WO2014145657A2

WO2014145657A2 - Scalable navigation slider

Info

Publication number: WO2014145657A2
Application number: PCT/US2014/030460
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoav ILAN; Jared A. KASH
Original assignee: Timeflash Llc
Priority date: 2013-03-15
Filing date: 2014-03-17
Publication date: 2014-09-18
Also published as: WO2014145657A3

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of a method and system are provided for a navigation system that can allow a user to quickly browse a large number of records. The navigation methods and systems of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a navigation of a plurality of titles by providing one or more displayed titles in a sequence on a gallery of a viewer of an electronic device, temporarily storing a plurality of titles in one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the one or more displayed titles, and storing titles provided to the one or more buffers in a memory.

Description

SCALABLE NAVIGATION SLIDER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application relates to and claims priority from United States Patent Application Serial No. 61/799,220 filed March 15, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present disclosure relates to exemplary embodiments of methods and systems for a scalable navigation slider, and more particularly, to exemplary embodiments of methods and systems for a scalable navigation slider that provide an ability to quickly browse a large number of records.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0003] When a user browses multiple titles on a display, they use a slider to view through the various titles. When there are multiple titles in a gallery (e.g., hundreds of pictures in a gallery), then the display is only large enough to incorporate a handful of titles. When the user browses through these titles, there is a significant lag time when the user wishes to view titles in the gallery that are not on the display. The viewer (e.g., display) attempts to retrieve these from a memory, which can often take significant time and leads to significant delay, especially when there are a significant amount of titles in the particular gallery.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need of a method and system of a navigation system that allows a user to view multiple titles in a gallery without incurring significant delay in the browsing of these titles. SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0005] At least some of the above described problems can be addressed by exemplary embodiments of the methods and systems according to the present disclosure.

[0006] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles can be provided, comprising providing a main stack of titles in a particular sequence containing one or more titles of a first size on a display of an electronic device, providing a first proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a second size that proceed the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the second size being smaller than the first size, and providing a first preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a third size that precede the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the third size being smaller than the first size.

[0007] The second size and the third size can be a similar size. The first title of the first proceeding stack can sequentially follow a last title of the main stack. The last title of the first preceding stack can sequentially precede a first title of the main stack. The titles displayed in the first preceding stack, the main stack, and the first proceeding stack can be sequentially aligned based on a time and date.

[0008] The method can further comprise providing a second proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fourth size that proceed the sequence of the first proceeding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fourth size being smaller than the second size, and providing a second preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fifth size that precede the sequence of the first preceding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fifth size being smaller than the third size. The fourth size and the fifth size can be a similar size. The first title of the second proceeding stack can sequentially follow a last title of the first proceeding stack. The last title of the second preceding stack can sequentially precede a first title of the first preceding stack.

[0009] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a system for providing a navigation of a plurality of titles can be provided, comprising one or more buffers for temporarily storing one or more titles that sequentially follow or precede one or more titles displayed on a gallery of a viewer, a memory configured to store titles and provide them to the one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the titles temporarily stored in the buffers, and a cache configured to store titles and provide them to the viewer that are not stored in the memory. The titles can be provided from the one or more buffers to the viewer based on feedback from a slider.

[0010] The system can further comprise a pager for storing titles and providing the titles to the viewer that are selected by a user but not stored in the cache. The system can further comprise a repository for storing titles and providing the titles to the pager that are not stored in the pager and are selected by a user.

[0011] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of providing a navigation of a plurality of titles can be provided, comprising providing one or more displayed titles in a sequence on a gallery of a viewer of an electronic device, temporarily storing a plurality of titles in one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the one or more displayed titles, and storing titles provided to the one or more buffers in a memory. The titles can be provided from the one or more buffers to the viewer based on feedback from a slider.

[0012] The method can further comprise storing titles not stored in the memory in a cache for providing the titles from the cache to the viewer based on selection by a user. The method can further comprise storing one or more titles not stored in the cache in a pager, and providing one or more titles to the viewer from the pager based on selection by the user. The method can further comprise storing one or more titles not stored in the pager in a repository, and providing one or more titles from the repository to the pager that are selected by the user and not stored in the pager.

