KR20160133173A - Treemap visualization method and device using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technique for a visualization method of a 2.5 dimensional map and a system thereof and, more specifically, to a technology for generating a raw tree map where the node property values are proportional to the size from an upper class node to a lower class node on a two-dimensional projection surface, projecting the generated raw tree map onto a reference model, making the low class node to protrude on the reference model, and visualizing the back-projected image of the protruding reference model onto the two-dimensional projection surface as a 2.5 dimensional tree map. The objective of the present invention is to provide a system capable of visualizing a tree map while emphasizing the hierarchical structure in a way that the node size is proportional to the node property without distortion and the size of a parent node corresponds to the sum of the sizes of child nodes and a method thereof.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a tree map visualization method and a device using the tree map visualization method.

The present invention relates to a method of visualizing a tree-map and a device using the method, in which attribute information of each node of a tree map is intuitively displayed, and a tree Map visualization technique.

Along with the development of information technology, you can see various hierarchical data in a wide range of databases, including forums, mailing lists, business organization charts, content management categories, and product categories. A hierarchical structure, also referred to as a tree structure, is an aggregate of a plurality of data nodes, with each node except a topmost root node having a single parent and zero or more children. The hierarchical data includes two kinds of information, that is, structure information on a hierarchical structure and content information on all nodes.

An example of a method for efficiently visualizing hierarchical data is Treemap. In the tree map, a node-link diagram expresses the existing hierarchical structure, and most of the space is set as an empty space. In contrast to the hierarchical structure shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) Visualization of large amounts of hierarchical data through efficient space usage through a space filling method that distributes the allocated display space. The width of each square represents the weight of the node. For example, if files in a computer hard disk are visualized using a tree map, the folder hierarchy is the same as the structure of recursively arranged rectangles, and each file size is represented by the width of each rectangle. The size of the folder is represented by the sum of squares representing internal files.

The detailed concept of the tree map can be found in Brian Johnson and Ben Shneiderman, "Tree-maps: A Space-Filling Approach to Hierarchical Information Structures" (Proc. IEEE Visualization '91, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ 291).

The existing tree map represents only the external node as a rectangle, and the internal node represents the sum of the rectangles representing the external node. Thus, there is a limitation that it is difficult to identify the hierarchical structure because the tree map does not represent internal nodes separately. Van Wijk and Van de Wetering have found that these limitations are more evident, especially when there are many nodes and balanced hierarchies. As a result, it is difficult to compare the relative sizes of the nodes located at different positions, that is, to compare the weights of the existing tree maps, and it is difficult to grasp the hierarchical structure of the information, do.

In order to overcome these limitations, several studies have attempted to increase the visibility of the hierarchical structure, and there is a method of emphasizing the hierarchical structure by giving a margin between the nodes.

However, this method differs from the conventional method in which all given areas are used to represent external nodes. In order to express the hierarchical structure, space is consumed and the area of the node is distorted. Therefore, There is a problem that the weight is expressed differently.

Another limitation of the tree map is that it interprets hierarchical information only as a metaphor of 'containment relation'. If the user recognizes the hierarchy as a form in which the parent node includes child nodes, there is no problem. However, if the user recognizes the hierarchy as a level such as an upper node or a lower node, the form of the tree map is difficult to understand. That is, since the hierarchical structure and the tree map are not well matched when recognizing, it is difficult to grasp the hierarchical structure of the tree map.

An example of a method for more easily grasping the hierarchical structure of such an upper node and a lower node is described in Korean Patent No. 10-1013052 entitled " Method and Apparatus for Improving Visibility of Tree Map ".

The prior art discloses a tree map visualization method for offsetting a region of a parent node relative to a bounding box containing all of the child nodes during creation of a tree map such that a portion of the bounding box is outside the region of the parent node, So that the area of each child node within the parent node is located wholly or partially within the area of the parent node. The present invention highlights the parent-child relationship in the tree map with a cascading effect that allows structural information in the tree map to be seen more clearly and more easily, .

Although the prior art has the advantage of displaying the parent-child relationship in the tree map using the cascading effect, not all the space between each node and the node is efficiently displayed and a complete space filling is performed It is difficult to lose. Therefore, as the hierarchical differentiation of the tree map is deepened, there is a problem that the ratio of the area of the node that is displayed effectively with respect to the visible area is reduced and the visibility is lowered.

Korean Patent No. 10-1013052 (registered on January 28, 2011) United States Patent No. 7,870,509 (registered on January 11, 2011)

Brian Johnson and Ben Shneiderman (IEEE Visualization'91, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ (1991), 284-291), "Tree-maps: A Space-Filling Approach to the Visualization of Hierarchical Information Structures"

The advantage of the tree map is that the attribute of the node can be expressed intuitively because it represents the attribute to be displayed for each node by the characteristics such as the area or the color of the node. Another advantage of the tree map is that it is a representation method that can list hierarchical structures. However, in reality, the more complex hierarchical structure, the more difficult it is to try to express hierarchical structure of tree map and attributes of each node at the same time.

Thus, there has been an effort to use cascading effects or to display parent node information by using the edge of the bounding box, which is usually caused by distorting the proportional relationship between node attribute and node area, .

The prior art of Korean Patent No. 10-1013052 (U.S. Patent No. 7,870,509), which has been described above, is also a technique derived from the intention of simultaneously achieving two purposes: intuitive representation of node attributes and list of hierarchical structures. However, the prior art has a problem in that the ratio of the effective display area to the entire visible area is inferior, and the efficiency is further lowered as the hierarchical differentiation of the tree map is intensified.

