Adjusting the display area of application icons at a device screen

• US 10,503,399 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2015
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced New Technologies Company Limited (Ant Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Inventors: Chu, Tianying
• Primary Examiner(s): Klicos, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US14/968,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20160188189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• 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

Abstract

Adjusting the display area of application icons at a device screen is disclosed, including: obtaining a set of tilt angle parameters from a gravity sensor; determining a tilt angle and a tilt direction based at least in part on the set of tilt angle parameters; and adjusting a display area of a plurality of application icons at a screen based at least in part on the tilt angle, the tilt direction, or both.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the one or more memories configured to provide the one or more processors with instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to;

obtain a number of invalid user tap operations with respect to a screen of a device, wherein an invalid user tap operation comprises a user tap operation with respect to an embedded point located in a periphery of a first application icon displayed at the screen;

receive an indication that the number of invalid user tap operations exceeds a preset number;

in response to the indication;

present a settings prompt panel, wherein the settings prompt panel is configured to display information regarding how the device can be tilted to adjust a display area of a plurality of application icons at the screen; and

in response to a user selection to perform an adjustment of the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen, obtain a set of tilt angle parameters from a gravity sensor associated with the device;

determine a tilt angle and a tilt direction based at least in part on the set of tilt angle parameters; and

adjust the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen based at least in part on the tilt angle, the tilt direction, or both, wherein to adjust the display area of the plurality of application icons comprises to;

determine a preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle based at least in part on preset correspondences between ranges of tilt angles and corresponding preset movement distances;

determine a first current location associated with the first application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determine a first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and an edge of the screen;

determine a second current location associated with a second application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determine a second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen;

determine at least a first portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the first application icon based at least in part on the first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and the edge of the screen;

determine at least a second portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the second application icon based at least in part on the second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen, wherein the second distance is longer than the first distance, wherein the at least second portion of the preset movement distance to move the second application icon is longer than the at least first portion of the preset movement distance to move the first application icon;

cause the first application icon to move the at least first portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction; and

cause the second application icon to move the at least second portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine that the device is tilted to the left or right for a first time; and

in response to the determination that the device is tilted to the left or right for the first time, present the settings prompt panel.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories are further configured to provide the one or more processors with instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to:

receive a user selection of a preconfigured option to adjust the display area of the plurality of application icons; and

in response to the receipt of the user selection of the preconfigured option, present the settings prompt panel.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories are further configured to provide the one or more processors with instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to:

receive a user input confirmation command associated with storing the adjusted display area of the plurality of application icons; and

in response to the user input confirmation command, store the adjusted display area of the plurality of application icons.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the user input confirmation command comprises one or more of the following:

a predetermined confirmation hand gesture, a user selection of a presented button, or a user input motion.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories are further configured to provide the one or more processors with instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to:

receive a user input restore command associated with restoring the adjusted display area of the plurality of application icons to an original display area of the plurality of application icons; and

in response to the user input restore command, restore the adjusted display area of the plurality of application icons.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user input restore command comprises one or more of the following:

a predetermined confirmation hand gesture, a user selection of a presented button, or a user input motion.

8. A method, comprising:

obtaining a number of invalid user tap operations with respect to a screen of a device, wherein an invalid user tap operation comprises a user tap operation with respect to an embedded point located in a periphery of a first application icon displayed at the screen;

receiving an indication that the number of invalid user tap operations exceeds a preset number;

in response to the indication;

presenting a settings prompt panel, wherein the settings prompt panel is configured to display information regarding how the device can be tilted to adjust a display area of a plurality of application icons at the screen; and

in response to a user selection to perform an adjustment of the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen, obtaining, using one or more processors, a set of tilt angle parameters from a gravity sensor associated with the device;

determining a tilt angle and a tilt direction based at least in part on the set of tilt angle parameters; and

adjusting the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen based at least in part on the tilt angle, the tilt direction, or both, wherein adjusting the display area of the plurality of application icons comprises;

determining a preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle based at least in part on preset correspondences between ranges of tilt angles and corresponding preset movement distances;

determining a first current location associated with the first application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determining a first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and an edge of the screen;

determining a second current location associated with a second application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determining a second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen;

determining at least a first portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the first application icon based at least in part on the first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and the edge of the screen;

determining at least a second portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the second application icon based at least in part on the second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen, wherein the second distance is longer than the first distance, wherein the at least second portion of the preset movement distance to move the second application icon is longer than the at least first portion of the preset movement distance to move the first application icon;

causing the first application icon to move the at least first portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction; and

causing the second application icon to move the at least second portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining that the device is tilted to the left or right for a first time; and

in response to the determination that the device is tilted to the left or right for the first time, presenting the settings prompt panel.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a user selection of a preconfigured option to adjust the display area of the plurality of application icons; and

in response to the receipt of the user selection of the preconfigured option, presenting the settings prompt panel.

11. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

obtaining a number of invalid user tap operations with respect to a screen of a device, wherein an invalid user tap operation comprises a user tap operation with respect to an embedded point located in a periphery of a first application icon displayed at the screen;

receiving an indication that the number of invalid user tap operations exceeds a preset number;

in response to the indication;

presenting a settings prompt panel, wherein the settings prompt panel is configured to display information regarding how the device can be tilted to adjust a display area of a plurality of application icons at the screen; and

in response to a user selection to perform an adjustment of the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen, obtaining a set of tilt angle parameters from a gravity sensor associated with the device;

determining a tilt angle and a tilt direction based at least in part on the set of tilt angle parameters; and

adjusting the display area of the plurality of application icons at the screen based at least in part on the tilt angle, the tilt direction, or both, wherein adjusting the display area of the plurality of application icons comprises;

determining a preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle based at least in part on preset correspondences between ranges of tilt angles and corresponding preset movement distances;

determining a first current location associated with the first application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determining a first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and an edge of the screen;

determining a second current location associated with a second application icon included in the plurality of application icons at the screen;

determining a second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen;

determining at least a first portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the application icon based at least in part on the first distance between the first current location associated with the first application icon and the edge of the screen;

determining at least a second portion of the preset movement distance corresponding to the tilt angle to move the second application icon based at least in part on the second distance between the second current location associated with the second application icon and the edge of the screen, wherein the second distance is longer than the first distance, wherein the at least second portion of the preset movement distance to move the second application icon is longer than the at least first portion of the preset movement distance to move the first application icon;

causing the first application icon to move the at least first portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction; and

causing the second application icon to move the at least second portion of the preset movement distance in the tilt direction.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising computer instructions for:

determining that the device is tilted to the left or right for a first time; and

in response to the determination that the device is tilted to the left or right for the first time, presenting the settings prompt panel.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a user selection of a preconfigured option to adjust the display area of the plurality of application icons; and

in response to the receipt of the user selection of the preconfigured option, presenting the settings prompt panel.