[0013] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-accessible medium having instructions thereon for providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles can be provided, wherein, when a hardware processing arrangement executes the instructions, the computing arrangement is configured to provide a main stack of titles in a particular sequence containing one or more titles of a first size on a display of an electronic device, provide a first proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a second size that proceed the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the second size being smaller than the first size, and provide a first preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a third size that precede the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the third size being smaller than the first size.

[0014] The computing arrangement can be further configured to provide a second proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fourth size that proceed the sequence of the first proceeding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fourth size being smaller than the second size, and provide a second preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fifth size that precede the sequence of the first preceding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fifth size being smaller than the third size.

[0015] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-accessible medium having instructions thereon for providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles can be provided, wherein, when a hardware processing arrangement executes the instructions, the computing arrangement is configured to provide one or more displayed titles in a sequence on a gallery of a viewer of an electronic device, temporarily store a plurality of titles in one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the one or more displayed titles, and store titles provided to the one or more buffers in a memory.

[0016] The computing arrangement can be further configured to store titles not stored in the memory in a cache for providing the titles from the cache to the viewer based on selection by a user. The computing arrangement can be further configured to store one or more titles not stored in the cache in a pager, and provide one or more titles to the viewer from the pager based on selection by the user. The computing arrangement can be further configured to store one or more titles not stored in the pager in a repository, and provide one or more titles from the repository to the pager that are selected by the user and not stored in the pager.

[0017] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The foregoing and other objects of the present disclosure will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a scalable navigation slider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a navigation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a serpentine navigation slider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and [0022] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the movement of the serpentine navigation slider of Figure 3.

[0023] Throughout the figures, the same reference numerals and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, while the subject disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, it is done so in connection with the illustrative embodiments. It is intended that changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the subject disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF DISCLOSURE

[0024] Exemplary embodiments of the methods and systems according to the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the figures.

[0025] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a scalable navigation slider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, a user can see a display, such as a viewer 100 that includes a gallery 110. The viewer 100 can be on a screen of any electronic device, such as but not limited to a personal computer, or a mobile device, such as but not limited to a smartphone, mobile PC, tablet or laptop. A slider 120 allows the user to browse through various titles 130 in the gallery 110. The slider can be operated by using a device such as a mouse, or can be touch screen on the display. Moving the slider 120 to the right can bring titles 130 in the post buffer 150 to the gallery 110 of the viewer 100, while moving the slider 120 to the left can bring titles 130 in the pre buffer 140 to the gallery 110 of the viewer 100. A title can be a subset of record data that can provide descriptive information about the records, such as but not limited to tiles, image, timestamp and the like. The post buffer 150 can provide titles that follow the titles 130 shown in the gallery 110 but are not currently displayed and are loaded in the memory. The pre buffer 140 can provide titles that precede the titles 130 shown in the gallery but are not currently displayed and are loaded in the memory. The slider 120 can be any type of mechanism allowing the user to select and browse through titles 130.

[0026] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a navigation system 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The navigation system 200 can be, e.g., a server-client software system that can allow for continuous browsing of titles. The client can be a client side environment in which the navigation system 200 can be installed, such as, e.g., by a web browser.

[0027] Initially, at 1, by movement of the slider 230 a request can be made to the viewer 240 to update the current gallery, which can include changing the titles that are displayed by the viewer 240. The gallery can show, e.g., titles that are currently displayed by the viewer 240. The slider 230 can be a client side element of the navigation system 200 that can be used to, e.g., browse the titles. The viewer 240 can be a client side element of the navigation system 200 that can be used to, e.g., display the titles. The new titles can exist in the buffers 250 (i.e., either the post buffer or the pre buffer) and are stored in the memory 260, and the viewer 240 can view them in the gallery.

