TriDim Lawsuit Over Cover Flow

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page1 of 8
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Steven T. Lowe, Esq. SBN 122208

steven@lowelaw.com
Kris LeFan, Esq., SBN 278611
kris@lowelaw.com
LOWE & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
11400 Olympic Blvd., Suite 640
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Telephone: (310) 477-5811
Facsimile: (310) 477-7672
Hao Ni (pro hac vice to be submitted)
hni@nilawfirm.com
Timothy Wang (pro hac vice to be submitted)
twang@nilawfirm.com
Neal Massand (pro hac vice to be submitted)
nmassand@nilawfirm.com
NI, WANG & MASSAND, PLLC
8140 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 310
Dallas, TX 75231
Telephone: (972) 331-4600
Facsimile: (972) 314-0900
Attorneys for Plaintiff
TriDim Innovations, LLC
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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Plaintiff,
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Case No.
TriDim Innovations, LLC,
v.
COMPLAINT FOR PATENT

INFRINGMENT
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Apple, Inc.
Defendant.

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Plaintiff TriDim Innovations, LLC (TriDim or Plaintiff) files this Complaint for
patent infringement against Defendant Apple Inc. (Apple or Defendant) alleging as follows:
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PARTIES
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1.
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business at 5105 Claybank Lane, Centerville, VA 20120.
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Plaintiff TriDim is a Virginia limited liability company having a principal place of
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On information and belief, Defendant Apple is a corporation organized and
existing under the laws of the State of California, with its principal place of business located at 1
Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014. On information and belief, Apple may be served via its
registered agent, CT Corporation System, 818 West Seventh St., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA
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90017.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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3.
This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the United
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States Code. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331 and
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1338(a).
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4.
Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. 1391(c) and 1400(b). On
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information and belief, Apple has transacted business in this district, and has committed acts of
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patent infringement in this district.

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On information and belief, Apple is subject to this Courts specific and general
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personal jurisdiction pursuant to due process and/or the California Long Arm Statute, due at least
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to its substantial business in this forum, including: (i) at least a portion of the infringements
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alleged herein; and (ii) regularly doing or soliciting business, engaging in other persistent courses
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of conduct, and/or deriving substantial revenue from goods and services provided to individuals
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in California and in this Judicial District.
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COUNT I
INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 5,838,326
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TriDim is the owner by assignment of United States Patent No. 5,838,326 (the
326 Patent) entitled System for Moving Document Objects in a 3-D Workspace. The 326
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Patent issued on November 17, 1998. A true and correct copy of the 326 Patent is attached as
Exhibit A.
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Upon information and belief, Apple has been and is now infringing the 326 Patent
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in the State of California, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in the United States, by, among
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other things, directly or through intermediaries, making, using, importing, providing, supplying,
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distributing, selling, and/or offering for sale products that infringe one or more claims of the 326
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Patent. Apple products that infringe one or more claims of the 326 Patent include, but are not
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limited to, Apples products that (1) use the iOS7 and iOS8 operating systems and include the
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Safari browser, (2) incorporate the Cover Flow user interface, and (3) include Time Machine.
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Apple is directly infringing, literally infringing, and/or infringing the 326 Patent under the
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doctrine of equivalents. Apple is thus liable for infringement of the 326 Patent pursuant to 35
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U.S.C. 271.
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8.
As a result of Apples infringement of the 326 Patent, TriDim has suffered
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monetary damages and is entitled to a money judgment in an amount adequate to compensate for
Apples infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the
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invention by Apple, together with interest and costs as fixed by the court, and TriDim will
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continue to suffer damages in the future unless Apples infringing activities are enjoined by this
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Court.
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Apple has induced and continues to induce infringement of the 326 Patent by
intending that others uses, offer for sale, or sell in the United States, products and/or methods
covered by one or more claims of the 326 Patent, including, but not limited to, Apples products
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that (1) use the iOS7 and iOS8 operating systems and include the Safari browser, (2) incorporate
the Cover Flow user interface, and (3) include Time Machine. Apple provides these products
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to others, such as customers, resellers and end-use consumers, who, in turn, use, offer for sale, or
sell in the United States Apples products that infringe one or more claims of the 326 Patent.
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Apple indirectly infringes the 326 Patent by inducing infringement by others,
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such as resellers, customers and end-use consumers, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 271(b) in this
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District and elsewhere in the United States. Direct infringement is a result of the activities
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performed by the resellers, customers and end-use consumers of Apples products that infringe
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one or more claims of the 326 Patent.
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Apple has known of the 326 Patent at least as early as December 17, 2009, when
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Apple disclosed the 326 Patent in an Information Disclosure Statement during the prosecution of
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U.S. Patent No. 7,705,858. In fact, the 326 Patent has been referenced as prior art in 23 patents
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that were issued to Apple and relate to Apples Cover Flow user interface, including U.S.
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Patent Nos. 8,584,543; 8,587,528; and 8,736,557.
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Apple additionally received notice of the 326 Patent at least as of the date this
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lawsuit was filed.

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Apples affirmative acts of selling products that infringe one or more claims of the
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326 Patent, causing such products to be manufactured and distributed, and providing instructions
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for using such products, induce Apples resellers, customers and end-use consumers to use such
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products in their normal and customary way to infringe one or more claims of the 326 Patent.
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Apple performs the acts that constituted infringement, and induce actual infringement, with the
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knowledge of the 326 Patent and with the knowledge or willful blindness that the induced acts
constitute infringement.
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Apple specifically intends for others, such as resellers, customers, and end-use
consumers, to directly infringe one or more claims of the 326 Patent, or, alternatively, has been
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willfully blind to the possibility that its inducing acts would cause infringement. By way of
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example, and not as a limitation, Apple induces such infringement by its affirmative action by,
among other things: (a) providing advertising on the benefits of using products that infringe one
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or more claims of the 326 Patent, including in marketing of the Cover Flow user interface, the
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Safari browser and Time Machine; (b) providing instructions on how to use the Cover Flow
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user interface, the Safari Browser, and Time Machine in Apples products; and (c) providing
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hardware and software components required by the claims of the 326 Patent.
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Accordingly, a reasonable inference is that Apple specifically intends for others,
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such as resellers, customers and end-use consumers, to directly infringe one or more claims of the
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326 Patent in the United States because Apple has knowledge of the 326 Patent at least as of the
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date this lawsuit was filed, or December 17, 2009, and Apple actually induces others, such as
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resellers, customers and end-use consumers, to directly infringe the 326 Patent by using, selling,
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and/or distributing, within the United States, products that infringe one or more claims of the 326
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Patent.
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As a result of Apples acts of infringement, TriDim has suffered and will continue
to suffer damages in an amount to be proved at trial.
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COUNT II
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INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 5,847,709
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TriDim is the owner by assignment of United States Patent No. 5,847,709 (the
709 Patent) entitled 3-D Document Workspace with Focus, Immediate and Tertiary Spaces.
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The 709 Patent issued on December 8, 1998. A true and correct copy of the 709 Patent is
attached as Exhibit B.
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Upon information and belief, Apple has been and is now infringing the 709 Patent
in the State of California, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in the United States, by, among
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other things, directly or through intermediaries, making, using, importing, providing, supplying,
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distributing, selling, and/or offering for sale products that infringe one or more claims of the 709
Patent. Apple products that infringe one or more claims of the 709 Patent include, but are not
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limited to, Apples products that (1) use the iOS7 and iOS8 operating systems and include the
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Safari browser, (2) incorporate the Cover Flow user interface, and (3) include Time Machine.
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Apple is directly infringing, literally infringing, and/or infringing the 709 Patent under the
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doctrine of equivalents. Apple is thus liable for infringement of the 709 Patent pursuant to 35
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U.S.C. 271.
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Apple has known of the 709 Patent at least as early as August 4, 2014 when
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Apple disclosed the 709 Patent in an Information Disclosure Statement during the prosecution of
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U.S. Patent No. 8,893,046, which relates to Apples products. Additionally, Apple disclosed the
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709 Patent on August 5, 2014 in an Information Disclosure Statement during the prosecution of
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U.S. Patent No. 8,910,072, which relates to Apples Safari products.
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Apple additionally received notice of the 709 Patent at least as of the date this
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lawsuit was filed.

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As a result of Apples acts of infringement, TriDim has suffered and will continue
to suffer damages in an amount to be proved at trial.
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PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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WHEREFORE, TriDim respectfully requests that this Court enter judgment in its favor and grant
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the following relief:

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A judgment in favor of TriDim that Apple has infringed the 326, and 709
Patents;
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A permanent injunction enjoining Apple and its officers, directors, agents servants,
affiliates, employees, divisions, branches, subsidiaries, parents, and all others acting in active
concert therewith from infringement of the 326 and 709 Patents, or such other equitable relief
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the Court determines is warranted;

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A judgment and order requiring Apple pay to TriDim its damages, costs, expenses,
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and prejudgment and post-judgment interest for Apples infringement of the 326 and 709
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Patents as provided under 35 U.S.C. 284, and an accounting of ongoing post-judgment
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infringement;
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Any and all other relief, at law or equity, to which TriDim may show itself to be
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entitled.
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DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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TriDim, under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, requests a trial by jury of
any issues so triable by right.
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DATED: January _20_, 2015
/s/ Kris Le Fan
Steven T. Lowe, Esq. SBN 122208

steven@lowelaw.com
Kris LeFan, Esq., SBN 278611
kris@lowelaw.com
LOWE & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
Telephone: (310) 477-5811
Facsimile: (310) 477-7672
Hao Ni (pro hac vice to be submitted)
hni@nilawfirm.com
Timothy Wang (pro hac vice to be submitted)
twang@nilawfirm.com
Neal Massand (pro hac vice to be submitted)
nmassand@nilawfirm.com
NI, WANG & MASSAND, PLLC
8140 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 310
Dallas, TX 75231
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Telephone: (972) 331-4600

Facsimile: (972) 314-0900
Attorneys for TriDim
TriDim Innovations, LLC
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Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1-1 Filed01/20/15 Page1 of 20
Exhibit A

USOO5838326A
Ulllted States Patent [19]
[11] Patent Number:
Card et al.
[45]
[54]
[75]
5,838,326
Date of Patent:
Nov. 17, 1998
SYSTEM FOR MOVING DOCUMENT
5,555,354
9/1996 Strasnick et al. ................. .. 345/355 X
OBJECTS IN A 3-1) WORKSPACE
5,602,564
2/1997 Iwamura et 211.
5,608,850
3/1997
Inventors: Stuart
- - K. Card, Los Altos Hills;
gogklgse?zi both of
"
Redmond, Wash.
'
Robertson ..... ..
gaglgtet
0 er sona1~t~~~1
e a ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
. ............... ..
5,678,015
10/1997
Goh
5,689,628
11/1997
Robertson ......................... .. 345/355 X
.................
. . . ..
345/355
Primary ExaminerJohn E. Breene
[73] Assignee: XEIOX Corporation, Stamford, COIlIl.
Attorney) Agent) or FirmRiChard B_ Domingo
[21] Appl. No.: 721,302

[
22
Fld.
16
ep
[57]
ABSTRACT
A three dimensional document Workspace for interacting
.26 1996
With large numbers of document objects. Adocument object
[51]
Int. Cl.6 ...................................................... .. G06F 3/00
may be a document or a document collection. The document
[52]
US. Cl. ,,,,,,,,,, __
345/355; 345/358; 345/351
Workspace is divided hierarchically in terms of interaction
[58]
Field of Search ............................... .. 345/326358,
rates~ A focus Space is Where direct interaction With a
345/976; 707/520, 514, 500
document or document collection occurs. An immediate

memory space is for placing pages or books that are in use,
[56]
References Cited
but not currently being interacted With. A tertiary space is
US' PATENT DOCUMENTS

5,060,135 10/1991 Levine .................................. .. 345/351
5,295,243
5,347,295
3/1994 Robertson et a],

9/1994 Agulnick et al.
5,359,703 10/1994 Robertson et a1

5,381,158 1/1995 Takahafa et a1~ 5,386,507 1/1995 Telg et al' """" "
5452414
5,463,722
9/1995 Rosenflahl et a1
10/1995
345/355
345/358 X
345/355 X
drop and ?ick gestures. The touch-drop gesture addresses

the problem of obscuring distant (hence smaller) document
objects by presenting a visual line indicating a destination
345/355 X
345/355 X
for a moved document object. Flick gestures are used to

quickly move document objects Within the document Work
345/355 X
Venolia ........... ..
3/1996 Lucas et a1 "
5,500,935
5,509,114
5,546,529
3/1996 Moran et a1.

