Patent ID: 7495678

Claim:
A method for navigating across an original image presented on a display screen between a first region spatially separated from a second region in the original image, comprising: displaying the first region on the display screen without distortion and at a first scale; distorting the original image to produce a first presentation having a first distorted region for and in place of the first region and having a second scale less than the first scale and displaying the first presentation on the display screen to replace display of the first region, the first presentation including both the first distorted region and the second region without distortion; receiving a signal to select the second region through the first presentation, the first and second regions being at least partially disjoint; distorting the original image to produce a second presentation having a second distorted region for and in place of the second region and having the second scale and displaying the second presentation on the display screen display screen to replace display of the first presentation, the second presentation including both the first region without distortion and the second distorted region; and, displaying the second region on the display screen without distortion and at the first scale to replace display of the second presentation and thereby navigate between the first and second regions of the original image; wherein the distorting of the original image to produce the first presentation includes applying a distortion function to the original image to produce the first presentation by displacing at least portions of the original image onto the distortion function; wherein the distorting further includes projecting the at least portions of the original image onto a plane; wherein the first distorted region includes a first focal region for displaying a portion of the first region; wherein the first focal region is displayed at a first focal region scale; wherein the distortion function includes a distortion function focal region corresponding to the first focal region and having an elevation to provide the first focal region scale for the first focal region upon the projecting onto the plane and a distortion function shoulder region at least partially surrounding the distortion function focal region where the elevation decreases to provide a first shoulder region at least partially surrounding the first focal region where the first focal region scale decreases upon the projecting onto the plane; and, wherein the distorting further includes displaying a graphical user interface (“GUI”) over the first distorted region for receiving one or more signals for adjusting the distortion function.