JPH04227529A - Method and device for information display and information retrieval device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange pieces of unit information so that their relative position can sensually be understood when the pieces of unit information are displayed on one display. CONSTITUTION:Texts, directories 3, etc., corresponding to respective plane virtual spaces are coupled with the information retrieval device in a system tree shape, and symbols 4 which are pieces of unit information and nodes are arrayed in those directories 3. When the directories 3 are displayed on the display 5, the symbols 4 prescribed by information vectors 6 between pieces of information are arrayed at specific positions to display a visual field wherein the pieces of unit information 4 in a virtual space 3 are observed from a freely movable view point. Consequently, a user can sensually understand the relative positions of the respective pieces of unit information 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information display method, an information display device, and an information search device for displaying a plurality of units of information or nodes on a display.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, computers have become multi-functional, and computers that display a plurality of units of information on a display using multi-windows or the like have been put into practical use. In such a device,
A plurality of pieces of unit information are arranged on a virtual plane, a part of which is displayed on the display, and each piece of unit information is displayed on the display by freely scrolling this plane. By displaying a plurality of windows on the display in this way and freely accessing each window to execute multi-jobs, various data processing tasks can be executed with good efficiency.

[0003] For example, in the ``Hyper Card,'' which has been put into practical use as one of the hypertext systems that are information display devices, a file consisting of multiple units of information is called a ``stack,'' and a unit called a ``card.'' It is divided into nodes, which are information, and it is possible to access other nodes by expanding such a node.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in the information display method that allows a plurality of unit information to be displayed on the display, it is difficult for the user to forget the type of unit information that he/she is accessing. The current position may become unknown, making it difficult to return to the original unit information, or making it impossible to determine the direction of access to the desired unit information. Such problems are called navigation problems, disorientation problems, etc., and proposals for effective measures are desired.

[0005] For example, methods called browsers, maps, etc. display the logical structure between a plurality of displayable unit information as a graph, and display the position of the currently accessed unit information on the graph. It has become. Furthermore, it has been proposed to use such a graph to change the display transition method based on the relationship between the unit information before and after it is displayed, thereby supporting understanding of the logical structure between the unit information.

[0006] However, when producing the system, this requires the operator to set display transition methods such as scroll direction and zoom method between predetermined unit information according to the content, which is a complicated task. Equipment productivity is decreasing.

[0007]

[Means for solving the problem] The invention according to claim 1 includes:
In an information display method in which a plurality of unit information is displayed on one display, a virtual space in which a plurality of unit information are arranged at predetermined positions is set in a spatial storage means, and unit information within this virtual space can be freely moved. The information display means displays the field of view observed from a certain viewpoint on the display.

[0008] According to the second aspect of the invention, the unit information is reversibly converted into a symbol by the format conversion means and displayed on the display.

The invention as claimed in claim 3 is an information display device configured to display a plurality of units of information on one display, and a space storage means in which a virtual space in which a plurality of units of information are arranged at predetermined positions is set. and information display means for displaying on a display a field of view obtained by observing unit information in the virtual space set in the space storage means from a freely movable viewpoint.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is provided with a format conversion means for converting unit information into a symbol in a freely restorable manner and displaying the symbol on a display.

[0011] The invention as claimed in claim 5 provides an information retrieval device that displays on one display a plurality of nodes that are unit information connected to each other by links. A space storage means in which a space is set is provided, and an information display means is provided for displaying on a display a field of view obtained by observing a node in a virtual space set in the space storage means from a freely movable viewpoint.

[0012] The invention as set forth in claim 6 is provided with a format conversion means for converting a node, which is unit information, into a symbol in a freely restorable manner and displaying the symbol on a display.

[0013]

[Function] By displaying a field of view observed from a freely movable viewpoint in a virtual space in which multiple pieces of unit information are arranged, the user can intuitively understand the relative position of each piece of information.
The current position in the virtual space is prevented from becoming unknown, and desired unit information can be easily accessed.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. First, in the information retrieval device 1, which is the information display device of this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. These directories 3
Symbols 4, which are a plurality of unit information and also nodes, are arranged within. When the directory 3 is displayed on the display 5, as illustrated in FIG. The symbols 4 are now arranged at predetermined positions. Note that this information retrieval device 1 includes an information display means (not shown) that changes the display state of the display 5 in conjunction with various operation units, and a display that converts each of a plurality of units of information into symbols in a freely restorable manner. Form conversion means (not shown) for displaying the image is provided.

The processing operation of this form converting means will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, as illustrated in FIG. 5(a), when there is a plurality of units of information 8 such as documents and images each having a pointer 7 formed on its upper edge, as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), These unit pieces of information 8 are arranged at predetermined positions according to the inter-information vector 6 set by the spatial storage means as described above. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 3(c), the form conversion means converts the unit information 8 as illustrated in FIG.
) By converting the unit information 8 as exemplified in FIG.
The display is such that a plurality of symbols 4 are arranged at predetermined positions.

The symbol 4 is formed of an icon or a miniature, as illustrated in FIG. 1, etc., and can be easily implemented using a space tracker (three-dimensional digitizer) or the like.

In such a configuration, the case of moving from one symbol 41 to other symbols 42, 43 in the directory 3 having the structure as illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, in this information retrieval device 1, when switching the display on the display 5 from one symbol 41 to other symbols 42, 43, as illustrated in the figure, the display 5 is controlled by the information display means. symbol 4
A display corresponding to the field of view of a viewpoint moving over the directory 3 in which the numbers 1 to 43 are arranged is displayed.

