Abstract:
In an information network, an interactive display allows a user to choose products or elements on one screen axis (Y) and compare their characteristics or attributes on a second screen axis (X), thereby aiding a user to select a product from all available information according to the user&#39;s individual requirements. The information network includes at least one knowledge site containing product information for access by a user through a terminal. The terminal includes a processor coupled to an interactive display and a storage disk. The processor includes a Java operating system; an application program for processing product information by categories in terms of elements and attributes, and a browser enabling a user to access and interact with the knowledge site through Java applets. The disk contains product information by category received from the knowledge site and transformed into the form of HTML parameters within HTML files.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of the pending U.S. application identified by Ser. No. 09/472,598, filed Dec. 27, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates to interactive display systems and methods of operation. More particularly, the invention relates to an interactive display with improved visualization for product comparisons, selection and methods of operation.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Prior Art:  
           [0005]    Currently, visualization techniques on the World Wide Web have insufficient “look &amp; feel” for many users engaging in electronic commerce. While shopping on the web, many users feel that all possible shopping alternatives are not made available to them. Moreover, the comparison of one item with another item of the same type is not available, or, if available, is visualized in a manner which makes comparison difficult.  
           [0006]    Another pervasive problem with graphical user interfaces occurs after users interact with a system. When interacting with attributes or products, users cause changes in the state of the program. Often, the users lose their context with new information, because the information appears too quickly or instantaneously replaces the information that came before. Essentially, the users become lost in the data.  
           [0007]    What is needed in the art is an interactive display in which a browser allows a user to dynamically compare and contrast items while shopping on the web and/or allow the comparison of data in other applications in a non-shopping environment without the user becoming lost in the comparison data.  
           [0008]    Prior art related to interactive displays includes the following:  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,471 issued Oct. 19, 1999 discloses a virtual product catalog and product presentation apparatus in an electronic commerce environment to assist with merchandising of products. This system includes a display, memory, and input device in which a method displays a plurality of product images on the display; provides product image review boxes on the display for side-by-side comparison of selected product images; receives the user inputs selecting a product image from the plurality of product images displayed on the display; and displays the selected product images in order of the review box or side-by-side comparison with at least one other selected product image.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,832 issued Feb. 24, 1998, discloses a computerized catalog system in which a customer can selectively access video and audio catalog data from a computerized catalog memory that permits a customer to peruse an entire catalog of products or services or select specific portions from specific catalogs and services. If desired, the customer can place an order which is processed electronically and for which customer profile marketing data is selectively generated.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,622 issued Apr. 27, 1999 discloses a merchant system for on-line shopping and merchandising. The system includes a dynamic page generator; a configurable order-processing module; and a database module capable of retrieving data from the database without regard to a schema. Merchants can create electronic orders, which are easily adaptable for different sales situations. The order-processing module includes multiple configurable stages to process a merchant&#39;s electronic order. The system is capable of generating pages dynamically using templates having embedded directives. The database module and dynamic page generator allow merchants to modify their databases and page displays without having to re-engineer the merchant&#39;s system.  
           [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,077 issued Jul. 13, 1999, discloses an electronic storage device for storing raw points of sale data; a data interpreter for transforming the raw data into a pre-defined standardized configuration; and a processor for deriving option values from the transformed data according to a set of mathematical/relational functions. A business rule execution engine is operatively linked to the processor and a business rule execution database. The engine allows the processor to compute corresponding mathematical/relational functions; compare the object values and corresponding reference values; and identify a past condition representative of an acceptable comparisons; a “failed” condition or a “warn” condition representative of a question of comparison. The identified condition is outputted from a processor and displayed to the user.  
           [0013]    None of the prior art discloses or suggests an improved visualization in an interactive display in which a user can compare data or products on one axis of the display and compare attributes of the data or products on the other axis of the display while the products and attributes animate while reorganizing their screen locations in a simple, engaging, and effective visualization without the user becoming lost in the comparison data.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    An object of the invention is an interactive display and method of operation with improved visualization for data presentation, comparison and selection in an electronic commerce environment.  
           [0015]    Another object is an interactive display and method of operation in which a browser allows a user to choose products on one axis and compare product attributes on the other axis of the display.  
           [0016]    Another object is an interactive display and method of operation, which actively supports the user in browsing by filtering and sorting data to focus on items of interest.  
           [0017]    Another object is an interactive display and method of operation in which screen information is presented with only the most relevant information readable at any one time.  
           [0018]    Another object is an interactive display and method of operation in which products and attributes animate while reorganizing their screen locations.  
