Patent Application
20110307815
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a novel graphical user interface and method of using said graphical user interface to graphically collect user preference data. Additionally, there the graphical user interface is able to be adapted based on the preference data as well as to display additional information according to user preference data.
2. Description of Related Art
As the amount of information available to users of computer systems increases, being able to provide users with relevant information becomes exponentially more difficult. In order to provide users with the most relevant information it is preferable to have some preference data from the users. Preference data is virtually any type of data which allows a system to narrow or organize information, primarily information for display or presentation to the user.
Computer systems have collected preference data from users in a variety of manners in the past. The most basic form of collecting preference data is a settings or options menu where a user can see the preference data they can modify and can interact accordingly. The problem with such menus is that the amount of preference data which can be collected is often limited and generic. When such menus allow for an extended amount of preference data to be collected, it is often tedious to go through everything and often times only a small fraction of the modifiable attributes in the menu are of interest to the user.
Preference data collected in settings and options menus also have the drawback that the preference data is only applicable to the specific entity, i.e. program or website, which collects the data. For example, most search results are organized by relevance to the search query. However, if a user prefers to normally see search results displayed in order of when the information was available, that user must modify the options in every program or on virtually every website they go to separately.
An additional drawback to settings and options menus is that the preference data is usually just related to how the program functions. There is no place in a settings menu to enter that a user likes fish more than meat or one car brand over another.
In order to collect preference data about users likes and dislikes, it has become common to prompt a user to enter rating data when viewing or after viewing information. Programs such as music libraries prompt users to rate and rank songs, artists, albums, etc. They either do so actively, such as immediately after a song, or passively by having a rating bar, such as a line of five stars, next to each song that the user can voluntarily utilize.
Websites, such as hotel and airline sites, often allow visitors to log in and set preference such as liking aisle seats over window seats, or 1st floor rooms over upper floor rooms. However, it is often necessary to select such data on each site separately, even though the information is the same for all hotels or airlines.
Therefore, there exists a need in computer systems to collect preference data in one place that is specific and relevant to each user and to make that preference data available to other programs, websites and parts of the system. Additionally, there exists a need to collect such data unobtrusively, preferably such that the user does not even know what preference data they are entering.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for collecting preference data from a user which overcome at least some of the drawbacks of the prior art. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a user interface which facilitates the method and allows for the collecting of preference data from a user which overcomes at least some of the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to collect the preference data from the user graphically and in such a way that the collection is not intrusive to the user.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to collect preference data that is applicable to a variety of preferences of the user and to make relevant portions of the preference data available to corresponding portions of a system.
One embodiment of the graphical user interface according to the present invention allows a user to place and manipulate graphical objects in a virtual space or in a plurality of virtual spaces. Images or icons representative of specific entities or data are available to be spatially placed amongst other images and icons in relation to a focus image or icon. Data is collected about each image or icon and used to form preference data about the user.
In said embodiment, if a user has an icon representing a Ford auto in a section representing the present and an icon representing a BMW auto in a section representing the future, the present system could determine an aspirational is preference of the user for BMW. If the user then has a third icon representing a Fiat auto in his present section, but the Fiat icon is further away from the focus image than the Ford icon, then system can determine a current preference for Ford over Fiat.
The system can then feed this data, preferably with the user's permission, to a used car search service. The service can use the preference data relevant to cars to deliver search results for the user where BMW, Ford and Fiat (in that order) are prioritized in the search results.
Time data on when a gob placed in a user's collection can also be collected and used by the system. In the interface, when objects are placed in the same, or relatively same location, the more recently placed gob is measured as having a slightly higher level of preference than the older gob.
In addition to using the data in a user's own collection, the present invention can also incorporate data from a user's network, i.e., the collections of icons and preference data in a user's friend's collections, preferably to the third level.
In the above example auto example, if the end user has a friend who has an Opel gob in their collection, the car search service could then deliver prioritized search results with Opel before other brands that were not in the end-user's collection.
The present invention will now be disclosed in more detail with the aid of the figures and exemplary embodiments.
The present invention provides a novel user interface which is capable of collecting data which is either preference data of the user or can be used to determine preference data of a user. Preferably, the user interface contains a plurality of graphical objects which are able to be manipulated and moved within the user interface. The way in which the user manipulates and places the graphical objects provides the user interface and associated system with the data to be used for creating preference data.