In other words, in this directory 3, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the second symbol 42 is placed close to the lower right of the first symbol 41, so the display 5 is displayed on the first symbol 41. Second symbol from 42
5(a) to 5(d), the first symbol 41 is retracted to the upper left on the display 5, and the second symbol 42 appears from the lower right. A display will be displayed.

Similarly, in this directory 3, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when switching the display on the display 5 from the first symbol 41 to the third symbol 43 placed away from the lower left, As illustrated in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(e), the first symbol 41 retreats to the upper right on the display 5, and after the screen scrolls for a predetermined time, the third symbol 43 appears from the lower left. A display like this will be displayed.

[0021] Therefore, by checking the display as described above, the user can intuitively understand the relative positions of the symbols 41 to 43, thereby preventing the current position in the directory 3 from becoming unclear. Desired symbols 41-43 can be easily accessed. Then, the symbol 4 accessed in this way is converted into unit information 8 by the form conversion means.
By restoring the content to , the content can be displayed on the display 5 and used for various information processing.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
The explanation will be based on. First, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the information retrieval device 1, which is the information display device of this embodiment, has a three-dimensional structure in which directories 3, etc., each of which is a planar virtual space, are arranged according to a tree-like hierarchical structure. A virtual space 9 is formed.

In such a configuration, this information retrieval device, as illustrated in FIG. By controlling the display means, a display corresponding to the field of view of a viewpoint moving within the virtual space 9 is displayed on the display 5.

In this virtual space 9, symbols 45 are arranged in a lower directory 32 observed from above a directory 31 in which symbols 44 are arranged as illustrated in FIG. 8(c). Therefore, in this information retrieval device, when switching the display on the display 5 from the upper symbol 44 to the lower symbol 45, FIGS.
As illustrated in FIG. 8(c), the upper symbols 44 displayed on the display 5 are zoomed out to display a panoramic view of the first directory 31, and as illustrated in FIG. The second directory 32 that has appeared is moved to the center of the display 5, and zooming in is started. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 8(e), a panoramic view of the directory 32 is displayed on the display 5, and a desired symbol 45 appears, and as illustrated in FIGS. 8(f) and (g), this symbol By moving the symbol 45 to the center of the display 5 and zooming in, the lower symbol 45 is displayed on the display 5.

Therefore, by checking the display as described above, the user can intuitively understand the vertical relationship between the directories 31 and 32 and the position of the symbol 4 in each directory 31 and 32, so that the virtual space 9 This prevents the current position within the symbol 4 from becoming unknown, and allows easy access to the desired symbol 4. Then, by restoring the symbol 4 accessed in this way into the unit information 8 by the format conversion means, the contents can be displayed on the display 5 and used for various information processing.

In this information retrieval device, each unit of information 8 is converted into a symbol 4 and displayed on the display 5 as described above, so as shown in FIG. Even if the displayed symbol 4 is reduced in size on the display 5, it can be easily identified.

[0027]

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides an information display method and an information display device for displaying a plurality of unit information on one display, in which a virtual space in which a plurality of unit information are arranged at predetermined positions is provided. The information display means displays on the display a field of view obtained by observing unit information in the virtual space from a freely movable viewpoint. Since the user can intuitively understand the relative position of each unit information, the current position in the virtual space is prevented from becoming unclear, and the desired unit information can be easily accessed. By reversibly converting unit information into a symbol using a form conversion means and displaying it on the display, for example, even if unit information that exists far away in virtual space is displayed in a reduced size on the display, it can be converted into a symbol. This has the effect of being able to easily identify cases where the information is processed, and contributing to improving the efficiency of various information processing operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of unit information showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of unit information.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the display.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of unit information.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the display.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the display.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of unit information showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the display.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Information display device and information retrieval device 2, 3, 9 Virtual space

Claims (6)

[Claims] Claim 1: In an information display method for displaying a plurality of units of information on a single display, a virtual space in which a plurality of units of information are arranged at predetermined positions is set in a spatial storage means, and the information in this virtual space is An information display method, characterized in that the information display means displays on the display a visual field obtained by observing the unit information from a freely movable viewpoint. 2. The information display method according to claim 1, wherein the unit information is restorably converted into a symbol by a form conversion means and displayed on the display. 3. An information display device configured to display a plurality of units of information on a single display, further comprising a spatial storage means in which a virtual space in which a plurality of units of information are arranged at predetermined positions is provided, An information display device comprising information display means for displaying, on the display, a field of view obtained by observing the unit information in the virtual space set in the means from a freely movable viewpoint. 4. The information display device according to claim 3, further comprising a format conversion means for converting unit information into a symbol in a restorable manner and displaying the symbol on the display. 5. An information retrieval device configured to display a plurality of nodes, which are unit information connected to each other by links, on a single display, in which a virtual space is set in which a plurality of nodes are arranged at predetermined positions. An information retrieval device comprising: a storage means; and an information display means for displaying, on the display, a field of view obtained by observing the node in the virtual space set in the spatial storage means from a freely movable viewpoint. 6. The information retrieval device according to claim 5, further comprising a format converting means for converting nodes, which are unit information, into symbols in a freely restorable manner and displaying the converted symbols on a display.