System and method for navigating a mobile device user interface with a directional sensing device

• US 8,521,417 B1
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Orr, Kevin Howard, Kornilovsky, Alexander, Skarine, Alexei
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US13/861,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20130229437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 137 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/400, 701/408, 701/409, 701/411, 701/412, 701/431, 340/990, 345/156
• US Class Current: 701/400
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• 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 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/34 for rolling or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2747 Scrolling on a display

Abstract

An electronic mobile device includes a display for displaying a graphical element. A tilt sensor is configured to sense first and second tilt angles of the mobile device. A processor is coupled to the display and the tilt sensor and configured to move the graphical element relative to the display in a first direction based on the first tilt angle, and to move the graphical element relative to the display in a second direction based on the second tilt angle.

Claims

1. A method performed by an electronic device, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical element on a display of the electronic device; and

altering a position of the displayed graphical element on the display based on a change in a tilt angle of the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical element'"'"'s position is altered at a rate based on a magnitude of the change in the tilt angle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical element'"'"'s position is altered at a rate based on an amount of time that the change in the tilt angle has exceeded a threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical element'"'"'s position is altered at a rate based on a number of different thresholds the change in the tilt angle has exceeded.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical element is a list of items.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the altering includes scrolling the list at a rate that is based on cardinality of the list.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical element is a selection box that designates an item among a list of items displayed by the display.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing a current tilt angle as a reference tilt angle, and subsequently comparing subsequently sensed tilt angles to the reference tilt angle.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the tilt angle is a first tilt angle relating to forward-backward tilting of the display, and a second tilt angle relates to side-to-side tilting of the display, and the altering includes moving the graphical element relative to the display in a first direction based on the first tilt angle and moving the graphical element relative to the display in a second direction based on a second tilt angle.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

storing a current first tilt angle as a first reference tilt angle and a current second tilt angle as a second reference tilt angle, and subsequently comparing subsequently sensed first and second tilt angles respectively to the first and second reference tilt angles.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by a processor of an electronic device to:

display a list of items;

sense a manual manipulation of the device indicating a direction for scrolling the list; and

scroll the list in the indicated direction.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the manual manipulation is tilting of the device and the indicated direction is indicated by direction of the tilting.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the manual manipulation is a rapid tilt fluctuation of the device indicative of a flick of a wrist and the indicated direction is indicated by direction of the flick.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the manual manipulation is rotation of a thumbwheel of the device and the indicated direction is indicated by direction of the rotation.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the scrolling is at a rate based on a tilt angle of the device.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the rate is based also on a number of thresholds the tilt angle has exceeded.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the list is in the form of a spreadsheet.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the scrolling includes scrolling the list in the indicated direction and at a rate based on the number of items in the list.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising program instructions that are executable by a processor of an electronic device to:

display a list of items along with a selection indicator that indicates a selected item of the list;

sense a manual manipulation of the device indicating a direction for moving the selection indicator; and

move the selection indicator along the listed items in the indicated direction.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the list is in the form of a spreadsheet and the selection indicator is a selection box.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the manual manipulation is tilting of the device and the indicated direction is indicated by direction of the tilt.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the moving includes moving the selection indicator along the listed items in the indicated direction at a rate that is based on a number of items in the list.