345/358 X
4/1996 Moran et al.
345/358 X
8/1996 Bowers et al. .................... .. 345/355 X
203 ;
\d:
space. A user may change their vieW of the document
345/355X
574997330
Air 5
Where many books and pages that are not in use, but which
it is desirable to have ready access to. Moving document
Objects in the document Workspace is facilitated by touch
345/355 X
Tier
Dbfz?rnnt' """ "
Collection
E i
Collectlon
/ Object
l l
Bookcase
I I
l :
220
i g
205C
205b
Document \ 205a
Object
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205
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:
i r -------------------------------------- --
I
:
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Document-
Collection
204b
Object
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202
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2043
201
:
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Document
: :
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i ["'m-'3535151561:::::::;un;;r[ """"""""
: :
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16 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
[32552252
\4
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1 erent portions 0 t e Wor -
Space 1 more detall
206 I
d.ff
Wor space in or er~ to view
U.S. Patent
NOV. 17,1998
Sheet 1 0f 11
INTERNAL
PRO2SSOR
5,838,326
NETWORK
MEMORY
103
CONNECTION
108
BUS 101
M
KEYBOARD
ESB5FGAEL
CONTROL
CURSOR
DISPLAY
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
Page 211
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Sheet 3 0f 11
212
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Page 213
5,838,326
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U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
Sheet 4 0f 11
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FIG.3
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
5]
Sheet 5 0f 11
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Bokcase
FIG.4
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
a]
Sheet 6 0f 11
5,838,326
JlEL
Document Object
Bokcase
220
FIG.5
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
Sheet 7 0f 11
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U.S. Patent
Nov. 17, 1998
Sheet 8 0f 11
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U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
5.1]
Sheet 9 0f 11
5,838,326
////
IL _______ __:
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8
FIG.
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
Sheet 10 0f 11
5,838,326
L _ _
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9
U.S. Patent
Nov. 17,1998
Sheet 11 0f 11
1001
FIG.10
1101
\1102
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12K
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5,838,326
5,838,326
1
SYSTEM FOR MOVING DOCUMENT

OBJECTS IN A 3-D WORKSPACE
provide rendering means for vieWing audio, video and

graphical portions of documents as Well as a graphical user
interface for controlling access to documents. The graphical

user interface is typically one Which provides for vertical
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED

APPLICATION
and horiZontal scrolling via scroll bars and point and click
manipulation of a cursor control device to invoke broWser
The present application is related to co-pending US.

patent application Ser. No. 08/721,293, entitled 3D Docu
ment Workspace With Focus, Desktop, and Bookcase
spaces ?led concurrently With the present application.
operations (eg to traverse links). Color, underlining or

reverse video are techniques used to indicate the existence of
a link on a page.
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Deckscape: An Experimental Web Browser, Marc H.

BroWn and Robert A. Shillner, DEC Systems Research
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Center Report 135a, Mar. 1, 1995. The DeckScape Web
The present invention is related to the ?eld of computer

user interfaces, and in particular, a user interface for dis
playing and navigating through collections of related docu
Related materials include:
broWser utiliZes the metaphor of a deck as a collection of

15 Web pages. Only one Web page on a deck is visible at one
time, although multiple decks may be visible. DeckScape is
ments.
also multi-threaded so that each deck may be active, e.g.

doWnloading pages, at the same time. Adeck may be created
BACKGROUND
based on a traversal through the Web or as the result of an
Access to and use of electronic documents is groWing at

a very explosive pace. To facilitate use of large collections
of electronic documents, neW techniques for querying and

visualiZing the content of such collections are being devel
oped. For example, US. Pat. No. 5, 546,529 describes a
technique for vieWing the results of a database search that
has been mapped to a tree structure. The tree structure is
operation such as expand all the links on this page.
US. Pat. No. 5,499,330 entitled Document Display Sys

tem For Organizing And Displaying Documents As Screen
Objects Organized Along Strand Paths. As described in the

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visually mapped along a static reference surface having
Abstract, this references discloses a system for displaying

documents in a computer controlled display device. The
system displays documents either in a completely free-form,
a user controlled con?guration or as strands, such that
separate detail and context areas.

One source of the groWth of access to electronic docu
documents in a strand folloW a strand path. The strand path

is a tWo dimensional line through a three dimensional
ments is the Internet, and in particular, the facet of the

Internet knoWn as the World-Wide-Web (referred to simply
as the Web). The Web provides a means for making multi
media styled documents over the Internet. These documents
are termed Web pages (hereinafter pages). Pages may refer
display space. The documents displayed on the strand are

knoWn as child documents, and each strand also has a parent
document. Various constraints de?ning the strand are asso
ciated With the parent document, including a strand function

de?ning the strand path, minimum and maximum separation
constraints de?ning the distance betWeen the child docu
to and provide access to other pages on the Web. Each page 35

has associated With it an identi?er termed a Uniform
ments on the strand, and an origin constraint de?ning the
Resource Locator (URL). A page is accessed by specifying
positional relationship of the strand path to the screen object

of the parent document.
its URL. The contents of a page is speci?ed in a document
formatting language knoWn as the Hyper-Text Mark-Up
A PileMetaphor for Supporting Casual Organization of
Language (HTML). A reference to another page on the Web

is termed a link. Links may be speci?ed in either absolute or
relative terms. Alink speci?ed in absolute terms refers to its
Information, Richard Mander, Gitta Saloman, Yin Yin

Wong, Chi 92 Conference Proceedings, ACM Conference
on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pgs 627634,
May 37,1992. This article describes the design and devel
entire URL. A link speci?ed in relative terms assumes a
certain portion of the URL is the same as the existing page.

The speci?cation is thus relative to the URL of the page on
Which it is de?ned.
45
To access and vieW a document on the Web, a Web
or Workspace. Piles Were observed to have the useful prop
broWser is needed. AWeb broWser provides search, traversal
erties of being a less rigid categoriZation system and to be

self-revealing and broWsable. The described design includes
and vieWing functions needed to access documents on the
Web. Various Web broWsers exist for the Web, e.g. NetScape
available from NetScape, Inc. of Mountain VieW, California.
Traversing through documents contained on the Web is
similar to folloWing a path through a netWork. Since each
page may contain links to many other pages, traversing
through the pages is a simple matter of folloWing the links.
Most Web broWsers provide controls for going backWards
and forWards in the list of links. They also maintain a history
list of the links to enable jumping directly to a speci?c
previously vieWed page.
direct manipulation techniques and support for broWsing,

automatic pile construction and reorganiZation.
55
spective and lighting, in the context of ?at or tWo

dimensional Workspace. The use of transparency as a means
of enhancing the Workspace is also described. A desktop

landscape is proposed that is divided by a horiZon line
puter controlled display system having a graphical user

interface With multiple WindoWs. Typically, such Web
typically correspond to the capabilities of the computer

system on Which it resides. Afull featured Web broWser may
Representation in Virtual Space: Wisual Convention in the

Graphical User Interface, Loretta Staples, Human Factors in
Computing Systems INTERCHI93 Conference
Proceedings, pgs 348354, Apr. 2429 1993. This articles
describes the use of three dimensional visual cues of per
Most publicly available Web broWsers operate on a com
broWsers operate such that a WindoW may display only one

page at a time. Multiple pages are vieWed by opening
multiple WindoWs. The user interface for Web BroWsers
opment of a desktop interface element referred to as piles.

Piles represent sets of related documents. These piles are
analogous to stacks of paper often found in a persons of?ce
denoting tWo separate areas: an active foreground space and
a passive background space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
65

With large numbers of document objects is disclosed. The
document object is a graphical representation of an indi
5,838,326
4
3
vidual document or a document collection. The document
FIGS. 1012 illustrate the creation of piles as may be
Workspace has been implemented for use to display and

interact With documents, typically Web pages, that have been
doWnloaded from the World Wide Web. However, the docu
ment Workspace is also suitable for use to display documents
performed in the document Workspace of the currently

preferred embodiment of the present invention.
or document collections obtained from other sources (eg

from a CD-ROM). Document collections are typically in the
form of WebBooks or piles. WebBooks are document col
lections that are represented to a user using a book metaphor.
A pile is a representation of a document collection that
resembles a pile of paper contained in a paper tray. Apile is
created by moving one document object on to another
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE

INVENTION
A computer controlled display system for displaying a

three-dimensional document Workspace is disclosed. One or
more documents objects are present in the document Work
10
space. The present invention provides for interaction With
the collections, e.g. vieWing, moving and storing, While

balancing the necessary tradeoffs of rapid access, number of
document object.
collections and associated documents, and available screen

space.
The document Workspace is divided hierarchically in
terms of interaction rates. A focus space is Where direct 15

The currently preferred embodiment of the present inven
interaction With a document object occurs. The interactions
tion is implemented for use With collections of pages (i.e.
occurs in a manner suitable for the document object in the
focus space. The focus space is generally the center of the

display area. An immediate memory space is for placing
document objects that are in use, but not currently being
documents) obtained from the portion of the Internet knoWn

as the World Wide Web (hereinafter the Web). HoWever, it
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interacted With. Visually in the document Workspace the
should be noted that the present invention is not limited to

use on the Web and may be utiliZed in any system Which
provides access to collections of documents. For eXample,
immediate memory space is divided into an air space and

the present invention may be used in a system Wherein
a desk. The desk is a familiar metaphor for placing
documents are obtained through a CD-ROM media.
documents on that are not currently being vieWed, but are in
The folloWing terms de?ned herein are familiar to users of
use. The air is located behind the focus space. The air 25
the Web and take on these familiar meanings:
is further divided into subareas. Each of the subareas cor
World-Wide Web or Web: The portion of the Internet that
responds to a distance back (i.e. in the Z-direction) in Which
is used to store and access linked multi-media documents.
the document object is positioned. The further back, the
smaller the siZe of the representation of the document object.

A tertiary space is Where many document objects, eg
Page: A document accessible on the Web. A Page may

30
WebBooks and frequently referenced documents that are not
links to other pages.

Link: An indicator on a Web page Which refers to another
currently in use may be positioned. The tertiary space is

visually represented as a bookshelf.
Moving document objects in the document Workspace is

facilitated by a touch and drop gesture. When a document
35
object is touched, and a button on the associated cursor

control device remains depressed, a line is draWn to indicate
Where the object is to be dropped. This helps facilitate a

determination of Where the document object is to be placed.
Document objects may also be ?icked to the immediate and
Web BroWser or BroWser: A tool Which enables a user to
40
45
08/525,936 entitled Display System For Displaying Lists

Of Linked Documents ?led Sep. 8, 1995, Which is assigned
tertiary areas so as to permit rapid movement of the docu
described in further in co-pending application Ser. No.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer controlled display

system as may be utiliZed in the currently preferred embodi
ment of the present invention.
FIG. 2a illustrates the default vieW of the document
to the same assignee of the present application and Which is
hereby incorporated by reference.

