Handheld electronic device and associated method employing a graphical user interface to output on a display virtually stacked groups of selectable objects

• US 8,615,720 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2007
• Issued: 12/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Bradea, Marcel
• Primary Examiner(s): RIEGLER, PATRICK F
• Application Number:
  US11/946,242
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,218 Days
• Field of Search: 715/810, 715/835, 715/764, 715/817, 715/818, 715/828, 715/834, 715/848
• US Class Current: 715/835
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04802 3D-info-object: information is displayed on the internal or external surface of a three dimensional manipulable object, e.g. on the faces of a cube that can be rotated by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• 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 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A handheld electronic device and an improved method employ a GUI to depict a plurality of selectable objects on a display. The selectable objects are arranged in groups, with at least one of the groups being depicted on the display at any given time. The groups are arranged in rings, and the rings are in a virtually stacked arrangement, which enables the user to progressively depict one group of selectable objects after the next. An indicator and a large background, individually or in combination, indicate to the user which ring of selectable objects from the plurality of stacked rings is currently active.

Claims

1. A method of enabling the outputting of a number of selectable objects on a display of a handheld electronic device, the selectable objects being arranged into a plurality of groups of selectable objects logically disposed in a stack, the method comprising:

employing a graphical user interface to visually output a depicted group of selectable objects at a primary region of the graphical user interface, the primary region comprising the majority of the area of the display, the depicted group of selectable objects being a first group selected from the plurality of groups of selectable objects in their stacked arrangement, and being the only selectable objects displayed at the primary region of the graphical user interface;

outputting at a periphery region of the graphical user interface separated from the primary region an indicator comprising an icon of undescribed elements representative of the plurality of groups in their stacked arrangement and an attribute indicative of the logical position in the stack of the undescribed element representing the first group;

outputting as an indicium a visual item disposed adjacent another of the undescribed elements that is representative of a second group of the plurality of groups different than the first group and indicative of an occurrence of an event with respect to a selectable object within the second group, the second group not presently depicted; and

responsive to a scrolling input, depicting the selectable objects of the first group as being in motion about a circuit, wherein no additional elements associated with any of the plurality of groups of selectable objects, other than the depicted group of selectable objects, are displayed at the primary region of the graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting the attribute indicative of the logical position in the stack of the undescribed element representing the first group with an appearance different than that of the other undescribed elements.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting the attribute with a first appearance and outputting the indicium with a second appearance different than the first appearance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the depicted group of selectable objects is displayed in a predetermined arrangement, and further comprising outputting as the undescribed elements a plurality of elements of a shape that corresponds with at least a portion of the predetermined arrangement.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a selection input with respect to the second group, the first group being logically disposed in the stack in a particular direction from the second group;

employing the graphical user interface to depict the second group as being in motion in the particular direction; and

outputting the second group as the depicted group.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising employing the graphical user interface to depict the second group as moving in the particular direction from a location logically disposed off the display toward another location on the display.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising employing the graphical user interface to depict the first group as moving in the particular direction from a first location on the display toward a different location logically disposed off the display.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

employing the graphical user interface to output as a background on the display a portion of a visual object that is larger in the particular direction than the display; and

employing the graphical user interface to depict the background as being in motion in the particular direction contemporaneously with the depicting of the second group as being in motion in the particular direction.

9. A handheld electronic device comprising:

a processor apparatus comprising a processor and a memory;

an input apparatus structured to provide input to the processor apparatus;

an output apparatus comprising a display and being structured to receive output signals from the processor apparatus;

the memory having stored therein a number of routines comprising a graphical user interface routine, the routines comprising instructions which, when executed on the processor, cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations for enabling the outputting of a number of selectable objects on the display, the selectable objects being arranged into a plurality of groups of selectable objects logically disposed in a stack, the operations comprising;

employing a graphical user interface to visually output a depicted group of selectable objects at a primary region of the graphical user interface, the primary region comprising the majority of the area of the display, the depicted group of selectable objects being a first group selected from the plurality of groups of selectable objects in their stacked arrangement and being the only selectable objects displayed at the primary region of the graphical user interface;

outputting at a periphery region of the graphical user interface separated from the primary region an indicator comprising an icon of undescribed elements representative of the plurality of groups in their stacked arrangement and an attribute indicative of the logical position in the stack of the undescribed element representing the first group; and

outputting as an indicium a visual item disposed adjacent another of the undescribed elements that is representative of a second group of the plurality of groups different than the first group and indicative of an occurrence of an event with respect to a selectable object within the second group, the second group not presently depicted;

responsive to a scrolling input, depicting the selectable objects of the first group as being in motion about a circuit, wherein no additional elements associated with any of the plurality of groups of selectable objects, other than the depicted group of selectable objects, are displayed at the primary region of the graphical user interface.

10. The handheld electronic device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise outputting the attribute indicative of the logical position in the stack of the undescribed element representing the depicted first group with an appearance different than that of the other undescribed elements.

11. The handheld electronic device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise outputting the attribute with a first appearance and outputting the indicium with a second appearance different than the first appearance.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 9, wherein the depicted group of selectable objects is displayed in a predetermined arrangement, and wherein the operations further comprise outputting as the undescribed elements a plurality of elements of a shape that corresponds with at least a portion of the predetermined arrangement.

13. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting a selection input with respect to the second group, the first group being logically disposed in the stack in a particular direction from the second group;

employing the graphical user interface to depict the second group as being in motion in the particular direction; and

outputting the second group as the depicted group.

14. The handheld electronic device of claim 13 wherein the operations further comprise employing the graphical user interface to depict the second group as moving in the particular direction from a location logically disposed off the display toward another location on the display.

15. The handheld electronic device of claim 14 wherein the operations further comprise employing the graphical user interface to depict the first group as moving in the particular direction from a first location on the display toward a different location logically disposed off the display.

16. The handheld electronic device of claim 13 wherein the operations further comprise:

employing the graphical user interface to output as a background on the display a portion of a visual object that is larger in the particular direction than the display; and

employing the graphical user interface to depict the background as being in motion in the particular direction contemporaneously with the depicting of the second group as being in motion in the particular direction.