[0028] At 3, for the new titles that don't exist in the pre or post buffers, the viewer 240 can inquire if they are currently stored in the memory 260. The viewer 240 can render the new titles that are stored in the memory 260 in the gallery. At 4, for the new titles that are not stored in the memory, the viewer 240 can inquire in they are stored in the cache 270. The memory 260 can be a local runtime memory provided by the client and allocated for the navigation system. The cache 270 can be a local storage provided by the client allocated for the navigation system. The titles that are stored in the cache 270 will be rendered in the gallery. [0029] At 5, for the new titles that are not stored in the cache 270, the viewer 240 can request them from the pager 220. The pager 220 can be a server side element of the navigation system that can be used to communicate between the repository 210 and the viewer 240. At 6, the pager 220 can request the new titles from the repository 210. The repository 210 can be an electronic storage system that can store records in an ordered fashion, and can be based on a database management system such as SQL, or a file system, or other type of similar system. The order of the records can be based on any incremental parameter such as timestamps or any index counter. A record can be an electronic document that can be indexed and stored in the repository 210.

[0030] At 7, the repository 210 can send the new titles to the pager 220. At 8, the pager 220 can send the new titles to the viewer 240. At 9, the new titles can be rendered into the gallery and the memory 260. In case a memory cap is reached (e.g., a maximum size the memory may not exceed), the memory 260 can delete titles by using, e.g., a First In First Out (FIFO) method.

[0031] At 11, once the slider 230 is in rest, the viewer 240 can check if the pre and post buffers are filled to their full length. At 12, in case of missing titles in the buffers 250, the viewer 240 can check if they are stored in the memory 260, and can place those that are stored in the memory 260 into the buffers 250. At 13, for the missing titles in the buffers 250 that are not stored in the memory 260, the viewer 240 can check if they are stored in the cache 270. The titles that are stored in the cache 270 can be placed into the buffers 250. At 14, for the missing titles in the buffers 250 that are not stored in the cache 270, the viewer 240 can request them from the pager 220.

[0032] At 15, the pager 220 can request the missing titles from the repository 210. At 16, the repository 210 can send the missing titles to the pager 220. At 17, the pager 220 can send the missing titles to the viewer 240. At 18, the missing titles can be placed into the buffers 250 and the memory 260. In case the memory cap is reached, the memory 260 can delete titles by using, e.g., the FIFO method.

[0033] By using the navigation system of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a user is able to browse titles in their order as defined by, e.g., their index, while keeping a continuity. Therefore, the user will not experience long wait times and lagging while using the Slider or "jumping" to a bookmarked Title. The navigation system of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can keep the relevant buffered Titles before and after the Gallery as well as delete Titles from the Memory that are not in use. This can allow the navigation system of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure to provide for browsing of large amounts of data.

[0034] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a "serpentine" navigator can be provided for to allow a user to browse large amounts of data. The serpentine navigator can be a client side software system (e.g., a web browser) that allows continues browsing of a large amount of records. Each record can be, e.g., an electronic document that is indexed and stored in a repository. Each title can be a subset of record data that provides descriptive information about the record such as, e.g., a tile, image, timestamp or the like. The records can be placed in an order method, such as ascending order by time/date of creation. The order method can be any method for ordering the records, such as, e.g., ascending order by time of creation.

[0035] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a serpentine navigation slider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. A display 300 can be provided to a user showing main stack 310, preceding stacks 320 and 330, and proceeding stacks 340 and 350. Each stack can show one or more titles. The main stack 310 can show one or more titles 360 (e.g., 311, 312, 313, 314), and preceding stacks 320, 330 and proceeding stacks 340, 350 can also show one or more titles 360. For example, preceding stack 330 can show titles 331-334, preceding stack 320 can show titles 321-324, proceeding stack 340 can show titles 341-344, and proceeding stack 350 can show titles 351-354. Preceding stack 320 can display titles that precede (i.e., come before) the titles in the main stack 310 and preceding stack 330 can display titles that precede the titles in preceding stack 320. Proceeding stack 340 can display titles that proceed (i.e., come after) the titles in the main stack 310, and proceeding stack 350 can show titles that proceed the titles in proceeding stack 340.

[0036] The main stack 310 can be in the center and show larger tiles than preceding stack 320 and proceeding stack 340, and can be shown below and above main stack 310, respectively. Preceding stack 330 and proceeding stack 350 can be smaller than preceding stack 320 and proceeding stack 340, and can be shown below and above preceding stack 320 and proceeding stack 340, respectively.

[0037] The sizes of the main stack 310, preceding stacks 320, 330 and proceeding stacks 340, 350 can provide an optimization of the display real estate by utilizing multiple stacks of varying sizes on top of and below each other. The main stack 310 can be located in the middle and center of the page and can be the main interface to review the titles 360, and to drill down into the data of the specific title. The preceding and proceeding stacks can provide a notion of information continuity, putting the main stack in the context of the titles that precede and proceed them. While scrolling the stacks by using scroll controls 370 (e.g., a scroll bar), all of the stacks can be moving synchronically and by that creating a visual effect of live data stream.

[0038] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the movement of the serpentine navigation slider of Figure 3. By using the scroll controls 370, all of the stacks 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, are scrolled to the same direction, creating a visual illusion of a serpentine stream. For example, scrolling using scroll control 370a can cause the tiles of stack 340 to appear as the main stack 310, and cause the tiles of the main stack 310 to appear in stack 320. This would cause the tiles of the stack 320 to appear in stack 330, and the tiles of the stack 350 to appear in stack 340. New tiles and data would appear in stack 350. Further, scrolling using left using scroll control 370b can cause the tiles of stack 320 to appear as the main stack 310, and cause the tiles of the main stack 310 to appear in stack 340. This would cause the tiles of the stack 340 to appear in stack 350, and the tiles of the stack 330 to appear in stack 320. New tiles and data would appear in stack 320. This type of system can provide for an easy to view serpentine navigation system allowing a user to easily browse through a large number of records

[0039] Alternatively, each title can be moved to a different stack as the scroll controls are used. For example, scrolling to the right using scroll control 370a would cause the record of title 341 to be displayed where title 314 is shown, and the record of title 311 to be shown where title 324 is displayed. Similarly, scrolling to the left using scroll control 370b would cause the record of title 311 to be displayed where title 324 is shown, and the record of title 341 to be shown where title 314 is displayed. Various type of controls and methods of moving the titles can be provided. For example, in some exemplary embodiments four tiles may be displayed in each stack, but one or up to 10 can also be displayed in each stack. This can be varied depending on the size of the individual tiles and the size of the display, and the user can enter their preference on the client side as to how many tiles to view in each stack.

[0040] Various other considerations can also be addressed in the exemplary applications described according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Different and various titles can be stored and viewed by the user. The navigation system can allow viewing of different types of files, such as audio, video, digital, electronic, etc., and allow for the navigation of such files.

[0041] Exemplary embodiments of a method and system are provided for a navigation system that can allow a user to quickly browse a large number of records. The navigation methods and systems of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can allow a user to be able to browse titles in their order as defined by, e.g., an index, while keeping a continuity. This results in a user not experiencing long wait times and lagging while using a slider or "jumping" to a bookmarked title. The navigation methods and systems of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can keep the relevant buffered titles before and after a gallery as well as delete titles from a memory that are not in use.

[0042] The exemplary embodiments of the navigation methods and systems of the present disclosure can be used in various configurations and in different systems. Various computing arrangements can be provided, having a processor(s) configured or programmed to perform the exemplary steps and/or procedures of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure described above. Various data described above can be stored in various storage arrangements (e.g., hard drive, memory device, such as RAM, ROM, memory stick, floppy drive, other tangible computer-accessible medium, etc.). The processor(s) can access the storage arrangement(s) to execute a computer program or a set of instructions (stored on or in the storage arrangement) which can perform the procedures according to the exemplary embodiments of the methods and systems of the present disclosure.

