Parallax panning of mobile device desktop

• US 8,266,550 B1
• Filed: 05/28/2009
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Cleron, Michael A., Guy, Romain P., Chakirov, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Durkin, James T
• Application Number:
  US12/474,238
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: 715/828, 715/847, 715/863, 715/778, 715/784, 715/864, 345/173
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1633 Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
• 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: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A computer-implemented user interface method includes displaying on a mobile device desktop a background image and one or more foreground items over the background image, receiving a user input to pan across the desktop, and panning the background images and one or more foreground images in a parallax manner relative to each other.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying, on a mobile device proximity sensitive display, a first portion of a mobile device desktop, wherein the mobile device desktop includes a wallpaper image spanning across multiple screens of a mobile device proximity sensitive display and a set of selectable icons that each, when selected causes a predefined action to be performed, and wherein the first portion of the mobile device desktop includes a first portion of the wallpaper image and a first subset of the selectable icons displayed over the first portion of the wallpaper image;

receiving, through the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a user input to pan across the mobile device desktop;

panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other; and

in response to panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, displaying, on the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a second portion of the mobile device desktop, wherein the second portion of the mobile device desktop includes a second portion of the wallpaper image and a second subset of the selectable icons displayed over the second portion of the wallpaper image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable icons are panned at a rate approximately 150% of the rate at which the wallpaper image is panned.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising panning to automatically snap points on the mobile device desktop, and displaying the second subset of the selectable icons from a screen that is adjacent to a screen on which the user input to pan is received.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input to pan is received in the form of a finger flick on the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable icons pan farther than the wallpaper image in response to a particular user input to pan across the mobile device desktop.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein

the user input comprises a touch input being made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display, and

the wallpaper image and the selectable icons are panned in a same direction as the input made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether the user input occurred over one of the selectable icons, or over the wallpaper image in a location where there are no selectable icons.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein

a background space that holds the wallpaper image is a first integer m number of units wide,

a foreground space that holds the selectable icons is a second integer n units wide, with n being different than m, and

at a given time, the mobile device proximity sensitive display shows 1/m portion of the background space and 1/n portion of the foreground space, both before and after panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein as a result of panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, the background space moves 1/m units in a direction of the user input to pan, and the foreground space moves 1/n units in the direction of the user input to pan.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an input to rotate a display orientation between landscape and portrait orientation, and in response to receiving the input to rotate the display orientation, changing an orientation of the wallpaper image on the mobile device proximity sensitive display and displaying only a portion of the wallpaper image on the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user selection of one of the selectable icons, identifying that the selected icon has been dragged to an edge of the mobile device proximity sensitive display, and panning the wallpaper image and selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other in response to the identifying.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device proximity sensitive display is a touchscreen display.

13. A system comprising:

one or more processors and one or more computer storage media storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

displaying, on a mobile device proximity sensitive display, a first portion of a mobile device desktop, wherein the mobile device desktop includes a wallpaper image spanning across multiple screens of a mobile device proximity sensitive display and a set of selectable icons that each, when selected causes a predefined action to be performed, and wherein the first portion of the mobile device desktop includes a first portion of the wallpaper image and a first subset of the selectable icons displayed over the first portion of the wallpaper image;

receiving, through the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a user input to pan across the mobile device desktop;

panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other; and

in response to panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, displaying, on the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a second portion of the mobile device desktop, wherein the second portion of the mobile device desktop includes a second portion of the wallpaper image and a second subset of the selectable icons displayed over the second portion of the wallpaper image.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the selectable icons are panned at a rate approximately 150% of the rate at which the wallpaper image is panned.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise panning to automatically snap points on the mobile device desktop, and displaying the second subset of the selectable icons from a screen that is adjacent to a screen on which the user input to pan is received.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the user input to pan is received in the form of a finger flick on the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the selectable icons pan farther than the wallpaper image in response to a particular user input to pan across the mobile device desktop.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the user input comprises a touch input being made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display, and the wallpaper image and the selectable icons are panned in a same direction as the input made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the user input occurred over one of the selectable icons, or over the wallpaper image in a location where there are no selectable icons.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein:

a background space that holds the wallpaper image is a first integer m number of units wide,

a foreground space that holds the selectable icons is a second integer n units wide, with n being different than m, and

at a given time, the mobile device proximity sensitive display shows 1/m portion of the background space and 1/n portion of the foreground space, both before and after panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein as a result of panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, the background space moves 1/m units in a direction of the user input to pan, and the foreground space moves 1/n units in the direction of the user input to pan.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise receiving an input to rotate a display orientation between landscape and portrait orientation, and in response to receiving the input to rotate the display orientation, changing an orientation of the wallpaper image on the mobile device and displaying only a portion of the wallpaper image on the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a user selection of one of the selectable icons, identifying that the selected icon has been dragged to an edge of the mobile device proximity sensitive display of the mobile device, and panning the wallpaper image and selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other in response to the identifying.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the mobile device proximity sensitive display is a touchscreen display.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations of:

displaying, on a mobile device proximity sensitive display, a first portion of a mobile device desktop, wherein the mobile device desktop includes a wallpaper image spanning across multiple screens of a mobile device proximity sensitive display and a set of selectable icons that each, when selected causes a predefined action to be performed, and wherein the first portion of the mobile device desktop includes a first portion of the wallpaper image and a first subset of the selectable icons displayed over the first portion of the wallpaper image;

receiving, through the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a user input to pan across the mobile device desktop;

panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other; and

in response to panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, displaying, on the mobile device proximity sensitive display, a second portion of the mobile device desktop, wherein the second portion of the mobile device desktop includes a second portion of the wallpaper image and a second subset of the selectable icons displayed over the second portion of the wallpaper image.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the selectable icons are panned at a rate approximately 150% of the rate at which the wallpaper image is panned.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise panning to automatically snap points on the mobile device desktop, and displaying the second subset of the selectable icons from a screen that is adjacent to a screen on which the user input to pan is received.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the user input to pan is received in the form of a finger flick on the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the selectable icons pan farther than the wallpaper image in response to a particular user input to pan across the mobile device desktop.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the user input comprises a touch input being made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display, and the wallpaper image and the selectable icons are panned in a same direction as the input made laterally across the mobile device proximity sensitive display.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the user input occurred over one of the selectable icons, or over the wallpaper image in a location where there are no selectable icons.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein:

a background space that holds the wallpaper image is a first integer m number of units wide,

a foreground space that holds the selectable icons is a second integer n units wide, with n being different than m, and

at a given time, the mobile device proximity sensitive display shows 1/m portion of the background space and 1/n portion of the foreground space, both before and after panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein as a result of panning the wallpaper image and the selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other, the background space moves 1/m units in a direction of the user input to pan, and the foreground space moves 1/n units in the direction of the user input to pan.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise receiving an input to rotate a display orientation between landscape and portrait orientation, and in response to receiving the input to rotate the display orientation, changing an orientation of the wallpaper image on the mobile device and displaying only a portion of the wallpaper image on the mobile device.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a user selection of one of the selectable icons, identifying that the selected icon has been dragged to an edge of the mobile device proximity sensitive display of the mobile device, and panning the wallpaper image and selectable icons in a parallax manner relative to each other in response to the identifying.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the mobile device proximity sensitive display is a touchscreen display.