Four-dimensional graphical user interface
US5678015A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 1, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 14, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 1, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2203/04804
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer-based system and method for displaying a workspace of greater effective area than that of the display screen using a four-dimensional graphical user interface employing real-time texture mapping. According to the present invention, the user selects a number of workspaces to be displayed. Each selected workspaces is then texture mapped to a polygonal surface. Then the surfaces are displayed at orientations to form a polyhedron with a workspace on each face. Each face may be translucent, so that workspaces otherwise hidden by that face are visible. The polyhedron rotates under the user's control so that each face is presented to the user. It is this combination of a three-dimensional figure with real-time rotation and texture mapping that gives this "Four-Dimensional Graphical User Interface" its name.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.