a2) United States Patent
`MacPhail
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,661,434 B1
`*Dec. 9, 2003
`
`US006661434B1
`
`(54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING
`STATUS OF CRITICAL INDICATORS ON
`DIVERSE DISPLAY DEVICES
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Margaret Gardner MacPhail, Austin,
`TX (US)
`
`(73) Assignee:
`
`International Business Machines
`Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
`
`5,953,010 A *
`6,421,700 B1 *
`
`sscssssesses 345/772
`9/1999 Kampe et al.
`7/2002 Holmes etal. ............. 345/772
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—John Cabeca
`Assistant Examiner—Brian Detwiler
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Kevin L. Daffer; Conley
`Rose P.C.; Leslie Van Leeuwen
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`US.C. 154(b) by 0days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/548,696
`(22)
`Filed:
`Apr. 13, 2000
`(SL)
`Uitte. Ca? aie ceceeeecccecesseeseeeneeseesseeseesneenes G09G 5/00
`(52) US. Che cecceeeeeseeneeseeeeeenees 345/772; 345/846
`(58) Field of Search o.....0..00.00.c0cccccce 345/440, 440.2,
`345/736, 764, 771, 772, 835, 837, 846,
`977; 700/27; 710/15, 17, 18, 19
`
`(56)
`
`
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`In a system and method for displaying status of critical
`indicators or variables, icons representing the indicators are
`displayed in superposition with a reference shape. The
`reference shape is divided into “higher-interest” and “lower-
`interest” portions, such that display of an icon over the
`higher-interest portion of the reference shape indicates a
`higher-interest value of the corresponding variable. The
`reference shape is preferably elongated horizontally, with its
`upper portion designated as the higher-interest portion and
`its lower portion designated the lower-interest portion. Each
`monitored variable may beallocated a vertical “slice”of the
`reference shape, such that the position of the corresponding
`icon when the variable is in the higher-interest state is
`laterally aligned with the position of the icon when the
`variable is in the lower-interest state. In some embodiments,
`a single icon representing the present status of the corre-
`References Cited
`sponding variable is positioned over either the higher-
`interest or lower-interest portion of the reference shape.
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`Alternatively, twoicons may be used for each variable,
`4,858,152 A
`8/1989 ESteS ....sccsesssesseseseeseses 702/186
`where oneis positioned over the higher-interest portion and
`5,333,256 A *
`7/1994 Greenet al. voces 345/772
`the other over the lower-interest portion. This representation
`5,369,589 A * 11/1994 Steiner occ 340/990
`is believed to make the status of each monitored variable
`5,375,199 A * 12/1994 Harrow et al. ....esee 345/771
`visible at a glance. The simplicity of the representation may
`5,483,031 A .
`1/1996 Nagaiet al...eee SA5/750
`jens ‘ i" ahoor Crcenewald et al. ce allow it
`to be used effectively on various computational
`soinae
`inelad:
`5
`wrt
`.
`~
`As
`680,
`9¢
`ACMMET .o..ceeeseeseeeereeee
`JAS
`5.768.552 A
`6/1998 Jacobyccc 345/441
`devices, including those with small, monochromedisplays.
`5,819,028 A * 10/1998 Manghirmalani etal. ... 345/440
`5,909,217 A *
`6/1999 Bereiter ...........:0:2.++. 345/772
`
`28 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`compare present valus of frst
`varabe 10 ragedat 110
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`Ne
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`cisplay corres. present
`stalus icon overlower
`interest portion of shape
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`118
`‘wlarnatve gtatus
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`of shape
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`GOOGLEEXHIBIT 1009
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`GOOGLE EXHIBIT 1009
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 9, 2003
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`Sheet 2 of 6
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`Dec. 9, 2003
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`Sheet 3 of 6
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 9, 2003
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`Sheet 4 of 6
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 9, 2003
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`Sheet 5 of 6
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Dec. 9, 2003
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`Sheet 6 of6
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`display reference shape 108)
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`compare presentvalue offirst
`variable to range data 110
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`ariable within
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`higher-interest
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`No
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`or history info.
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`134
`equested?
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`compare presentvalue of
`next variable to range data
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`Fig. 6
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`1
`METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING
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`STATUS OF CRITICAL INDICATORS ON
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`DIVERSE DISPLAY DEVICES
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`be displayed on a screen, where selection of an icon by a
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`user results in a text display containing information regard-
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`ing the status of the indicator. To indicate when a variable
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`has crossed a threshold value, various methods maybe used,
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`such as changing the shape or color of an icon representing
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`the variable, or not displaying an icon unless the correspond-
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`ing variable has crossed a threshold value.
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`The above-described methods of monitoring critical indi-
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`cators mayresult in difficulties, however, for users of diverse
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`computational devices having varying display screen capa-
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`bilities. The trend in size and capability of such display
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`screens often depends upon whether the device is fixed or
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`portable. For example, displays associated with desktop
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`computers are generally getting larger, to provide ease of
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`viewing and/or accommodate increasingly complex appli-
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`cations and operating systems. Such displays typically have
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`a wide range of colors available, as well. On the other hand,
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`displays associated with portable devices such as wireless
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`telephones and PDA’s are small and often getting smaller, to
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`enhance, e.g., portability and battery life. These small dis-
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`plays also tend to be monochromedisplays rather than color,
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`because of cost, resolution and power considerations.
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`Although not necessarily portable, displays included in
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`automobiles or appliances may also be small monochrome
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`for other functions of the system. This variation in display
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`size and capability for different computational devices
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`means that a GUI which allows effective monitoring of
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`critical indicators when a system administrator’s console is
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`used may be very difficult to use when connected remotely
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`with a cellular telephone. For example, text descriptions or
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`icon variations easily understood using a large display may
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`be indistinguishable on a small one. Differences in color
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`used to distinguish, e.g., threshold crossings of variables are
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`naturally not effectively discerned on a monochrome dis-
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`play.
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`One approach to the problems presented by differing
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`display capabilities would be to use different representations
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`of critical indicators to be monitored on different displays,
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`with more complex (and possibly more complete) represen-
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`tations used for higher-capability displays. Such an
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`approach maybe disadvantageous, however, in requiring a
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`user of multiple display screens to become familiar with
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`multiple representations of the monitored indicators. Use of
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`multiple representations may make it more difficult
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`develop a desirable intuitive feel for any one representation.
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`It would therefore be desirable to develop a method and
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`system of monitoring critical
`indicators which may be
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`effectively used on displays having diverse sizes and capa-
`bilities.
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`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
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`The problems outlined above are in large part addressed
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`by a method and system in which iconsrepresenting critical
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`indicators are displayed in superposition with a reference
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`shape. The reference shape is divided into “higher-interest”
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`and “lower-interest” portions, such that display of an icon
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`over the higher-interest portion of the reference shape indi-
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`cates a higher-interest value of the corresponding variable.
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`In the case of a system administration application,
`for
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`example, display of an icon over the higher-interest portion
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`may indicate that the value of the corresponding variable has
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`crossed a threshold into a range associated with a perfor-
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`mance problem for the system or network. For a stock-
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`monitoring application, display of an icon over the higher-
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`interest portion could indicate, for example, that the price of
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`the corresponding stock has crossed a “buy” or “sell”
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`This application is related to the following copending
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`US. Patent Applications, filed on even date herewith: Ser.
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`No. 09/548,694 entitled “Method and System for Displaying
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`Status of Critical Indicators on Diverse Display Devices and
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`Indicating Changes in Status” by MacPhail, and Ser. No.
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`09/548,695 entitled “Method and System for Displaying
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`Status of Critical Indicators on Diverse Display Devices and
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`Indicating a History of Status Changes” by MacPhail.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`1. Field of the Invention
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`This invention relates to information display, and more
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`particularly to a method and system for displaying the status
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`of variables, or indicators, on diverse display devices. This
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`method may be useful for multiple applications involving
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`information display, including, for example, platform man-
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`agement in heterogeneous systems.
