Method and apparatus for multilevel software controls
US5900877A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 15, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 4, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 15, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/451
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing multi-layered graphical user interface controls is described. The user interface controls are comprised of several graphic control layers, each having a transparent region and an opaque region. User input actions over a transparent region is effective to tunnel the user input action to the next graphic control layer until the user input action is determined to occur over an opaque region of a subsequent graphic control layer. In one embodiment, the present invention includes push button and radio button controls. In other embodiments, the present invention includes check boxes, sliders and lists. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes backout behavior in which a selection action over an opaque region followed by motion into a transparent region is effective to cause the appearance of the graphic control layer to change from an activated appearance to an deactivated appearance without tunneling the input action to the next graphic control layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.