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:
Mar. 05, 2002
Filed:
May. 08, 2000
Bruce A. Reichlen, Acton, MA (US);
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A computer system provides an improved graphical user interface by defining a view space in which graphical user interface windows from separate computer processes can be selectively located by a user. This view space has a plurality of discrete portions each large enough to hold a plurality of such user interface windows. The system enables users to selectively associate view space portions with physical locations external to the system's computing apparatus. The system also enables users to selectively locate a variable number of the user interface windows in each of the view space portions associated with such a physical location, including enabling the user to selectively move windows between such view space portions. The system detects when a user motions toward a given physical locations and responds to such a detection by presenting a visual display showing the given view space portion associated with the given physical location, together with any user interface window located in the given view space portion. In some versions of the invention, the physical location can be defined by a global positioning system and the system can detect when a user moves into a location defined by such global positioning.