Preventing unintentional activation and/or input in an electronic device
First Claim
1. A method for unlocking an electronic device, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:
- determining that the electronic device is locked;
displaying a user interface object at an origin position on a display screen of the electronic device;
displaying a threshold boundary on the display screen in response to user interaction with the user interface object, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the electronic device to unlock;
receiving a user input indicating movement of the user interface object;
moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and
in response to the user interface object being moved beyond the displayed threshold boundary, unlocking the electronic device.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for preventing unintentional activation and/or input in an electronic device are provided. A movable on-screen user interface object is provided as an unlocking mechanism in a device having a touch-sensitive surface. The user moves the object in any desired direction from a starting point (or origin); if the object is moved a sufficient distance away from the starting point, the device is unlocked. The required amount of movement may be defined by a threshold which may or may not be made visible to the user. In various embodiments, the threshold may be defined by an arc, a circle, or by a straight line, or in some other arbitrary manner. In various embodiments, user authentication can be required before unlocking takes effect. In various embodiments, certain alerts can be displayed while the device is locked.
98 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for unlocking an electronic device, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:
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determining that the electronic device is locked; displaying a user interface object at an origin position on a display screen of the electronic device; displaying a threshold boundary on the display screen in response to user interaction with the user interface object, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the electronic device to unlock; receiving a user input indicating movement of the user interface object; moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and in response to the user interface object being moved beyond the displayed threshold boundary, unlocking the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for unlocking an electronic device, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:
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determining that the electronic device is locked; displaying a user interface object at an origin position on a display screen of the electronic device; displaying a threshold boundary on the display screen in response to user interaction with the user interface object, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the electronic device to unlock; receiving a user input indicating movement of the user interface object; moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and in response to the user interface object being moved beyond the displayed threshold boundary; (i) prompting the user to enter a password in order to authenticate the user; and (ii) in response to authenticating the user, unlocking the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method for unlocking a locked electronic device to answer an incoming call, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:
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receiving an incoming call; displaying an indication of the incoming call; displaying a user interface object at an origin position on a display screen of the locked electronic device; displaying a threshold boundary on the display screen in response to user interaction with the user interface object, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the locked electronic device to unlock to answer the incoming call; receiving a user input indicating movement of the user interface object; moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and in response to the user interface object being moved beyond the displayed threshold boundary, unlocking the locked electronic device and concurrently connecting the call. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A computing device comprising:
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a display screen; one or more processors; and a memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors, the memory for storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to; determining that the electronic device is locked; display, on the display screen, a user interface object at an origin position; display, on the display screen, a threshold boundary in response to user interaction with the display screen, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the electronic device to unlock; receive a user input indicating movement of the user interface object; moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and in response to the user input moving the user interface object beyond the displayed threshold boundary, unlocking the computing device. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:
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determining that the electronic device is locked; displaying a user interface object at an origin position on a display screen of a computing device; displaying a threshold boundary on the display screen in response to user interaction with the display screen, the displayed threshold boundary indicating a boundary that the user interface object is to move beyond for the electronic device to unlock; receiving a user input indicating movement of the user interface object; moving the user interface object in response to the user input; and in response to the user interface object being moved beyond the displayed threshold boundary, unlocking the computing device. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification