Patent Document ID: 7593012
Application ID: 10369876
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A graphics image generation method comprising controlling a computer to generate a graphics image for visualizing statistical data, comprising: a first group of steps including reading from a memory the statistical data to be processed, forming a plurality of strip regions in a region corresponding to said entire statistical data and arranging rectangles for representing individual data of said statistical data in said strip regions, and storing in the memory image data of the region corresponding to said entire statistical data with said rectangles arranged therein; and a second group of steps including reading from said memory the image data of the region corresponding to said entire statistical data, and with respect to sequences of the rectangles in said image data, rearranging the rectangles in each of said strip regions such that the rectangles corresponding to said individual data adjacent to each other in said statistical data are also adjacent to each other in the image, and storing the image data in the memory; wherein the step of arranging said rectangles comprises the steps of: generating said rectangles having sizes with contents of the individual data in said statistical data reflected therein; and arranging said rectangles in the region corresponding to said entire statistical data, in an order determined based on one or more of: a line-up order or the sizes of said rectangles, and, the step of rearranging the shapes and the arrangements of said rectangles comprises a step of rearranging the shapes and the arrangements of said rectangles such that the aspect ratio of a predetermined rectangle is determined based on the sizes of said rectangles and approximates to one (1), and, assigning, by a user, a class value to a rectangle based on one or more criteria comprising: importance of statistical data being represented, or importance of viewing said data in said image file, wherein the aspect ratio of said rectangle is further adjusted accordingly for higher value class's aspect ratio to be made to approximate to one (1).