User interface for providing consolidation and access

• US 8,032,843 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2009
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lindsay, Donald J., Ording, Bas, Jobs, Steven P.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US12/410,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20090183120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 715/764, 715/765, 715/779, 715/810, 715/835, 715/840, 715/856, 715/860, 715/861, 715/862, 715/977, 345/156, 345/157, 345/163
• US Class Current: 715/862
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/977 Dynamic icon, e.g. animated or live action

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing graphical user interfaces are described. To provide greater access and consolidation to frequently used items in the graphical user interface, a userbar is established which includes a plurality of item representations. To permit a greater number of items to reside in the userbar, a magnification function can be provided which magnifies items within the userbar when they are proximate the cursor associated with the graphical user interface.

Claims

1. A method for displaying graphical representations of launchable applications on a display of a device comprising:

displaying on the display a visible mechanism for launching one or more launchable applications, wherein the visible mechanism comprises multiple user-activatable graphical representations that respectively correspond to multiple launchable applications;

detecting a position of a user input proximate to at least one of the graphical representations;

in response to the detecting, increasing in size the at least one of the graphical representations; and

increasing one or more of the remaining graphical representations to one or more respective sizes, each size being at least approximately inversely related to a distance between the respective one of the remaining graphical representations and the detected position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input is a movable cursor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein activation of the at least one of the graphical representations results in the corresponding launchable application being launched.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the increasing in size of the graphical representations comprises increasing in size without obscuring any other graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving positions of the multiple graphical representations so that no graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations is obscured as a result of the increase in sizes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected position of the user input proximate to the at least one of the graphical representations comprises a location designated by a movable cursor.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the remaining graphical representations comprise a first graphical representation and a second graphical representation, the at least one of the graphical representations being between the first graphical representation and the second graphical representation, and

wherein the increasing of the one or more of the remaining graphical representations to one or more respective sizes comprises, in response to the detecting, increasing the first graphical representation to a first size less than the size of the at least one of the graphical representations and increasing the second graphical representation to a second size less than the size of the at least one of the graphical representations.

7. An apparatus comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed by a device, result in the device being capable of displaying on a display of the device a visible mechanism for launching one or more launchable applications, wherein the visible mechanism comprises multiple user-activatable graphical representations that respectively correspond to multiple launchable applications;

the executed instructions further result in the device being capable of detecting a position of a user input proximate to at least one of the graphical representations;

in response to the detection, the executed instructions being further capable of increasing in size the at least one of the graphical representations; and

the executed instructions further result in the device being capable of increasing one or more of the remaining graphical representations to one or more respective sizes, each size being at least approximately inversely related to a distance between the respective one of the remaining graphical representations and the detected position.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the user input is a movable cursor.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the executed instructions further result in the device being capable of the increasing in size of the graphical representations without obscuring any other graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the executed instructions further result in the device being capable of moving positions of the multiple graphical representations so that no graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations is obscured as a result of the increase in sizes.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a device including a display, the device being capable of displaying on the display a visible mechanism for launching one or more launchable applications, wherein the visible mechanism comprises multiple user-activatable graphical representations that respectively correspond to multiple launchable applications;

the device being further capable of detecting a relative position of a user input proximate to at least one of the graphical representations;

in response to the detecting, the device being further capable of increasing in size the at least one of the graphical representations; and

the device being further capable of increasing one or more of the remaining graphical representations to one or more respective sizes, each size being at least approximately inversely related to a distance between the respective one of the remaining graphical representations and the detected position.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, the device capability of increasing in size of the multiple graphical representations comprising increasing in size without obscuring any other graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, the device being further capable of moving positions of the multiple graphical representations so that no graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations is obscured as a result of the increase in sizes.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user input is a movable cursor.

15. An apparatus comprising:

means for displaying on a display of a device a visible mechanism for launching one or more launchable applications, wherein the visible mechanism comprises multiple user-activatable graphical representations that respectively correspond to multiple launchable applications;

means for detecting a relative position of a user input proximate to at least one of the graphical representations;

means for, in response to the detection, increasing in size the at least one of the graphical representations; and

means for increasing one or more of the remaining graphical representations to one or more respective sizes, each size being at least approximately inversely related to a distance between the respective one of the remaining graphical representations and the detected position.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the user input is a movable cursor.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for increasing in size of the graphical representations comprises means for increasing in size without obscuring any other graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising means for moving positions of the multiple graphical representations so that no graphical representation of the multiple graphical representations is obscured as a result of the increase in sizes.