Document Object or Object: Any graphical representation
50
The computer based system on Which the currently pre

ferred embodiment of the present invention may be imple
mented is described With reference to FIG. 1. The computer
Workspace With a received page area.
FIG. 3 is an illustration of a vieW shoWing the tertiary
of an entity, eg a page or WebBook, in the document
Workspace.
FIG. 2b illustrates the default vieW of the document
space (i.e. the bookcase) in the focus space of the document
Web page and Which can typically be retrieved in a point and

click fashion. The Link Will specify the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) of the other Web page.
traverse through and vieW documents residing on the Web.
Other rendering means associated With the BroWser Will
permit listening to audio portions of a document or vieWing
video or image portions of a document.
WebBook: A representation of an aggregation of Web
pages Which provides rapid local interaction. WebBooks are
ment objects.
Workspace of the currently preferred embodiment of the

present invention.
have multi-media content as Well as relative and absolute
55
Workspace.
FIGS. 45 illustrate a touch drop gesture as may be
based system and associated operating instructions (e.g.

softWare) embody circuitry used to implement the present
invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the computer based system is
in the document Workspace of the currently preferred
comprised of a plurality of components coupled via a bus

101. The bus 101 may consist of a plurality of parallel buses
(e.g. address, data and status buses) as Well as a hierarchy of
buses (eg a processor bus, a local bus and an I/O bus). In
any event, the computer system is further comprised of a
processor 102 for executing instructions provided via bus
101 from Internal memory 103 (note that the Internal
memory 103 is typically a combination of Random Access
and Read Only Memories). The processor 102 Will be used
embodiment of the present invention.
to perform various operations in support of obtaining Web

60
FIGS. 67 illustrate the conteXt sensitive nature of the
touch drop gesture as may be performed in the document

present invention.
FIGS. 89 illustrate a ?ick gesture as may be performed
65
5,838,326
6
It is also very useful that the document Workspace is three
pages, converting Web pages into a suitable format for
display in the document Workspace and interpreting and

carrying out movement gestures. Instructions for performing
dimensional. The visual cues in a three dimensional Work
space enable the placement of a greater number of docu

ments in positions and orientations Which are readily accept
able to the user. Further, the three-dimensional nature of the
such operations are retrieved from Internal memory 103.

The processor 102 and Internal memory 103 may be discrete
components or a single integrated device such as an Appli
cation Speci?cation Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip.

Also coupled to the bus 101 are a keyboard 104 for
entering alphanumeric input, eXternal storage 105 for storing

data, a cursor control device 106 for manipulating a cursor,
a display 107 for displaying visual output (e. g. the document

Workspace) and a netWork connection 108. The keyboard
104 Would typically be a standard QWERTY keyboard but
may also be a telephone like keypad. The eXternal storage
10
Workspace provide for a much larger Workspace since it

permits placement of Workspace objects behind or the the
side of the user. Thus, by simply turning a vieWpoint
different portions of the Workspace are brought into vieW.
The document Workspace of the currently preferred
embodiment is illustrated With reference to FIG. 2a. It
should be noted that the user vieW of the Workspace is the
primary or default vieW. As the document Workspace is
105 may be ?xed or removable magnetic or optical disk
three-dimensional, traversal through the Workspace is per
trackball, Will typically have a button or sWitch associated

With it to Which the performance of certain functions can be
document Workspace is arranged hierarchically, based on

interaction rates, into three main levels: a Focus Space (for
drive. The cursor control device 106, eg a mouse or 15 mitted to achieve different vieWs of the Workspace. The
the document objects in active use), Immediate Memory
programmed. In the currently preferred embodiment such a
Space (for document objects in use) and Tertiary Space (for
sWitch Will have a ?rst up position and a second doWn

position Which are used to select and move document
document objects not in use). It should be noted that at each

of the different levels, the amount of display space per
document object roughly corresponds to the interaction rate
With the document object. This Will become apparent in the
objects Within the document Workspace. The netWork con

nection 108 provides means for attaching to a netWork, eg
a Local Area NetWork (LAN) card or modem card With
appropriate softWare. The netWork ultimately attached to is

the Internet, but it may be through intermediary netWorks or
description beloW.
25
On-Line services such as America On-Line, Prodigy TM or
The Focus Space is Where a document object that a user
is directly interacting With is shoWn. In other Words, the

document object is in active use. In the currently preferred
CompuServ TM.
embodiment, the focus space may contain a page, pile,

WebBook or even a representation of the Tertiary Space.
Referring to FIG. 2a, a document object 201 is in the Focus
tion has been implemented on a Silicon Graphics Worksta

tion With graphics facilities as described in SGI Graphics
Library Programming Guide, Silicon Graphics, Inc. of
Space. In the currently preferred embodiment document
Mountain VieW, Calif. The Silicon Graphics Workstation
objects are vieWed and interacted With in a manner associ
provides for generating softWare programs Which manipu
ated With the particular object. So for pages doWnloaded
late graphical objects in a three dimensional space, so
from the World-Wide Web in an HTML format, the pages are
description of programming techniques for rendering
35
graphical objects in a three dimensional space is not deemed

necessary.
It should be noted that it Would have been apparent to one
of skill in the art to implement the present invention on other
a document collection may be vieWed as a pile of individual

Web pages or as a WebBook or vieWed in a linear organi
Zation using a Document Lens Visualization. The Document

Workspace provide a means for selecting the manner in
Which a page collection is vieWed, eg using a pull-doWn
suitable computer systems providing functionality for

manipulating graphical objects in a three dimensional space.
Such implementations Would not depart from the spirit and
menu.
scope of the present invention.
When vieWed as a WebBook, the pages are organiZed in

a book metaphor. User interface controls are provided Which
Finally, the present invention is implemented on a com
puter controlled display system having a Graphical User

Interface (GUI). Operations for moving pages or page
45 enable a user to traverse a page, scale pages, turn pages,
place bookmarks and to automatically scan the WebBook.

The user interface for vieWing the pages in the WebBook is
collections in the GUI have been created that support use in
described in greater detail in co-pending and commonly

assigned US. patent application Ser. No. 08/525,936
entitled Display System For Displaying Lists Of Linked
Documents ?led Sep. 8, 1995.
the Document Workspace. Such operations are described in

greater detail beloW. Other operations are invoked in a
similar fashion and perform a similar function as in knoWn
GUIs. For eXample, the act of touching a document or
document collection is analogous to selection by a point
The Document Lens is an information visualiZation tech
nique Which shoWs a thumbnail representation of each page
and click operation of a cursor control device.
The Document Workspace

The purpose of the document Workspace is to alloW a
interacted With using a broWser capable of vieWing HTML

formatted documents. With respect to document collections,
of a document as if they Were laid out in sequential order on

55
large number of document objects to be displayed together
a plane. A tool, i.e. the lens, is moved over the document

pages to bring the desired portions into focus. Further detail
(mitigating the limitations of the small screen space) in order

to support information intensive activities. Interaction With
pages is similar to the functionality of a Web broWser. The
With respect to the vieWing of multi-page documents using
Workspace sets up explicitly the capacity for speed/access
ACM Conference on User Interface SoftWare and
time tradeoff to alloW tuning for such activities. The design
Technology, pgs. 101108, 1993.

The Immediate Memory Space is Where document objects
a Document Lens is described in the article by Robertson
and Mackinlay entitled The Document Lens UST 93,
aims to provide very rapid access to a small number of

pages, smoothly integrated With sloWer access to a large
number. Pages for ongoing activities migrate into the rapid

access and manipulation region (i.e. the focus region
described beloW). In this Way, repeated reference due to
locality of reference statistics can result in faster interaction.
are positioned When they are in use, but not currently

interacted With. In FIG. 2a, a desk 202 and the air 203
65
behind the focus space comprise the Immediate Memory

Space. The air 203 component of the Immediate Memory
Space has several tiers. Document objects are arranged at
5,838,326
7
several predetermined Z-distances in the 3D space. Three (3)
despite the movement, the desk remains in the same position
such tiers are illustrated in FIG. 2a, tiers 204206. The user
With respect to the focus space (i.e. directly underneath it).
can move document objects back in space (the farther back,

the smaller they become and the more document objects that
Also, the desk and any pages on the desk have been resiZed
?t). This is illustrated by noting the siZe differences in the

visual representations of document collections 204ab and
document collections 206a206b. To help With occlusion
With respect to the neW vieW. What conceptually has

occurred is the that user vieW has been changed to move in
in order to maintain a visually acceptable siZe perspective
problems, a camera (or viewing) position is chosen so that

at least one roW of documents Will ?t in a farther-back tier
Without being occluded by nearer objects. Document objects
10
front of the bookcase, rather than the bookcase moving (this

is substantiated by the fact that the component of the
immediate space 203 termed air having the ?oating docu
ments is no longer visible). Subsequently touching a Web
Book or page on the bookcase Will cause the user vieW to ?y
in the Immediate Memory Space can be moved around in X

and Y (i.e. left/right or up/doWn) or forWard and backWard
back to the default vieWing position and the touched
(that is in Z) using a simple gesture language described
WebBook or page to ?y to the focus space.
beloW. The desk 202 may also contain document objects,
Document Objects
eg document objects 202a and 202b. When the user moves 15
A document object is any entity that can be manipulated

in the document Workspace. Adocument object contains tWo
basic types of information; content information and display/
around in the Document Workspace, the desk 202, and hence

objects on the desk may move. Generally, the most recently
manipulation information. The content information refers to

the text and image data for the underlying document. The
used document objects are placed on the desk 202. In the
currently preferred embodiment, the Immediate Memory
display/manipulation information refers to data de?ning
Space can hold about 30 document objects Without

occlusion, and over a hundred if occlusions are alloWed.
hoW the text and image data is to be presented to the user.
Each of the document objects in the Immediate Memory
Some examples:
Space is presented face-up.

The Tertiary Space is Where document objects such as
pages and WebBooks may be positioned When they are not
in use. For example, document objects that are used for
25
mation may be a WebBook broWser.
HoW a document object is visually represented depends
reference purposes are placed in the tertiary space. Referring

to FIG. 2a, in the currently preferred embodiment the
on What it represents. An individual document or Web page
Will be represented initially by the ?rst page or by the top
tertiary space is represented as a bookcase 220. In normal

vieW, the bookcase is seen at an angle to minimiZe the
part of the Web page. While still in use, subsequent repre

sentations Will simply be Where the document Was When last
vieWed. For document collections represented as
amount of screen space that is consumed, While at the same
time displaying enough information that recently-used Web
WebBooks, the representation Will be the cover of the
Books or pages can be recognized. If the user touches one

of the WebBooks or pages in the bookcases, it Will auto
matically ?y to the focus space 201. Simultaneously, any
for a Web page the display/manipulation information

Would be a Web broWser;
for a document collection the display/manipulation infor
35
WebBook or page then in the focus space 202 Will ?y to a
position in the Immediate space 203. The ?ying of objects

is an animation Which shoWs the movement of objects from
one space to another.
book. When not in active use, the WebBook Will close, but
be bookmarked so that When re-opened it Will automatically
open to the last page vieWed.
The internal representation of a document object is as a
data structure having content data representing the
information, ie text or image, that the document object
represents and information for indicating hoW the content
data Will be processed for rendering and display. The later
embodiment is designed to perform multiple tasks concur

rently. So for example, one document object may be inter
data may be a program name to be linked to or actual
acted With by the user and concurrently, a Web access
program code. Data structures for handling such information
request may be performed With retrieved Web pages being

brought into the document Workspace for subsequent inter
action. FIG. 2b illustrates the document Workspace of FIG.
are Well knoWn in the art.

