Information surfacing with visual cues indicative of relevance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9817543-B2
Application number	US-201715419458-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2017
Priority date	Dec 23, 2013
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A user interface through which information is proactively provided utilizes visual cues indicative of the relevance of the information that is being proactively provided. Such visual cues include sizing, color, intensity, movement, and other like visual attributes. A single discrete visual element proactively presents information to the user. The user is provided with the opportunity to define discrete events, whereby information associated with such events is presented through other discrete elements. The physical orientation of such discrete elements indicates relationships between elements. Ranking functionality identifies more immediately relevant information and the rankings of related elements are increased based upon other, contextual information with which such information is associated, and on which the importance of such information is based. Information is surfaced to provide a vector through which the user responds or utilizes such surfaced information independently of specific application programs having discrete informational focus.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for notifying a user via a graphical user interface that is physically generated on a hardware display device by a computing device, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a first notification and a first relevance associated with the first notification;
generating, as part of the graphical user interface, a first discrete visual element comprising the first notification, the first discrete visual element having a first size, a first shape, a first color intensity and a first transparency, wherein at least one of: the first size, the first shape, the first color intensity or the first transparency are selected based on the first relevance so as to cause the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is floating before the user in an opaque medium at a depth corresponding to the first relevance;
subsequently obtaining a second relevance associated with the first notification, the second relevance representing a change from the first relevance; and
regenerating, as part of the graphical user interface, the first discrete visual element by modifying at least one of: the first size, the first shape, the first color intensity or the first transparency in accordance with the second relevance so as to cause the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is moving out of the opaque medium towards the user if the second relevance is greater than the first relevance or to visually appear as if it is moving into the opaque medium away from the user if the second relevance is less than the first relevance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the opaque medium is an opaque gaseous material such that the generating the first discrete visual element comprises generating the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is floating in a container of the opaque gaseous material at the depth away from the user and being observed by the user looking into the container.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hardware display device is an LCD monitor, and wherein further the generating the first discrete visual element comprises generating the first discrete visual element, on the LCD monitor, as a two-dimensional projection that is visually evocative of an object in a three-dimensional space.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating the first discrete visual element comprises generating the first discrete visual element as a three-dimensional visual element.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the hardware display device allows at least some light through such that the generating the first discrete visual element as the three-dimensional visual element comprises generating the first discrete visual element as the three-dimensional visual element in an augmented reality comprising both the generated first discrete visual element as well as physical objects behind the hardware display device visible via the at least some light passing through the hardware display device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is floating before the user in an opaque medium at a depth corresponding to the first relevance comprises graphically reducing a clarity of the first discrete visual element to simulate presence of an amount of the opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user, the amount being inversely proportional to the first relevance; and wherein further the regenerating the first discrete visual element comprises graphically increasing the clarity to simulate a decreasing amount of the opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user if the second relevance is greater than the first relevance and graphically decreasing the clarity to simulate an increasing amount of the opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user if the second relevance is less than the first relevance.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
obtaining a second notification, differing from the first notification, and a third relevance associated with the second notification;
generating, as part of the graphical user interface, a second discrete visual element, differing from the first discrete visual element and comprising the second notification, the second discrete visual element having a second size, a second shape, a second color intensity and a second transparency, wherein at least one of: the second size, the second shape, the second color intensity or the second transparency are selected based on the third relevance so as to cause the second discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is floating before the user in the opaque medium, independently of the first discrete visual element, and at a depth corresponding to the third relevance.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
generating, as part of the graphical user interface, a second discrete visual element, differing from the first discrete visual element and comprising a second notification;
wherein a visual proximity of the second discrete visual element to the first discrete visual element in the graphical user interface is indicative of a relationship between the second notification and the first notification.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the visual proximity of the second discrete visual element to the first discrete visual element is such that, if the second notification is explicitly related to the first notification, the first and second discrete visual elements share an edge, and if the second notification is implicitly related to the first notification, the first and second discrete visual elements are generated with a visual gap between them.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first notification is based on a combination of information obtained from two or more separate and independent application programs.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second relevance is greater than a first relevance because a second notification was combined with the first notification into a single notification providing information that is based on information from both the first notification and the second notification.

12. A graphical user interface, physically generated on a hardware display device by a computing device, for notifying a user, the graphical user interface comprising:
a first discrete visual element comprising a first notification, the first discrete visual element having a graphically reduced clarity to simulate presence of an amount of opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user so as to visually appear as if the first discrete visual element is floating before the user in the opaque medium at a depth corresponding to a first relevance assigned to the first notification;
wherein the first discrete visual element moves within the user interface with at least one of: a translational motion or a rotational motion so as to further visually appear as if the first discrete visual element is floating before the user in the opaque medium; and
wherein further the first discrete visual element is graphically redrawn so as to:
graphically increase the clarity to simulate a decreasing amount of the opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user, thereby causing the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is moving out of the opaque medium towards the user if the first relevance increases; and
graphically decrease the clarity to simulate an increasing amount of the opaque medium between the first discrete visual element and the user, thereby causing the first discrete visual element to visually appear as if it is moving into the opaque medium aw

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Coyner Donald Robert
• Jones David
• Poot Rudy
• Miles Christopher Eoin
• Haggerty Ammon

Classifications

• G06F3/04815 Primary

  Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional [3D], e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object · CPC title

• G06F3/0481 Primary

  based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance · CPC title

• G06F9/451

  Execution arrangements for user interfaces · CPC title

• G06T2210/24

  Fluid dynamics · CPC title

• G06T2219/2012

  Colour editing, changing, or manipulating; Use of colour codes · CPC title