Visually aging scroll bar
US5532715A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 9, 1992 |
| Grant date | Jul 2, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 9, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F40/18
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A visually aging scroll bar is associated with a window or viewport on a computer display as part of a computer system, and contains a slider to indicate relative positioning in the window of a document, such as a data file, image file, audio file, text file, or spreadsheet. The current position of the scroll bar slider is monitored by the computer system. After a first predetermined sampling period has elapsed, a first region matching the current position of the scroll bar slider is created. The visual appearance of the region is determined by a predetermined region heating rate. For example, a newly created region starts at "cold", which can be indicated by a violet-indigo color. After a second sampling period has elapsed, the computer system again checks the current position of the scroll bar slider. If the current position still matches the first region, the visual appearance of the first region symbolically "warms up" as indicated by the region heating rate. This incrementally changing visual appearance (for example, from violet to indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and finally a deep red) continues for as long as the current slider position matches the first region, up until…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.