45
The simplest Way of moving a document object in the

document Workspace is to position the cursor on the desired
2a With a received page space 210. The received page space

is an area in the document Workspace Wherein neWly
retrieved pages are displayed. In FIG. 2b, neW pages
document object and clicking the associated sWitch on the

cursor control device. This causes the document object to
move to the focus space, and to move the document object
211214 have been received. The neWly received pages may
previously occupying the focus space to move to the imme
be the result of accessing a linked page on a page being

interacted With or the result of a Web search request.
In order to vieW the contents of the tertiary space, ie the
bookcase, it should be positioned in the focus space. The

bookcase may be either private or public. Aprivate bookcase
Moving Document Objects In The Document Workspace
diate space (the desktop). HoWever, it is often desirable to

move document objects to locations other than the focus
space.
55
KnoWn techniques for operating in a 2-D Workspace, eg

a drag and drop operation to move an object, do not Work
Well in a 3-D Workspace. One reason is that objects may be
is one Where the contents are created and oWned by the
oWner of the Workspace. Apublic bookcase is one that has

content that i s centrally updated and maintained. For
separated by large Z values and Would require painstaking
example, a phone directory may be centrally maintained and
movement to adjust Z values Within a drop Zone. Asecond
subsequently distributed to public bookcases (or shelves) in
reason is that foreground (hence large) objects obscure many

background (hence small) objects so they are not visible.
Simply picking up and moving around a foreground object
Would tend to obscure background objects.
user Workspaces. There may even be separate private and

public shelves on the bookcase (or even separate private
and public bookcases). Touching the bookcase 220 causes

the focus space so that the contents of the bookcase 220 can
To address these problems, a touch drop gesture is pro

vided. Basically, a touch drop gesture is one Where an object
is touched, eg by positioning a cursor over it and
be vieWed in closer detail. It should also be noted that
depressing a cursor control button, tracing the cursor move
the bookcase to ?y to the focus space. This is illustrated in

FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the bookcase 220 noW occupies
65
5,838,326
9
10
ment With a line, and then dropping the object by releasing
Flicking is illustrated in FIGS. 89. Referring to FIG. 8,
the cursor control button at the end point of the line. A
page 202a on desk 202 is touched using a cursor control

device. While a button associated With the cursor control
device remains depressed a rapid movement of the cursor
control device in an upWard direction occurs and the
constraint of the touch-drop gesture is that the end point of

the line must be on some other document object (or another
visible object in the Workspace like the bookcase of the

desk). OtherWise, no movement or other action is taken (i.e.
a null operation). The ?nal operation of the touch drop
button released (illustrated by line 801). The result is illus

trated in FIG. 9 Where the page 202a has been moved to tier
205 of the air portion of the immediate space in the
gesture is conteXt sensitive. So if the touched object is a
document Workspace.
WebBook and the drop object is the bookcase, the WebBook

is stored on the bookcase.
10
It should be noted that scaling of document objects as
The touch drop gesture is illustrated in FIGS. 45. Refer

ring to FIG. 4, page 202b on the desk is touched using a
they are moved from foreground to background positions in
cursor control device. While the sWitch associated With the
system of the three-dimensional computer controlled display
the document Workspace is performed by the rendering
cursor control device remains depressed (i.e. is in the second

doWn position), the cursor is moved and a line 401 is draWn.
15
Note that in the currently preferred embodiment the line

actually traces the movement of the cursor. HoWever, it
Would be apparent to one in the currently preferred embodi
In the currently preferred embodiment, collections of

documents may be imported or they can be created dynami
cally. WebBooks are an eXample of collections of documents
that are imported. A dynamic Way of creating a collection is
through piling documents on top of each other to create a
ment to indicate the line using a Well knoWn rubber
banding technique betWeen the original selection point and

the position of the cursor. In any event, the line 401
terminates at the bookcase 220. Termination occurs by
releasing the sWitch associated With the cursor control
device (i.e. is in the ?rst up position). Referring noW to FIG.
5, the page 202b has been removed from desk 202 and has
been placed on bookcase 220.
It should also be noted that the touch drop gesture is
conteXt sensitive. FIGS. 67 illustrate placement of a page
on a bookcase. Referring to FIG. 6, page 201 is touched and
to be dropped on bookcase 220. This is illustrated by the
system. Thus, no further discussion of hoW document

objects are scaled as they are moved through the document
Workspace is not deemed necessary.
Document Collections
pile. Apile is created simply by moving one document onto

another document using a touch drop gesture. It should be
25
noted that a pile may be added to another pile to create an
even bigger pile. When a pile is created a tray is placed

under them to indicate their relationship as a pile. The tray
also provides a convenient handle for selecting the entire
pile. The document objects are positioned in the pile by

having each neW page one quantum farther in radius from
endpoint of line 601 touching the bookcase 220. The result
the center of the pile (in polar coordinates). The angle from
is illustrated in FIG. 7 Wherein the page 201 is removed from

the focus space and is placed on bookcase 220. The actual
movement of the document object 201 to the bookcase 220
is animated so that the document object 201 appears to ?y
the center is chosen randomly or it may be constant so that
the document objects are in-line. When the angle from the
released. This action is conteXt sensitive since it recogniZes
center is chosen randomly, each pile Will have a distinct

appearance and each document in the pile Will be visible.
Creation of piles With the angle from the center chosen
randomly is illustrated in FIGS. 1012. Referring to FIG. 10,
any unique requirements of the drop location and performs
A document 1001 has a center 1002 Which is located at the
35
to the bookcase 220 When the cursor control button is
any appropriate actions. In this case, the unique action
origin of a polar coordinate system (i.e. at coordinates 0,0).
concerns placing the page on the bookcase. So the appro

priate action is to scale the page and place on an available
location on the bookcase. Another eXample of conteXt sen
Referring noW to FIG. 11, a document 1101 has been piled

on top of document 1001. The center 1102 of document 1101
has been placed at coordinates (0,
sitive operation is discussed beloW With respect to placing
randomly chosen and the radius X is a constant. FIG. 12
one page on another for creating a pile.
The touch drop gesture also has the advantage of not
45
The angle 0 is
illustrates a third document being placed on the pile. Refer

ring to FIG. 12, a document 1201 having a center 1202 is
added to the pile. In this case the center 1202 is at coordinate
requiring screen rendering of a Workspace in order to move

a document object.
(4), 2X), again Where the angle 4) is randomly chosen and the
Another gesture used for moving objects is termed ?ick

ing. In ?icking a document object is moved by touching
radius 2X determined by When the document Was added to
the pile.
the object and ?icking it using the cursor control device in
It should be noted that in the pile representation of the
a desired direction. Generally What occurs is that the object
currently preferred embodiment, each document may be

selected and brought to the top of the pile. When doing this,
is touched and While the sWitch on the cursor control device
remains depressed, the cursor is quickly moved in the

desired direction and then released. The object Will then
move to the neXt immediate area (or to the tertiary area) in
the direction of the ?icking gesture. In the currently
none of the other documents become blocked from vieW.
Piles may be generated automatically or manually. In

55
creation, a pile may be generated by a tool in the Document

Workspace Which looks for and retrieves documents accord
ing to some predetermined criteria.
preferred embodiment, a doWn?ick moves documents closer
to the user (so the document object gets larger), up?icks

move document aWay from the user (so the document object
gets smaller), side?icks move document objects to the
Thus, a computer controlled display system for moving
bookcase or to other portions of the immediate areas. By
adding some angle to the up?ick gesture, document objects

can be positioned in a different X third of the neXt farther
tier. Up?icking sends documents to the Yposition in the neXt

farther tier Which is not occluded and the X gridding keeps
more than one document object from ending up in the same
or overlapping space.
manual creation, piles are simply created by causing docu

ments (or other piles) to overlay each other. In automatic
65
document objects in a three dimensional document Work

space is disclosed. While the present invention is described
With respect to a preferred embodiment, it Would be apparent
to one skilled in the art to practice the present invention With
other con?gurations. Such alternate embodiments Would not
cause departure from the spirit and scope of the present
invention.
5,838,326
11
12
We claim:
b) detecting that a user has selected a ?rst document
object using said pointer device and that said sWitch
1. A computer controlled display system for displaying
associated With said pointer device is in said second
document objects in a three-dimensional document Work

space on a display, said computer controlled display system
doWn position;
comprising:
c) detecting that said cursor has been moved;

d) visibly tracing the movement of said cursor;
document retrieval means for retrieving document
objects;
e) detecting that said cursor points to a second document
object and that said sWitch associated With said pointer

device is in said second up position; and
a pointer device for pointing a cursor at document objects,

said pointer device having a sWitch With a ?rst up
position and a second doWn position;

positioning means for receiving user input for positioning
document objects Within said three-dimensional docu
10
based on said second document object.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 Wherein said step of
ment Workspace, said positioning means further com
prising:
means for detecting that said cursor is pointing at a
15
selected document object and said sWitch associated

With said pointer device is in said second doWn
position;
circuitry for detecting that said cursor is moved and
draWing a line corresponding to the movement of
said cursor;
circuitry for detecting that said cursor is pointing at a

destination document object and said sWitch associ
ated With said cursor is in said second up position;
circuitry for performing a conteXt sensitive operation

based on said destination document object;
mation for displaying said three-dimensional document
prised of said ?rst document and said second document.
display circuitry comprising:
10. The method as recited in claim 9 Wherein said

document collection is a pile.
11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein said step
of creating a document collection is further comprised of the
circuitry for displaying a focus space, said focus space

for detail display of a document object;
circuitry for displaying an immediate space, said imme
35
objects that are in use but not in focus; and
steps of:
positioning said second document object at a random
orientation With respect to said ?rst document; and
displaying a tray visualiZation under said ?rst document
and said second document.
12. The method as recited in claim 11 Wherein said
document collection is placed according to a local polar
circuitry for displaying a tertiary space, said tertiary

space for positioning document objects that are not
in use.
coordinate system, and said step of positioning said second

document at a random orientation With respect to said ?rst
45
document is further comprised of the steps of:

determining a distance coordinate for a center of said
second document based on the number of documents in
said pile; and

determining an angular coordinate for said center of said
document at random.
space.
5. The computer controlled display system as recited in

claim 2 Wherein said ?ick gesture is toWards a document
document object is a ?rst document and said step of causing

a context dependent operation to be performed based on said
second document object is further comprised of the step of
determining that said second document object is a second
document and said creating a document collection com
Workspace and said document objects, said Workspace

claim 1 Wherein said positioning means is further comprised
of ?ick gesture interpretation means for detecting that a ?ick
gesture has been performed on a document object and
re-positioning said document object at a position corre
sponding to said ?ick gesture.
claim 2 Wherein said ?ick gesture is in an up direction and
said re-positioning of said document object is into said
immediate space.
claim 2 Wherein said ?ick gesture is in a doWn direction and
said re-positioning of said document object is into said focus
causing a conteXt dependent operation to be performed

based on said second document object is further comprised
of the step of determining that said second document object
is a bookcase and moving said ?rst document object to said
bookcase.
causing a conteXt dependent operation to be based on said
second document object is further comprised of the step of
determining that said second document object is a secondary
area in said three-dimensional document Workspace and
moving said document object to said secondary area.
9. The method as recited in claim 6 Wherein said ?rst
25
Workspace display circuitry for generating display infor
diate space for ephemeral positioning of document
f) causing a conteXt dependent operation to be performed
55
object representing said tertiary space and said

re-positioning of said document objects is into said tertiary
causing a conteXt dependent operation to be performed

based on said second document object is further comprised
of the step of determining that said second document object
is an eXisting document collection and adding said ?rst
document object to said eXisting document collection.
space.
6. A method for moving document objects on a computer

controlled display system for displaying document objects
comprising:
on a three-dimensional document Workspace, said computer
document receiving means for receiving document
controlled display system having a pointer device for con

trolling a cursor, said pointer device having a sWitch capable
of being in a ?rst up position and a second doWn position,
said method comprising the steps of:

ment Workspace;
a) loading said document Workspace With documents
objects;
objects;
65