In addition, if all the nodes in the tree map are not classified at the same level and the deviation level of the level of the leaf node is large, the size of the empty space must be set according to the deepest layer differentiation, It can be expected that it will be even lower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for enhancing a hierarchical structure by visualizing a hierarchical structure by corresponding to a node attribute, And to provide a system and method that can be used.

It is also an object of the present invention to present information of a complicated hierarchical structure having many child nodes or high degree without distortion and to easily grasp the hierarchical structure. It is another object of the present invention to provide a visualization method of a tree map that enables both an intuitive representation of a node attribute and a hierarchical structure list to be utilized while increasing the utilization efficiency of a visible area by utilizing the entire visible area for display of most effective nodes .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of visualizing a tree map, in which, when new data is added to original data of a visualized tree map, its transformation is easy and a user can intuitively recognize a change .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new tree map visualization method which can easily apply various user interactions to further increase the visibility of a visualized tree map.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of visualizing a tree map, the method comprising: forming a reference model by protruding a node region corresponding to each node from a surface of a solid; Projecting the reference model onto a projection plane, and visualizing the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map by the formed reference model. In this case, the solid body may be all or a part of a sphere or a polyhedron, and a node area of each node may have an expression element such as a size or a color proportional to the attribute value of each node.

The method may further include forming a node region by projecting a primitive tree-map on the projection surface onto the surface of the solid body before the step of forming the reference model.

At this time, the step of visualizing the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map can visualize the geometric shape reflecting the attribute of each node to have the node region corresponding to each node. Examples of attributes of a node include the size of the data of the node, the frequency of reference to the node, and the priority of the node.

In the step of forming the reference model, a reference model may be formed such that a plurality of child nodes further protrude from the parent node among the nodes. In addition, the interval between the parent node and the child node can be determined according to the hierarchical information of the parent node and the child nodes. That is, the intervals at which the child nodes protrude from the parent node and are spaced apart can be determined according to the layer information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of visualizing a tree map, the method including generating child nodes on a node region of a parent node, and determining positions of the generated child nodes, The step of determining each location allows at least a portion of the node region of the parent node to be exposed between each of the child nodes.

In this case, the step of determining the position of each of the child nodes may determine the position of each of the child nodes so that the node areas of the child nodes do not overlap with each other. In addition, a part of the node region of at least some of the child nodes may determine the position of each of the child nodes so as to deviate from the node region of the parent node.

The method of visualizing the tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include determining a position of the parent node based on the position of the child nodes after the position of each of the child nodes is determined. For example, the center of gravity of the position of the child nodes may be determined, and the parent node may be located on the center of gravity thereof.

In this case, the method of visualizing the tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of providing a user menu that can select a region in the tree map as a region of interest, receiving user input through the user menu, Analyzing the user input and selecting a region of interest within the tree map as a region of interest.

Meanwhile, the step of determining the position of each of the child nodes may determine the position of each of the child nodes such that the first interval between the child nodes in the ROI is larger than the second interval between the child nodes other than the ROI.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of visualizing a tree map, the method including generating child nodes on a node region of a parent node, and moving each of the generated child nodes, The moving step moves at least a part of each of the child nodes in a direction different from the other part.

At this time, as the first position when the plurality of child nodes are generated on the node region of the parent node is distant from the reference position of the node region of the parent node, the plurality of child nodes can be moved away from the first position . In this case, each of the plurality of child nodes may be disposed at the first position so as to divide the node region of the parent node according to attributes of the plurality of child nodes. Each of the plurality of child nodes can move based on the reference position of the node region of the parent node. At this time, each of the child nodes can move away from the reference position as the first position is distant from the reference position. The reference position may be, for example, the center of gravity of the node region of the parent node, or may be the upper left of the node region of the parent node.

A device for visualizing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display and a processor that determines the location where each of the child nodes created on the node region of the parent node of the primitive tree map is to be placed, Each of the nodes delivers the placed image to the display to display as a tree map. At this time, the processor can determine the position of each of the child nodes so that at least a part of the node region of the parent node is exposed through the interval between the child nodes.

The device may include a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a PDA, or the like, and may include a computing system such as a laptop, a desktop, and the like.

According to the present invention, since the area of a node can be expressed without distortion and equal to an actual weight value, information of a complicated hierarchical structure having a large number of child nodes or a high degree can be expressed without distortion.

In addition, since there is a natural space between child nodes, information of the parent node can be displayed as a gap between the child nodes, so there is no need to separately set a space for displaying the node information, and the visibility of the hierarchical structure is more clear There is an effect of canceling.

In addition, the hierarchical structure can be interpreted as both the inclusion relation and the up-and-down level relationship by solving the cognitive problem of the existing two-dimensional tree map through the form in which each node is stacked on the parent node.

Further, in controlling nodes such as controlling a display screen, moving to a region of interest of a node, projecting / collapsing nodes, node highlighting of the same level / same attribute, and node position shifting / height adjustment, It is effective to increase the utilization of the tree map.

According to the present invention, by utilizing the entire visible area for display of most effective nodes, it is possible to enhance the utilization efficiency of the visible area of the tree map, and to provide an intuitive representation of node attributes and a list of hierarchical structures.

According to the present invention, when new data is added to original data of a visualized tree map, the transformation is easy, and the user can intuitively recognize a change.

According to the present invention, it is possible to implement a tree map interface that is easy to apply various user interactions to further increase the visibility of the visualized tree map.

1 is a diagram illustrating a tree structure to be visualized in a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the tree structure of Fig. 1 with the highest node A highlighted.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A shown in FIG.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the tree structure of Fig. 1 with the highest node A and its child nodes B, C, and D emphasized.
5 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A shown in FIG. 4 and its child nodes B, C, and D. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the highest node A and its child nodes B, C, and D shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the tree structure of FIG. 1 with the highest node A, the intermediate nodes B, C, and D, and the lower nodes E, F, G, H,
8 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A, the intermediate nodes B, C and D and the lower nodes E, F, G, H and I shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the highest node A, the intermediate nodes B, C, and D and the lower nodes E, F, G, H, Fig.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the tree structure of FIG. 1, highlighting hierarchical information of all nodes.
11 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the tree structure shown in FIG.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the tree structure shown in FIG.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a two-step projection process using a two-dimensional source tree map and a three-dimensional reference model, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a top view of a three-dimensional reference model corresponding to a tree map. FIG.
15 is a view showing an Oblique view of a three-dimensional reference model corresponding to the tri-map shown in Fig.
16 is a side view of the three-dimensional reference model shown in Fig.
17 is a diagram showing a tree map in which a ROI is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
18 is a front view of the three-dimensional reference model corresponding to the tree map of Fig.
19 is a flowchart illustrating a 2.5D tree map visualization method combining a 2D projection plane and a 3D reference model according to an embodiment of the present invention.
20 is a flowchart showing a detailed configuration of the step S1920 of forming the reference model shown in Fig.
21 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing a tree map in which a region of interest is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.
22 is a flowchart illustrating a tree map visualization method for resetting a position of a parent node according to an embodiment of the present invention based on the position of a child node.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram briefly showing a relationship between a primitive tree map and a tree map in FIG.
24 is a block diagram illustrating a tree map visualization device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
25 is an example showing a processor in detail in the device of FIG.
Fig. 26 is another example showing the processor in detail in the device of Fig.
FIG. 27 shows an embodiment of the top view of the tree map generated by the tree map visualization method of FIG.
28 is a diagram illustrating a tree map in which a region of interest is set according to a location of a graphical user interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.
29 is a diagram showing another state of the tree map of Fig.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

However, the present invention is not limited to or limited by the embodiments. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

1 is a diagram illustrating a tree structure to be visualized in a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the tree structure shown in FIG. 1, the node A is the highest node, and the child nodes of A are B, C, and D.

B is the parent node of E, F, and G. In this case, E, F, and G are child nodes of B.

D is the parent node of H and I. In this case, node H and I are child nodes of D.

H is the parent node of J and K, and in this case, nodes J and K are child nodes of H.

I is a parent node of L and M, and in this case, nodes L and M are child nodes of I.

In general, the sum of the node values of the child nodes is the same as the node value of the parent node.

Figures 2-9 are used to illustrate the process of visualizing a tree structure as a tree map.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the tree structure of Fig. 1 with the highest node A highlighted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A shown in FIG.

That is, for the tree structure in which only the highest node A is recognized, the tree map in which the entire area is mapped to the node A can be visualized. In FIG. 3, in order to indicate that the visualized node A is node A, which is the highest node in FIG. 2, node A in FIGS. 2 and 3 is indicated with the same mark. Here, the mark may mean a display attribute such as color, contrast, or pattern.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the tree structure of FIG. 1, highlighting the highest node A and its child nodes B, C, and D. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A and its child nodes B, C, and D shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, nodes B, C, and D are marked with the same mark to indicate that the visualized nodes B, C, and D in the tree map of FIG. 5 are nodes B, C, and D of FIG. For convenience of description, nodes having the same hierarchical level are indicated with the same mark.

That is, when the highest node A is at hierarchical level 1, and the nodes B, C, and D are at hierarchical level 2, nodes B, C, and D are displayed with the same mark.

The nodes B, C, and D are child nodes of the node A, and the sum of the areas of the nodes B, C, and D is the same as the area of the node A that is the parent node. Thus, in the general tree map of FIG. 5, nodes B, C, and D replace the area of node A, and node A is not visible in the top view.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the highest node A and its child nodes B, C, and D shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, child nodes B, C, and D are spaced apart from each other. Since the sum of the areas of the nodes B, C and D is equal to the area of the node A, a part of the nodes B, C and D is disposed outside the area of the node A, Some information may be displayed. The mark of the node A appearing at intervals of the nodes B, C, and D is the same as the mark of the node A of FIG.

In FIG. 6, in order to compensate for the disadvantage that the information of the parent node A can not be identified in FIG. 5, which is a general tree map, the positions of the child nodes B and D are moved in different directions, C, and D so that the information of the parent node A is identified among the child nodes B, C, and D.

Accordingly, the information of the parent node A can be identified at a glance between the child nodes B, C, and D. Since the area of the node A is maintained as the sum of the areas of the nodes B, C, and D, there is no distortion of the node area. That is, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the hierarchical information of the tree map can be listed, and the tree map can be visualized without distorting the hierarchical information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the tree structure of FIG. 1, highlighting the highest node A, the intermediate node B, C, D, and lower nodes E, F, G, H,

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the highest node A, the intermediate nodes B, C, D and the lower nodes E, F, G, H, I shown in FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, nodes E, F, G, H, and I with a hierarchical level of 3 are indicated with the same mark.

In FIG. 8, node B is differentiated into nodes E, F and G, and node D is differentiated into nodes H and I. Therefore, node C, which is a leaf node, is displayed in the top view, It is hidden from child nodes and is not displayed.

The sum of the areas of nodes E, F, and G is equal to the area of node B, so nodes E, F, and G completely cover node B. Similarly, the sum of the areas of the nodes H and I is equal to the area of the node D, so that the nodes H and I completely cover the node D. That is, in FIG. 8, the problem of the conventional tree map in which only the leaf node is revealed appears as it is.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the highest node A, the intermediate nodes B, C, and D and the lower nodes E, F, G, H, Fig.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a general tree map of FIG. 8 in which the information of the parent node A of the child nodes B, C and D and the parent nodes B and D of the child nodes E, F, G, The child nodes B and D of the parent node A and the child nodes E, F, G, H, and I of the parent node B and D are moved in different directions respectively, or the positions of the respective parent nodes The location of each child node is determined so that the information is identified.

