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:
May. 04, 2004
Filed:
Nov. 01, 2000
Jeffrey R. Aamodt, Sammamish, WA (US);
Alexander A. Sourov, Seattle, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A network diagram layout engine can automatically determine the layout of nodes of information within a chart on a display screen while permitting manual adjustment of other nodes. The network diagram layout engine can also filter the types of nodes that will be displayed. The network diagram layout engine can support various automatic layout schemes or spatial arrangements of the nodes that can be modified or adjusted manually by the user. The network diagram layout engine can create a network diagram that highlights the interrelationships between respective nodes by substantially reducing intersections of links between nodes. That is, the network diagram layout engine can create a network diagram that includes a plurality of nodes that are linked together to form one or more node chains. The one or more node chains can provide a balanced and logical presentation of the interrelationships between the nodes where links between nodes flow in a substantially smooth manner between respective links.