5,838,326
13
14

a selection means for selecting a document object; and
means for indicating a destination for a selected document
object.
Circuitry for displaying an immediate Space, said imme- 5 claim 15 Wherein said selection means is COIIlpIlSGd Of
circuitry for positioning a cursor on a document object and
inVOking a Select Operation, and
said means for indicating a destination for a selected
document or document collection is comprised of cir
in use.
10
cuitry for positioning said cursor at a desired location
and invoking a move operation.
claim 14 Wherein said positioning means is further com

prised of:
Exhibit B

US005 847709A
United States Patent [19]
[11] Patent Number:
Card et al.
[45]
[54]
3-D DOCUMENT WORKSPACE WITH

FOCUS, IMMEDIATE AND TERTIARY
SPACES
Date of Patent:
5,847,709
*Dec. 8, 1998
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

9322738
11/1993
WIPO ........................... .. G06F 15/62
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
[75] Inventors: Stuart K. Card, Los Altos Hills, Calif.;

George G. Robertson, Redmond,
Ballay, J .M., Designing WorkspaceTM: An Interdisciplinary

Experience, Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI
94, Conference Proceedings, pp. 1015.
Mander, R., Salomon, G., and Wong, Y.Y., A Pile Meta
Wash.; William M. York, Los Altos,

Calif.
phor for Supporting Casual Organization of Information,
Assignee: Xerox Corporation, Stamford, Conn.
Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 92 Conference

Notice:
beyond the expiration date of Pat. No.
Proceedings, May 37, 1992, pp. 627634.

Staples, L., Representation in Virtual Space: Visual Con
5,838,326.
vention in the Graphical User Interface, Human Factors in
The term of this patent shall not extend
Computing Systems, Interchi 93 Conference Proceedings,

Apr. 2429, pp. 348354.
Appl. No.: 721,293

Filed:
Sep. 26, 1996
Horn, R.E., Mapping Hypertext: Analysis, Linkage, and

Display of Knowledge for the Next Generation of OnLine
Int. Cl.6 ...................................................... .. G06F 3/00
US. Cl. ........................ .. 345/355; 345/351; 345/329;
345/358; 345/976
Field of Search ................................... .. 345/326358,
ton, MA.
Primary ExaminerJohn E. Breene

Attorney, Agent, or FirmRichard B. Domingo
345/976; 707/526, 514, 500, 501, 513
[57]
References Cited

With large numbers of document objects. Adocument object
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

5,060,135
Text and Graphics, 1989, The Lexington Institute, Lexing
10/1991
ABSTRACT
may be a document or a document collection. The document
Levine .................................. .. 345/351
5,140,677
8/1992 Fleming et al. ..
5,295,243
5,347,295
3/1994 Robertson et al. ................... .. 345/355

9/1994 Agulnick et al. ................. .. 345/358 X
395/159
Workspace is divided hierarchically in terms of interaction

rates. A focus space is Where direct interaction With a
document or document collection occurs. An immediate
memory space or desktop is for placing pages or books that
5,359,703 10/1994 Robertson et al.
345/355 X
are in use, but not currently being interacted With. A tertiary
5,381,158
5,386,507
345/355 X
345/355 X
space or bookcase is Where many books and pages that are

not in use, but Which it is desirable to have ready access to.
5,452,414
5,463,722
1/1995 Takahara et al. .

1/1995 Teig et al. ....... ..
9/1995 Rosendahl et al.

10/1995
345/355 X
Venolia ........... ..
345/355 x

facilitated by touch-drop and ?ick gestures. The touch-drop
gesture addresses the problem of obscuring distant (hence
smaller) document objects by presenting a visual line indi
5,499,330
3/1996 Lucas et al. ..
345/355 X
5,500,935
5,509,114
5,546,529
3/1996 Moran et al.

4/1996 Moran et al.
8/1996 Bowers et al.
345/358 X
345/358 X
345/355 X
5,555,354
5,602,564
9/1996 Strasnick et al. .

2/1997 Iwamura et al. ..
345/355 X
345/355 X
cating a destination for a moved document object. Flick

gestures are used to quickly move document objects Within
the document Workspace. A user may change their vieW of
345/355 X
the document Workspace in order to vieW different portions
5,608,850
3/1997 Robertson ....... ..
5,634,095
5/1997
5,670,984
5,678,015
5,689,628
Wang et al.
......
. . . . . ..
9/1997 Robertson et al.

10/1997
11/1997
345/326
345/355 X
of the Workspace in more detail.
G011 ......................... .. 345/355

Robertson ......................... .. 345/355 X
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203
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1
3-D DOCUMENT WORKSPACE WITH
provide rendering means for vieWing audio, video and
FOCUS, IMMEDIATE AND TERTIARY
graphical portions of documents as Well as a graphical user
SPACES
interface for controlling access to documents. The graphical

user interface is typically one Which provides for vertical
and horiZontal scrolling via scroll bars and point and click
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED

APPLICATION
The present application is related to co-pending US.

patent application Ser. No. 08/721,302, entitled System For
Moving Document Objects In A Three-Dimensional Docu
ment Workspace ?led concurrently With the present appli
cation.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the ?eld of computer
user interfaces, and in particular, a user interface for dis
playing and navigating through collections of related docu
manipulation of a cursor control device to invoke broWser
operations (eg to traverse links). Color, underlining or

reverse video are techniques used to indicate the existence of
a link on a page.
10
Deckscape: An Experimental Web BroWser, Marc H.

BroWn and Robert A. Shillner, DEC Systems Research
Center Report 135a, Mar. 1, 1995. The DeckScape Web

broWser utiliZes the metaphor of a deck as a collection of
15
Web pages. Only one Web page on a deck is visible at one
time, although multiple decks may be visible. DeckScape is
ments.
also multithreaded so that each deck may be active, e.g.

doWnloading pages, at the same time. Adeck may be created
2. Background
Access to and use of electronic documents is groWing at
a very explosive pace. To facilitate use of large collections
Related materials include:
based on a traversal through the Web or as the result of an

20
of electronic documents, neW techniques for querying and

visualiZing the content of such collections are being devel
oped. For example, US. Pat. No. 5,546,529, describes a
technique for vieWing the results of a database search that
operation such as expand all the links on this page.
US. Pat. No. 5,499,330 entitled Document Display Sys

tem For OrganiZing And Displaying Documents As Screen
Objects OrganiZed Along Strand Paths. As described in the
visually mapped along a static reference surface having
Abstract, this references discloses a system for displaying

documents in a computer controlled display device. The
system displays documents either in a completely free-form,
separate detail and context areas.

One source of the groWth of access to electronic docu
documents in a strand folloW a strand path. The strand path
has been mapped to a tree structure. The tree structure is
ments is the Internet, and in particular, the facet of the

Internet knoWn as the World-Wide Web (referred to simply
as the Web). The Web provides a means for making multi
media styled documents over the Internet. These documents
25
a user controlled con?guration or as strands, such that

30
is a tWo dimensional line through a three dimensional
display space. The documents displayed on the strand are

knoWn as child documents, and each strand also has a parent
document. Various constraints de?ning the strand are asso
ciated With the parent document, including a strand function
are termed Web pages (hereinafter pages). Pages may refer
to and provide access to other pages on the Web. Each page 35 de?ning the strand path, minimum and maximum separation
has associated With it an identi?er termed a Uniform
constraints de?ning the distance betWeen the child docu
Resource Locator (URL). A page is accessed by specifying
ments on the strand, and an origin constraint de?ning the
its URL. The contents of a page is speci?ed in a document
positional relationship of the strand path to the screen object

of the parent document.
A Pile Metaphor for Supporting Casual OrganiZation of
Information, Richard Mander, Gitta Saloman, Yin Yin
Wong, Chi 92 Conference Proceedings, ACM Conference
on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pgs 627634,
May 37,1992. This article describes the design and devel
formatting language knoWn as the Hyper-Text Mark-Up

Language (HTML). A reference to another page on the Web
is termed a link. Links may be speci?ed in either absolute or
relative terms. Alink speci?ed in absolute terms refers to its
40
entire URL. A link speci?ed in relative terms assumes a
certain portion of the URL is the same as the existing page.

The speci?cation is thus relative to the URL of the page on
Which it is de?ned.
45
To access and vieW a document on the Web, a Web
opment of a desktop interface element referred to as piles.

Piles represent sets of related documents. These piles are
analogous to stacks of paper often found in a persons of?ce
broWser is needed. AWeb broWser provides search, traversal
or Workspace. Piles Were observed to have the useful prop
and vieWing functions needed to access documents on the
erties of being a less rigid categoriZation system and to be

self-revealing and broWsable. The described design includes
Web. Various Web broWsers exist for the Web, e.g. NetScape
available from NetScape, Inc. of Mountain VieW, Calif.
Traversing through documents contained on the Web is
similar to folloWing a path through a netWork. Since each
page may contain links to many other pages, traversing
through the pages is a simple matter of folloWing the links.
Most Web broWsers provide controls for going backWards
and forWards in the list of links. They also maintain a history
list of the links to enable jumping directly to a speci?c
previously vieWed page.
Most publicly available Web broWsers operate on a com
direct manipulation techniques and support for broWsing,

automatic pile construction and reorganiZation.
55
describes the use of three dimensional visual cues of per
spective and lighting, in the context of ?at or tWo

dimensional Workspace. The use of transparency as a means
60
puter controlled display system having a graphical user

interface With multiple WindoWs. Typically, such Web
broWsers operate such that a WindoW may display only one
page at a time. Multiple pages are vieWed by opening
multiple WindoWs. The user interface for Web BroWsers
typically correspond to the capabilities of the computer

system on Which it resides. Afull featured Web broWser may
Representation in Virtual Space: Visual Convention in the

Graphical User Interface, Loretta Staples, Human Factors in
Computing Systems INTERCHI93 Conference
Proceedings, pgs 348354, Apr. 2429 1993. This articles
of enhancing the Workspace is also described. A desktop

landscape is proposed that is divided by a horiZon line
denoting tWo separate areas: an active foreground space and
a passive background space.

