System for maintaining orientation of a user interface as a display changes orientation

• US 6,115,025 A
• Filed: 09/30/1997
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bell, Jeffrey Allen, Buxton, William Arthur Stewart
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc-Coleman, Marthe Y.
• Application Number:
  US08/941,102
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 345/126, 345/355, 345/146, 345/166
• US Class Current: 345/659
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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 3/0481 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: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

A system that includes a flat panel display that can change three-dimensional orientation in a continuous way, such as when the display is horizontally rotated on a turntable. Position or orientation of the display relative to a reference orientation is sensed by orientation sensors coupled to the display. A computer compares the orientation of the display to a fixed reference orientation. When the orientation of the display has changed from the reference, the computer maps the orientation of a user interface onto the display in such a way as to maintain the same orientation of the interface with respect to the reference. User input through an overlaid input device correlates to the oriented user interface. In this way if the display is rotated into, for example, a sideways or upside-down orientation, the user interface elements will still be displayed in a normal upright orientation for the user and the user inputs in a normal manner. When multiple users interact with the display, the orientation of each user with respect to the reference is tracked by the computer and the particular user'"'"'s interface orientation is maintained constant with respect to the particular user'"'"'s reference.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a display displaying a user interface element having a use orientation;

sensors coupled to said display and sensing a spatial orientation of said display; and

a display processor adjusting the use orientation of the user interface element relative to the spatial orientation as the spatial orientation changes with the use orientation remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as the spatial orientation changes with respect to the user orientation reference.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said display comprises:

a flat panel; and

a turntable coupled to said panel and allowing said panel to rotate.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein an image on said display is aligned with the spatial orientation.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein an image on said display is aligned relative to the spatial orientation and the use orientation.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising an input device integrated with said display allowing the user to input by interacting with said display.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said display can change orientations in three dimensions.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a view point of an image changes as the display changes orientation.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a flat panel display displaying a user interface element having a use orientation;

a turntable coupled to said display and allowing said display to rotate;

sensors coupled to said display and determining a rotation orientation of said display;

an input device integrated with the display allowing the user to input by interacting with the display; and

a display processor coupled to said display, said sensors and said input device, adjusting the use orientation of the user interface element relative to the spatial orientation as the spatial orientation changes with the use orientation remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as the spatial orientation changes with respect to the user orientation reference, aligning a work image on said display to the spatial orientation and executing an interface function responsive to an interface input for the user interface element made relative to the oriented user interface element.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a display monitor allowing a work image to change orientation corresponding to a change in orientation of said display monitor with respect to a user orientation reference while interface elements remain in a fixed orientation with respect to the user orientation reference.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a display monitor adapted to allow continuous change in orientation and present a displayed image; and

a display control system sensing the continuous orientation change of the display monitor and adapting the displayed image to the continuous orientation change with a use orientation of the display remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as a spatial orientation of the display changes with respect to the user orientation reference.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

a display monitor adapted to allow continuous change in orientation; and

a software based system sensing the continuous orientation change of the display monitor and adapting the functions performed to the continuous orientation change with a use orientation remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as a spatial orientation changes with respect to the user orientation reference.

12. A method, comprising:

sensing spatial orientation changes of a display; and

changing a visual orientation of user interface element on the display relative to the display as the spatial orientation changes with the user interface element remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as the spatial orientation changes with respect to the user orientation reference.

13. A method of orienting a menu of a display, comprising:

determining a current three-dimensional spatial orientation of the display;

comparing the current orientation of the display to a user determined, fixed orientation reference and determining a difference;

setting a three-dimensional menu orientation of the menu relative to the difference;

mapping the menu onto the display responsive to the menu orientation with the menu orientation remaining fixed with respect to a user orientation reference as the spatial orientation changes with respect to the user orientation; and

allowing a user to select from the menu.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein a work image on the display is aligned with the current orientation.

15. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein a work image on the display is oriented relative to the current orientation.

16. A method, comprising:

sensing a spatial orientation of a display; and

adapting a function of the display to the orientation with the function of the display being aligned with respect to a user orientation reference while an image of the display is allowed to spatially change with respect to the user orientation reference as the spatial orientation of said display changes.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

an image display movable into different orientations and including a user interface; and

an orientation sensor coupled to said display and determining continuous orientations of the display as the display is moved, and said display maintaining orientation of the user interface with respect to a user orientation reference independent of physical position of a displayed image with respect to the user.

18. An apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein a view point of an image on said display changes as orientation of the display changes.

19. A method, comprising:

allowing a user to continuously change an orientation of a display;

determining the orientation of the display as the display continuously changes orientations; and

maintaining an orientation of a user interface with respect to a user orientation reference independent of physical position of the display with respect to the user orientation reference.

20. A computer readable media including a process sensing spatial orientation of a display and changing a visual orientation of a user interface element on the display relative to the display as the spatial orientation changes maintaining an orientation of the element with respect to a user orientation reference as the spatial orientation of the display changes with respect to the user orientation reference.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

a display displaying a display image, having a spatial orientation and a user interface element having a use orientation; and

means for decoupling the spatial orientation and the use orientation with the user interface element maintaining a fixed orientation as the spatial orientation changes.