Preferably, the user interface contains several views capable of collecting preference data based on user interaction with the interface. Different views may allow the user to prioritize information in different ways. Some examples of views are present, past and future views. Such views can be distinct from one another or they can be different portions of a single view.
A user is able to place graphical objects in the view that is most appropriate to them. If a user is a college student, then graphical objects representative of high school can be placed in the past view. Graphical objects representative of information or entities currently important or from college can be place in the present view. The user can also place graphical objects representative of perspective jobs, graduate schools or nice cars in the future view which will become more important when the user graduates or is near to graduating.
In primary views, it is preferable to have a large amount of space to place, move and manipulate graphical objects so that the most preference data can be collected at one time. Examples of primary views are
In addition to primary views, the user interface can contain one or more secondary views. Secondary views preferably display information from the primary views. Secondary views such as
The user interface can also contain Tertiary views which provide a service to the user such as suggestions, search results, advertisements etc. While such services can be incorporated in to primary and secondary views, it can be preferable to have them in separate tertiary views such as
The user interface can contain additional views such as a settings menu, login menu, navigation screen etc.
A plurality of rings 7 radiate from the left side of the display. In the present example, each ring is half of a concentric oval. The number, shape, size and point of radiation for rings 7 may differ either according to a designer's choice or based on user input to the system. The purpose of the plurality of rings is two-fold. First, they are meant to provide reference points for the user so that a user visually knows how far from a set point each graphical object is. The second purpose is that the rings can define different zones in the display which have different properties which can affect data and graphical objects separately.
It is preferable that there is a central set point with which a user can place graphical objects in respect to distance wise. Located in a central position along the left wall, at the radiation point for the rings 7 is a focus graphical object 1a. While in the present example, the central set point is represented with its own graphical object 1a the spot can be marked in another manner. However, whatever representation is at the focus point is what the preference data will be collected with respect to.
In the present example, the focus graphical object 1a represents the user of the system. The area of the display then contains a plurality of user inputted graphical objects 1b-e located at various distances from the focus graphical object 1a and at various distances from the representations of the past 4 and future 2 views.
An advantage of the present interface, system and method is the variety of preference data that can be collected in an easy and non-intrusive manner. However, it is not always necessary to collect every type of preference data. Therefore the designer of the system, or a user, may limit some of the functionality of the system and interface based on the type of preference data required or their own preferences.
A user can place the graphical objects virtually anywhere in the white portion of the interface representative of the present. Therefore, any graphical objects in the present view are assigned a data indicator which states the graphical object is presently important to the user. If a graphical object in the present view is no longer of present importance to a user, they can drag or move the graphical object to the past or future views. In one embodiment, the user can drag the graphical object to the representation of the past or future view which will remove the object from the present view and place it automatically in the desired view for movement and manipulation in that view.
Within the present view, a user can place any graphical object at any distance from the focus object 1 a and any distance from the past and future representations. Therefore, the user can place the graphical object within the plane of the display, i.e. in a 2-D space with respect to two axis of movement. Object 1b is show closest to the focus object, within the area between the focus ring and the first ring 7, and slightly closer to the past than to the future. From this simple placement by the user, the system can determine that relative to all of the other graphical objects added by the user in the system, this is the most important to the user presently. All objects placed at the same distance from the focus object, regardless of distances from the alternative views can be given the same data indicator about relative preference. Alternatively, a data indicator can be given separately for each object indicative of its relative location to an alternative view. Therefore, object 1b would be indicated as being slightly less relevant than an object located at the same distance from the focus object but closer to the future representation.
Additionally, objects within set boundaries can be assigned the same data indicator with respect to distance from the focus object regardless of variation within the boundaries. This is specifically useful when there is a large number of graphical objects in the display or if means for manipulating the objects in the display is not as accurate as desired. Examples of such boundaries would be within two rings, or anything touching a set ring, etc.
It is preferable that data representative of the exact coordinates of the placed graphical object are collected and used for determining preference data. Therefore, two objects that are close to each other, but located at slightly different coordinates will provide different preference data. However, it can be preferable that only a general coordinate of a placed graphical object is collected or that a set or predetermined range of exact collected coordinates can be used to determine similar or identical preference data for closely placed graphical objects as discussed above. Both options can be selectable by a user or system operator in a single GUI or a specific GUI may only contain one or the other of the options.
In the present example of
Apart from the actual placement, the system, through the GUI, can gather information such as how often a object is selected or viewed, when it was placed or moved, how often the object is moved and in what manner it is moved and manipulated. Once data and data indicators are collected the system can determine, through basic or complex functions, a set of preference data about a user and objects. The preference data can then be used as is, or manipulated, by other portions of the system or by third party services.
