Mobile virtual desktop

• US 7,519,918 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2002
• Issued: 04/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Trantow, Wayne Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Ba
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MYLINH T
• Application Number:
  US10/160,558
• Publication Number:
  US 20030222917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,511 Days
• Field of Search: 715/778, 715/784, 715/864, 715/757, 715/851, 715/852, 715/857, 715/858, 715/884, 715/854, 345/158
• US Class Current: 715/778
• 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 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• 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 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 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens

Abstract

A device includes a display screen and a processor to render a display of a portion of a logical image on the screen. The logical image is larger than that which can be displayed on the display screen of the device. As the device is maneuvered through space, different portions of the logical image are displayed, and the user may interact with these portions as desired.

Claims

1. A computing device having a graphical user interface, comprising:

a display screen operable to display a portion of an image of a first desktop in a virtual viewing plane that is substantially coplanar with the display screen;

a position sensor operable to sense the location of the device along x and y axes in the virtual viewing plane and along a z axis that is substantially perpendicular to the virtual viewing plane; and

a processor to render a display of the portion of the image of the first desktop on the screen, wherein the device is operable in a device relative mode in which the displayed portion of the first desktop image changes responsive to a signal from the position sensor generated by device movement in the virtual viewing plane and in a user awareness mode in which at least a portion of an image of a second desktop is displayed on the display screen responsive to a signal from the position sensor generated by device movement along the z axis and the displayed portion of the second desktop image changing in response to a signal from the position sensor generated by device movement in the virtual viewing plane, wherein the first and the second desktops lie in different and discrete image planes, which are at different predefined distances from a user of the computing device;

at least one object appearing on each desktop; and

a user interface including an input device operable to execute a command associated with at least one of the objects, the user interface further being operable to receive a user command that associates device position in the virtual viewing plane with a displayed image;

wherein the signal from the position sensor generated by device movement along the z axis is used to switch between different image planes while the device is operating in the user awareness mode.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a memory to store a dictionary of gestures.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a stylus as a user input device.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the device further comprises a mouse as a user input device.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the image of the first desktop is three-dimensional.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is operable as a watch and is mounted on a watchband.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises wearable lenses as a separate eyepiece display.

8. The computing device of claim 1 wherein the user interface is further operable to receive a user command that associates a first device position along the z axis with the first desktop.

9. The computing device of claim 8 wherein the processor is further operable to display the first desktop when the device is in the first position along the z axis.