초록 ▼

An information access system and method are disclosed. A system includes a user input device and a graphical user interface responsive to commands from the user input device. A plurality of graphical structures is displayed in the graphical user interface. Each graphical structure is defined by thre

An information access system and method are disclosed. A system includes a user input device and a graphical user interface responsive to commands from the user input device. A plurality of graphical structures is displayed in the graphical user interface. Each graphical structure is defined by three or more spatial dimensions, the intersection of which defines a segment. Each segment represents a defined group of information associated with the intersection of dimensions. Each group can be created manually, or defined algorithmically. The system further includes one or more controls displayed in the graphical user interface, responsive to the commands generated from the user input device, and configured for graphically manipulating selected segments of the one or more graphical structures.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An information system comprising: a graphical user interface;one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders graphically displayed, by a computer, in the graphical user interface, each cylinder represented by two or more spatial dimensions, an intersection of the two of more spatial dimensions

1. An information system comprising: a graphical user interface;one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders graphically displayed, by a computer, in the graphical user interface, each cylinder represented by two or more spatial dimensions, an intersection of the two of more spatial dimensions defining a segment, wherein the segment represents a collection of information representative of a task of a project, and wherein the segment represents the intersection of the two or more spatial dimensions, each cylinder of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders comprising a plurality of segments, each segment being three-dimensional such that each segment characterizes a portion of a corresponding sector of a respective disk portion of a corresponding three-dimensional concentric cylinder; andone or more controls displayed, by the computer, in the graphical user interface with the one or more concentric cylinders, the one or more controls being responsive to user input and configured for graphically manipulating selected segments of the one or more concentric cylinders, the selected segments being selected by a user from the plurality of segments,one or more segments being resized automatically to fill a space corresponding to a neighboring segment that is empty,the selected segments being grouped together in a grouping using the graphical user interface to enable operations on the selected segments, the grouping being visually indicated by at least one of a shading or a border, the operations including at least one of a subtraction and a unification, the one or more controls being represented by one or more straps around at least one of the concentric cylinders,the grouping being configured to provide activation and deactivation of a plurality of groups, the activation of the plurality of groups is further configured to provide activation of at least one of the groups to enable the user to search the information, the information being searched only in the selected segments of the activated plurality of groups. 2. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the segment of a cylinder represents information related to the task of a project. 3. A system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the one or more controls includes a control bar. 4. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein each control is associated with a spatial dimension defining concentric cylinder. 5. A system in accordance with claim 4, wherein each spatial dimension represents one or more properties of a collection of information represented thereby. 6. A system in accordance with claim 4, wherein the control is configured to manipulate the concentric cylinder according to the associated spatial dimension. 7. A system in accordance with claim 4, wherein the control includes a graphic representation of each segment of the concentric cylinder defined by spatial dimension. 8. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more controls includes three navigation bars, one for each dimension, and configured to manipulate a particular dimension of the three dimensional concentric cylinders. 9. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein one or more colors of the one or more controls correspond to one or more colors of associated selected segments. 10. An information access system comprising: a user input device;a graphical user interface;a plurality of three-dimensional concentric cylinders graphically displayed in the graphical user interface, each concentric cylinder defined by three or more spatial dimensions, an intersection of the three or more spatial dimensions defines a segment, and wherein the segment represents a defined collection of information representative of a task of a project, and wherein the segment represents the intersection of spatial dimensions, each cylinder of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders comprising a plurality of segments, each segment being three-dimensional such that each segment characterizes a portion of a sector of a respective disk of a corresponding cylinder of the plurality of three-dimensional concentric cylinders; andone or more controls displayed in the graphical user interface with the one or more concentric cylinders, the one or more controls being responsive to commands generated from the user input device, and configured for graphically manipulating selected segments of the one or more concentric cylinders, the selected segments being selected by a user from the plurality of segments,one or more segments being resized automatically without user input from the user input device to fill a space corresponding to a neighboring segment that is empty,the selected segments being grouped together in a grouping using the graphical user interface to enable operations on the selected segments, the grouping being visually indicated by at least one of a shading or a border, the operations including at least one of a subtraction and a unification,the grouping being configured to provide activation and deactivation of a plurality of groups, the activation of the plurality of groups is further configured to provide activation of at least one of the groups to enable the user to search the information, the information being searched only in the selected segments of the activated plurality of groups. 11. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the three or more spatial dimensions include a color or shading. 12. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the three or more spatial dimensions include a scale and relative size. 13. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the user input device includes a mouse. 14. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the graphical user interface is displayed in a display monitor coupled to a computer processor, and wherein the computer processor is connected with the user input device. 15. A system in accordance with claim 10, wherein each control is associated with a spatial dimension defining each concentric cylinder. 16. A system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the control is configured to manipulate each concentric cylinder according to the associated spatial dimension. 17. A system in accordance with claim 15, wherein each control includes a graphic representation of each segment of each concentric cylinder defined by a spatial dimension. 18. A method for providing access to information, the method comprising: displaying one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders in a graphical user interface, each concentric cylinder being defined by two more spatial dimensions, an intersection of the two more spatial dimensions defines a segment, and wherein the segment represents a defined collection of information representative of a task of a project, and wherein the segment represents the intersection of spatial dimensions, each cylinder of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders comprising a plurality of segments, each segment being a three-dimensional portion of a corresponding cylinder of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders; anddisplaying in the graphical user interface, with the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders, one or more controls responsive to user input, and configured for graphically manipulating selected segments of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders, the selected segments being selected by a user from the plurality of segments,one or more segments being resized automatically without user input to fill a space corresponding to a neighboring segment that is empty,the selected segments being grouped together in a grouping using the graphical user interface to enable operations on the selected segments, the grouping being visually indicated by at least one of a shading or a border, the operations including at least one of a subtraction and a unification, the one or more controls being represented by one or more straps around at least one of the concentric cylinders,the grouping being configured to provide activation and deactivation of a plurality of groups, the activation of the plurality of groups is further configured to provide activation of at least one of the groups to enable the user to search the information, the information being searched only in the selected segments of the activated plurality of groups. 19. A method in accordance with claim 18, further comprising: receiving a command representing a user input; andmanipulating selected segments of the one or more three-dimensional concentric cylinders according to the command. 20. A method in accordance with claim 18, wherein the user input is represented as an action in the graphical user interface.