The mark of the node B is revealed through the intervals of the nodes E, F and G. [ The mark of node D is also revealed through the interval between node H and I. The mark of node A is revealed through the interval between nodes B and C and between nodes C and D. That is, in FIG. 9, a tree map is provided in which all nodes from nodes A to I expose at least some areas in the top view, and the entire tree structure can be viewed at a glance.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the tree structure of FIG. 1, highlighting hierarchical information of all nodes. Referring to FIG. 10, nodes having the same hierarchical level are displayed with the same mark.

Referring to FIG. 10, node C is a leaf node at layer level 2, and nodes E, F, and G are leaf nodes at layer level 3. Nodes J and K are child nodes of node H and are leaf nodes at hierarchical level 4. Nodes L and M are child nodes of node I and leaf nodes of hierarchy level 4.

11 is a diagram showing a general tree map corresponding to the tree structure shown in FIG.

11, since the sum of the areas of the lower nodes is equal to the area of the upper node, the upper nodes are completely hidden by the lower nodes. Therefore, only the leaf nodes are displayed in the top view of the tree map of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the tree structure shown in FIG.

12, the information of the parent node A of the child nodes B, C and D and the information of the parent nodes B and D of the child nodes E, F, G, H, The child nodes B and D of the parent node A and the child nodes E and F of the parent node B and the child node N of the child node L, M, J, G, H, I and the positions of the child nodes L, M, J, K of the parent nodes H, I in different directions, or to locate each child node so that information of each parent node is identified among the child nodes .

That is, at least a part of the parent node is exposed through the intervals of the child nodes, and all the nodes can expose at least a part of the area to the user in the top view. The nodes belonging to the same hierarchical level are arranged such that the node regions do not overlap with each other, so that the nodes belonging to the higher hierarchical level thereof are necessarily adjusted so that at least a part of the regions are also exposed.

In the conventional general tree map, the child nodes are set not to deviate from the parent node area. However, in the tree map according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, some of the child nodes have a part of the node area deviates from the node area of the parent node .

The position of the child nodes is set so as to be farther away from the position in the general tree map as the distance from the center of the parent node becomes. That is, in order to secure the interval between the child nodes, the outer boundary line of the area of the child nodes may appear to extend more than the node area of the parent node.

The tree map of FIG. 12 can be applied to a media browser or a media library such as a movie, a music, a photograph and the like as an embodiment, and can grasp a correlation such as date, time, genre, etc. at a glance. That is, each node may be a folder of media files such as movies, music, photos, etc., and the hierarchy level may represent a grouping category such as date, time, genre, owner.

The conventional general tree map as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 is defined as a primitive tree-map, and the tree map shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, corresponding to the embodiment of the present invention, May be generated.

A modification using a three-dimensional reference model in the process of generating the tree map according to the embodiment of the present invention from the original tree map is shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a two-step projection process using a two-dimensional source tree map and a three-dimensional reference model, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13, a tree map 1340 according to an embodiment of the present invention forms a reference model 1330 by vertically protruding a node region corresponding to each node A, B, C from a solid surface 1320 And the formed reference model 1330 can be projected onto the projection plane and the image projected on the projection plane can be visualized as the tree map 1340.

Thereby, there is no area distortion of the node, and the interval between the nodes A, B, C on the original tree map 1310 is formed, and information of the parent node (not shown) Can be exposed.

13, the present invention can originate from a raw tree map 1310 shown in a two-dimensional plane. The primitive tree map 1310 includes nodes A, B, and C at the same hierarchical level.

The regions of the nodes A, B, and C are projected onto the three-dimensional surface 1320. At this time, the area projected on the solid surface 1320 by the node A may have an area larger than the area projected on the solid surface 1320 by the node B. [ That is, although the size of each node in the original tree map 1310 may not be maintained as it is on the three-dimensional surface 1320, it may be transformed again into the reference model 1330 and projected onto the two- The size of each node in the tree map 1340 is kept equal to the size of each node in the original tree map 1310. [

That is, when declaring a geometric shape reflecting the attribute of each node, for example, the size of data of the node, the referenced frequency of the node, and the like, the node region includes the primitive tree map 1310 and the tree map 1340).

Each node A, B, and C of the original tree map 1310 projected on the solid surface 1320 protrudes from the solid surface 1320 while maintaining a predetermined distance from the parent node. As described above, the shape in which the nodes A, B, and C protrude from the three-dimensional surface 1320 is formed as the reference model 1330.

In the reference model 1330, the node region of each node is projected back onto the two-dimensional projection plane to which the primitive tree map 1310 belongs. As a result, nodes A, B, and C can form a tree map 1340.

Since the node area of each node on the solid surface 1320 or the reference model 1330 is deformed, it does not maintain a proportional relationship with the attribute value of the node as in the original tree map 1310. [ However, since the tree map 1340 is formed by being backprojected from the reference model 1330 to the two-dimensional projection plane, the node area of each node on the tree map 1340 is proportional to the attribute value of the node as in the original tree map 1310 The relationship can be maintained.

