User interface with multiple workspaces for sharing display system objects

Patent 5394521 Issued on February 28, 1995. Estimated Expiration Date:

May 6, 2013. 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.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Touchscreen two-dimensional emulation of three-dimensional objects
Patent #: 4649499
Issued on: 03/10/1987
Inventor: Sutton , et al.

Task control means for a multi-tasking data processing system
Patent #: 4658351
Issued on: 04/14/1987
Inventor: Teng

Screen manager for data processing system
Patent #: 4688167
Issued on: 08/18/1987
Inventor: Agarwal

User interface with multiple workspaces for sharing display system objects
Patent #: 5072412
Issued on: 12/10/1991
Inventor: Henderson, Jr., et al.

Display control apparatus including a window display priority designation arrangement
Patent #: 5129055
Issued on: 07/07/1992
Inventor: Yamazaki, et al.

User interface with multiple workspaces for sharing display system objects Patent #: 5233687
Issued on: 08/03/1993
Inventor: Henderson, Jr., et al.

Inventors

Assignee

Xerox Corporation

Application

No. 058360 filed on 05/06/1993

US Classes:

719/310, MISCELLANEOUS719/315, Object oriented message719/328APPLICATION PROGRAM INTERFACE (API)

Examiners

Primary: Herndon, Heather R.

International Class

G06F 015/20

Abstract

Workspaces provided by an object-based user interface appear to share windows and other display objects. Each workspace's data structure includes, for each window in that workspace, a linking data structure called a placement which links to the display system object which provides that window, which may be a display system object in a preexisting window system. The placement also contains display characteristics of the window when displayed in that workspace, such as position and size. Therefore, a display system object can be linked to several workspaces by a placement in each of the workspaces' data structures, and the window it provides to each of those workspaces can have unique display characteristics. The display system object can operate continuously despite switching between one workspace and another, and the windows it provides in successive workspaces can share features so that they appear to the user to be the same window or versions of the same window. As a result, the workspaces appear to be sharing a window.

Other References

Henderson, Jr., D. A. and Card, S. K., "Rooms: The Use of Multiple Virtual Workspaces to Reduce Space Contention in a Window-Based Graphical User Interface," ACM Transactions on Graphics, vol. 5, No. 3, Jul. 1986, pp. 211-243
Teitelman, W., "A Tour Through Cedar," IEEE Software, vol. 1, No. 2, Apr. 1984, pp. 44-73
Teitelman, W., "The Cedar Programming Environment: A Midterm Report and Examination," Xerox Corporation, PARC Report CSL-83-11, Jun. 1984, pp. 23-31 and 93-95
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-229518 and partial translation
The AutoCAD™ Drafting Package User Reference, 1985, sections 7.1-7.7, 9.1, and 9.6
The Lotus™ Guide to Lerning Symphony™, 1984, pp. 30-36
Macintosh™ Switcher Construction Kit, 1986, pp. i-x and 1-58
McGeever, C., "Rush of Integrated Mac Software," Info World, Apr. 1, 1985, 38-41
Inside Macintosh™ vols. I, II, and III, 1985, pp. 1-45, 1-46, and 1-269 through 1-271
Heid, J. and Norton, P., Inside the Apple Macintosh.RTM., New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989, pp. 71-81 and 135-143
Gammill, R. and Ram, P., "VT-A Virtual Terminal Window Package for Unix," SIGSmall Newsletter, vol. 10, No. 2, May 1984, pp. 21-3