65
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With large numbers of document objects is disclosed. The
5,847,709
4
3
document object is a graphical representation of an indi
FIGS. 1012 illustrate the creation of piles as may be

vidual document or a document collection. The document
Workspace has been implemented for use to display and

interact With documents, typically Web pages, that have been
doWnloaded from the World Wide Web. HoWever, the docu
ment Workspace is also suitable for use to display documents
or document collections obtained from other sources (eg
from a CD-ROM). Document collections are typically in the
form of WebBooks or piles. WebBooks are document col
lections that are represented to a user using a book metaphor.
A pile is a representation of a document collection that
resembles a pile of paper contained in a paper tray. Apile is
created by moving one document object on to another
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE

INVENTION
A computer controlled display system for displaying a

three dimensional document Workspace is disclosed. One or
more documents objects are present in the document Work
10
the collections, e.g. vieWing, moving and storing, While

balancing the necessary tradeoffs of rapid access, number of
collections and associated documents, and available screen
space.
document object.
The document Workspace is divided hierarchically in
space. The present invention provides for interaction With
15

tion is implemented for use With collections of pages (i.e.
documents) obtained from the portion of the Internet knoWn
as the World Wide Web (hereinafter the Web). HoWever, it
should be noted that the present invention is not limited to
terms of interaction rates. A focus space is Where direct

interaction With a document object occurs. The interactions
occurs in a manner suitable for the document object in the
focus space. The focus space is generally the center of the
use on the Web and may be utiliZed in any system Which
display area. An immediate memory space is for placing

document objects that are in use, but not currently being
provides access to collections of documents. For example,

the present invention may be used in a system Wherein
interacted With. Visually in the document Workspace the
documents are obtained through a CD-ROM media.

immediate memory space is divided into an air space and
The folloWing terms de?ned herein are familiar to users of
a desk. The desk is a familiar metaphor for placing
documents on that are not currently being vieWed, but are in 25 the Web and take on these familiar meanings:
World-Wide Web or Web
use. The air is located behind the focus space. The air
The portion of the Internet that is used to store and access
is further divided into subareas. Each of the subareas cor
linked multi-media documents.
responds to a distance back (i.e. in the Z-direction) in Which
the document object is positioned. The further back, the

smaller the siZe of the representation of the document object.
A tertiary space is Where many document objects, eg
Page
WebBooks and frequently referenced documents that are not
other pages.
currently in use may be positioned. The tertiary space is
Link
A document accessible on the Web. A Page may have

multi-media content as Well as relative and absolute links to
An indicator on a Web page Which refers to another Web
visually represented as a bookshelf.
35
facilitated by a touch and drop gesture. When a document
Locator (URL) of the other Web page.
object is touched, and a button on the associated cursor

control device remains depressed, a line is draWn to indicate
Web BroWser or BroWser

A tool Which enables a user to traverse through and vieW
Where the object is to be dropped. This helps facilitate a

determination of Where the document object is to be placed.
Document objects may also be ?icked to the immediate and
documents residing on the Web. Other rendering means
associated With the BroWser Will permit listening to audio

portions of a document or vieWing video or image portions
tertiary areas so as to permit rapid movement of the docu
of a document.
ment objects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
45
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer controlled display

system as may be utiliZed in the currently preferred embodi
ment of the present invention.
FIG. 2a illustrates the default vieW of the document
Documents ?led Sep. 8,1995, Which is assigned to the same
assignee of the present application and Which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
FIG. 2b illustrates the default vieW of the document

Workspace With a received page area.
55
space (i.e. the bookcase) in the focus space of the document
Workspace.
based system and associated operating instructions (e.g.

softWare) embody circuitry used to implement the present
invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the computer based system is

FIGS. 67 illustrate the conteXt sensitive nature of the
touch drop gesture as may be performed in the document

present invention.
FIGS. 89 illustrate a ?ick gesture as may be performed
embodiment of the present invention.
Document Object or Object

Any graphical representation of an entity, eg a page or
WebBook, in the document Workspace.
The computer based system on Which the currently pre
ferred embodiment of the present invention may be imple
mented is described With reference to FIG. 1. The computer
FIGS. 45 illustrate a touch drop gesture as may be
in the document Workspace of the currently preferred
WebBook
A representation of an aggregation of Web pages Which
provides rapid local interaction. WebBooks are described in
further in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/525,936


present invention.
FIG. 3 is an illustration of a vieW shoWing the tertiary
page and Which can typically be retrieved in a point and

click fashion. The Link Will specify the Uniform Resource
65
comprised of a plurality of components coupled via a bus

101. The bus 101 may consist of a plurality of parallel buses
(e.g. address, data and status buses) as Well as a hierarchy of
buses (eg a processor bus, a local bus and an I/O bus). In
any event, the computer system is further comprised of a
processor 102 for executing instructions provided via bus
101 from Internal memory 103 (note that the Internal
5,847,709
5
memory 103 is typically a combination of Random Access
number. Pages for ongoing activities migrate into the rapid

access and manipulation region (i.e. the focus region
and Read Only Memories). The processor 102 Will be used

to perform various operations in support of obtaining Web
described beloW). In this Way, repeated reference due to

locality of reference statistics can result in faster interaction.
It is also very useful that the document Workspace is three
pages, converting Web pages into a suitable format for
display in the document Workspace and interpreting and

carrying out movement gestures. Instructions for performing
dimensional. The visual cues in a three dimensional Work
such operations are retrieved from Internal memory 103.

The processor 102 and Internal memory 103 may be discrete
components or a single integrated device such as an Appli
space enable the placement of a greater number of docu

ments in positions and orientations Which are readily accept
able to the user. Further, the three-dimensional nature of the
cation Speci?cation Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip.
10
Workspace provide for a much larger Workspace since it

permits placement of Workspace objects behind or the the
side of the user. Thus, by simply turning a vieWpoint
different portions of the Workspace are brought into vieW.
15
embodiment is illustrated With reference to FIG. 2a. It

should be noted that the user vieW of the Workspace is the
primary or default vieW. As the document Workspace is
Also coupled to the bus 101 are a keyboard 104 for
entering alphanumeric input, eXternal storage 105 for storing

data, a cursor control device 106 for manipulating a cursor,
a display 107 for displaying visual output (e. g. the document

Workspace) and a netWork connection 108. The keyboard
104 Would typically be a standard QWERTY keyboard but
may also be a telephone like keypad. The eXternal storage
105 may be ?xed or removable magnetic or optical disk
three-dimensional, traversal through the Workspace is per
drive. The cursor control device 106, eg a mouse or
mitted to achieve different vieWs of the Workspace. The
trackball, Will typically have a button or sWitch associated

With it to Which the performance of certain functions can be
document Workspace is arranged hierarchically, based on

interaction rates, into three main levels: a Focus Space (for
programmed. In the currently preferred embodiment such a
the document objects in active use), Immediate Memory
sWitch Will have a ?rst up position and a second doWn

position Which are used to select and move document
Space (for document objects in use) and Tertiary Space (for
objects Within the document Workspace. The netWork con

nection 108 provides means for attaching to a netWork, eg
25
a Local Area NetWork (LAN) card or modem card With
document objects not in use). It should be noted that at each

of the different levels, the amount of display space per
document object roughly corresponds to the interaction rate
With the document object. This Will become apparent in the
appropriate softWare. The netWork ultimately attached to is

the Internet, but it may be through intermediary netWorks or
description beloW.
On-Line services such as America On-Line, Prodigy TM or
is directly interacting With is shoWn. In other Words, the

document object is in active use. In the currently preferred
The Focus Space is Where a document object that a user
CompuServ TM.
embodiment, the focus space may contain a page, pile,

WebBook or even a representation of the Tertiary Space.
Referring to FIG. 2a, a document object 201 is in the Focus
tion has been implemented on a Silicon Graphics Worksta

tion With graphics facilities as described in SGI Graphics
Library Programming Guide, Silicon Graphics, Inc. of
35
Space. In the currently preferred embodiment document
Mountain VieW, Calif. The Silicon Graphics Workstation

provides for generating softWare programs Which manipu
objects are vieWed and interacted With in a manner associ
late graphical objects in a three dimensional space, so
from the World-Wide Web in an HTML format, the pages are
description of programming techniques for rendering
interacted With using a broWser capable of vieWing HTML

formatted documents. With respect to document collections,
ated With the particular object. So for pages doWnloaded
graphical objects in a three dimensional space is not deemed

necessary.
It should be noted that it Would have been apparent to one
of skill in the art to implement the present invention on other
a document collection may be vieWed as a pile of individual

Web pages or as a WebBook or vieWed in a linear organi
suitable computer systems providing functionality for

manipulating graphical objects in a three dimensional space.
Such implementations Would not depart from the spirit and
45
menu.
scope of the present invention.
When vieWed as a WebBook, the pages are organiZed in

a book metaphor. User interface controls are provided Which
Finally, the present invention is implemented on a com
puter controlled display system having a Graphical User

Interface (GUI). Operations for moving pages or page
enable a user to traverse a page, scale pages, turn pages,
place bookmarks and to automatically scan the WebBook.

The user interface for vieWing the pages in the WebBook is
collections in the GUI have been created that support use in
the Document Workspace. Such operations are described in

greater detail beloW. Other operations are invoked in a
similar fashion and perform a similar function as in knoWn
GUIs. For eXample, the act of touching a document or
Zation using a Document Lens VisualiZation. The Document

Workspace provide a means for selecting the manner in
Which a page collection is vieWed, eg using a pull-doWn
55
document collection is analogous to selection by a point
described in greater detail in co-pending and commonly

assigned US. patent application Ser. No. 08/525,936
Documents ?led Sept. 8,1995.
The Document Lens is an information visualiZation tech
and click operation of a cursor control device.
nique Which shoWs a thumbnail representation of each page
The Document Workspace
of a document as if they Were laid out in sequential order on
a plane. A tool, ie the lens, is moved over the document

pages to bring the desired portions into focus. Further detail
The purpose of the document Workspace is to alloW a
large number of document objects to be displayed together
With respect to the vieWing of multi-page documents using
(mitigating the limitations of the small screen space) in order

to support information intensive activities. Interaction With
pages is similar to the functionality of a Web broWser. The
a Document Lens is described in the article by Robertson
and Mackinlay entitled The Document Lens UST 93,
Workspace sets up explicitly the capacity for speed/access

time tradeoff to alloW tuning for such activities. The design
aims to provide very rapid access to a small number of
pages, smoothly integrated With sloWer access to a large
ACM Conference on User Interface SoftWare and

65
Technology, pgs. 101108,19930553.

The Immediate Memory Space is Where document objects
are positioned When they are in use, but not currently
5,847,709
7
interacted With. In FIG. 2a, a desk 202 and the air 203
the bookcase to ?y to the focus space. This is illustrated in

FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the bookcase 220 noW occupies
behind the focus space comprise the Immediate Memory

Space. The air 203 component of the Immediate Memory
Space has several tiers. Document objects are arranged at
several predetermined Z-distances in the 3D space. Three (3)
be vieWed in closer detail. It should also be noted that

despite the movement, the desk remains in the same position
such tiers are illustrated in FIG. 2a, tiers 204206. The user
With respect to the focus space (i.e. directly underneath it).
can move document objects back in space (the farther back,

the smaller they become and the more document objects that
Also, the desk and any pages on the desk have been resiZed
?t). This is illustrated by noting the siZe differences in the

visual representations of document collections 204ab and
document collections 206a206b. To help With occlusion
With respect to the neW vieW. What conceptually has

occurred is the that user vieW has been changed to move in
the focus space so that the contents of the bookcase 220 can
in order to maintain a visually acceptable siZe perspective

10
front of the bookcase, rather than the bookcase moving (this

is substantiated by the fact that the component of the
immediate space 203 termed air having the ?oating docu
ments is no longer visible). Subsequently touching a Web
problems, a camera (or viewing) position is chosen so that

a least one roW of documents Will ?t in a farther-back tier
Without being occluded by nearer objects. Document objects

in the Immediate Memory Space can be moved around in X
and Y (i.e. left/right or up/doWn) or forWard and backWard
15 Book or page on the bookcase Will cause the user vieW to ?y
back to the default vieWing position and the touched

WebBook or page to ?y to the focus space.
(that is in Z) using a simple gesture language described

beloW. The desk 202 may also contain document objects,
Document Objects
eg document objects 202a and 202b. When the user moves
A document object is any entity that can be manipulated

in the document Workspace. Adocument object contains tWo
basic types of information; content information and display/
around in the Document Workspace, the desk 202, and hence

objects on the desk may move. Generally, the most recently
currently preferred embodiment, the Immediate Memory
manipulation information. The content information refers to

the text and image data for the underlying document. The
Space can hold about 30 document objects Without
display/manipulation information refers to data de?ning
used document objects are placed on the desk 202. In the
occlusion, and over a hundred if occlusions are alloWed. 25 hoW the text and image data is to be presented to the user.
Some examples:
Each of the document objects in the Immediate Memory
Space is presented face-up.
for a Web page the display/manipulation information

Would be a Web broWser;
for a document collection the display/manipulation infor
The Tertiary Space is Where document objects such as

pages and WebBooks may be positioned When they are not
in use. For example, document objects that are used for
mation may be a WebBook broWser.
HoW a document object is visually represented depends
reference purposes are placed in the tertiary space. Referring

to FIG. 2a, in the currently preferred embodiment the
tertiary space is represented as a bookcase 220. In normal
on What it represents. An individual document or Web page
Will be represented initially by the ?rst page or by the top
vieW, the bookcase is seen at an angle to minimiZe the

part of the Web page. While still in use, subsequent repre
amount of screen space that is consumed, While at the same 35 sentations Will simply be Where the document Was When last
vieWed. For document collections represented as
time displaying enough information that recently-used Web
Books or pages can be recogniZed. If the user touches one
WebBooks, the representation Will be the cover of the
of the WebBooks or pages in the bookcases, it Will auto
book. When not in active use, the WebBook Will close, but
be bookmarked so that When re-opened it Will automatically
matically ?y to the focus space 201. Simultaneously, any

WebBook or page then in the focus space 202 Will ?y to a
open to the last page vieWed.