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`2. Description of the Related Art
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`The following descriptions and examplesare not admitted
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`to bepriorart by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
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`The continuing proliferation of powerful, convenient
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`computational devices has been accompanied by an increase
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`in the use of networks connecting these devices. Computa-
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`tional devices include computers and other, often portable,
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`devices such as wireless telephones, personal digital assis-
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`tants (PDA’s), automobile-based computers and appliance-
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`based computers. Such computational devices are also
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`sometimes termed “pervasive devices”. “Computer”, as
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`used herein, may refer to any of such computational devices.
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`The networks connecting computational devices may be
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`“wired” networks, formed using “land lines” such as copper
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`wire orfiber optic cable, wireless networks employing earth
`and/or satellite-based wireless transmission links, or com-
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`binations of wired and wireless network portions. Net-
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`worked computational devices are increasingly configured
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`with the ability to interact and communicate with one
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`another. For example, electronic mail may currently be sent
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`to some wireless telephones and pagers, and PDA’s may be
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`used to access some Internet and World Wide Web (or
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`“web”) sites.
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`Many network-based applications involve monitoring
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`variables of interest, which may becalled “critical indica-
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`tors”. For example, a system administrator for a computer
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`system or network may need to monitor variables such as
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`transaction rates, application program status, and disk space
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`availability. Such variables may be consideredcritical indi-
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`cators in that they are important indicators of the health of
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`the system or network. Alternatively, an investor may wish
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`to monitor a variable such as a stock price, and may
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`particularly want to be alerted if the price rises aboveorfalls
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`below a particular critical value. Entertainment-oriented
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`applications may also involve monitoring ofcritical indica-
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`tors. For example, a horse-racing enthusiast may wish to
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`know whethera particular race has started orfinished, and/or
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`whether a particular horse has placed above or below a
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`a computational device is typically done through a graphical
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`user interface (GUI) on the device’s display screen. Many
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`different display formats are possible. For example, a bar
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`graph could be used to indicate values of various indicators,
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`where the heights of the bars vary with time to follow the
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`indicator values. Icons representing each indicator may also
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`3
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`threshold preset by the user. In the case of the horse-racing
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`example mentioned above, display of an icon over the
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`higher-interest portion may indicate, for example, that a
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`corresponding race is currently underway, orthat a particular
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`horse corresponding to the icon has placed at or above a
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`preset level (e.g., second place) in its most recent race.
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`The reference shape is preferably elongated horizontally,
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`and an upperportion of the shape is typically designated as
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`the higher-interest portion, while the lower portion of the
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`shape is designated the lower-interest portion. In one pre-
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`ferred embodiment, the reference shapeis an elongated oval.
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`Multiple icons, corresponding to multiple monitored
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`variables, may be displayed over the reference shape. Each
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`monitored variable is preferably allocated a vertical “slice”
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`of the reference shape, such that the position of the corre-
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`sponding icon when the variable is in the higher-interest
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`state is laterally aligned with (i.e., along the same vertical
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`line as) the position of the icon when the variable is in the
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`lower-interest state. In some embodiments, a single icon
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`representing the present status of the corresponding variable
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`is positioned overeither the higher-interest or lower-interest
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`portion of the reference shape. Alternatively, two icons may
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`be used for each variable, where one is positioned over the
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`higher-interest portion and the other over the lower-interest
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`portion. In such an embodiment, the icon representing the
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`present value of the variable is given a distinctive
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`appearance, such as being displayed with a higher contrast.
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`Use of the reference shape to indicate the status (higher-
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`interest or lower-interest) of a monitored variableis believed
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`to confer several advantages. The relatively large size of the
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`reference shape (it may be scaledto essentially fill a display,
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`if desired) is believed to make the status of the monitored
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`variables visible at a glance, even on a small display.
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`Because the status is indicated by position of the icon,
`differences in individual icon characteristics such as color or
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`shape, which may bedifficult to discern on a small and/or
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`monochromedisplay, need notbe relied upon. Since detailed
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`icon structures are therefore not necessary, the representa-
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`tion of the monitored variables may be implemented using
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`a relatively simple reference shape and simple icon geom-
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`etries (such as simple shapes). This simplicity may allow the
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`representation to be scaled to small sizes without loss of
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`information content. In this way, the same representation
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`may be used on displays for diverse computational devices,
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`freeing the user from the need to use different representa-
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`tions on different displays, and freeing application develop-
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`ers from the need to develop multiple representations.
