Scrolling techniques for user interfaces

• US 20090064031A1
• Filed: 01/09/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Wood, Policarpo, Hicks, Kourtny Minh, Bull, William, Hope, Eric James
• Granted Patent: US 8,683,378 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• 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 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

Systems and methods for improving the scrolling of user interfaces of electronic devices are provided.

Claims

1. A system for controlling the scrolling of information comprising:

a first output component configured to display at least a portion of a list of listings, wherein the list of listings includes a plurality of sublists of listings;

an input component configured to receive a user movement; and

an interface coupled to the input component and the first output component;

wherein the interface is configured to monitor a first attribute of the user movement;

wherein the interface is configured to scroll through the list of listings on the first output component from an originating listing to a first scroll listing when the first attribute is below a first threshold;

wherein the originating listing is contained within an originating sublist of the plurality of sublists;

wherein the first scroll listing is consecutive with the originating listing in the list;

wherein the interface is configured to scroll through the list of listings on the first output component from the originating listing to a second scroll listing when the first attribute is above the first threshold;

wherein the second scroll listing is the initial listing in a second scroll sublist of the plurality of sublists; and

wherein the second scroll sublist is one of the sublists from the following group of sublists;

(1) the originating sublist and (2) a sublist consecutive with the originating sublist in the list of listings.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first attribute is one of:

the acceleration of the user movement;

the duration of the user movement; and

the number of instances of the user movement within a first period of time.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the input component is one of:

a rotational input device;

a push button;

a track pad; and

a touch screen.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second output component coupled to the interface;

wherein the interface is configured to generate a first sound via the second output component when the first attribute is below the first threshold; and

wherein the interface is configured to generate a second sound via the second output component when the first attribute is above the first threshold.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the interface is configured to display on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the first attribute is above the first threshold.

6. The system of claim 4:

wherein each of the listings in the list is associated with an entry in a library of entries;

wherein each of the entries in the library includes at least a first piece of metadata;

wherein each of the listings in the list is contained within one of the plurality of sublists based on a first characteristic of the first piece of metadata;

wherein the listings in each of the plurality of sublists are ordered within that sublist based on a second characteristic of the first piece of metadata; and

wherein the plurality of sublists are ordered within the list based on the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata.

7. The system of claim 6:

wherein the interface is configured to display on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the first attribute is above the first threshold; and

wherein the at least one additional piece of information is descriptive of the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata of the second scroll listing.

8. The system of claim 1:

wherein each of the listings in the list is associated with an entry in a library of entries;

wherein each of the entries in the library includes at least a first piece of metadata and a second piece of metadata;

wherein each of the listings in the list is contained within one of the plurality of sublists based on a first characteristic of the first piece of metadata;

wherein the listings in each of the plurality of sublists are ordered within that sublist based on a first characteristic of the second piece of metadata; and

wherein the plurality of sublists are ordered within the list based on the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata.

9. The system of claim 8:

wherein the interface is configured to display on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the first attribute is above the first threshold; and

wherein the at least one additional piece of information is descriptive of the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata of the second scroll listing.

10. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a second output component coupled to the interface;

wherein the interface is configured to generate a first sound via the second output component when the first attribute is below the first threshold; and

wherein the interface is configured to generate a second sound via the second output component when the first attribute is above the first threshold.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the entries in the library also includes a payload file associated with the first piece of metadata.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first piece of metadata is a string of one or more alphanumeric characters descriptive of a title of the payload file.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata is the first alphanumeric character of the string of the one or more alphanumeric characters.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the second characteristic of the first piece of metadata is the alphanumerical order of the one or more alphanumeric characters in the string.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the first output component is configured to display each of the listings in the list of listings as the string of one or more alphanumeric characters.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the payload file is an audio file.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the entries in the library also includes a payload file associated with the first piece of metadata and the second piece of metadata.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first piece of metadata is a string of one or more alphanumeric characters descriptive of an album that includes the payload file.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata is the string of the one or more alphanumeric characters.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the second piece of metadata is a time stamp descriptive of the time of creation of the payload file.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first characteristic of the second piece of metadata is the chronological order of the timestamp.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the payload file is an image file.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein each of the entries in the library also includes a third piece of metadata associated with the image file, and wherein the third piece of metadata is a compressed version of the image file.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the first output component is configured to display each of the listings in the list of listings as the compressed version of the image file.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the payload file is a video file.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein each of the entries in the library also includes a third piece of metadata associated with the video file, and wherein the third piece of metadata is a frame of the video file.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the first output component is configured to display each of the listings in the list of listings as the frame of the video file.

28. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the entries in the library also includes a payload file associated with the first piece of metadata and the second piece of metadata, and wherein the payload file is descriptive of a geographical location.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first piece of metadata is information descriptive of a time zone of the geographical location.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata is the time zone.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the second piece of metadata is a string of one or more alphanumeric characters descriptive of the longitude of the geographical location.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the first characteristic of the second piece of metadata is the alphanumerical order of the one or more alphanumeric characters in the string.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the second piece of metadata is a string of one or more alphanumeric characters descriptive of the name of the geographical location.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the first characteristic of the second piece of metadata is the alphanumerical order of the one or more alphanumeric characters in the string.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein the first output component is configured to display each of the entries in the list of entries as a string of one or more alphanumeric characters descriptive of the name of the geographical location.