13, the process of generating the reference model 1330 and the tree map 1340 by the nodes A, B, and C belonging to one hierarchical level is illustrated in FIG. 13, Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the process of creating a new reference model and a new tree map can be easily derived. That is, child nodes are always more extruded than parent nodes to form a new reference model. A part of the node area of the parent node is displayed through the interval between the child nodes, so that the existence of the parent node can be notified.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which a plurality of child nodes are generated from a parent node. According to another embodiment of the present invention, one child node may be generated from a parent node. For example, assume that one child node A '(not shown) is created at node A in FIG. In this case node A 'is projected onto the region of node A on the reference model. When the region of the node A 'protrudes from the region of the node A on the reference model and the region of the node A' is projected back to the two-dimensional projection plane, the region of the node A 'is formed by shifting from the region of the node A. Since the position of the newly created child node A 'is different from that of the parent node A, a part of the area of the parent node A may be exposed along the boundary of the child node A'.

The tree map according to the embodiment of the present invention can finally visualize the 2D tree map using the conventional 2D raw tree map and the 3D reference model. Therefore, the tree map according to the embodiment of the present invention, Will be referred to as a 2.5D tree map.

For the observer observing only the top view on the two-dimensional topology 1330 without explicitly showing the formation process of the solid surface 1320 and the reference model 1330 in the original tree map 1310, As each node moves, it will be observed that the upper hidden nodes are displayed. One embodiment of the inventive tri-map generated according to such a procedure is shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a top view of a reference model corresponding to a tree map. FIG.

Referring to Fig. 14, there is shown an embodiment of a tree map in which the areas of the nodes belonging to the same hierarchical level are uniformly set for convenience of explanation. That is, the tree map is shown in the case where each child node is divided into quarters of the node region of the parent node.

Assuming that the tree map of FIG. 14 is generated from the primitive tree map through the process of forming the reference model as shown in FIG. 13, the node region of each node is shown as moving away from the center of the entire visualization region as the layer level is deepened. Also, each child node is shown to move in a direction that is gradually away from the center point of the node region of the parent node.

In the embodiment of the tree map shown in FIG. 14, the area of each of the child nodes is equal to the area of the node area of the parent node, so that at least some of the child nodes are deviated from the node area of the parent node Since the location of each of the child nodes is determined, the information of the parent nodes can be identified among the child nodes.

15 is an Oblique view of a three-dimensional reference model corresponding to the tri-map shown in Fig.

Referring to Fig. 15, a reference model for forming the base of the top view of Fig. 14 is shown. That is, the relationship shown in Fig. 14 is established as the top view of the reference model of Fig.

According to FIG. 15, each node protrudes from its parent node, and each node adjusts the spacing distance and position according to its hierarchical level.

16 is a diagram showing a side view of the three-dimensional reference model shown in Fig. Although it is referred to as a side view for convenience of explanation, it will have substantially the same shape even if it is a front view.

Referring to FIG. 16, child nodes that divide the node region of the parent node into four equal parts are differentiated according to the layer level. In particular, in the embodiment of FIG. 16, since the number of nodes increases as the layer level becomes deeper, an example in which the separation distance of the node away from the parent node becomes longer as the layer level deepens in order to secure the interval between the node regions.

In the tree map visualization method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the top view of the 2D tree map as shown in FIG. 14 and the base model of the base as shown in FIG. 15 or 16 are displayed selectively or together to the user A user menu may be additionally provided.

17 is a diagram showing a tree map in which a ROI is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.

18 is a front view of the three-dimensional reference model corresponding to the tree map of Fig.

17 and 18, there is shown an example in which the tree map visualization technique of the present invention is selectively applied to a specific ROI by user's selection. Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, it can be seen that visual effects such as the application of a fisheye lens to the region of interest are obtained.

The interval between the child nodes in the ROI may be set to be larger than the interval between the child nodes outside the ROI. Referring to FIG. 17, in the area other than the area of interest, the distance between the child nodes is almost unrecognized. However, this is emphasized only for the purpose of distinguishing the area of interest from the area of interest. It will not be interpreted.

Referring to Figure 18, a diagram is shown in which the curvature of the reference model corresponding to the region of interest is extensively emphasized. 17, the curvature radius of the reference model is controlled to be lower than the normal level (the curvature becomes higher) for the region of interest, and the radius of curvature of the reference model is set to a normal level . ≪ / RTI >

14 to 18 show an embodiment in which only the area of each node is distinguished but attributes such as color and pattern are not changed at all. However, this is for convenience of explanation, and the color, brightness, saturation, pattern, etc. of the node may be changed and displayed by taking into account the relationship between the intermediate node and the final upper node and the correlation between each node region of the neighboring node .

For example, the same color may be given to nodes of the same hierarchical level, and the same color may be given to child nodes having one parent node. At this time, a plurality of leaf nodes having the same ancestor node are displayed in the same series of colors, and brightness or saturation can be adjusted according to the layer level. In this case, the observer can intuitively identify nodes belonging to the same data series, and can easily recognize even the hierarchical level of each node according to brightness or saturation.

19 is a flowchart illustrating a 2.5D tree map visualization method combining a 2D projection plane and a 3D reference model according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2.5D A method for tree map visualization is to generate a primitive tree map whose node property values are proportional to the area from the upper hierarchical node (parent node) to the lower hierarchical node (child node) on the 2D projection plane, -Map is projected onto the three-dimensional surface to form a node region (S1910), and a node region corresponding to each node is protruded from the three-dimensional surface to form a reference model (S1920). At this time, the node region corresponding to each node from the three-dimensional surface may protrude in the vertical direction, and the protruding angle may be changed according to the user's selection.

In addition, the shape of the three-dimensional body may have the form of a sphere, or may be expressed in the form of a quasi-regular body or a regular body. Of course, the solid body may take the complete shape of a sphere or a polyhedron, or it may be implemented by taking only a part of a sphere or a polyhedron.

Thereafter, the formed reference model is projected onto the 2D projection plane in a second order on the projection plane (S1930), and the image projected on the 2D projection plane of the formed reference model can be visualized in the form of a tree map (S1940).

At this time, a geometric shape reflecting the attribute of each node (the size of the data of the node, frequency of the data, etc.) may have a node area corresponding to each node.

Accordingly, when the primitive tree map on the projection plane is projected onto the solid surface to form the node area (S1910), the node area can reflect the attribute value on the primitive tree map.

When a reference model is formed (S1920), a plurality of child nodes further protrude from the parent node among the nodes, a first interval is formed between the parent node and the plurality of child nodes, and a plurality of child nodes The reference model formed so that at least a part of the node region of the parent node is displayed through the second interval can visualize the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map.

In this case, the first distance means the distance in the height direction in the three-dimensional reference model, and the second distance means the interval in the plane on the tree map.

Also, based on the user's operation of the user menu provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user can adjust the distance of the gap of the reference model formed according to the shape of the three-dimensional body and the protruding direction.

20 is a flowchart showing a detailed configuration of the step S1920 of forming the reference model shown in Fig.

More specifically, the first interval is determined according to the hierarchical information of the parent node and the plurality of child nodes (S1921), and a plurality of child nodes are protruded from the parent node according to the first interval To form a reference model (S1922).

According to various embodiments of the present invention, height intervals may be adjusted differently depending on the hierarchical level in the reference model. As shown in FIG. 16, as the hierarchical level becomes deeper, the number of nodes increases and the interval between nodes becomes narrower. If the interval between the nodes is narrowed, the space for expressing information of the upper parent node may become insufficient. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the distance between the parent node and the child node in the reference model, The height may be set to a first interval at a first hierarchical level node and a second interval at a node at a second hierarchical level, and the second interval may be set larger than the first interval.

The difference between the first interval and the second interval may be determined by reflecting the visibility of the information of the upper node through the interval between the nodes based on the finally generated tree map.

21 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing a tree map in which a region of interest is set according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The method for visualizing a tree map according to the embodiment of FIG. 21 receives a user input for selecting a region of interest in a tree map as a region of interest (S2110), and a plurality of child nodes (S2120). In operation S2130, the first distance between the child nodes in the selected ROI is larger than the second distance between the child nodes in the ROI.

Accordingly, it is possible to adjust the interval of the inter-node gap to be wide for the region of interest set by the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined user menu that allows a user to set an area of interest can be provided. The user menu for allowing the user to set the region of interest may be provided through a separate icon, but may also be implemented by a specific shortcut key and a specific gesture specified in advance. When a user designates a certain area of the tree map as a region of interest by using a separate icon, a predefined hot key or a zip file, the visualization method according to an embodiment of the present invention translates the user input, And determines an area corresponding to the coordinate information as a region of interest.

In the area set as the region of interest, information of the parent node (upper layer) can be identified among the child nodes (lower layer), and information of nodes located in the middle region as well as the nodes of the highest layer can be discriminated at once.

In addition, the information of the parent node can be identified using a gap between the child nodes only by the motion on the 2D plane without using the three-dimensional (3D) model.

22 is a flowchart illustrating a tree map visualization method for resetting a position of a parent node according to an embodiment of the present invention based on the position of a child node.

In the tree map visualization method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 22, child nodes are created on the node region of the parent node (S2210), and the positions of the generated plurality of child nodes are determined (S2220).

Thereafter, if the position of the child nodes is determined, the position of the parent node can be determined based on the position of each of the plurality of child nodes (S2230). As a concrete example of determining the position of the parent node again based on the position of the child node, there may be a method of determining the position of the parent node according to the center of gravity of the node region of the child node, and moving the parent node again.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 22 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, 12, or 14 described above. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 22, a tree map is shown in which the positions of the parent nodes are adjusted and the parent nodes are rearranged due to the influence of distribution of the child nodes after the parent nodes are arranged first.

FIG. 27 shows an embodiment of the top view of the tree map generated by the tree map visualization method of FIG. Referring to FIG. 27, since the parent node is located at the center of the area where the child nodes are distributed, there is an advantage that the intuitive observation of the data series can be facilitated. In order to construct the tree map as shown in FIG. 27, a process of rearranging the position of the parent node and the arrangement of the parent node on the reference model surface based on the 2D tree map or the 3D reference model after the child nodes are arranged is further added It will be possible.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing a tree map according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram briefly showing a relationship between a primitive tree map and a tree map in FIG.

If the creation process of the reference model is omitted in FIG. 13 and focus is given to the view as seen to the observer, the tree map visualization method of FIG. 23 moves the child nodes to different directions to the parent node Method will be observed. In the tree map visualization method according to the embodiment of FIG. 23, a plurality of child nodes are created on a node region of a parent node (S2310), and each generated plurality of child nodes is moved (S2320).

At this time, the direction of moving the child nodes may be such that at least a part of each of the plurality of child nodes may move in a different direction from the other part, and when the plurality of child nodes are created on the node area of the parent node, As the location is distant from the center of the node region of the parent node, each of the plurality of child nodes may be moved away from the first location. In this case, each of the plurality of child nodes may be disposed at the first position so as to divide the node region of the parent node according to attributes of the plurality of child nodes. Each of the plurality of child nodes can move based on the reference position of the node region of the parent node. At this time, each of the child nodes can move away from the reference position as the first position is distant from the reference position. The reference position may be, for example, the center of gravity of the node region of the parent node, or may be the upper left of the node region of the parent node.

That is, the generated child nodes on the parent node region can identify the parent node information among the child nodes by moving the node in the other direction so that the child nodes do not overlap each other within a range that does not completely deviate from the parent node region .

