Other

Xerox Corporation

Robert A Stults

Mark J Abel

Steven R Harrison

Thomas E Merrow

Frank Zdybel, Jr

Ranjit Makkuni

Jane J Laursen

George O Goodman

Jay Trow

Recorded video segments are retrieved and displayed through a user interface that employs gestures. The user provides gestures by moving a mouse, and the resulting signals indicate a diagram. Data identifying the diagram is used to access a data structure to obtain data indicating which of a set of interactive line drawings includes features most closely resembling the diagram. The interactive line drawing with features closest to the diagram can then be displayed. When the user selects a part of the line drawing, a menu is displayed that includes a description of the video segments that relate to that part. To assist the user in providing gestural input, a preliminary diagram is displayed, reducing the amount of information the user must provide. The user can change parts of the diagram to obtain a modified diagram resembling features that appear in a desired line drawing. The diagrams and interactive line drawings can be displayed on a workstation display screen, while the video segments can be displayed on a video monitor screen by a video disk player under control of the workstation CPU.

Gesture-modified diagram for retrieval of image resembling diagram, with

Switch connections in a communication network are represented and displayed to a user, enabling the user to provide switch request signals based on the state of the connections. The representation is presented on the display of a workstation, and the user provides a sequence of switch request signals with the workstation's keyboard and mouse. A control procedure executed by the workstation generates a sequence of switch control signals based on the switch request signals. The switch control signals are provided to a switching server that converts them into commands to a switch that, in turn, switches connections between communication devices, such as cameras, monitors and microphones. These devices are positioned in groups, each group with one of the workstations. The representation may include a separate display feature representing each group, each group's display feature being at a separate location. Connections may be represented by lines between the groups that are connected. The control procedure also provides data so that the representation shows the current connections, including update data when connections are switched. This update data is based on a connection data structure in a shared file accessible by all the workstations on a network. A locking file in the same shared file system prevents interference between switch request signals from different users. A user can modify the switch control signal sequence based on a switch request signal sequence by accessing a signal data structure used by the control procedure to generate the switch control signals.

User interface control for communication system

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Robert A Stults