3D user interface for application entities

• US 10,331,315 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2015
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Sripada, Nagaraj
• Primary Examiner(s): Nabi, Reza
• Application Number:
  US14/726,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,487 Days
• Field of Search: 715782
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04802 3D-info-object: information is displayed on the internal or external surface of a three dimensional manipulable object, e.g. on the faces of a cube that can be rotated by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

Embodiments relate to three-dimensional user interfaces for managing and accessing applications. Applications are stored on storage of a device. A user interface is displayed on a display. The user interface includes interactively rotatable three-dimensional structures each comprised of regions, each region displaying a graphic representing a corresponding application, the applications activatable by interaction with the three-dimensional structures. Applications can be assigned to structures (volumes) manually or automatically. The three-dimensional structures may be rotated and otherwise manipulated by user input.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a processor;

a display displaying a three-dimensional user interface modeled and rendered by the processor, the user interface comprising;

a plurality of interactive three-dimensional graphic shapes, each three-dimensional graphic shape comprised of a plurality of faces having respective graphics corresponding to and representing applications on the computing device, wherein each three-dimensional graphic shape is rotatable to alternatively display any of its faces as a respective current frontward face, wherein the current frontward face of each respective three-dimensional graphic shape comprises a face to which user input is able to be directed to invoke and display an application represented by the graphic displayed for the current frontward face; and

a storage device storing instructions configured to cause the processor of the computing device to perform a process comprising;

receiving user rotation inputs directed to the three-dimensional graphic shapes and in response interactively displaying rotation of the corresponding three-dimensional graphic shapes according to the user rotation inputs, each rotation in response to a rotation input changing the frontward face of the corresponding three-dimensional graphic shape; and

receiving system events while displaying the three-dimensional graphic shapes, the system events generated in the background while displaying the three-dimensional graphic shapes, and responding to the system events by, while continuing to display the three-dimensional graphic shapes, displaying automatic rotation of faces corresponding to the system events of the three-dimensional graphic shapes to become the current frontward faces of corresponding three-dimensional graphic shapes, wherein the system events do not correspond to user interactions with the computing device, and wherein, when a system event is received;

identify one of the applications as corresponding to the system event, and based thereon delivering the system event to the identified application, wherein the identified application is configured to receive and handle the system event,

based on the application having been identified as corresponding to the system event, select a face on the basis of the face containing the identified application, and

based on selection of the face, one of the three-dimensional graphic shapes containing the selected face is rotated to cause the selected face to be the frontward facing face of the three-dimensional graphic shape.

2. A computing device according to claim 1, wherein an application comprises elements and a three-dimensional graphic shape corresponding to the application comprises faces for the respective elements, and for whichever of the faces of the three-dimensional graphic shape is the current frontward face, interaction therewith by the user causes the corresponding application element to be activated and displayed.

3. A computing device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional user interface comprises a graphical user shell for interactively activating and deactivating the applications.

4. A computing device according to claim 1, wherein the faces of a three-dimensional graphic shape comprise respective polygons, the three-dimensional graphic shape comprises a polyhedron, and the three-dimensional user interface enables the user to interactively rotate the polyhedron.

5. A computing device according to claim 4, wherein, automatically or by user input, the polyhedrons dynamically increase and decrease in number of sides, or the number of faces of the polyhedron dynamically increases and decreases.

6. A computing device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional user interface enables the user to interactively attach or detach arbitrary applications on the computing device or elements thereof to the three-dimensional graphic shapes and/or the faces thereof.

7. A computing device according to claim 1, the process further comprising saving a state of a three-dimensional graphic shape to a network resource from which it becomes available for use on another computing device to configure a three-dimensional user interface on a second computing device communicating with the network resource.

8. Storage hardware storing information to enable a computing device to perform a process, the storage hardware not comprising a signal, the process comprising:

storing a plurality of applications on the storage hardware, each application having a corresponding graphic that can be interacted with by a user of the computing device to invoke the corresponding application;

displaying a user interface on a display of the computing device, the user interface comprising a plurality of interactive graphic shapes that when displayed portray three-dimensional volumes each comprised of a respective plurality of faces, each face comprised of a respective one of the graphics, each graphic shape having at least one rotatably changeable frontward facing face, wherein the user interface is configured to, while displaying the interactive shapes;

respond to rotation commands directed by a user of the computing device to the graphic shapes displayed on the display by causing graphic three-dimensional rotations of the interacted-with graphic shapes to be displayed on the display and corresponding different faces to be displayed as frontward facing faces of the interacted-with graphic shapes;

respond to system events that do not correspond to user interactions with the computing device by determining which of the graphic shapes correspond to which of the system events and automatically displaying, on the display, graphic rotation of the graphic shapes to display the graphics that are determined to correspond to the system events, respectively, wherein the graphics are selected for display by automated rotation on the basis of the system events having been generated by or received by the applications corresponding to the graphics selected for display by automated rotation.

9. Storage hardware according to claim 8, wherein the system events comprise software updates, incoming messages, or alarms.

10. Storage hardware according to claim 8, wherein the faces of one of the graphic shapes comprise respective other of the graphic shapes.

11. Storage hardware according to claim 10, wherein the user interface is further configured to:

respond to user input selecting a given face comprising a given graphic shape by displaying the given graphic shape.

12. Storage hardware according to claim 11, wherein the responding to the user input selecting the given face further comprises undisplaying the one of the graphic shapes.

13. Storage hardware according to claim 8, wherein the events comprise matches to a search.

14. Storage hardware according to claim 13, wherein graphic shapes having faces containing graphics corresponding to matches of the search are automatically graphically rotated on the display to have those faces become frontward facing faces.

15. Storage hardware according to claim 8, wherein the user interface is configured to enable the user to interactively assign user-designated graphics to user-designated faces.

16. A method performed by a computing device comprising processing hardware, a display, and storage hardware, the method comprising:

storing, by the storage hardware, applications and respective graphic representations thereof, the graphic representations interactively selectable to display the respectively corresponding applications;

displaying, by the display, a user interface, the user interface comprising interactively rotatable graphic user interface elements, wherein each graphic user interface element when displayed by the display portrays a three-dimensional shape comprised of a respective set of regions, at least some of the regions displaying respective icons representing corresponding applications, wherein windows of the applications are displayed responsive to user inputs directed to the corresponding regions of the graphic user interface elements;

responding to interactive user inputs associated with respective of the graphic user interface elements displayed on the display by the display portraying three-dimensional rotation of the associated three-dimensional shapes portrayed by the graphic user interface elements; and

while displaying the graphic user interface elements, receiving events generated by respective of the applications, the events generated while displaying the graphic user interface elements, wherein when a given event from a given application is received, responding by automatically causing the display to portray three-dimensional rotation of the three-dimensional shape portrayed by the graphic user interface element corresponding to the given application, thereby causing a region of the graphic user interface element containing a graphic of the given application to be displayed by the display.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the events are not associated with or caused by user interactions with the applications that generated the events.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein a graphic user interface element portrays rotation interactively according to a corresponding user input that controls rotation of the graphic user interface element, and wherein the graphic user interface element portrays rotation automatically according to an event associated an application associated with the user interface element.

19. A method according to claim 16, wherein an icon comprises an interactive element of a corresponding application, wherein, while displayed by a corresponding one of the graphic user interface elements, the icon enables user interaction with the corresponding application.

20. A method according to claim 16, wherein the icon comprises an application window of the corresponding application.