Also, the moving range and the moving direction of the child nodes may be directly set by the user, or the moving directions of the child nodes may be determined according to the preset values.

24 is a detailed view of a tree map visualization device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The device 2400 for visualizing the tree map refers to a mobile terminal and a computing system and includes a display controller 2410, a processor 2420, a communication module 2430, and a UI controller 2440.

The processor 2420 determines the position where each child node generated on the node region of the parent node of the original tree map is to be arranged by the display controller and displays the image in which each of the child nodes is arranged in the determined position, .

In addition, each of the child nodes may determine the position of each of the plurality of child nodes so that the areas do not overlap with each other, and a part of the node region of at least some of the plurality of child nodes may be located in a plurality The location of each of the child nodes may be determined.

It is also possible to adjust the position of the parent node based on the determined position of each of the plurality of child nodes, and to control the position of the parent node in the tree map from the user input received via the UI controller 2440, And determine a position of each of the plurality of child nodes such that a first interval between child nodes in the selected region of interest is greater than a second interval between child nodes other than the region of interest.

In addition, it is also possible to move from the first position when the child nodes are created to determine the second position where each of the child nodes is to be arranged, and at least some of the child nodes to move from the first position 2 position.

At this time, as the first position is distant from the center of the node region of the parent node, each of the plurality of child nodes may be moved away from the first position.

The display controller 2410 displays the tree map image transmitted from the processor 2420 and controls the display to provide the tree map image to the user.

The communication module 2430 may receive the image from the processor, provide it to the server or other users by wire or wireless communication, and may receive information about the tree map from the server or other users by wired communication or wireless communication .

The UI controller 2440 may provide the user with the additional information of the node selected by the user.

In addition, the processor 2420 controls to provide a 2D projection plane tree map image and a 3D reference model interactively to the user, wherein the display controller 2410 may selectively display either of them, have.

Figure 25 is a more detailed view of a processor for 2.5D tree map visualization in the tree map visualization device of Figure 24 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The primitive tree map generator 2510 generates a primitive tree map in which a node attribute value is proportional to an area from an upper layer node (parent node) to a lower layer node (child node) on a two-dimensional projection plane.

The position determination unit 2520 determines the positions of the generated child nodes by generating child nodes on the node region of the parent node. At this time, the positions of the child nodes are determined such that at least a part of the node region of the parent node is a child node As shown in FIG.

In addition, the position of the child nodes may be determined such that at least a part of the node regions of the child nodes deviate from the node region of the parent node so that the node regions of the child nodes do not overlap with each other.

Accordingly, the information of the parent node (upper layer) can be identified among the child nodes (lower layer), and information of the nodes located in the middle region as well as the node of the highest layer can be discriminated at once.

The tree map generation unit 2530 generates a tree map in order to provide a parent node and a child node, which are determined by the position determination unit 2520, to the user.

At this time, the tree map may be generated by reflecting the higher priority of the node having a larger change according to the timeline of the parent node and the child node, and the tree map may be generated by reflecting the layout and color to the priority according to the priority.

In addition, when a new node is added to the tree map, the position of the existing tree map is changed. In this case, when relocating each node, the node can be rearranged according to the priority according to the node.

Existing nodes have their own priority values, new nodes may be unconditionally the highest priority, and new nodes may be placed in the next rank excluding the highest priority among the existing nodes.

Figure 26 is a more detailed diagram of a processor for tree map visualization on a tree map visualization device of Figure 24 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The primitive tree map generator 2510 generates a primitive tree map in which a node attribute value is proportional to an area from an upper layer node (parent node) to a lower layer node (child node) on a two-dimensional projection plane.

The reference model generation unit 2620 can generate a reference model by projecting a node region corresponding to each node from a surface of a solid body (including a part of a spherical body, a hemisphere, and a polyhedron) The first interval may be determined according to the layer information, and a plurality of child nodes may be protruded from the parent node according to the determined first interval to generate a reference model.

The tree map generating unit 2530 generates the tree map to be provided to the user using the generated original tree map and the reference model.

28 is a diagram showing a tree map according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. The area of each node of the tree map is proportional to the attribute value of each node. Each of the nodes corresponds to a node of the layered data structure, and the size of the data of the node, the number of times of reference of the data, and the like can be regarded as attribute values of the respective nodes.

28, the region of interest 2810 is set around the location of the graphical user interface 2810a. Contrast area 2820 is shown for convenience of illustration, among the general areas of contrast to the area of interest 2810. [

If the region of interest 2810 is centered around the location of the graphical user interface 2810a, the spacing of child nodes within the region of interest 2810 may be larger than the spacing of the child nodes of the remaining region. This principle is the same as described with reference to the tree map shown in Figs. 17 and 18 and the reference model corresponding to the tree map.

29 is a diagram showing another state of the tree map of Fig. 29, the region of interest 2920 is set around the location of the graphical user interface 2920a. The region of interest 2920 is substantially the same position as the contrast region 2820 of FIG. In FIG. 28, the area shown as the area of interest 2810 is represented by a contrast area 2910 for convenience of explanation in FIG.

In FIG. 29, it can be seen that the interval between child nodes in the ROI 2920 centered on the position of the graphical user interface 2920a is larger than the interval between child nodes in the remaining region.

Referring to FIGS. 28 and 29, the visual effects of a tree map such as a fisheye lens can be more prominently displayed for specific areas of interest 2810 and 2920 by moving the positions of the graphical user interfaces 2810a and 2920a. The location of the graphical user interfaces 2810a and 2920a may be adjusted in response to user input to any user interface device, such as a touch location on the touch screen, a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, a jog shuttle,

In addition to the tree map visualization technique according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 29, according to various embodiments of the present invention, nodes on the tree map are pre-designated (priority) in layout and coloring, As shown in FIG.