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`Cross-platform interoperability may therefore be enhanced.
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`In addition to providing a rapid indication of the status of
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`a monitored variable,
`the representation described above
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`may include a method of indicating that the status of the
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`variable has changed, from higher-interest to lower-interest
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`or vice versa. The status change may be indicated by
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`changing the appearance of the icon corresponding to the
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`present status of a monitored variable. For example, the icon
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`may be made to blink, or to move back and forth. Such a
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`change in appearanceis typically implemented for a prede-
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`termined period of time following the change of status,
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`where the time period may beset by an application devel-
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`oper and/or a user. Such an indication that the status of a
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`variable has changed is believed to be advantageous in
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`situations for which rapid action is required in response to
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`changes in monitored variables. As in the case of other
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`aspects of the display representation described above, this
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`change in icon appearance is believed to be conveniently
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`observed, even on low-capability displays. The time at
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`which a status change occurs may also be stored and
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`Page 9 of 16
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`4
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`provided to a viewer through a GUI implementing the
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`display representation described herein. In an embodiment,
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`the time of the status change may be shown onthe display
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`screen during the time period of the above-described icon
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`appearance change. Alternatively, the time may be displayed
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`in responseto a user selection of the icon corresponding to
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`the present status of the variable. Display of the time at
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`which a status change occurs may be important
`in, for
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`example, allowing an assessmentof the potential effects of
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`the status change.
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`In some applications, it is desirable to know notjust the
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`time of the most recent status change of a variable, but a
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`history of multiple status changes. Stock prices,
`for
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`example, maycross a threshold value in different directions
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`numerous times a day. The sameis true of certain computer
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`system and network quantities, depending on, for example,
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`the degree of utilization of the system or network. As an
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`example, a person providing technical support for a com-
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`puter network may receive a report of a particular failure,
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`but then not be able to locate a problem.A history of status
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`changes of critical network indicators during the time
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`elapsed since the failure could help in comparing the situ-
`ation at the time of the failure and that at the time of the
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`diagnosis attempt.
`In an embodiment of the methods
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`described herein, the above-described representationof criti-
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`cal indicator status using a reference shape is combined with
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`storage of information relating to each crossing of a moni-
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`tored variable between its higher-interest and lower-interest
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`ranges. The information may include, for example, the time
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`and direction of each crossing, and/or a description of a
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`particular event associated with the crossing. The stored
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`information may then be displayed as a history of the status
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`changes of a given monitored variable. Such a history is
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`typically displayed in response to a user selection of the
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`corresponding icon.
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`An embodiment of a system for transferring information
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`within a client/server network includes a display controller
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`operably coupled to a display screen. The display controller
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`is adapted to display a reference shape on the display screen,
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`as well as a superimposed present status icon corresponding
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`to the present status of a monitored variable. The display
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`controller is further adapted to position the present status
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`icon over a first portion of the reference shape when the
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`present value of the monitored variable is within a higher-
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`interest range, or over a second portion of the reference
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`shape when the present value of the variable is within a
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`lower-interest range. The system may further include a
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`storage medium operably coupled to the display controller,
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`where the storage medium is adapted to store information
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`relating to the higher-interest and lower-interest ranges. The
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`display controller, storage medium and display screen may
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`or may notall be associated with the same computational
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`device. In an embodiment, the display controller and storage
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`medium are associated with one device, while the display
`screen is on a different device.
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`In embodiments of the system, the display controller may
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`be further adapted to change the appearance of the present
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`status icon for a predetermined time interval after a crossing
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`of the corresponding variable between the higher-interest
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`range and lower-interest range has occurred. Alternatively or
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`in addition, the display controller may be adapted to display
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`information regarding the time of such a crossing, and the
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`storage medium may be adapted to store this time-related
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`information. In some embodiments, the display controller
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`may befurther adapted to display a history of status changes
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`of the monitored variable, where the history includes a time
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`of each crossing between the higher-interest and lower-
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`US 6,661,434 B1
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`5
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`interest range. In such an embodiment, the display controller
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`may be further adapted to store this history information.
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`In addition to the method and system described above, a
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`computer-usable carrier medium is contemplated herein.