Graphical objects in the present invention are preferably images or icons which represent either an entity or other data. They can be links to data, information, menus, programs, webpages, folders, additional graphical objects, graphical objects bonding societies, etc. Ideally, the images or icons are representative of the entity or information which they represent. In the case of webpages the graphical object can be a miniature view of a portion or all of the webpage. In the case of information about a person they could be a picture of the person. In the case of a product it can be a picture of the product or a trademark of the product or the like.
The image or icon can be selected by the user, it can be automatically assigned by the system, it can be selected by the owner or representative entity which the graphical object represents or other like manners. The graphical object can also be a generic image, background or symbol accompanied by text.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the all of the images or icons are of similar size. In the present example of
Graphical objects can also be images or icons which represent a display according to the present invention. For instance, in the example of
In the alternative scenario, when a user from the example screen of
Each of the graphical objects represented within the view of graphical object 1e would have a data indicator associating it with graphical object 1e as well as with graphical objects to which 1e is linked. Therefore, the system can determine preference data for the user represented by graphical object 1a involving preferred brands of cars based on the user's placement of where cars are important to the user represented by the placement of 1e in the users view and the placement of brands of cars within the car view of 1e.
Such associations and data indicators can extend for every association of every association and so on. However, in practice it is usually sufficient to only include associations and data indicators out to three associations. For example, in the example of
The image representative of the graphical object can be set when added to a view or it can be updated by the graphical object owner, system or entity. If the entity represented is a website and the image is a miniaturized portion of the website, then the image could update in the user view whenever the website is updated. If the graphical object represents cars the user is interested in, then the image could be the image of the car that is indicated as the most relevant or important to the user in the car view. Therefore the image of the graphical object of cars would be updated automatically when the most relevant car is updated.
Examples of graphical objects, what they represent, the image or icon that is displayed, how said image or icon is chosen, etc. that has been disclosed herein is not limited to what has been explicitly described. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the usefulness of the underlying method of acquiring preference data through user interaction and manipulation of the data and objects present, regardless of the data and objects actual construction without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In the example, the user initially places each graphical object at a location which represents its relative importance to the user based on distance from the focus object as well as the relative importance based on timing based on the distance from the past view or future view. The graphical objects then travel across the screen at a set pace, or at set intervals of time. The pace or intervals can be set by the system or chosen by the user. Additionally the pace or intervals can be to consistent for all graphical objects on the screen or it can vary based on the distance from the focus object or based on any set boundaries.
The purpose of the traveling objects is to mimic the relevance of information for a user changing over time without the user having to constantly update the information in the display. Things that are very important to a user might not change level of importance for a long period of time and therefore the locations closest to the focus object may not alter the placement of contained graphical objects at all.
However, the relevance of objects that are not as important, such as 1e, located far from the focus object may change rapidly and therefore they may be moved quickly by the system. When changing the position of objects in the display without user interaction, it is preferable not to change the distance of the objects from the focus object as relative importance may not change at the same rate that relative relevance changes over time.
In
Users can select the pace, interval and path of each object separately. Additionally, users can lock specific objects in place while other non-locked objects travel according to the predefined parameters. Users can also select, chose from preset options, or allow the system to automatically assign parameters to the display as a whole or to specific portions of the display defined by boundaries. If the system automatically assigns the system parameters, it can also update those parameters constantly, or at intervals based on the preference data of the user collected. For instance, if a user is regularly moving objects from one area of the display to the past view then the system can increase the rate at which objects in that area advance to the past section on their own.
Through the use of traveling graphical objects as described, preference data for the user is constantly, or at predefined intervals, being updated without user interaction so that their preference data is relevant and does not require constant user input. When graphical objects reach a boundary, such as the past view, they can automatically be removed from the present view and enter the past view or they can accumulate on the edge of the present view so the user can determine if they should be placed in the past view, replaced in the present view, deleted or otherwise manipulated.
When multiple views are present in the GUI, the user can switch between the views in a variety of known manners.
In the past view 4, there exists the same or similar set of rings 7. The functionality of the GUI and system in the past view is substantially similar to that of the present view. All of the objects in the past view are giving a data indicator that they are less relevant than anything located in the present view. Some of the functionality in the past view may be different or limited, such as if there are traveling objects in the present view, there may or may not be traveling objects in the past view, as it is less important that relevance changes in the past. Alternatively, the pace or intervals at which objects travel, and of their travel direction, may be selected different from that of the present view. Any other differences, options or functionalities disclosed with regards to the present view can be similar or different in the past view with respect to the present view, or the future view.
