Animations

• US 7,903,115 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2007
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Platzer, Andrew, Harper, John
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHU K
• Application Number:
  US11/620,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20080165210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,521 Days
• Field of Search: 345/473, 345/474, 345/475, 345/520, 715/746
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

At least certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a method for animating a display region, windows, or views displayed on a display of a device. The method includes starting at least two animations. The method further includes determining the progress of each animation. The method further includes completing each animation based on a single timer.

Claims

1. A machine implemented method for animating views displayed on a display of a device, comprising:

starting at least two animations;

determining the progress of each animation to provide progress information for each animation; and

updating each of the at least two animations to the display based on a single animation timer, wherein the single animation timer comprises a timer based on a redraw interval of hardware associated with the display, and wherein the single animation timer, based on the progress information from each of the animations, determines whether to update the display and wherein the progress information is provided in response to at least one progress call from a software component.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the progress of each animation comprises calculating the current progress of the animation if progress has occurred.

3. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether each animation is associated with a delegate; and

notifying each delegate.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the animation comprises a transform animation.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the animation comprises a frame animation.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein the animation comprises an opacity animation.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the device is one of:

a data processing device, a portable device, a portable data processing device, a multi touch device, a multi touch portable device, a wireless device, and a cell phone.

8. A machine readable non-transitory medium storing executable program instructions which when executed cause a data processing system to perform a method comprising:

starting at least two animations;

determining the progress of each animation to provide progress information for each animation; and

updating each of the at least two animations to the display based on a single animation timer, wherein the single animation timer comprises a timer based on a redraw interval of hardware associated with the display, and wherein the single animation timer, based on the progress information from each of the animations, determines whether to update the display and wherein the progress information is provided in response to at least one progress call from a software component.

9. The medium as in claim 8, wherein determining the progress of each animation comprises calculating the current progress of the animation if progress has occurred.

10. The medium as in claim 8, further comprising:

determining whether each animation is associated with a delegate; and

notifying each delegate.

11. The medium as in claim 8, wherein the data processing system is one of:

a data processing device, a portable device, a portable data processing device, a multi touch device, a multi touch portable device, a wireless device, and a cell phone.

12. In an environment with a user interface software interacting with a software application, an apparatus, comprising:

means for starting at least two animations;

means for determining the progress of each animation to provide progress information for each animation; and

means for updating each of the at least two animations to the display based on a single animation timer, wherein the single animation timer comprises a timer based on a redraw interval of hardware associated with the display, and wherein the single animation timer, based on the progress information from each of the animations, determines whether to update the display and wherein the progress information is provided in response to at least one progress call from a software component.