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`The carrier medium may be a storage medium, such as a
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`magnetic or optical disk, a magnetic tape, or a memory. In
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`addition, the carrier medium maybe a transmission medium,
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`such as a wire, cable, or wireless medium along which data
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`or program instructions are transmitted, or a signal carrying
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`the data or program instructions along such a wire, cable or
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`wireless medium. The carrier medium may contain program
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`instructions executable for carrying out embodiments of the
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`methods described herein. Alternatively or in addition to
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`such program instructions, the carrier medium may contain
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`data used in implementing the methods described herein,
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`such as data defining higher-interest and lower-interest
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`ranges for variables, or time and direction data for crossings
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`of a variable between these ranges.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`Other objects and advantages of the invention will
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`become apparent upon reading the following detailed
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`description and upon reference to the accompanying draw-
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`ings in which:
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`FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodimentof
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`a system for displaying information;
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`FIGS. 2(a)-2(c) illustrate embodiments of the informa-
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`tion display described herein;
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`FIGS. 3(a)-3(c) illustrate exemplary reference shape and
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`icon embodimentssuitable for the information display meth-
`ods described herein;
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`FIGS. 4(a)-4(c) illustrate embodiments of indicating
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`when a monitored variable has crossed between its higher-
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`interest and lower-interest ranges;
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`FIGS. 5(a)-5(b) illustrate embodiments of displaying a
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`history of status changes of a monitored variable; and
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`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodimentof a
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`method for displaying information.
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`While the invention is susceptible to various modifica-
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`tions and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof
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`are shown by way of example in the drawings and will
`herein be described in detail.
`It should be understood,
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`however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto
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`are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form
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`disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all
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`modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the
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`spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the
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`appended claims.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
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`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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`Ablock diagram illustrating an exemplary embodimentof
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`a system which may be used to implement the methods
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`described herein is shown in FIG. 1. Computational device
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`10 includes processor 12, display controller 14, and storage
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`medium 16. Display controller 14 configures data for dis-
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`play on a display screen such as display screen 26, and may
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`provide an interface between computational device 10 and
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`display screen 26. Storage medium 16 may take many
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`forms, such as volatile or nonvolatile memory, a magnetic
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`disk such as a hard drive or floppy drive, an optical disk,
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`and/or a magnetic tape. In the embodimentof FIG. 1, storage
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`medium 16 includes variable range data 18, crossing time
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`data 20, crossing history data 22 and program instructions
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`24, also referred to as program executables. The program
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`Page 10 of 16
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`6
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`instructions may be stored as “executable files” in a direct
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`access storage device such as a disk and loaded into memory
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`during execution. Variable range data 18 identifies higher-
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`interest and lower-interest ranges for the values of each
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`variable to be monitored on the display screen. Crossing
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`time data 20 typically includes the time at which the value
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`of a variable has most recently crossed between its higher-
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`interest and lower-interest ranges. Crossing history data 22
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`may include times for multiple range crossings of each
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`variable, as well as the direction of each crossing (from
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`higher-interest to lower-interest, or vice versa). Other infor-
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`mation may also be included in crossing history data 22,
`such as a value of the monitored variable at the time of the
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`crossing, or information on an event associated with the
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`crossing. Program instructions 24 may include various pro-
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`gram instructions used to implement functions of computa-
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`tional device 10, such as program instructions used to
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`implement the methods described herein.
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`Transmission medium 28 may be used to connect com-
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`putational device 10 to peripheral devices or networked
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`devices. In the embodimentof FIG. 1, display controller 14
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`is connected to display screen 26 using medium 28. Trans-
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`mission medium 28 mayinclude, for example, a wire, cable,
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`circuit board trace, wireless transmission path, or a combi-
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`nation of these. Display screen 26 may be formed using
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`various technologies, including liquid crystal display (LCD)
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`technology, cathode ray tube (CRT) technology or projec-
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`tion technologies. Furthermore, display screen 26 may have
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`any of the various sizes and capabilities typically found in
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`displays on diverse computational devices.
`In some
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`embodiments, display screen 26 may be directly connected
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`to computational device 10, as, e.g., a m