It can also be seen in
The GUI and system can have a large number of tools which aid in the organization of information, and therefore the capability of the system to gather preference data. For instance, when the user places several like graphical objects together as in
As discussed above with regards to cars, the system could select an image or icon representative of the plurality of graphical objects and replace all of the current graphical objects with the new representative object. Concurrently, the system would place the selected graphical objects in a view of the new object in relative positions according to how they are displayed in the past view presently. This allows for a user to more accurately place graphical objects with respect to other like objects and clear space in the main user view.
One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other applicable tools which can be utilized within the present system and GUI to facilitate the gathering of accurate preference data from a user based on the users input without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Optionally displayed in each view, especially within primary views, are a dateline 5 and a date indicator 6. One exemplary function of the date bar is to provide a control for graphically displaying time data of graphical objects.
An aspect of the date bar is that by moving the date indicator 6 to a specific date graphically shows time data about present at the selected date. Comparing
The concept of linking a data bar and date indicator to information on a display or in a GUI so that manipulation of the date indicator along the bar graphically modifies the information displayed to show time data can be applied outside of the present GUI or in virtually any portion of the present GUI. Therefore, the disclosure of a linked date bar and indicator as described herein are not limited to implementation in the present GUI disclosure.
When there are a plurality of views, such as primary, secondary and tertiary views, a user can switch from one view to another in a variety of ways. One exemplary manner would be by pressing the focus object once, which switches to the next view, i.e. from a primary to a secondary or from one primary to another primary etc. The user can independently choose the order of the views in a Settings view. When the user is in the final view, pressing the focus object one time takes the user back to the first view.
In one embodiment, shown in
When the first view is displayed, the glowing color would be the top 33% of the edge of the focus object. When the second view is displayed, the glowing color would be shown on the 24%-66% of the edge of the focus gob. Additional views would be arranged similarly.
An example of a secondary view 20 is shown in
Views can also contain collections of graphical objects. The user can move a graphical object in a collection to the focus gob position, for example by double-tapping in a touch interface or double-clicking in a mouse and keyboard interface on a non-focus graphical object.
In an embodiment, a user can navigate back and forth between different graphical objects by, for example, tapping and holding the focus object and then dragging it to the right. This opens a navigation string shown in
An aspect of a secondary view is that it can show all graphical objects in a plurality of primary views and can be scrolled.
Graphical objects can appear in a secondary view in a variety of orders and preferably are initially displayed in an order based on the preference data collected by the system from the user. Graphical objects can be ordered according to perceived time relevance from oldest 1k to most future 1n from
Graphical objects can also be reordered in a secondary view, for example by taping and holding until the graphical objects shimmer, then dragging and dropping them in the desired location along a single axis. It is preferable that the objects are reordered linearly in the a secondary view along an axis so that the order is clearly represented to the user.
In the case where graphical objects can be opened and navigated within it becomes useful to have a navigation screen as shown in
Graphical objects can also be closed from the navigation string, for example by taping and holding until the graphical object shimmers and then dragging the graphical object downward. Similarly, all graphical objects can also be closed by taping, holding and dragging the focus gob downward. Optionally, a user can add a graphical object to the focus objects collection from a secondary view, or tertiary view, for example by taping, holding and dragging the desired graphical object onto the focus object. Additionally, if a user has control over multiple graphical objects, they can add graphical objects to owned non-focus graphical objects in a similar manner. A user may also access a menu of actions specific to a graphical object by tap, hold and releasing a graphical object.
In primary, or collection views, there is optionally a timeline which is shown on the right hand side as discussed above. A similar date bar can be added to a secondary view. Sliding an indicator to a particular date can enlarge, bold, or show normal the graphical objects added to a collection on that date and minimize, grey or otherwise distort or change the other graphical objects that were in the collection at that time. Graphical objects not in the collection at that date will preferably not be shown. Double-clicking the date bar on a given date can make all graphical objects in a collection on that date the same.
The following is an exemplary embodiment of the present method, graphical user interface and associated system enables an end user to intuitively collect and share information on his personal preferences and priorities through the relational placement of the graphical objects. This information can then, preferably with the express permission of the end user, be used by Internet services to deliver highly personalized services. The present method and graphical user interface allows a computer system to measure user preferences and perceptions and to use that information for Internet services to deliver highly customized versions of their service.