[0043] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, manufacture and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The disclosures of all documents and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles:

providing a main stack of titles in a particular sequence containing one or more titles of a first size on a display of an electronic device;

providing a first proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a second size that proceed the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the second size being smaller than the first size; and

providing a first preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a third size that precede the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the third size being smaller than the first size.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second size and the third size are a similar size.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first title of the first proceeding stack sequentially follows a last title of the main stack.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a last title of the first preceding stack sequentially precedes a first title of the main stack.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the titles displayed in the first preceding stack, the main stack, and the first proceeding stack are sequentially aligned based on a time and date.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising; providing a second proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fourth size that proceed the sequence of the first proceeding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fourth size being smaller than the second size; and

providing a second preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fifth size that precede the sequence of the first preceding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fifth size being smaller than the third size.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fourth size and the fifth size are a similar size.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a first title of the second proceeding stack sequentially follows a last title of the first proceeding stack.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a last title of the second preceding stack sequentially precedes a first title of the first preceding stack.

10. A system for providing a navigation of a plurality of titles, comprising:

one or more buffers for temporarily storing one or more titles that sequentially follow or precede one or more titles displayed on a gallery of a viewer;

a memory configured to store titles and provide them to the one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the titles temporarily stored in the buffers; and

a cache configured to store titles and provide them to the viewer that are not stored in the memory.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the titles are provided from the one or more buffers to the viewer based on feedback from a slider.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a pager for storing titles and providing the titles to the viewer that are selected by a user but not stored in the cache.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a repository for storing titles and providing the titles to the pager that are not stored in the pager and are selected by a user.

14. A method of providing a navigation of a plurality of titles:

providing one or more displayed titles in a sequence on a gallery of a viewer of an electronic device;

temporarily storing a plurality of titles in one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the one or more displayed titles; and

storing titles provided to the one or more buffers in a memory.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the titles are provided from the one or more buffers to the viewer based on feedback from a slider.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing titles not stored in the memory in a cache for providing the titles from the cache to the viewer based on selection by a user.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing one or more titles not stored in the cache in a pager; and providing one or more titles to the viewer from the pager based on selection by the user.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

storing one or more titles not stored in the pager in a repository; and

providing one or more titles from the repository to the pager that are selected by the user and not stored in the pager.

19. A computer-accessible medium having instructions thereon for providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles, wherein, when a hardware processing arrangement executes the instructions, the computing arrangement is configured to:

provide a main stack of titles in a particular sequence containing one or more titles of a first size on a display of an electronic device;

provide a first proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a second size that proceed the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the second size being smaller than the first size; and

provide a first preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a third size that precede the sequence of the main stack on the display of the electronic device, the third size being smaller than the first size.

20. The computer-accessible medium of claim 19, wherein the computing arrangement is further configured to:

provide a second proceeding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fourth size that proceed the sequence of the first proceeding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fourth size being smaller than the second size; and provide a second preceding stack of titles containing one or more titles of a fifth size that precede the sequence of the first preceding stack on the display of the electronic device, the fifth size being smaller than the third size.

21. A computer-accessible medium having instructions thereon for providing a serpentine navigation of a plurality of titles, wherein, when a hardware processing arrangement executes the instructions, the computing arrangement is configured to:

provide one or more displayed titles in a sequence on a gallery of a viewer of an electronic device;

temporarily store a plurality of titles in one or more buffers that sequentially follow or precede the one or more displayed titles; and

store titles provided to the one or more buffers in a memory.

22. The computer-accessible medium of claim 21, wherein the computing arrangement is further configured to:

store titles not stored in the memory in a cache for providing the titles from the cache to the viewer based on selection by a user.

23. The computer-accessible medium of claim 22, wherein the computing arrangement is further configured to:

store one or more titles not stored in the cache in a pager; and

provide one or more titles to the viewer from the pager based on selection by the user.

24. The computer-accessible medium of claim 23, wherein the computing arrangement is further configured to: store one or more titles not stored in the pager in a repository; and

provide one or more titles from the repository to the pager that are selected by the user and not stored in the pager.