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:
Dec. 14, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1996
Takashi Sugiyama, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Brian Bakoglu, Milpitas, CA (US);
Hiroaki Nakano, San Francisco, CA (US);
George Cossey, San Jose, CA (US);
Sony Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Sony Electronics Inc., Park Ridge, NJ (US);
Abstract
A graphical user interface displays a first menu image on a display for an operating system on a computer. The first menu image includes a taskbar image which carries button images selectable by the user to carry out a function. The GUI also displays a second menu image on the display for a navigator software which is running under the operating system. The navigator software provides a quasi-operating system environment. The GUI displays the taskbar image in the second menu image whereby the user can carry out functions of the operating system from within the quasi-operating system environment provided by the navigator software. Three visual walls are arranged on the GUI as if the user is standing inside a three-dimensional cube and open to the sky. Clicking once either on the side walls moves the contents of the side wall to the center, in effect rotating the cube. When a wall is centered, the user can activate any function in the wall by clicking on a button. Buttons displayed in the side wall may be immediately activated by double clicking so the user does not have to center the side wall.