US5909678A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Computer systems, method and program for constructing statements by dragging and dropping iconic representations of subcomponent statements onto a phrase template
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1996-09-13
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Granted: 1999-06-01
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Expires: 2016-09-13
Abstract
Abstract The system, method, and program of this invention enables construction of statements, including queries, programs, and commands, by using drag and drop templates. A predefined phrase template, which is generated and displayed to a user, imposes syntactic and semantic constraints in constructing the statement. Objects representing entities and objects representing subphrases can be dragged and dropped onto phrase receptacles within the phrase and subphrase templates. Complex statements can be constructed from a nesting of subphrases using the drag and drop technique. The constructed statement is displayed to the user along with the subphrase structure of the statement through nested panels.
Inventors
- 👤 Lawrence Bergman
- 👤 Loey K. Knapp
- 👤 Jerald T. Schoudt
- 👤 Barbara L. Skelly
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 00:28
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/30; G06F16/33; G06F16/332; G06F16/3322; G06F16/20; G06F16/24; G06F16/242; G06F16/2428; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/048; G06F3/0481; G06F3/0482; G06F3/0484; G06F3/0486; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99934; Y10S707/99935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
160 words
A computer system for enabling a construction of a statement by a user through a user interface, the computer system comprising: means for displaying a subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object; means for displaying a phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle, the phrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the statement; means for accepting a selectable object within the phrase receptacle in response to a user dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; means for expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; and means for displaying a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the choice.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
160 words
A computer system for enabling a construction of a statement by a user through a user interface, the computer system comprising: means for displaying a subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object; means for displaying a phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle, the phrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the statement; means for accepting a selectable object within the phrase receptacle in response to a user dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; means for expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; and means for displaying a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the choice.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The computer system of claim 1 wherein the statement is a query.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
12 words
The computer system of claim 1 wherein the statement is a program.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The computer system of claim 1 wherein the statement is a command.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer system of claim 2 wherein the predefined vocabulary is a natural language.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer system of claim 2 wherein the predefined vocabulary is a SQL language.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The computer system of claim 2 wherein the selectable object is a searchable entity object.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The computer system of 1 further comprising means for enabling a modification of the constructed statement by allowing a selection and deletion of the selectable object within the phrase receptacle and accepting a second selectable object within the phrase receptacle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The computer system of 1 further comprising means for enabling a modification of the constructed statement by allowing a selection and deletion of the selectable object within the phrase receptacle and accepting a second selectable object within the phrase receptacle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
The computer system of claim 8 wherein the means for enabling the modification further comprises: means for deleting from the phrase template, a phrase receptacle selected by the user to allow the user to use a portion of the phrase without a deleted qualifier.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one phrase receptacle or subphrase receptacle has a graphical user interface interactor.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 10 wherein the graphical user interface interactor is a type-in field.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
The computer system of claim 10 wherein the graphical user interface interactor is a menu.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 10 wherein the graphical user interface interactor is a toggle button.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
The computer system of claim 1 further comprising means for enforcing constraints by restricting a type of selectable object that is accepted in at least one of the at least one phrase receptacle or subphrase receptacle.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
43 words
The computer system of claim 1 wherein each phrase receptacle and subphrase receptacle has a graphical boundary representation, and wherein the means for displaying a constructed query displays a subphrase structure of the query through a visual nesting of the graphical boundary representations.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer system of claim 1 further comprising means for adding an un-nested set of subphrases to the phrase template or subphrase template.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 16 further comprising means for deleting the added set of subphrases.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer system of claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the means for adding and means for deleting is achieved through an add/delete button.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 1 wherein the predefined vocabulary is in a computer language.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
167 words
A computerized method for constructing a statement, the method comprising: displaying a subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object; displaying a phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle; accepting, for each separate phrase receptacle, a selectable object within each phrase receptacle in response to a selection by the user by dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; repeating a step of accepting subsequent selectable objects until each phrase receptacle is populated; and displaying a modified phrase template as each phrase receptacle accepts a selectable object; and displaying, after each phrase receptacle is populated, a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the selectable objects.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
167 words
A computerized method for constructing a statement, the method comprising: displaying a subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object; displaying a phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle; accepting, for each separate phrase receptacle, a selectable object within each phrase receptacle in response to a selection by the user by dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; repeating a step of accepting subsequent selectable objects until each phrase receptacle is populated; and displaying a modified phrase template as each phrase receptacle accepts a selectable object; and displaying, after each phrase receptacle is populated, a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the selectable objects.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the predefined vocabulary is in a computer language.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 20 further comprising a step of enabling a modification to the constructed statement by enabling a user to select one of the selectable objects within one of the phrase receptacles, enabling a user to drag it off of the phrase receptacle, and enabling a user to drop a second selectable object within the phrase receptacle.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 20 further comprising: deleting from the phrase template, a phrase receptacle selected by the user to allow the user to use a portion of the phrase without a deleted qualifier.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
176 words
A program on a computer usable medium for enabling a construction of a statement by a user through a user interface, the program on the computer usable medium comprising: means for generating a displayed subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the subphrase; means for generating a displayed phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle, the phrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the statement; means for accepting the selectable object within the phrase receptacle in response to a user dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; means for expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; and means for displaying a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the choice.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
176 words
A program on a computer usable medium for enabling a construction of a statement by a user through a user interface, the program on the computer usable medium comprising: means for generating a displayed subphrase template, the subphrase template having at least one subphrase receptacle, the subphrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the subphrase; means for generating a displayed phrase template for the statement, the phrase template having predefined vocabulary of the statement and at least one phrase receptacle, the phrase receptacle indicating a place-holder for a selectable object defining a choice for the statement; means for accepting the selectable object within the phrase receptacle in response to a user dragging and dropping the selectable object onto the phrase receptacle from one of a menu of selectable objects and the subphrase template; means for expanding the phrase receptacle to incorporate the subphrase template when the subphrase template is dragged and dropped onto the phrase receptacle; and means for displaying a constructed statement having the predefined vocabulary and the choice.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein the predefined vocabulary is a natural language.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
24 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein the statement is a query and the predefined vocabulary is a SQL language.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
24 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein the statement is a query and the selectable object is a searchable object.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
49 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 further comprising means for enabling a modification of the constructed statement by allowing a selection and deletion of the selectable object within the phrase receptacle and allowing a subsequent acceptance of a second selectable object within the phrase receptacle.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
48 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 28 wherein the means for enabling the modification further comprises: means for deleting from the phrase template, a phrase receptacle selected by the user to allow the user to use a portion of the phrase without a deleted qualifier.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
30 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein at least one of the at least one phrase receptacle or subphrase receptacle has a graphical user interface interactor.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
39 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein at least one of the at least one phrase receptacle or subphrase receptacle has means for enforcing constraints by restricting a type of selectable object that is accepted.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
44 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein each phrase receptacle and subphrase receptacle has a graphical boundary representation and wherein the displayed constructed statement displays a subphrase structure of the statement through a visual nesting of the graphical boundary representations.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
19 words
The program on a computer usable medium of claim 24 wherein the predefined vocabulary is in a computer language.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-05-31 | 2002-11-30 | 2003-06-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-11-30 | 2007-06-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-05-31 | 2010-11-30 | 2011-06-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |