Electronic device and user interface display method thereof

• US 8,701,034 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2008
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Chu, Yen-Lee, Tai, Chih-Wei, Liu, Yi-Ching
• Primary Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US12/346,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,932 Days
• Field of Search: 715/702, 715/760, 715/776
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An electronic device and a user interface display method thereof are provided. The method organizes a plurality of computer programs and a web browser executable on the electronic device into a virtual book including a plurality of ordinary pages and a list page. Each ordinary page of the virtual book includes a user interface of one of the computer programs or a web page displayed by the web browser. When one of the ordinary pages is displayed as the current page, the user interface or the web page of the current page is accessible to the user of the electronic device. The list page includes a plurality of entries and each of the entries represents one of the ordinary pages.

Claims

1. A user interface display method for an electronic device, comprising:

organizing a plurality of software applications and a web browser executable on the electronic device into a virtual book comprising a plurality of ordinary pages, a plurality of classification pages, and a list page, wherein

each ordinary page of the virtual book comprises a user interface of one of the software applications or a web page displayed by the web browser, and the pages of the virtual book can be flipped through by sliding a finger from one end of the screen toward the other end of the screen;

when one of the ordinary pages is displayed as a current page, the user interface of one of the software applications or the web page of the current page is accessible to a user of the electronic device;

the list page comprises a plurality of entries and each of the entries represents one of the ordinary pages; and

each of the plurality of classification pages are located between ordinary pages to divide the virtual book into different groups of ordinary pages for classification with each of the plurality classification pages rendered with different colour for easier management and identification, and tabs on each of the classification pages are user customized with words for identification.

2. The user interface display method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the list page in response to a predetermined operating action of the user.

3. The user interface display method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined operating action is touching a touch button on the electronic device, pressing a virtual button displayed on the virtual book, an action interpreted by the electronic device as flipping a front cover of the virtual book, or sliding from an end of a display of the electronic device to another end of the display.

4. The user interface display method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a clicking action of the user on one of the entries of the list page, displaying the ordinary page represented by the clicked entry.

5. The user interface display method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting a position of one of the ordinary pages in response to a dragging action of the user on the entry of the list page representing the adjusted ordinary page.

6. The user interface display method of claim 1, further comprising:

extracting the user interface or the web page of one of the ordinary pages as a new page and inserting the new page at a predetermined position in the virtual book, wherein the new page displays the user interface or the web page exclusively.

7. The user interface display method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined position is directly behind the extracted ordinary page.

8. The user interface display method of claim 1, wherein the list page is a table-of-contents (TOC) page and the entries represent all of the ordinary pages of the virtual book.

9. The user interface display method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of the classification pages further comprises a plurality of entries representing a subset of the ordinary pages of the virtual book, and the list page is one of the classification pages.

10. The user interface display method of claim 9, wherein the subset corresponding to one of the classification pages comprises the ordinary pages between said classification page and the next classification page or a bottom cover of the virtual book.

11. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch panel; and

a display;

wherein

the electronic device organizes a plurality of software applications and a web browser executable on the electronic device into a virtual book comprising a plurality of ordinary pages, a plurality of classification pages, and a list page;

each ordinary page of the virtual book comprises a user interface of one of the software applications or a web page displayed by the web browser, and the pages of the virtual book can be flipped through by sliding a finger from one end of the screen toward the other end of the screen;

each of the plurality of classification pages are located between ordinary pages to divide the virtual book into different groups of ordinary pages for classification with each of the plurality of classification pages rendered with different color for easier management and identification, and tabs on each of the classification pages are user customized with words of identification; and

the list page comprises a plurality of entries and each of the entries represents one of the ordinary pages;

when one of the ordinary pages is displayed by the electronic device on the display as a current page, the user interface of one of the software applications or the web page of the current page is accessible to a user of the electronic device;

the electronic device senses movement and/or pressure caused by the user on the touch panel and interprets the movement and/or the pressure as operating actions of the user on the virtual book.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the electronic device displays the list page on the display in response to a predetermined operating action of the user.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein, in response to a clicking action of the user on one of the entries of the list page, the electronic device displays the ordinary page represented by the clicked entry on the display.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the electronic device adjusts a position of one of the ordinary pages in response to a dragging action of the user on the entry of the list page representing the adjusted ordinary page.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein, in response to a predetermined operating action of the user, the electronic device extracts the user interface or the web page of one of the ordinary pages as a new page and inserts the new page at a predetermined position in the virtual book, wherein the new page displays the user interface or the web page exclusively.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the predetermined position is directly behind the extracted ordinary page.

17. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the list page is a table-of-contents (TOC) page and the entries represent all of the ordinary pages of the virtual book.

18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of classification pages further comprises a plurality of entries representing a subset of the ordinary pages of the virtual book, and the list page is one of the classification pages.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the subset corresponding to one of the classification pages comprises the ordinary pages between said classification page and the next classification page or a bottom cover of the virtual book.