Adjustable user interfaces with movable separators

• US 10,013,135 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2009
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wen, Yandong
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Doon
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LE V
• Application Number:
  US12/407,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,392 Days
• Field of Search: 715798, 715773, 715827
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/00 Aspects of display data processing

Abstract

Tools and techniques for adjustable user interfaces with movable separators are provided. Display devices provided by these tools may include fixed-size hardware display screens. These display screens include input control portions that are responsive to user input to receive commands from users, and include output display portions for presenting output to users in response to the commands. These display screens also include separators that are movable along the display screens, with the separators dividing the input control portions from the output display portions. In response to movements of the separators, the input control portions and the output display portions are resized relative to one another.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one physical computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into at least one hardware processor and executed, program the hardware processor to:

present a control portion of a user interface on a fixed-size display device, the control portion configured to display a keypad;

present a display portion of the user interface on the display device, the display portion configured to display corresponding alphanumeric text associated with input entered via the keypad;

present a movable slider on the display device, so that the slider separates the control portion from the display portion;

display the keypad in the control portion of the user interface, and display corresponding alphanumeric text entered via the keypad on the display portion;

receive an indication that the slider has moved on the display device;

adjust relative proportions of the control portion and the display portion in response to the indication; and

display the keypad as a numeric keypad when the slider is in a first position relative to the display device, and transition to display the keypad as one of an alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad or a QWERTY keypad when the slider is in at least a second position relative to the display device while continuing to present the display portion of the user interface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions to receive an indication include instructions that programs the hardware processor to receive an indication of input manipulating the slider.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into at least one hardware processor and executed, further program the hardware processor to move the slider on the display device in response to an icon presented on the display device being activated by a user action.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the at least one hardware processor and executed, program the hardware processor to display the keypad as the alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad when the slider is in the second position relative to the display device, and transition to display the keypad as the QWERTY keypad when the slider is in at least a third position relative to the display device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein application specific content is displayed in the display area when the slider is in the first position and when the slider is in the second position.

6. A display device comprising:

a fixed-size hardware display screen operable to provide an input control portion for displaying an icon associated with one of an application or a utility and for receiving a selection of the icon, and operable to provide an output display portion for presenting output associated with an executing one of the application or the utility when the icon is selected and the application or the utility thereby executed; and

a separator movable along the display screen, wherein the separator divides the input control portion from the output display portion, wherein the input control portion and the output display portion are resized relative to one another in response to movement of the separator, and wherein a numeric keypad presented on the display screen is altered to display one of an alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad or a QWERTY keypad in response to movement of the separator while continuing to present the output display portion.

7. The display device of claim 6, wherein the separator is controllable in response to a software-implemented mechanism.

8. The display device of claim 6, wherein the separator is controllable in response to a hardware-implemented mechanism.

9. The display device of claim 6, wherein the separator is responsive to input to slide the separator relative to the display screen.

10. The display device of claim 6, wherein the separator on the display device moves in response to an icon presented on the display device being activated by a user action.

11. The display device of claim 6, wherein the alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad presented on the display screen is altered to display the QWERTY keypad in response to movement of the separator.

12. The display device of claim 6, wherein application specific content is displayed in the output display area when the numeric keypad is presented on the display screen and when one of the alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad or the QWERTY keypad is presented on the display screen in response to the movement of the separator.

13. A computer-based device comprising:

processing hardware;

display hardware;

a bus system coupled to communicate with the processing hardware and the display hardware; and

a computer-readable storage medium coupled to communicate with the processing hardware via the bus system, the computer-readable storage medium is encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the processing hardware,

program the processing hardware to present a user interface on the display hardware,

wherein the user interface is divided into an output display portion and an input control portion that are separated by a movable separator,

wherein the user interface is responsive to re-positioning of the separator to resize the output display portion and the input control portion, and

display a numeric keypad when the moveable separator is in a first position relative to the display hardware, and to display one of an alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad or a QWERTY keypad when the moveable separator is in at least a second position relative to the display hardware while continuing to present the display portion of the user interface.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the keypad is presented in the input control portion, and wherein the output display portion is operative to display alphanumeric data entered through the keypad.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the processing hardware, move the slider on the display device in response to an icon presented on the display device being activated by a user action.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the processing hardware, display the alphanumeric ITU-T standard keypad when the moveable separator is in the second position relative to the display hardware, and display the QWERTY keypad when the moveable separator is in at least a third position relative to the display hardware.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein application specific content is displayed in the output display area when the separator is in the first position and when the slider is in second position.