The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 30, 1997
Filed:
Jul. 31, 1995
Patrick Michael Volk, Kirkland, WA (US);
Michael Breed Robin, Redmond, WA (US);
Edwin Thorne, III, Seattle, WA (US);
JoGene Kapell, Bellevue, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
An object-oriented system for generating and displaying control items that allow users of an interactive network to recognize and select control functions via a graphical user interface. The manipulation of the control items on a display screen is linked to a set-top terminal associated with the interactive network. The control items, which can be visible or audible, are associated with control objects. Control objects are arranged in a hierarchy, and can contain one or more child control objects. Attributes of a child control object are inherited from an ancestor control object. A control item can be graphically manipulated independently by drawing the control item into its own sprite, or can be manipulated by drawing the control item into the sprite of a parent. The system provides building blocks of control elements that can be composed and customized to produce versatile interfaces for applications and content.