Navigating among activities in a computing device
First Claim
1. A mobile computer system for navigating among a plurality of activities using gestures, the system comprising:
- a touch-sensitive display screen; and
a processor coupled to the display screen to (i) concurrently operate at least two activities, and (ii) operate the display screen in at least a full-screen mode and a windowed mode, wherein;
in the full-screen mode, the processor provides an interface for a single one of the activities on the display screen; and
in the windowed mode, the processor provides on the display screen;
a first window having focus and corresponding to a first activity, the first activity corresponding to a first application; and
adjacent to the first window, a first portion of a second window corresponding to a second activity so that a second portion of the second window is not visible on the display screen, the second activity corresponding to a second application that is different from the first application, wherein the first portion of the second window is provided on the display screen without further user input;
wherein the first window and the second window are positioned linearly along a middle region of the display screen;
wherein responsive to a first user contact with the display screen, the processor switches between the full-screen mode and the windowed mode;
wherein in the full-screen mode, a user is enabled to interact with the single one of the activities that is provided on the display screen so that subsequent user inputs are received by an application corresponding to the single one of the activities; and
wherein in the windowed mode, responsive to a directional user gesture with the display screen, the processor (i) causes the first and second window to move in concert with one another, and (ii) repositions the first window and the second window in a direction of the directional user gesture and changes focus from the first window to the second window on the display screen so that a first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen and a second portion of the first window is not visible on the display screen, the first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen without further user input.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computing device runs multiple activities concurrently and provides at least two modes for interacting with the activities. The user may toggle between the modes as desired. In a full-screen mode, one activity occupies substantially an entire display screen. In a windowed mode, the activity is visible within a window, and a portion of at least one other window is also visible. In the windowed mode, the user can cause windows to move, thereby changing focus from one activity to another. For example, the window having focus can be moved off the screen, to be replaced by a new window that is then given focus. The windows are ordered in a sequence and move in concert with one another; pushing one window off one edge of the screen causes a new window to appear at the opposite edge. A persistent positional relationship can be established among windows.
131 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A mobile computer system for navigating among a plurality of activities using gestures, the system comprising:
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a touch-sensitive display screen; and a processor coupled to the display screen to (i) concurrently operate at least two activities, and (ii) operate the display screen in at least a full-screen mode and a windowed mode, wherein; in the full-screen mode, the processor provides an interface for a single one of the activities on the display screen; and in the windowed mode, the processor provides on the display screen; a first window having focus and corresponding to a first activity, the first activity corresponding to a first application; and adjacent to the first window, a first portion of a second window corresponding to a second activity so that a second portion of the second window is not visible on the display screen, the second activity corresponding to a second application that is different from the first application, wherein the first portion of the second window is provided on the display screen without further user input; wherein the first window and the second window are positioned linearly along a middle region of the display screen; wherein responsive to a first user contact with the display screen, the processor switches between the full-screen mode and the windowed mode; wherein in the full-screen mode, a user is enabled to interact with the single one of the activities that is provided on the display screen so that subsequent user inputs are received by an application corresponding to the single one of the activities; and wherein in the windowed mode, responsive to a directional user gesture with the display screen, the processor (i) causes the first and second window to move in concert with one another, and (ii) repositions the first window and the second window in a direction of the directional user gesture and changes focus from the first window to the second window on the display screen so that a first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen and a second portion of the first window is not visible on the display screen, the first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen without further user input. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for navigating among a plurality of activities in a mobile computing device using gestures on a touch-sensitive display screen, the method comprising:
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concurrently operating at least two activities; displaying, on the touch-sensitive display screen, output for at least one of the two activities in a full-screen mode or a windowed mode, wherein in the full-screen mode, an interface for a single one of the activities is displayed on the display screen, and wherein in the windowed mode, (i) a first window having focus is displayed on the display screen, the first window corresponding to a first activity and the first activity corresponding to a first application, and (ii) adjacent to the first window, a first portion of a second window corresponding to a second activity is displayed on the display screen so that a second portion of the second window is not visible on the display screen, the second activity corresponding to a second application that is different from the first application, wherein the first portion of the second window is provided on the display screen without further user input, and wherein the first window and the second window are positioned linearly along a middle region of the display screen; receiving user contact with the display screen; and responsive to a first user contact with the display screen, switching between the full-screen mode and the windowed mode, wherein in the full-screen mode, a user is enabled to interact with the single one of the activities that is provided on the display screen so that subsequent user inputs are received by an application corresponding to the single one of the activities; and responsive to a directional user gesture with the display screen, in the windowed mode, (i) causing the first and second window to move in concert with one another, and (ii) repositioning the first window and the second window in a direction of the directional user gesture and changing focus from the first window to the second window on the display screen so that a first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen and a second portion of the first window is not visible on the display screen, wherein the first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen without further user input. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer program product for navigating among a plurality of activities in a mobile computing device using gestures on a touch-sensitive display screen comprising:
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a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and computer program code, encoded on the medium, that when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising; concurrently operating at least two activities; displaying, on the touch-sensitive display screen, output for at least one of the two activities in a full-screen mode or a windowed mode, wherein in the full-screen mode, an interface for a single one of the activities is displayed on the display screen, and wherein in the windowed mode, (i) a first window having focus is displayed on the display screen, the first window corresponding to a first activity and the first activity corresponding to a first application, and (ii) adjacent to the first window, a first portion of a second window corresponding to a second activity is displayed on the display screen so that a second portion of the second window is not visible on the display screen, the second activity corresponding to a second application that is different from the first application, wherein the first portion of the second window is provided on the display screen without further user input, and wherein the first window and the second window are positioned linearly along a middle region of the display screen; receiving user contact with the display screen; and responsive to a first user contact with the display screen, switching between the full-screen mode and the windowed mode, wherein in the full-screen mode, a user is enabled to interact with the single one of the activities that is provided on the display screen so that subsequent user inputs are received by an application corresponding to the single one of the activities; and responsive to a directional user gesture with the display screen, in the windowed mode, (i) causing the first and second window to move in concert with one another, and (ii) repositioning the first window and the second window in a direction of the directional user gesture and changing focus from the first window and the second window on the display screen so that a first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen and a second portion of the first window is not visible on the display screen, wherein the first portion of the first window is provided on the display screen without further user input. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification