METHOD OF RENDERING A USER INTERFACE

• US 20130097520A1
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Published: 04/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: LEWIN, Mathias, ANDERSSON, Jens Ola, LJUNGKRANTZ, Peter, GURELL, Christoffer, MOWITZ, Johan
• Granted Patent: US 9,075,631 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/16 involving adaptation to the client's capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/61 Scene description

Abstract

A user interface (UI) is presented in which a UI client engine is associated with an application, and a UI rendering engine is associated with the client engine. The UI rendering engine receives the scene graph and data items associated with elements of the scene graph, and processes a rendering thread to render a UI in accordance with the scene graph and the data items, independently of further input from the client UI engine.

Claims

1. A user interface (UI) system comprising:

at least one processor configured to provide;

a UI rendering engine configured for receiving a scene graph from a UI client engine associated with an application, and data items associated with elements of the scene graph, and for processing a rendering thread to render a UI in accordance with the scene graph and the data items, independently of further input from the client UI engine.

2. The user interface (UI) system according to claim 1, wherein at least one processor is further configured to provide:

said UI client engine associated with an application, the UI client engine being configured for processing a client thread to manage the scene graph.

3. A method of rendering a user interface (UI), the method comprising:

receiving, from a client UI engine associated with an application, a UI component tree for the application;

determining a visual node tree for the UI component tree;

asynchronously receiving, from the UI client engine, UI data items related to elements of the UI component tree;

populating the visual node tree with the UI data items; and

rendering the UI in accordance with the visual node tree independently of further input from the client UI engine.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

detecting a user input; and

communicating the user input to the UI client engine.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising re-rendering the UI in response to the user input independently of further input from the UI client engine.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user input is a button press, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to animate a button associated with the button press.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the user input is a slider drag, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to animate a dragging of a slider associated with the slider drag.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the user input is a list scroll, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to scroll a list associated with the list scroll.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving from the UI client engine further data items invoking a modification, and

re-rendering UI in accordance with the further data items and an associated visual node tree, independently of further input from the client UI engine.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the modification is an animation effect.

11. The method of claim 3, further comprising the UI rendering engine:

carrying out one or more UI modification steps from a queue prior to rendering the UI;

if a time remaining to render the UI is determined as sufficient to carry out a next modification step in the queue, carrying out the next modification step prior to rendering the UI; and

if the time remaining to render the UI is not sufficient to carry out the next modification step, rendering the UI.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, if a time required to carry out one of the one or more UI modification steps and render the UI exceeds the time allowed by a frame-rate of the UI, the UI rendering engine rendering a placeholder or rendering partial results prior to completion of that UI modification step.

13. A computer program product carrying instructions which when executed by a processor of an electronic device having a display for displaying a user interface (UI), cause the electronic device to carry out a method of rendering a user interface (UI), the method comprising:

receiving, from a client UI engine associated with an application, a UI component tree for the application;

determining a visual node tree for the UI component tree;

asynchronously receiving, from the UI client engine, UI data items related to elements of the UI component tree;

populating the visual node tree with the UI data items; and

rendering the UI in accordance with the visual node tree independently of further input from the client UI engine.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a display for displaying a user interface (UI);

a processor; and

a memory carrying instructions which when executed by the processor configure the processor to provide;

a UI rendering engine configured for;

receiving, from a client UI engine associated with an application, a UI component tree for the application;

determining a visual node tree for the UI component tree;

asynchronously receiving, from the UI client engine, UI data items related to elements of the UI component tree;

populating the visual node tree with the UI data items; and

rendering the UI in accordance with the visual node tree independently of further input from the client UI engine.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, the memory carrying further instructions which when executed by the processor configure the processor to provide:

said UI client engine associated with an application, the UI client engine being configured for;

determining said UI component tree for the application, receiving inputs from the application related to elements of the UI component tree, and

determining said UI data items related to the inputs.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the UI rendering engine is further configured for:

detecting a user input; and

communicating the user input to the UI client engine.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the UI rendering engine is further configured for re-rendering the UI in response to the user input independently of further input from the UI client engine.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the user input is a button press, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to animate a button associated with the button press.

19. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the user input is a slider drag, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to animate a dragging of a slider associated with the slider drag.

20. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the user input is a list scroll, and the re-rendering the UI comprises re-rendering the UI to scroll a list associated with the list scroll.

21. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the UI rendering engine is further configured for:

receiving from the UI client engine further data items invoking the modification, and

re-rendering UI in accordance with the further data items and an associated visual node tree, independently of further input from the client UI engine.

22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the modification is an animation effect.

23. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the UI rendering engine is further configured to:

carry out one or more UI modification steps from a queue prior to rendering the UI;

if a time remaining to render the UI is determined as sufficient to carry out a next modification step in the queue, carry out the next modification step prior to rendering the UI; and

if the time remaining to render the UI is not sufficient to carry out the next modification step, render the UI.

24. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the UI rendering engine is further configured to, if a time required to carry out one of the one or more UI modification steps and render the UI exceeds the time allowed by a frame-rate of the UI, render a placeholder or render partial results prior to completion of that UI modification step.