International Business Machines Corporation

Other

William Jaaskelainen, Jr

Leon Edward Gregg

Julianne Frances Haugh

Ronald James Urbin

Jeffrey Carl Schoenherr

An assembly, composed of long foamed tubing, with a soft inner surface and a smooth outer surface, so configured that it covers and minimizes the problem of snare points on equipment in contact with a protective covering tarpaulin. Protective tarpaulin are generally made of fabric or synthetic sheets. They can be made waterproof by impregnating them with various water proofing agents as well as being coated with a variety of natural or synthetic coatings such as acrylic or synthetic rubberized latices. Synthetic tarpaulins can be reinforced with a fiber matrics, if needed and used for example to cover pleasure boats, construction equipment, flatbed trucks, construction sites, airplanes, cars and trucks, where one wishes to protect from environmental exposure. Yet in spite of these intentions, these sheets exhibit significant defects in that they can be readily ripped and torn on the sharp and protruding edges of the equipment that they are intended to protect. The equipment is damaged by the rubbing of the tarpaulin. This inventions resolves this problem.

Assembly and method to improve tarpaulin function as a protective cover

A compare sequence is executed at least once, and the results of that execution are used to modify the compare sequence for a subsequent execution of the compare sequence. In a preferred embodiment, the compare sequence is modified by placing the TRUE compare statement of the previous execution at the beginning of the compare sequence. In another preferred embodiment, the compare sequence is reordered in descending order of the number of TRUE compares associated with each compare statement. The compare sequence may be immediately modified after each successful compare, or the customer may define external sampling periods for modification of the compare sequences. The modification may be a single program modification of compare structures for delayed modification or a global modification of programs for delayed modification.

Method and apparatus for employing cognitive compares in compare statement sequences

A method and implementing computer system are provided in which screensavers are used to lock a workstation and present an eye-pleasing display while the user is away from the workstation. Users are enabled to select from a plurality of screensaver types which are applied in a screensaver mode. The screensaver displays include application indicia representative of work-in-progress when a screensaver mode was activated. The application indicia can be selectively obscured to hide work which may be of a sensitive or proprietary nature.

Communicating screen saver

A graphical pointing device and method for controlling a graphical pointer displayed within a display device of a data processing system are disclosed. The graphical pointing device includes a transducer, which converts manipulation of the graphical pointing device into electrical signals utilized by a data processing system to move a graphical pointer displayed within a display device. In addition, the graphical pointing device includes a graphical pointer speed control for varying a relationship between the electrical signals and manipulation of the graphical pointing device, thereby enabling the graphical pointer to be moved within the display device at various speeds by differing adjustments of the graphical pointer speed control without modifying programming within the data processing system.

Graphical pointing device and method for controlling a graphical pointer

A data processor controlled user interactive display system for displaying hypertext documents, each including a sequence of display screen pages including text and image information received over a communications network such as the World Wide Web by first determining the more significant page edge based upon the horizontal direction in which the natural language of the text is read. Visual information density at a sequence of horizontal positions in a medial direction with respect to said significant page edge is then sampled, and each sequential sample of said visual information is compared to a selected density level. As a result of this comparison, the visual information in the window is positioned with respect to a reference margin determined by a sample of said visual information attaining said selected density level.

Positioning of transmitted document pages in receiving display station

In a computer controlled user interactive display, a system is provided for controlling cursor movement on the display screen involving a user activated cursor control device connected to said computer movable in the four orthogonal directions. The system has conventional means for converting the user activated orthogonal movements into cursor movements in said orthogonal directions on said display screen and user interactive means for scaling said cursor movements in each of said four orthogonal directions relative to the corresponding movements in said cursor control device. The invention is particularly directed to such cursor movement rate scaling in respective windows.

User interactive cursor control system with a programmable scale of

A window hatch is created in a displayed window. Once the hatch is created, a portion of the displayed window delimited by the hatch disappears, revealing the window underneath. Multiple invocations of the hatch operation bore through lower, underlying windows until the desired window is reached. Thus, portions of the desired underlying window show through the window hatch, while the top window remains in view. The window hatch can be adjusted in size and shape. The underlying window can be repositioned so that the desired information shows through the hatch. Various navigation and information cues are available to assist the user in understanding the relationship of the various windows and correctly positioning the window hatch.