The internal representation of a document object is as a
position in the Immediate space 203. The ?ying of objects
data structure having content data representing the

information, ie text or image, that the document object
represents and information for indicating hoW the content
is an animation Which shoWs the movement of objects from

one space to another.

embodiment is designed to perform multiple tasks concur
rently. So for example, one document object may be inter
45
data Will be processed for rendering and display. The later

data may be a program name to be linked to or actual
acted With by the user and concurrently, a Web access
program code. Data structures for handling such information
request may be performed With retrieved Web pages being

brought into the document Workspace for subsequent inter
action. FIG. 2b illustrates the document Workspace of FIG.
Moving Document Objects In The Document Workspace
are Well knoWn in the art.
The simplest Way of moving a document object in the

document Workspace is to position the cursor on the desired
2a With a received page space 210. The received page space

is an area in the document Workspace Wherein neWly
retrieved pages are displayed. In FIG. 2b, neW pages
document object and clicking the associated sWitch on the

cursor control device. This causes the document object to
move to the focus space, and to move the document object
211214 have been received. The neWly received pages may
be the result of accessing a linked page on a page being 55 previously occupying the focus space to move to the imme
interacted With or the result of a Web search request.
diate space (the desktop). HoWever, it is often desirable to
move document objects to locations other than the focus
In order to vieW the contents of the tertiary space, ie the
space. KnoWn techniques for operating in a 2-D Workspace,
bookcase, it should be positioned in the focus space. The

bookcase may be either private or public. Aprivate bookcase
eg a drag and drop operation to move an object, do not

Work Well in a 3-D Workspace. One reason is that objects
is one Where the contents are created and oWned by the
may be separated by large Z values and Would require
oWner of the Workspace. Apublic bookcase is one that has

content that is centrally updated and maintained. For
painstaking movement to adjust Z values Within a drop

Zone. A second reason is that foreground (hence large)
example, a phone directory may be centrally maintained and
subsequently distributed to public bookcases (or shelves) in

user Workspaces. There may even be separate private and
public shelves on the bookcase (or even separate private
and public bookcases). Touching the bookcase 220 causes
objects obscure many background (hence small) objects so

65
they are not visible. Simply picking up and moving around

a foreground object Would tend to obscure background
objects.
5,847,709
9
10
To address these problems, a touch drop gesture is pro

vided. Basically, a touch drop gesture is one Where an object
tier. Up?icking sends documents to the Yposition in the neXt

farther tier Which is not occluded and the X gridding keeps
is touched, eg by positioning a cursor over it and

depressing a cursor control button, tracing the cursor move
more than one document object from ending up in the same

or overlapping space.
ment With a line, and then dropping the object by releasing
Flicking is illustrated in FIGS. 89. Referring to FIG. 8,

page 202a on desk 202 is touched using a cursor control
device. While a button associated With the cursor control
device remains depressed a rapid movement of the cursor
control device in an upWard direction occurs and the
the cursor control button at the end point of the line. A
constraint of the touch-drop gesture is that the end point of

the line must be on some other document object (or another
visible object in the Workspace like the bookcase of the

desk). OtherWise, no movement or other action is taken (i.e.
a null operation). The ?nal operation of the touch drop
button released (illustrated by line 801). The result is illus
gesture is conteXt sensitive. So if the touched object is a
document Workspace.
trated in FIG. 9 Where the page 202a has been moved to tier
205 of the air portion of the immediate space in the
WebBook and the drop object is the bookcase, the WebBook
It should be noted that scaling of document objects as
is stored on the bookcase.
The touch drop gesture is illustrated in FIGS. 45. Refer

ring to FIG. 4, page 202b on the desk is touched using a
cursor control device. While the sWitch associated With the
cursor control device remains depressed (i.e. is in the second
doWn position), the cursor is moved and a line 401 is draWn.
they are moved from foreground to background positions in

15
system. Thus, no further discussion of hoW document

objects are scaled as they are moved through the document
Workspace is not deemed necessary.
Document Collections
Note that in the currently preferred embodiment the line
In the currently preferred embodiment, collections of
actually traces the movement of the cursor. HoWever, it

Would be apparent to one in the currently preferred embodi
ment to indicate the line using a Well knoWn rubber
banding technique betWeen the original selection point and

the position of the cursor. In any event, the line 401
terminates at the bookcase 220. Termination occurs by
releasing the sWitch associated With the cursor control
device (i.e. is in the ?rst up position). Referring noW to FIG.
5, the page 202b has been removed from desk 202 and has
been placed on bookcase 220.
It should also be noted that the touch drop gesture is
conteXt sensitive. FIGS. 67 illustrate placement of a page
on a bookcase. Referring to FIG. 6, page 201 is touched and
to be dropped on bookcase 220. This is illustrated by the
25
endpoint of line 601 touching the bookcase 220. The result
35
another document using a touch drop gesture. It should be

noted that a pile may be added to another pile to create an
even bigger pile. When a pile is created a tray is placed

under them to indicate their relationship as a pile. The tray
also provides a convenient handle for selecting the entire
pile. The document objects are positioned in the pile by

having each neW page one quantum farther in radius from
the center of the pile (in polar coordinates). The angle from
is context sensitive since it recogniZes any unique require

ments of the drop location and performs any appropriate
45
Another eXample of conteXt sensitive operation is discussed
the center is chosen randomly or it may be constant so that
the document objects are in-line. When the angle from the
center is chosen randomly, each pile Will have a distinct
appearance and each document in the pile Will be visible.
Creation of piles With the angle from the center chosen
randomly is illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 illustrates a third
document being placed on the pile. Referring to FIG. 12, a
document 1201 having a center 1202 is added to the pile. In
this case the center 1202 is at coordinate (4), 2X), again Where
the angle 4) is randomly chosen and the radius 2X determined
by When the document Was added to the pile.
It should be noted that in the pile representation of the
currently preferred embodiment, each document may be

selected and brought to the top of the pile. When doing this,
beloW With respect to placing one page on another for
creating a pile.
The touch drop gesture also has the advantage of not
none of the other documents become blocked from vieW.
Piles may be generated automatically or manually. In
requiring screen rendering of a Workspace in order to move

a document object.
manual creation, piles are simply created by causing docu

ments (or other piles) to overlay each other. In automatic
Another gesture used for moving objects is termed ?ick

ing. In ?icking a document object is moved by touching
the object and ?icking it using the cursor control device in
a desired direction. Generally What occurs is that the object
documents may be imported or they can be created dynami

cally. WebBooks are an eXample of collections of documents
that are imported. A dynamic Way of creating a collection is
through piling documents on top of each other to create a
pile. Apile is created simply by moving one document onto
is illustrated in FIG. 7 Wherein the page 201 is removed from

the focus space and is placed on bookcase 220. The actual
movement of the page 201 to the bookcase 220 is ani
mated so that the page 201 appears to ?y to the bookcase
220 When the cursor control button is released. This action
actions. In this case, the unique action concerns placing the

page on the bookcase. So the appropriate action is to scale
the page and place on an available location on the bookcase.
the document Workspace is performed by the rendering

system of the three-dimensional computer controlled display
55
creation, a pile may be generated by a tool in the Document

Workspace Which looks for and retrieves documents accord
ing to some predetermined criteria.
is touched and While the sWitch on the cursor control device
Thus, a computer controlled display system for displaying
remains depressed, the cursor is quickly moved in the

desired direction and then released. The object Will then
move to the neXt immediate area (or to the tertiary area) in
the direction of the ?icking gesture. In the currently
a three dimensional document Workspace is disclosed.

While the present invention is described With respect to a
preferred embodiment, it Would be apparent to one skilled in
preferred embodiment, a doWn?ick moves documents closer
rations. Such alternate embodiments Would not cause depar
to the user (so the document object gets larger), up?icks
ture from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

We claim:
move document aWay from the user (so the document object
gets smaller), side?icks move document objects to the
bookcase or to other portions of the immediate areas. By
the art to practice the present invention With other con?gu
adding some angle to the up?ick gesture, document objects

can be positioned in a different X third of the neXt farther
comprising:
65
5,847,709
11
12
document receiving means for receiving document

claim 1 further comprising WebBook generation means for
objects;
creating a WebBook from an identi?ed collection of related

Web pages.



circuitry for displaying an immediate space, said imme
comprising:
document retrieval means for retrieving document
objects;

ment Workspace;

in use.

claim 1 Wherein said immediate space is comprised of a
plurality of tiers along a Z-aXis Wherein each of said tiers
15
dimensional Workspace comprising:

a focus space for displaying active in use document
causes a document object to be scaled to a corresponding
objects;
predetermined siZe.
an immediate space for displaying in use document
objects; and
claim 2 Wherein said immediate space further has an area
visually represented as a desktop.

claim 1 Wherein said tertiary space is visually represented as
a bookcase.
a tertiary space for displaying document objects that are

not in use.
25

claim 1 further comprising a received document space for
displaying requested document objects as they are received.
claim 1 further comprising navigation means for providing
user input for positioning a user vieWpoint Within said
three-dimensional document Workspace.

claim 1 Wherein said document accessing means is further
comprised of Web interaction means for retrieving pages
from the World Wide Web.

Workspace and said document objects, said three

claim 9 Wherein said a ?rst part of said immediate space is
visually represented by a desktop and a second part of said
immediate space is visually represented by an air space
behind said ?rst part.
claim 10 Wherein said focus space is positioned above said
?rst part of said immediate space.
claim 9 Wherein said tertiary space is visually represented by

a bookcase.
35
JS 44 (Rev. 09/11)
CIVIL COVER SHEET
The JS 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replace nor supplement the filing and service of pleadings or other papers as required by law, except as provided
by local rules of court. This form, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the use of the Clerk of Court for the purpose of initiating
the civil docket sheet. (SEE INSTRUCTIONS ON NEXT PAGE OF THIS FORM.)
I. (a) PLAINTIFFS
DEFENDANTS
TRIDIM INNOVATIONS LLC
APPLE, INC.
(b) County of Residence of First Listed Plaintiff Fairfax
County of Residence of First Listed Defendant
(EXCEPT IN U.S. PLAINTIFF CASES)

NOTE:
(c) Attorneys (Firm Name, Address, and Telephone Number)
Attorneys (If Known)
Lowe & Associates, P.C.