           [0019]    These and other objects, features and advantages are achieved in an information network including an interactive display and method of operation which provides improved visualization to allow a user to select and organize product information by categories and attributes for on-line comparison and selection of a product in an electronic commerce environment. The information network further includes at least one knowledge site containing product and attribute information for access by a user through the interactive display. A processor is coupled to the display and a storage disk. The processor includes a Java operating system; an application program for processing product information by categories in terms of products and attributes, and a browser enabling a user to access and interact with the knowledge site through Java applets. The disk contains product information by category; each category received from the knowledge site in the form of HTML files and HTML parameters. The user accesses a knowledge site through a screen provided by the browser. The screen includes a primary category selection area; a secondary category selection area; an active table area; an Y value area for products; an Y value area for extra products; an X area for product attributes; and an X value area for extra product attributes. After accessing the knowledge site for product selection and comparison using the browser, the user selects a product category from the screen. All product categories, elements and attributes are displayed on the screen. A subcategory is selected which limits the display in the active area to the selected subcategory in a highlighted state. Additional subcategories can be added to or deleted from the current selection set. An element can be added to the active table by moving the mouse over the elements in the product overflow areas and selecting the element of interest. A similar interaction is possible for attributes. Selecting an attribute not only moves the attribute to the front of the attribute list in a highlighted state, but also sorts the active table area by that attribute. Products and their attributes can be removed from the active table area. The screen allows a user to choose products or elements on one screen axis (Y), and choose the characteristics or attributes of the products on a second screen axis (X). The desired products and attributes can then be compared. As the user interacts with the interface, the products and attributes animate while reorganizing their screen locations. A physical-based model is used for the motion of the animated elements. The animation provides a smooth movement and illustrates the continuous relationship of the elements in the table to each other. A user will better understand the new state of the display by seeing how the display context changes from one state to the next according to the user&#39;s interaction with the display. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0020]    The invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with an appended drawing, in which:  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an interactive display system incorporating the principles of the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for the selection of categories, products and attributes using the system of FIG. 1 and the screens of FIGS.  3 - 5 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3 is a screen in the display of FIG. 1 indicating different categories of products for selection for comparison purposes.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 4 is a screen in the system of FIG. 1 after a product category has been selected in FIG. 3, and illustrating the different products in the category highlighted along the Y-axis of the screen&#39;s active table area and the attributes of the corresponding products highlighted along the X-axis.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 5 is a screen layout in the system of FIG. 1 in which the products shown in FIG. 4 have been further filtered and displays only one product subcategory with its products and attributes highlighted. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]    In FIG. 1 an electronic commerce system  10  includes a network  12 , a knowledge site  14  in the network for providing knowledge for merchandising and the like to one or more terminals  16 . One of the terminals is shown in FIG. 1 for accessing the site  14  to obtain information or purchase available products. The terminal includes a processor  18  coupled to a display  20 ; a disk  22  and an I/O  24  through a bus  26 . The processor is coupled to a memory  28  including stored program instructions for an operating system  30 , e.g., O/S2 or Windows98; a Java Virtual Machine or applet processor  32 ; a browser  34 ; and an e-commerce application  36  embedded in the browser. The e-commerce application interacts with the knowledge site in the display and selection of a product as presented in the screens to be described in connection with FIGS.  3 - 5 . The disk  22  contains product information by category received from the knowledge site in the form of HTML files  38  and related HTML parameters  40 . The I/O  24  is connected to multiple users  42   1  . . .  42   n  enabling the users to interact with the knowledge site in the review and selection of a product.  
         [0027]    Product information at the knowledge site is transmitted to the user in the form of a Java applets that run in any Java enabled browser. Data is passed into the applet through the HTML applet parameters  40 . Attributes include colors, position, location of image files, etc. The most relevant attribute is the product description attribute, an example of which is as follows:  
                                       &lt;PARAM NAME   = “product1” VALUE =       “NAME   = THINKPAD770 #       WEIGHT   = 7.79 lbs #       PRICE   = $4,618 #       PARTNUMBER   = 81 U #       PROCESSOR   = Mobile Pentium II | with AGP #       MHZ   = 366 #       MEMORY   = 128 MB | 320 MB SD RAM #       HARDDISK   = 14.1 #       CD/DVD   = Video Compact Disk/Digital Video Disk”&gt;                  
 
         [0028]    For each product, a PARAM tag is added with name “product N” where “N” is a sequential number for each product starting with “1”. The second argument to this tag is labeled “VALUE”. This argument is a list of alternating attribute-value pairs. The above example is for a ThinkPad  770 , which includes a number of attributes (weight, price, part number, processor, MHZ, memory, hard disk and CD/DVD). These are the attributes that will be displayed in the browser on the X-axis. There can be any number of products or attributes in these PARAM tags. Typically all products will include the same attributes with non-null values.  
         [0029]    In FIG. 2, a process  200  enables a user to access the knowledge site for review and selection of a product using the screens shown in FIGS.  3 - 5 . The process is entered in block  202  and the user provides an input  203  to initiate a category selection in block  204  for selection of a product category in block  206  among several categories shown in FIG. 3. The selection of the category displays all subcategories. In FIG. 3, screen  300  displays various product categories including, for example, a series of IBM products. In one form, these include a home computer  302 , e.g., the IBM Aptiva System; a portable or laptop notebook computer  304 , e.g., the IBM ThinkPad; a workstation  306 , e.g., the IBM Intellistation; a workstation server  308 , e.g., the IBM Netfinity server; a PC server  310  and various accessories  312 .  
         [0030]    Returning to FIG. 2, the process  200  will now be further described in conjunction with FIG. 4. In FIG. 2 the user inputs the block  203  to select subcategories in block  208 . The subcategories are displayed in block  210 . Only the subcategories selected are displayed as shown in FIG. 4. The user also has the option to deselect a subcategory in block  212 .  
