Virtual and emulated objects for use in the user interface of a display screen of a display processor
Patent 4939507 Issued on July 3, 1990. Estimated Expiration Date: August 15, 2008. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
345/156, DISPLAY PERIPHERAL INTERFACE INPUT DEVICE703/21, Computer or peripheral device703/22, Software program (i.e., performance prediction)703/26, Of instruction703/27, Compatibility emulation715/804, Interwindow link or communication715/839Imitating real life object
A user interface is represented on the display screen in the form of metaphoric objects, called icons, with which the user can interact by changing the input focus to a designated object by visually pointed to it via the input means, which thereafter permits manipulation of the designated object or interaction with data input/output relative to the designated object. This input means is also used to initially change the input focus to either the allocated emulating processor screen portion or to the remaining portion of the central processor display screen prior to interaction with the metaphoric objects in a selected screen portion, the change of the input focus causing subsequent user input via the input means to be directed to the selected screen portion until interrupted by a change in focus input to the other of the screen portions by the user via the input means. An icon may be a representation of a virtual object, such as a virtual floppy disk, that is accessible in either the host system world or in the emulating processor world even though the virtual floppy disk may have a filing system alien to the host system world.
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August 15, 2008. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