At this time, the tree map may be generated by reflecting the higher priority of the node having a larger change according to the timeline of the parent node and the child node, and the tree map may be generated by reflecting the layout and color to the priority according to the priority.

The number of times the parent node and child nodes are referenced over time, and the number of times the parent node and child nodes are referenced over time can also affect the priority. The number of times referenced and the number of updates that affect the priority affect the leaf node Or may be reflected by summing the counted number of child nodes and parent nodes.

In addition, when a new node is added to the tree map, the position of the existing tree map is changed. In this case, when relocating each node, the node can be rearranged according to the priority according to the node.

Existing nodes have their own priority values, new nodes may be unconditionally the highest priority, and new nodes may be placed in the next rank excluding the highest priority among the existing nodes.

In addition, since the visualization technique of the tree map is intended to help understand the statistical data or the data of the tree structure through the tree map, it is possible to use a command, a gesture, a shortcut key, An icon may be provided to select a part of nodes, and detailed information on the selected node may be provided in a separate UI. In addition, when a user selects a plurality of nodes, the UI may be provided by collecting and displaying the area / color of the selected plurality of nodes on one screen window and comparing the attribute values.

The 2.5D tree map visualization method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

2400: Device
2410: Display controller
2420: Processor
2430: Communication module
2440: UI controller

Claims (19)

In a tree map visualization method,
Projecting a node region corresponding to each node from the surface of the solid to form a reference model;
Projecting the formed reference model onto a projection plane; And
Visualizing the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map by the formed reference model;
Of the tree map. The method according to claim 1,
Before the step of forming the reference model,
Projecting a primitive tri-map on the projection surface onto the surface of the solid to form the node region
The method comprising the steps of: The method according to claim 1,
The step of visualizing the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map
And a node region corresponding to each of the nodes has a geometric shape in which attributes of the nodes are reflected. The method according to claim 1,
The step of forming the reference model
Wherein a plurality of child nodes further protrude from a parent node of each of the nodes to form a first gap between the parent node and the plurality of child nodes,
The step of visualizing the image projected on the projection plane as a tree map
Wherein at least a part of the node region of the parent node is displayed through a second interval between the plurality of child nodes. 5. The method of claim 4,
The step of forming the reference model
Determining the first interval according to the hierarchical information of the parent node and the plurality of child nodes; And
Projecting the plurality of child nodes from the parent node according to the first interval
Of the tree map. In a tree map visualization method,
Generating a plurality of child nodes on a node region of a parent node; And
Determining a position of each of the generated plurality of child nodes
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein determining the location of each of the plurality of child nodes comprises:
Wherein the location of each of the plurality of child nodes is determined such that at least a part of the node region of the parent node is exposed through an interval between the plurality of child nodes. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein determining the location of each of the plurality of child nodes comprises:
Wherein the position of each of the plurality of child nodes is determined so that the node regions of the child nodes do not overlap with each other. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein determining the location of each of the plurality of child nodes comprises:
Wherein a position of each of the plurality of child nodes is determined so that a part of a node region of at least some of the plurality of child nodes deviates from a node region of the parent node. The method according to claim 6,
Determining a position of the parent node based on the determined position of each of the plurality of child nodes;
The method comprising the steps of: The method according to claim 6,
Receiving a user input selecting a region of interest within the tree map as a region of interest;
Further comprising:
Wherein determining the location of each of the plurality of child nodes comprises:
Wherein the position of each of the plurality of child nodes is determined such that a first interval between child nodes in the selected ROI is greater than a second interval between child nodes other than the ROI. In a tree map visualization method,
Generating a plurality of child nodes on a node region of a parent node; And
Moving each of the plurality of generated child nodes
Lt; / RTI >
The step of moving each of the plurality of child nodes
Wherein at least a part of each of the plurality of child nodes is moved in a direction different from the other part. 12. The method of claim 11,
The step of moving each of the plurality of child nodes
Wherein each of the plurality of child nodes is moved away from the first position as the first position when the plurality of child nodes are created on the node region of the parent node is distant from the reference position of the node region of the parent node, Wherein the tree map includes at least one of: As a device,
display; And
A processor for determining a position where each of the child nodes generated on the node region of the parent node of the primitive tree map is to be arranged and transmitting to the display an image in which each of the child nodes is arranged at the determined position to display as a tree map;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the processor determines the location of each of the child nodes such that at least a portion of the node region of the parent node is exposed through an interval between the child nodes. 14. The method of claim 13,
The processor
Wherein the location of each of the plurality of child nodes is determined such that areas of the child nodes do not overlap each other. 14. The method of claim 13,
The processor
Wherein a portion of a node region of at least some of the plurality of child nodes determines a position of each of the plurality of child nodes so as to deviate from a node region of the parent node. 14. The method of claim 13,
The processor
And adjusts the position of the parent node based on the determined position of each of the plurality of child nodes. 14. The method of claim 13,
The processor
Interpreting a user command to select, as a region of interest, a region within the tree map from user input received via a user interface,
Wherein the first distance between the child nodes in the selected ROI is greater than the second distance between the child nodes outside the ROI. 14. The method of claim 13,
The processor
Moving from the first position when the child nodes are created, determining a second position where each of the child nodes is to be arranged,
Wherein at least some of each of the child nodes are moved from the first position to the second position in a direction different from some other nodes. 19. The method of claim 18,
The processor
And move each of the plurality of child nodes away from the first position as the first position is distant from the center of the node region of the parent node.

Images