Scrolling interface

• US 8,856,684 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Duhig, Jonathan Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien
• Assistant Examiner(s): FASANG, PATRICK P
• Application Number:
  US11/952,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20080155475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,496 Days
• Field of Search: 715784-787, 715830-839
• US Class Current: 715/830
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42215 by measuring the time interval during which a key is pressed, e.g. for inputting sequences of digits when selecting a television channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of browsing a set of items on a display device. The method displays a plurality of items (303-307) of the set on a display device in a first arrangement (FIG. 3A) for browsing. Scrolling of the items can then occur in the first arrangement by responding to user action on a user actuable control (105, 602, 603). The method further detects a predetermined characteristic (eg. time) of the user action on the user actuable control and, upon detecting the predetermined characteristic, displays the items in a second arrangement (FIG. 3B) for scrolling wherein the items (308, 309) in the second arrangement are positioned in a different spatial relationship relative to each other from the first arrangement.

Claims

1. A method of browsing a set of items on a display device via scrolling, the method comprising steps of:

displaying on the display device a plurality of items of the set of items in a first arrangement for browsing, the first arrangement displaying the plurality of items in at least one line and being associated with a current scrolling direction and a current scrolling speed;

receiving, associated with the first arrangement, a scrolling instruction associated with an increased scrolling speed relative to the current scrolling speed and the current scrolling direction to scroll the set of items; and

changing a display configuration of the set of items from the first arrangement to a second arrangement in response to the received scrolling instruction, to scroll the set of items at the current scrolling speed instead of the increased scrolling speed, such that, in the second arrangement, a number of lines in which items of the set of items are displayed is increased compared to the first arrangement, the number of lines being increased in a direction orthogonal to the current scrolling direction while maintaining a size of the displayed items, to thereby display more items of the set of items in the second arrangement than in the first arrangement, each of the lines in the second arrangement having a plurality of items of the set of items and being scrolled at the current scrolling speed and in the current scrolling direction, such that the changing step causes a bandwidth of the second arrangement to be higher than a bandwidth of the first arrangement to allow a user to scroll through more items of the set of items in a shorter time without a need to increase the current scrolling speed.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the scrolling instruction includes a continuous actuation of a user actuable control.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the scrolling instruction includes a continuous actuation for a predetermined period of time of a user actuable control.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein a characterization of the scrolling instruction is selected from a group that includes:

repeated instances of the scrolling instruction, repeated instances of the scrolling instruction within a predetermined period of time, and repeated instances of the scrolling instruction followed by a pause of a predetermined amount of time.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein a characterization of the scrolling instruction is selected from a group that includes:

a changed intensity of the scrolling instruction and cessation of the scrolling instruction.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein a characterization of the scrolling instruction is selected from a group that includes:

a speed of rotation of a user actuable control, an amount of force applied to the user actuable control, and a proximity associated with the user actuable control.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first arrangement includes at least one row of items and the second arrangement has a different number of rows from the first arrangement.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first arrangement includes at least one column of items and the second arrangement has a different number of columns from the first arrangement.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second arrangement has a different flow rate of items from the first arrangement.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein items in the first arrangement are aligned to a curve with a first radius and items in the second arrangement are aligned to a curve with a second radius that is different from the first radius.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein items in the first arrangement are one of being evenly spaced and being unevenly spaced and items in the second arrangement are the other of being evenly spaced and being unevenly spaced.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of items are displayed on the display device in a display window and a size of the display window remains unaltered for each of the first arrangement and the second arrangement.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of items are displayed on the display device in a display window and a size of the display window is different in the first arrangement from the second arrangement.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the size of the display window varies with continuous or continued actuation of a user actuable control.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the size of the display window increases with continuous or continued actuation of the user actuable control and decreases with cessation of such actuation.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program recorded thereon for implementing a method executable in a computing device of browsing a set of items displayable on a display device via scrolling, the method comprising steps of:

displaying on the display device a plurality of items of the set of items in a first arrangement for browsing, the first arrangement displaying the plurality of items in at least one line and being associated with a current scrolling direction and a current scrolling speed;

receiving, associated with the first arrangement, a scrolling instruction associated with an increased scrolling speed relative to the current scrolling speed and the current scrolling direction to scroll the set of items; and

changing a display configuration of the set of items from the first arrangement to a second arrangement in response to the received scrolling instruction to scroll the set of items at the current scrolling speed instead of the increased scrolling speed, such that, in the second arrangement, a number of lines in which items of the set of items are displayed is increased compared to the first arrangement, the number of lines being increased in a direction orthogonal to the current scrolling direction while maintaining a size of the displayed items, to thereby display more items of the set of items in the second arrangement than in the first arrangement, each of the lines in the second arrangement having a plurality of items of the set of items and being scrolled at the current scrolling speed and in the current scrolling direction, such that the changing step causes a bandwidth of the second arrangement to be higher than a bandwidth of the first arrangement to allow a user to scroll through more items of the set of items in a shorter time without a need to increase the current scrolling speed.

17. A computer apparatus for browsing a set of items on a display device via scrolling, the apparatus comprising a processor programmed to:

cause the display device to display a plurality of items of the set of items in a first arrangement for browsing, the first arrangement displaying the plurality of items in at least one line;

enable browsing of items displayed in the first arrangement at a current scrolling speed in a current scrolling direction by responding to user action on a user actuable control;

receive, associated with the first arrangement, a scrolling instruction associated with an increased scrolling speed relative to the current scrolling speed and the current scrolling direction to scroll the set of items displayed; and

cause the display device to display, in response to the received scrolling instruction, a plurality of items of the set of items in a second arrangement to scroll the set of items at the current scrolling speed instead of the increased scrolling speed, such that, in the second arrangement, a number of lines in which items of the set of items are displayed is increased compared to the first arrangement, the number of lines being increased in a direction orthogonal to the current scrolling direction while maintain a size of the displayed items, to thereby display more items of the set of items in the second arrangement than in the first arrangement, each of the lines in the second arrangement having a plurality of items of the set of items and being scrolled at the current scrolling speed such that a bandwidth of the second arrangement is higher than a bandwidth of the first arrangement to allow a user to scroll through more items of the set of items in a shorter time compared to the first arrangement without a need to increase the current scrolling speed.