects. Algorithms are proposed which combine both spatial and temporal grouping to produce the most appropriate grouping of objects, i.e., groupings that most likely conform to the user's intentions.

Time-space object containment for graphical user interface

Enclosure for a large area display

Wireless optical input device

Growing community of inventors

Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America

Frank G Halasz