         [0031]    The user inputs the block  203  to select an element or product in block  214 . Upon selection in block  216  the elements are removed from the product area if more than the maximum allowable number of products are displayed in FIG. 4. The user also has the option to deselect an element in block  218 .  
         [0032]    The user inputs the block  203  to select an attribute of a product in block  220 , and in block  222  the attribute is moved to the left of the area. Only a fixed number of products and a fixed number of attributes can be displayed in the active table area at one time. In this example, that limit is set to 4 products and 4 attributes. When the list exceeds the limit for adding a new selection, the last attribute is removed from the area. The user may also deselect an attribute in block  224 , afterwhich the user has all the necessary data in the screen  400  to compare and select a product without becoming lost in the data.  
         [0033]    Now specifically turning to FIG. 4, the screen is divided into several areas beginning with a primary category selection area  402  for the selected ThinkPad category  304  in FIG. 3. The selected category appears highlighted, as compared to the other unhighlighted categories  302 ,  306 - 312  shown in FIG. 3. Highlighting, in this example, is implemented as a state with enhanced brightness. A secondary category area  404  provides a display of various ThinkPad components  405  available for comparison purposes. The subcategories  405  are shown in a highlighted state. A product area  406  lists four of the products from the subcategory area  404  and displays them along the Y-axis of the screen  400 . An attribute area  408  describes four different attributes of the components shown along the Y-axis in the area  406 . The attributes listed in the area  408  include processor model  412 ; cd/dvd characteristics  414 ; processor speed  416 , and hard disk capacity  418 . A column is established in active area  420  for each attribute. A column  420   1  details the processor characteristic for each of the components in the product area  406 . A column  420   2  details the cd/dvd characteristics for the different component products in the area  406 . A column  420   3  details the processor speed of the different components in the area  406 . A column  420   4  details a hard disk capacity of the different components. A screen area  422  details additional products that may be incorporated into the area  406 . A screen area  424  details extra attributes, which may be included in the area  408 . A screen area  426  details attributes for the additional components shown in screen area  422 . The display dynamically readjusts itself to focus and sort the selected information according to the user&#39;s interaction with the display.  
         [0034]    In FIG. 5, the selected ThinkPad  304  is the primary category in area  402 . The category is shown in a highlighted state while the other categories are shown in an unhighlighted state. The selected subcategory ThinkPad model  600  is shown in a highlighted state in the subcategory area  404  while the other products are shown in an unhighlighted state. The attributes for the ThinkPad model  600  are shown highlighted in the active area  420  while all other information in the screen  400  is shown in an unhighlighted state.  
         [0035]    In summary, the user selects a category by inputting block  203  in FIG. 2. Subsequently, the user can select or deselect categories, products or attributes. At any time the user can select a new top-level category in screen area  406 . By selecting a category, the system will display all subcategories and the elements and attributes associated with the subcategories. The act of selecting a subcategory will restrict the display to only include the elements and attributes for that subcategory. Additional subcategories can be added or deleted with a shift-click action from the current selection set. An element can also be added to the active table area from the extra area by moving the mouse over the element, waiting for the element to highlight, and clicking on the element. This action will bring the element to the front of the list. A similar interaction is possible for attributes. Selecting an attribute not only moves the attribute to the front of the attribute list, but also sorts the active table area by that attribute. Elements and attributes can be removed from the active table area. The deselect is performed by a shift-click on the element or attribute name.  
         [0036]    The smooth movement of objects, i.e. categories, elements, attributes, etc. in the display is achieved by modeling each object in the system as a particle with mass, acceleration, and drag. The movement of the objects on the screen mimics the movement of objects in the natural world. At any moment, each object calculates its velocity by evaluating the distance between its current position and its desired position. The object then computes its new position according to the physical model and moves to a new position. The process repeats and as a result, as an object approaches its final location, it slows down and settles into place. The intuitive feel of how lively or slowly object reacts to being moved around the screen depend on that particular object&#39;s mass and drag. Just as in the real world, an object on the screen with a large value for its mass will respond more slowly than objects with less mass, and so on. Newton&#39;s Laws of Motion are the basic models for calculating movement of the objects. Each product, attribute, and value in the table move according to these physically-based rules, creating a continuous but dynamic presentation of changing states.  
         [0037]    Relevant information in a comparison is displayed all the time in the screen. This allows the user to comprehend the scope of the data set they are browsing. The user highlights different elements in the data set by moving the mouse over objects in the table. The highlighted item is visually distinguished from the other unselected items in the table. Clicking on a highlighted item makes the item active and brings the item into focus in the active table. The program reacts by moving the item into the table area for comparison with the other active products. At any time the user can select from the whole data set or go back to a previous selection. The movement of the objects gives users more contexts for the information they are browsing with a more usable interface and without becoming lost in the data.  
         [0038]    In the attached Appendix I, a representative program written in pseudo code implements the process  200  of FIG. 2.  
         [0039]    While the present invention has been shown and described in a preferred embodiment, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.