II. BASIS OF JURISDICTION
(Place an X in One Box Only)
U.S. Government
Plaintiff
3 Federal Question
(U.S. Government Not a Party)
U.S. Government
Defendant
4 Diversity
(Indicate Citizenship of Parties in Item III)
IV. NATURE OF SUIT

CONTRACT
110 Insurance
120 Marine
130 Miller Act
140 Negotiable Instrument
150 Recovery of Overpayment
& Enforcement of Judgment
151 Medicare Act
152 Recovery of Defaulted
Student Loans
(Excl. Veterans)
153 Recovery of Overpayment
of Veterans Benefits
160 Stockholders Suits
190 Other Contract
195 Contract Product Liability
196 Franchise
REAL PROPERTY
210 Land Condemnation
220 Foreclosure
230 Rent Lease & Ejectment
240 Torts to Land
245 Tort Product Liability
290 All Other Real Property
V. ORIGIN
1 Original
Proceeding
III. CITIZENSHIP OF PRINCIPAL PARTIES (Place an X in One Box for Plaintiff)

(For Diversity Cases Only)
PTF
Citizen of This State
1
2
Incorporated and Principal Place

of Business In Another State
Citizen or Subject of a
Foreign Country
Foreign Nation
FORFEITURE/PENALTY
PERSONAL INJURY
365 Personal Injury Product Liability
367 Health Care/
Pharmaceutical
Personal Injury
Product Liability
368 Asbestos Personal
Injury Product
Liability
PERSONAL PROPERTY
370 Other Fraud
371 Truth in Lending
380 Other Personal
Property Damage
385 Property Damage
Product Liability
PRISONER PETITIONS
510 Motions to Vacate
Sentence
Habeas Corpus:
530 General
535 Death Penalty
540 Mandamus & Other
550 Civil Rights
555 Prison Condition
560 Civil Detainee Conditions of
Confinement
and One Box for Defendant)

PTF
DEF
Incorporated or Principal Place
4 4
of Business In This State
DEF
1
Citizen of Another State

TORTS
PERSONAL INJURY
310 Airplane
315 Airplane Product
Liability
320 Assault, Libel &
Slander
330 Federal Employers
Liability
340 Marine
345 Marine Product
Liability
350 Motor Vehicle
355 Motor Vehicle
Product Liability
360 Other Personal
Injury
362 Personal Injury Med. Malpractice
CIVIL RIGHTS
440 Other Civil Rights
441 Voting
442 Employment
443 Housing/
Accommodations
445 Amer. w/Disabilities Employment
446 Amer. w/Disabilities Other
448 Education
Santa Clara
(IN U.S. PLAINTIFF CASES ONLY)

IN LAND CONDEMNATION CASES, USE THE LOCATION OF
THE TRACT OF LAND INVOLVED.
625 Drug Related Seizure

of Property 21 USC 881
690 Other
BANKRUPTCY
422 Appeal 28 USC 158
423 Withdrawal
28 USC 157
PROPERTY RIGHTS
820 Copyrights
830 Patent
840 Trademark
LABOR
710 Fair Labor Standards
Act
720 Labor/Mgmt. Relations
740 Railway Labor Act
751 Family and Medical
Leave Act
790 Other Labor Litigation
791 Empl. Ret. Inc.
Security Act
SOCIAL SECURITY
861 HIA (1395ff)
862 Black Lung (923)
863 DIWC/DIWW (405(g))
864 SSID Title XVI
865 RSI (405(g))
FEDERAL TAX SUITS

870 Taxes (U.S. Plaintiff
or Defendant)
871 IRSThird Party
26 USC 7609
OTHER STATUTES
375 False Claims Act

400 State Reapportionment
410 Antitrust
430 Banks and Banking
450 Commerce
460 Deportation
470 Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations
480 Consumer Credit
490 Cable/Sat TV
850 Securities/Commodities/
Exchange
890 Other Statutory Actions
891 Agricultural Acts
893 Environmental Matters
895 Freedom of Information
Act
896 Arbitration
899 Administrative Procedure
Act/Review or Appeal of
Agency Decision
950 Constitutionality of
State Statutes
IMMIGRATION
462 Naturalization Application
463 Habeas Corpus Alien Detainee
(Prisoner Petition)
465 Other Immigration
Actions
Transferred from
2 Removed from
3 Remanded from
4 Reinstated or 5 another district
6 Multidistrict
State Court
Appellate Court
Reopened
Litigation
(specify)
Cite the U.S. Civil Statute under which you are filing (Do not cite jurisdictional statutes unless diversity):
Title 35 of United States Code
VI. CAUSE OF ACTION Brief description of cause:

Patent Infringement
DEMAND $
CHECK IF THIS IS A CLASS ACTION
VII. REQUESTED IN
UNDER F.R.C.P. 23
Monetary
COMPLAINT:
VIII. RELATED CASE(S)
(See instructions):
JUDGE
IF ANY
DATE
CHECK YES only if demanded in complaint:

Yes
No
JURY DEMAND:
DOCKET NUMBER
SIGNATURE OF ATTORNEY OF RECORD
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

RECEIPT #
AMOUNT
Print
APPLYING IFP
Save As...
JUDGE
MAG. JUDGE
Reset

JS 44 Reverse (Rev. 09/11)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEYS COMPLETING CIVIL COVER SHEET FORM JS 44

Authority For Civil Cover Sheet
The JS 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replaces nor supplements the filings and service of pleading or other papers as required
by law, except as provided by local rules of court. This form, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the
use of the Clerk of Court for the purpose of initiating the civil docket sheet. Consequently, a civil cover sheet is submitted to the Clerk of Court for each civil
complaint filed. The attorney filing a case should complete the form as follows:
I.
(a) Plaintiffs-Defendants. Enter names (last, first, middle initial) of plaintiff and defendant. If the plaintiff or defendant is a government agency, use only
the full name or standard abbreviations. If the plaintiff or defendant is an official within a government agency, identify first the agency and then the official, giving
both name and title.
(b) County of Residence. For each civil case filed, except U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county where the first listed plaintiff resides at the
time of filing. In U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county in which the first listed defendant resides at the time of filing. (NOTE: In land condemnation
cases, the county of residence of the defendant is the location of the tract of land involved.)
(c) Attorneys. Enter the firm name, address, telephone number, and attorney of record. If there are several attorneys, list them on an attachment, noting
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II.
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of the boxes. If there is more than one basis of jurisdiction, precedence is given in the order shown below.
United States plaintiff. (1) Jurisdiction based on 28 U.S.C. 1345 and 1348. Suits by agencies and officers of the United States are included here.
United States defendant. (2) When the plaintiff is suing the United States, its officers or agencies, place an X in this box.
Federal question. (3) This refers to suits under 28 U.S.C. 1331, where jurisdiction arises under the Constitution of the United States, an amendment to the
Constitution, an act of Congress or a treaty of the United States. In cases where the U.S. is a party, the U.S. plaintiff or defendant code takes precedence, and box
1 or 2 should be marked.
Diversity of citizenship. (4) This refers to suits under 28 U.S.C. 1332, where parties are citizens of different states. When Box 4 is checked, the citizenship of
the different parties must be checked. (See Section III below; federal question actions take precedence over diversity cases.)
III.
Residence (citizenship) of Principal Parties. This section of the JS 44 is to be completed if diversity of citizenship was indicated above. Mark this section
for each principal party.
IV.
Nature of Suit. Place an X in the appropriate box. If the nature of suit cannot be determined, be sure the cause of action, in Section VI below, is
sufficient to enable the deputy clerk or the statistical clerks in the Administrative Office to determine the nature of suit. If the cause fits more than one nature of
suit, select the most definitive.
V.
Origin. Place an X in one of the seven boxes.
Original Proceedings. (1) Cases which originate in the United States district courts.
Removed from State Court. (2) Proceedings initiated in state courts may be removed to the district courts under Title 28 U.S.C., Section 1441. When the petition
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litigation transfers.
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box is checked, do not check (5) above.
Appeal to District Judge from Magistrate Judgment. (7) Check this box for an appeal from a magistrate judges decision.
VI.
Cause of Action. Report the civil statute directly related to the cause of action and give a brief description of the cause. Do not cite jurisdictional statutes
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Example:
U.S. Civil Statute: 47 USC 553
Brief Description: Unauthorized reception of cable service
VII.
Requested in Complaint. Class Action. Place an X in this box if you are filing a class action under Rule 23, F.R.Cv.P.
Demand. In this space enter the dollar amount (in thousands of dollars) being demanded or indicate other demand such as a preliminary injunction.
Jury Demand. Check the appropriate box to indicate whether or not a jury is being demanded.
VIII. Related Cases. This section of the JS 44 is used to reference related pending cases if any. If there are related pending cases, insert the docket numbers
and the corresponding judge names for such cases.
Date and Attorney Signature. Date and sign the civil cover sheet.

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Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page1 of 8

Steven T. Lowe, Esq. SBN 122208

TriDim Innovations, LLC,

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page2 of 8

business at 5105 Claybank Lane, Centerville, VA 20120.

Plaintiff TriDim is a Virginia limited liability company having a principal place of

On information and belief, Defendant Apple is a corporation organized and

Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. 1391(c) and 1400(b). On

patent infringement in this district.

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page3 of 8

INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 5,838,326

As a result of Apples infringement of the 326 Patent, TriDim has suffered

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page4 of 8

Apple indirectly infringes the 326 Patent by inducing infringement by others,

one or more claims of the 326 Patent.

Patent Nos. 8,584,543; 8,587,528; and 8,736,557.

lawsuit was filed.

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page5 of 8

Accordingly, a reasonable inference is that Apple specifically intends for others,

to suffer damages in an amount to be proved at trial.

INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 5,847,709

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page6 of 8

U.S. Patent No. 8,910,072, which relates to Apples Safari products.

lawsuit was filed.

to suffer damages in an amount to be proved at trial.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

the following relief:

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page7 of 8

the Court determines is warranted;

Patents as provided under 35 U.S.C. 284, and an accounting of ongoing post-judgment

DATED: January _20_, 2015

/s/ Kris Le Fan

Steven T. Lowe, Esq. SBN 122208

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1 Filed01/20/15 Page8 of 8

Telephone: (972) 331-4600

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1-1 Filed01/20/15 Page1 of 20

Case5:15-cv-00280-NC Document1-1 Filed01/20/15 Page2 of 20

Ulllted States Patent [19]

[11] Patent Number:

Nov. 17, 1998

SYSTEM FOR MOVING DOCUMENT

9/1996 Strasnick et al. ................. .. 345/355 X

OBJECTS IN A 3-1) WORKSPACE

2/1997 Iwamura et 211.

Robertson ......................... .. 345/355 X

Primary ExaminerJohn E. Breene

[73] Assignee: XEIOX Corporation, Stamford, COIlIl.

Attorney) Agent) or FirmRiChard B_ Domingo

[21] Appl. No.: 721,302

A three dimensional document Workspace for interacting

With large numbers of document objects. Adocument object

Int. Cl.6 ...................................................... .. G06F 3/00

may be a document or a document collection. The document

US. Cl. ,,,,,,,,,, __

345/355; 345/358; 345/351

Workspace is divided hierarchically in terms of interaction

Field of Search ............................... .. 345/326358,

rates~ A focus Space is Where direct interaction With a

345/976; 707/520, 514, 500

document or document collection occurs. An immediate

but not currently being interacted With. A tertiary space is

US' PATENT DOCUMENTS

3/1994 Robertson et a],