Interface and method for exploring a collection of data

Abstract

An interface is provided for permitting a user to explore a collection of data. The data collection, in embodiments, provides nodes as structural elements, and references which are assigned to nodes and hold identifiers of other nodes. Multiple references can be assigned to each node, thus guiding a user of the system to multiple other nodes, and multiple references can hold the same address, so that multiple nodes can have references pointing to the same node. The interface allows visualizing the network created by the interconnection of the nodes on a display region. The interface also allows the user to intuitively navigate along the references in both directions of the references, so that the user can explore which nodes are referenced by a certain node, and also by which nodes a certain node is referenced. Electronic documents can be assigned to each node, and the interface allows these documents to be displayed either directly in a reserved display region of the interface, or by launching a matching application on the user's computer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A display device configured to display an electronic interface to permit a user to explore a collection of data, the collection of data including multiple data elements and multiple relationships between the multiple data elements, the electronic interface comprising:
 a first display region displaying multiple visual elements, each visual element corresponding to a data element of the multiple data elements of the collection of data;
 wherein a first visual element is displayed on the first display region, the first visual element represents a corresponding first data element; 
 wherein a first related visual element group of multiple visual elements is displayed on the first display region, each visual element of the first related visual element group represents a corresponding data element of a first related data element group of multiple data elements, each data element of the first related data element group being related to the first data element; 
   a second display region displaying multiple visual elements, each visual element corresponding to a data element of the multiple data elements of the collection of data;
 wherein a second visual element is displayed on the second display region, the second visual element represents a corresponding second data element and wherein the second visual element is a included in the first related data element group; 
 wherein a second related visual element group of multiple elements is displayed on the second display region, each visual element of the second related visual element group represents a corresponding data element of a second related data element group of multiple data elements, each data element of the second related data element group being related to the second data element; and 
 wherein the first visual element is included in the second related visual element group. 
   
     
     
         2 . The first display region of  claim 1 ,
 wherein a third related visual element group of multiple visual elements is displayed on the first display region, each visual element of the third related visual element group represents a corresponding data element of a third related data element group of multiple data elements, each data element of the third related data element group being related to the first data element, and wherein at least one element of the third visual element group is included in the first visual element group.   
     
     
         3 . The second display region of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the second related visual element group includes at least one visual element included in the third visual element group.   
     
     
         4 . A tangible display device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein all visual elements of the first related visual element group are displayed adjacent each other on the display region. 
     
     
         5 . A tangible display device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein all visual elements of the second related visual element group are displayed by a pop-up window on the display region. 
     
     
         6 . A computer-readable, non-transitory, tangible memory medium having stored thereon one or more data-structures that, when executed by a computer provide(s) the electronic interface of  claim 1  on a computer monitor. 
     
     
         7 . A computer-readable, non-transitory, tangible memory medium having stored thereon one or more data-structures that, when executed by a computer using a web browser, provide(s) the electronic interface of  claim 1 .