36. The system of claim 8, wherein the first output component is configured to display each of the sublists as adjacent columns of listings.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the first output component is configured to display the adjacent columns of entries on a geographical map.

38. A method for controlling the scrolling of a list of listings on a first output component with an input component, wherein the list of listings includes a plurality of sublists of listings, the method comprising:

monitoring a first attribute of a user movement of the input component;

scrolling on the first output component from an originating listing to a first scroll listing when the monitored first attribute is below a first threshold;

wherein the originating listing is contained within an originating sublist of the plurality of sublists; and

wherein the first scroll listing is consecutive with the originating listing in the list; and

scrolling on the first output component from the originating listing to a second scroll listing when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold;

wherein the second scroll listing is the initial listing in a second scroll sublist of the plurality of sublists; and

wherein the second scroll sublist is one of the sublists from the following group of sublists;

(1) the originating sublist and (2) a sublist consecutive with the originating sublist in the list.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the first attribute is one of:

the acceleration of the user movement;

the duration of the user movement; and

the number of instances of the user movement within a first period of time.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the input component is one of:

a rotational input device;

a push button;

a track pad; and

a touch screen.

41. The method of claim 38 further comprising:

generating a first sound with a second output component when the monitored first attribute is below the first threshold; and

generating a second sound with the second output component when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold.

42. The method of claim 41 further comprising:

displaying on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold.

43. The method of claim 41:

wherein each of the listings in the list is associated with an entry in a library of entries;

wherein each entry in the library of entries includes at least a first piece of metadata;

wherein each of the listings in the list is contained within one of the plurality of sublists based on a first characteristic of the first piece of metadata;

wherein the listings in each of the plurality of sublists are ordered within that sublist based on a second characteristic of the first piece of metadata; and

wherein the plurality of sublists are ordered within the list based on the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata.

44. The method of claim 43 further comprising:

displaying on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold, wherein the at least one additional piece of information is descriptive of the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata of the second scroll listing.

45. The method of claim 38:

wherein each of the listings in the list is associated with an entry in a library of entries;

wherein each entry in the library of entries includes at least a first piece of metadata and a second piece of metadata;

wherein each of the listings in the list is contained within one of the plurality of sublists based on a first characteristic of the first piece of metadata;

wherein the listings in each of the plurality of sublists are ordered within that sublist based on a first characteristic of the second piece of metadata; and

wherein the plurality of sublists are ordered within the list based on the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

displaying on the first output component at least one additional piece of information related to the second scroll sublist when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold, wherein the at least one additional piece of information is descriptive of the first characteristic of the first piece of metadata of the second scroll listing.

47. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

generating a first sound with a second output component when the monitored first attribute is below the first threshold; and

generating a second sound with the second output component when the monitored first attribute is above the first threshold.

48. A method comprising:

detecting an accelerated navigation through a listing of assets; and

while the accelerated navigation is detected, providing an asset list identifier along with the listing of assets to indicate where within the listing of assets a user is currently navigating, wherein the providing an asset list identifier comprises generating a first audible signal associated with the accelerated navigation.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein each asset in the listing of assets is related to an audio file.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein each asset in the listing of assets is related to an image file.

51. The method of claim 48, wherein each asset in the listing of assets is related to a geographical location file.

52. The method of claim 48, wherein the listing of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier indicates the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

53. The method of claim 49, wherein the listing of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a first piece of metadata associated with each asset.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the asset list identifier indicates the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

55. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

while the accelerated navigation is detected, providing a second asset list identifier along with the listing of assets to indicate where within the listing of assets a user is currently navigating, wherein the providing the second asset list identifier comprises superimposing a visual indicator over at least a portion of the listing of assets.

56. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

while the accelerated navigation is detected, providing a second asset list identifier along with the listing of assets to indicate where within the listing of assets a user is currently navigating, wherein the providing the second asset list identifier comprises providing a visual indicator adjacent to the listing of assets.

57. A method comprising:

detecting an accelerated navigation through a listing of assets; and

while the accelerated navigation is detected, providing an asset list identifier along with the listing of assets to indicate where within the listing of assets a user is currently navigating, wherein each asset in the listing of assets is related to an image file.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the listing of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier indicates the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on an album associated with the assets of that sublist.

60. The method of claim 57, wherein the asset list identifier is superimposed over at least a portion of the listing of assets.

61. The method of claim 57, wherein the asset list identifier is provided adjacent to the listing of assets.

62. The method of claim 57, wherein the providing an asset list identifier comprises generating a first audible signal associated with the accelerated navigation.

63. The method of claim 57, wherein the providing the listings of assets comprises providing the assets as a gridded list of assets.

64. A method comprising:

detecting an accelerated navigation through a listing of assets; and

while the accelerated navigation is detected, providing an asset list identifier along with the listing of assets to indicate where within the listing of assets a user is currently navigating, wherein each asset in the listing of assets is related to a geographic location file.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the listing of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier indicates the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a time zone associated with the assets of that sublist.