User preference data is collected when users add a graphical object to their collection, normally primary, view and consciously places the gob in a position relative to the focus gob which represents the user or some specific aspect relative to the user, i.e. cars the user is interested in. As shown in the
These sections expand or collapse to maximize screen space, especially for viewing on a mobile device. These three sections will always be in the denoted order and relative positions, regardless of their size. Within each section, graphical objects can be placed relative to the user, focus object. The closer a graphical object is placed to the user, the higher the level of denoted preference and/or relevance to the user.
Based on this placement, the following data is collected for each graphical object:
1) User perception of time relevance to himself (historical, present or future)—based on physical placement of a gob into one of the three sections
2) User perception of preference or importance to himself—based on distance of physical placement of gob from the focus gob
3) Time the gob was added to the collection
The data collected on each graphical object is processed by the system and the system compares this to the data for every other graphical object in a user's collection. The system then produces user preference data based on the collected and processed data which can be fed to Internet services for the personalization of those services, for example via its Internet cloud-based API.
For example, if a user has a graphical object representing a Ford auto in the present section and a graphical object representing a BMW auto in his future section, the system could assume an aspirational preference for BMW. If the user then has a third graphical object representing a Fiat auto in his present section, but it is further away from the focus object than the Ford, the system could assume a current preference for Ford over Fiat.
In this scenario, the system could feed this data to a used car search service. The service could use this data to deliver search results where BMW, Ford and Fiat (in that order) are prioritized in the search results.
Time data on when a graphical object is placed in a user's collection is also collected and used by the system. In the system, when objects are placed in more or less the same location, the more recently placed gob is measured as having a slightly higher level of preference than the older gob.
In addition to using the data in a user's own collection, the system also incorporates data from a user's network, i.e. the collections of graphical objects in a user's collections, to the third level.
In the above auto example, if the end user has a friend in his collection and she has an Opel graphical object in her collection, the car search service would then deliver prioritized search results with Opel before other brands that were not in the end-user's collection.
The system uses similar methods to suggest new graphical objects for a user to collect. It does this by analyzing the graphical objects in the collections of the graphical objects in the user's collection and network. Based on factors such as frequency, relevance, time, type, and the user's settings, new graphical objects are suggested to the user to collect. These recommended graphical objects can be in the form of recommendation messages and top 10-type lists.
Additionally, recommended graphical objects can be displayed within a collection view such as in
Suggested graphical objects can be placed in a generic portion of the display so that a user knows that they are present, or they can be placed in specific portions of the display depending on what they are suggesting. In
Suggested graphical object 32b, representing a doctor's office, is based on both graphical objects 1d, representing a heavy machinery rental, and 1b, the user's medicine. The system can determine that both are important and relevant to the user. Additionally, the system can determine that the medicine should not be used with heavy machinery and therefore recommend a doctor's office 32b to the user. The doctor's office can be a paid advertisement or it can be a doctor's office found in, or the most frequently one found in the users network and not a paid advertisement.
Alternatively, or concurrently, the hybrid view 30 can contain an advertisement or suggestion block 31. The content of the block 31 can be paid advertisement that is either generic or based on the user's preferences and collection of graphical objects. The content of the block 31 can also be the recommendation messages and top 10-type lists described above.
A user can also choose to explore for new graphical objects. When exploring, groups of graphical objects can be presented. These groups are preferably arranged via a pre-established, nested grouping like those found in a lexicon. Within each of these groups, graphical objects are presented in a prioritized manner, with those graphical objects within a user's network preferably given prominence.
The graphical user interface of the present invention is stored on a computer readable medium. Examples of said computer readable medium can be such as generic to a plurality of system components, i.e. stored on a server and accessible by mobile devices, web browsers or workstations or specific to each system device, i.e. as a hard drive having computer readable instructions downloaded or loaded on or portable computer readable mediums, i.e. CD-ROM or the like.
Additionally, a system utilizing the present method and or graphical user interface can contain any plurality of components not described herein such as a storage medium for storing some or all of the collected data or preference data. The system is also preferable connected to a network such as the internet to allow communication between various user's interfaces.
The present invention is not limited to the examples described herein. The examples and exemplary embodiments are used as an aid to describe the invention. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize variations on the disclosed examples and embodiments which do not depart from the scope of the present invention.