Window hatches in graphical user interface

An improved pointer device, such as a mouse, for a computer system having a video display that uses a moving graphical pointer. The pointer device has switches or dials that allow independent adjustment of mouse speed and acceleration. Separate adjustments can be made for X and Y axes of motion of the mouse. Since the adjustment functionality is built into the hardware of the mouse, the mouse user is able to easily configure mouse behavior without navigating various menus and panels in software drivers, providing functionality which may not otherwise be available on the user's system.

Hardware-selectable mouse movement

A widget, a predefined region of a graphical display, and a graphical pointer or cursor are displayed on the display device. A user may define a gravitational widget where traversal rates are not constant on the display. In addition, relationships may be defined which correlates manipulation of the graphical pointing device, the movement of the graphical pointer and a widget. Certain users may be denied access to one or more widgets. When the graphical pointer contacts the border of the widget, the graphical pointer may be denied access to the widget by controlling the graphical pointer. Control of the graphical pointer is accomplished through a defined relationship or action rule. Various action rules forbidding access to a widget include moving or displacing the graphical pointer to a home position, skipped over the widget with the graphical pointer, freezing or sticking the graphical pointer to the widget, displacing the graphical pointer to a random location on the screen, rebounding the graphical pointer, racing the graphical pointer around the widget's border, and repeatedly backing-up and moving forward the graphical pointer. Two or more action rules may be combined so that multiple movements may be achieved.

Method and system for denying graphical pointer access to a widget of a

A method and apparatus are disclosed that allow rapid positioning of a cursor within a data processing system graphical user interface. The method involves establishing a preferred order of the cursor movement between at least a subset of windows with all windows active on the data processing system and then repositioning the cursor based upon the preferred order of the cursor movement between the windows when an input stimulus is activated. Next, the window is then activated based on the cursor being repositioned and then giving the activated window the focus within the graphical user interface, which then leads to the activated window being prepared for date manipulation. The apparatus comprises a keyboard coupled to the data processing system, a pointer device, also coupled to the data processing system, and means for establishing a user definable window application order preference queue. The preference queue allows a user to select another application from the queue by activating a selected key on the keyboard, typically the Alt.sub.-- Tab key.

Method and apparatus for providing programmable window-to-window focus

A method for rapid positioning of a display pointer on a display screen may be accomplished by establishing a preferred order of display pointer movement between widgets when the particular screen location of the widgets is known. Having established the preferred order, the display pointer is automatically repositioned based on the preferred order when an input stimulus is activated. The input stimulus may be activated by a function of the keyboard, mouse, or any other input devices that may be used in association with a computer.

Method for rapid repositioning of a display pointer in a preferred order

A method and system are disclosed for controlling the movement of a graphical pointer displayed within a display device of a data processing system having a graphical pointing device. According to the present invention, a widget, a predefined region within a graphical display, and a graphical pointer are displayed within the display device of the data processing system. When the graphical pointer is displayed at positions within the widget, a first relationship correlates manipulation of the graphical pointing device and movement of the graphical pointer within the display device. Conversely, when the graphical pointer is displayed at positions without the widget, a second relationship correlates manipulation of the graphical pointing device and movement of the graphical pointer within the display device. In response to manipulation of the graphical pointing device, movement of the graphical pointer is determined in accordance with the first relationship when the graphical pointer is displayed at positions within the widget and in accordance with the second relationship when the graphical pointer is displayed at positions without the widget, wherein control of the graphical pointer is enhanced.

Method and system for per widget graphical pointer control within a data

A method and system are disclosed for positioning a graphical pointer displayed within a widget displayed within the display device of a data processing system having a graphical pointing device. According to the present invention, a widget, a predefined region of a graphical display, and a graphical pointer are displayed within the display device. A first relationship is defined which correlates manipulation of the graphical pointing device and movement of the graphical pointer when the graphical pointer is within a first region within the widget. A second relationship is also defined which correlates manipulation of the graphical pointing device and movement of the graphical pointer when the graphical pointer is within a second region within the widget. In response to a manipulation of the graphical pointing device, the graphical pointer moves in accordance with the first relationship when the graphical pointer is displayed at positions within the first region and in accordance with the second relationship when the graphical pointer is displayed at positions within the second region, wherein positioning of the graphical pointer within the widget is enhanced.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

William Jaaskelainen, Jr