Metadata driven control of navigational speed through a user interface

• US 20100058223A1
• Filed: 09/04/2008
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VIZIO, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VIZIO, Inc.
• Inventors: Schwartz, Peter, Elliott, Timothy, Briller, Jeffrey, Price, William Pat, Apitz, Marcus P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,201,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

Scroll wheels have simplified the movement of cursors and changes in focus as a users navigate their way through menus, lists, tables, and other objects typically found in graphical user interfaces. Also typical of navigation schemes driven by scroll wheels is the ability of the user to accelerate the rate of movement of the cursor or focus by spinning the scroll wheel faster. One issue with this behavior is that a user who over accelerates the scroll wheel will often wind up overshooting his intended target and reversing the direction of the scroll wheel several times. The embodiment addresses this problem by giving control of the speed of the cursor or focus movement to the object being navigated. If the granularity of the list, table, menu, or other objects become smaller, the object has the ability to filter the speed input of the scroll wheel.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling a navigation speed of a digital television user interface comprising:

A digital television system consisting of;

a processor unit, including

a processor;

at least one internal storage device;

a database residing on said internal storage device including a first database portion for storing metadata associated with controlling and managing graphical user interfaces;

a television hand held remote control device with at least a rotary scroll wheel that rotate clockwise and counter clockwise generating unique data for each direction of rotation;

a data transmitter that sends said data generated by rotation of said scroll wheel to said processor in said digital television.

said processor operating to receive said data generated by rotation of said scroll wheel and transmitted from said hand held remote control device to said digital television and to

interpret said data to determine a direction of rotation and a time between received data, to create an output that

displays one of a plurality of graphical user interfaces on said digital television screen, wherein said graphical user interface displays input fields and objects that can be brought into focus by rotation of said scroll wheel, and which are out of focus at motions of said scroll wheel,

wherein said processor operates to

change the focus of said input fields and said objects displayed on said digital television screen, said focus being changed

to a next or previous input field or object is dependent on a value of said data; and

the next or previous input field or object brought into focus is dependent on data contained in GUI metadata database.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 where said first database contains records where each record is assigned to a unique graphical user interface display comprising at least:

a name of the unique graphical user interface display;

navigation attributes describing the direction of movement to the next and previous input fields and objects displayed on said unique graphical user interface;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the number or amount of data received from said television hand held remote control device as a function of time;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the amount of time data has been received from said television hand held remote control device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said output displays plural widgets.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said output displays only some of a plurality of widgets, and indicates that other widgets are available off the screen, and wherein said scroll wheel allows moving a display to view said other widgets.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said database stores metadata associated with controlling and managing graphical user interfaces for each unique user of said digital television which allows each of said unique uses to create different ways to manage said graphical user interface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 where said database includes records, where each record is associated with a unique graphical user interface display having:

a name of the unique graphical user interface display;

navigation attributes describing the direction of movement to the next and previous input fields and objects displayed on said unique graphical user interface;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the number or amount of data received from said television hand held remote control device as a function of time; and

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the amount of time data has been received from said television hand held remote control device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 where said database:

contains records where each record is assigned to a unique user of said digital television;

each said record contains the contents of said first database;

contents of each copy of said first database can contain different values dependent on said unique user;

content of each copy of said first database can contain different values dependent on said unique user and dependent on said user'"'"'s behavior.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 where said database contains behavioral data that:

contains computed data showing if said user navigated to previous said input field or objects once the navigation stopped on a subsequent said input field or said object;

said computed data used by said second software application to predict which said input field or said object said user actually wanted said navigation to stop on.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, where said software application will cause an audible sound to be played over the audio system of said digital television, said audible sound:

may be any of a plurality of sounds maintained in said first database or said second database;

said sounds may be muted on direction from said user.

10. A method for controlling a navigation speed of a digital television user interface comprising:

using a processor for controlling functions of displaying television content on a television screen;

storing a database including data that defines controlling and managing graphical user interfaces;

receiving commands in a format, from a television hand held remote control device, said commands including at least commands from a rotary scroll wheel that rotate clockwise and counter clockwise generating unique data for each direction of rotation;

interpreting said data to determine a direction of rotation and a time between received data, to create an output that displays one of a plurality of graphical user interfaces on said digital television screen;

displaying input fields and objects;

bringing at least some of said objects into focus by rotation of said scroll wheel, and which are out of focus at motions of said scroll wheel;

change the focus of said input fields and said objects displayed on said digital television screen, said focus being changed

to a next or previous input field or object is dependent on a value of said data; and

the next or previous input field or object brought into focus is dependent on data contained in GUI metadata database.

11. The method of claim 10 where said first database contains records where each record is assigned to a unique graphical user interface display comprising at least:

a name of the unique graphical user interface display

navigation attributes describing the direction of movement to the next and previous input fields and objects displayed on said unique graphical user interface;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the number or amount of data received from said television hand held remote control device as a function of time;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the amount of time data has been received from said television hand held remote control device.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying plural widgets.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein said output displays only some of a plurality of widgets, and indicates that other widgets are available off the screen, and wherein said scroll wheel allows moving a display to view said other widgets.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein said database stores metadata associated with controlling and managing graphical user interfaces for each unique user of said digital television which allows each of said unique uses to create different ways to manage said graphical user interface.

15. The method of claim 10 where said database includes records, where each record is associated with a unique graphical user interface display having:

a name of the unique graphical user interface display

navigation attributes describing the direction of movement to the next and previous input fields and objects displayed on said unique graphical user interface;

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the number or amount of data received from said television hand held remote control device as a function of time; and

attributes associated with the number of input fields or objects to be advanced to the next input field or object to be brought into focus based on the amount of time data has been received from said television hand held remote control device.

16. The method of claim 12 where said database:

i. contains records where each record is assigned to a unique user of said digital television;

ii. each said record contains the contents of said first database;

iii. contents of each copy of said first database can contain different values dependent on said unique user;

iv. content of each copy of said first database can contain different values dependent on said unique user and dependent on said user'"'"'s behavior.

17. The method of claim 14 where said second database contains behavioral data that:

contains computed data showing if said user navigated to previous said input field or objects once the navigation stopped on a subsequent said input field or said object;

said computed data used by said second software application to predict which said input field or said object said user actually wanted said navigation to stop on.

18. The method of claim 14, where said second software application will cause an audible sound to be played over the audio system of said digital television, said audible sound:

may be any of a plurality of sounds maintained in said first database or said second database;

said sounds may be muted on direction from said user.

19. A method for controlling a navigation speed of a digital television user interface comprising:

using a processor for controlling functions of displaying television content on a television screen;

storing a database including data that defines controlling and managing graphical user interfaces;

receiving commands in a format, from a television hand held remote control device, said commands including at least commands from a rotary scroll wheel that rotate clockwise and counter clockwise generating unique data for each direction of rotation;

interpreting said data to determine a direction of rotation and a time between received data, to create an output that displays one of a plurality of graphical user interfaces on said digital television screen;

displaying input fields and objects;

bringing at least some of said objects into focus by rotation of said scroll wheel, wherein other objects are out of focus at motions of said scroll wheel;

change the focus of said input fields and said objects displayed on said digital television screen, said focus being changed to a next or previous input field or object is dependent on a value of said data; and

wherein the next or previous input field or object brought into focus is dependent on data contained in GUI metadata database,

storing behavioral data that;

contains computed data showing if said user navigated to previous said input field or objects once the navigation=n stopped on a subsequent said input field or said object; and

said computed data used by said second software application to predict which said input field or said object on which said user actually intended to stop.