67. The method of claim 64, wherein the asset list identifier is superimposed over at least a portion of the listing of assets.

68. The method of claim 64, wherein the asset list identifier is provided adjacent to the listing of assets.

69. The method of claim 64, wherein the providing the asset list identifier comprises generating a first audible signal associated with the accelerated navigation.

70. The method of claim 64, wherein the providing the listings of assets comprises providing the assets as two or more adjacent columns, wherein each of the two or more adjacent columns includes at least one asset.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the listing of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein each of the two or more adjacent columns includes the assets of a respective one of the at least two sublists.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a time zone associated with the assets of that sublist.

73. The method of claim 72, wherein the providing the listings of assets further comprises superimposing the assets as two or more adjacent columns over at least a portion of a map.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the map includes two or more differentiated time zones, and wherein each of the two or more adjacent columns is superimposed over a respective differentiated time zone of the map.

75. The method of claim 64, wherein the providing the listings of assets further comprises superimposing the listing of assets over at least a portion of a map.

76. A system for controlling the navigation of assets comprising:

a first output component configured to provide a list of assets;

a second output component; and

an input component coupled to the first and second output components, wherein the input component is configured to detect an accelerated navigation through the list of assets, and wherein the second output component is configured to provide an audible asset list identifier to indicate where within the list of assets provided by the first output component a user is currently navigating when the accelerated navigation is detected.

77. The system of claim 76, wherein each asset in the list of assets is related to an audio file.

78. The system of claim 76, wherein each asset in the list of assets is related to an image file.

79. The system of claim 76, wherein each asset in the list of assets is related to a geographical location file.

80. The system of claim 76, wherein the list of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier indicates the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

81. The system of claim 76, wherein the list of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a first piece of metadata associated with each asset.

82. The system of claim 81, wherein the asset list identifier is configured to indicate the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

84. The system of claim 77, wherein the first output component is configured to provide a second asset list identifier along with the list of assets to indicate where within the list of assets a user is currently navigating when the accelerated navigation is detected, and wherein the second asset list identifier is a visual indicator superimposed over at least a portion of the list of assets.

85. The system of claim 78, wherein the first output component is configured to provide a second asset list identifier along with the list of assets to indicate where within the list of assets a user is currently navigating when the accelerated navigation is detected, and wherein the second asset list identifier is a visual indicator provided adjacent to the list of assets.

86. A system for controlling the navigation of assets comprising:

an output component configured to provide a list of assets; and

an input component coupled to the output component, wherein the input component is configured to detect an accelerated navigation through the list of assets, wherein the output component is configured to provide an asset list identifier to indicate where within the list of assets a user is currently navigating when the accelerated navigation is detected, and wherein each asset in the list of assets is related to an image file.

87. The system of claim 86, wherein the list of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier is configured to indicate the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

88. The system of claim 87, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on an album associated with the assets of that sublist.

89. The system of claim 87, wherein the output component is configured to superimpose the asset list identifier over at least a portion of the list of assets.

90. The system of claim 86, wherein the output component is configured to provide the asset list identifier adjacent to the list of assets.

91. The system of claim 86 wherein the output component is configured to provide the asset list identifier as a first audible signal associated with the accelerated navigation.

92. The system of claim 86, wherein the output component is configured to provide the list of assets as a gridded list of assets.

93. A system for controlling the navigation of assets comprising:

an output component configured to provide a list of assets; and

an input component coupled to the output component, wherein the input component is configured to detect an accelerated navigation through the list of assets, wherein the output component is configured to provide an asset list identifier to indicate where within the list of assets a user is currently navigating when the accelerated navigation is detected, and wherein each asset in the list of assets is related to a geographic location file.

94. The system of claim 93, wherein the list of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein the asset list identifier is configured to indicate the one sublist of the at least two sublists the user is currently navigating.

95. The system of claim 94, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a time zone associated with the assets of that sublist.

96. The system of claim 93, wherein the output component is configured to superimpose the asset list identifier over at least a portion of the list of assets.

97. The system of claim 93, wherein the output component is configured to provide the asset list identifier adjacent to the list of assets.

98. The system of claim 93, wherein the output component is configured to provide an asset list identifier as a first audible signal associated with the accelerated navigation.

99. The system of claim 93, wherein the output component is configured to provide the list of assets as two or more adjacent columns, wherein each of the two or more adjacent columns includes at least one asset.

100. The system of claim 99, wherein the list of assets includes at least two sublists of assets, and wherein each of the two or more adjacent columns includes the assets of a respective one of the at least two sublists.

101. The system of claim 100, wherein each one of the at least two sublists is differentiated from the other of the at least two sublists based on a time zone associated with the assets of that sublist.

102. The system of claim 101, wherein the output component is configured to superimpose the assets as two or more adjacent columns over at least a portion of a map.

103. The system of claim 102, wherein the map includes two or more differentiated time zones, and wherein the output component is configured to superimpose each of the two or more adjacent columns over a respective differentiated time zone of the map.

104. The system of claim 93, wherein the output component is configured to superimpose the list of assets over at least a portion of a map.