Orthogonal dragging on scroll bars

• US 8,875,046 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2011
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jitkoff, John Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tuan S
• Application Number:
  US13/300,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20120131497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/173, 715/205, 715/253, 715/738, 455/566
• US Class Current: 715/786
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A computer-implemented user interface method includes displaying content in a first window on a display of a computing device, receiving a dragging user input on an element at a periphery of the window, and in response to receiving the dragging input, generating and displaying a second window on the display of the computing device and displaying the first window simultaneously with the second window.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented user interface method, comprising:

displaying content in a first window on a display of a computing device, wherein the display is overlaid by a touch input surface;

detecting, on the touch input surface, a dragging user input from a peripheral edge of the first window, to a location within the display area of the first window wherein the dragging user input comprises a motion having a dominant directional component generally orthogonal to the peripheral edge of the first window; and

in response to detecting the dragging input, generating and displaying a second window on the display of the computing device, contracting the first window, and displaying the contracted first window simultaneously with the second window,

wherein the first window includes graphical elements of a first application opened within the first window and wherein the second window displays, in response to the dragging user input, graphical elements of a second application opened in the second window or graphical elements of a new instantiation of the first application, but wherein the second window does not include a new pane of an existing instantiation of the first application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the first and second window comprises automatically positioning the first window adjacent to and beside the second window.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the first and second window comprises automatically positioning the first window adjacent to and above the second window.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sizes of the first window and the second window are the same.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a size at which to display the first window and a size at which to display the second window based on the dragging user input.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dragging motion comprises a selection on the scroll bar followed by motion into a body of a document that is being displayed in the first window.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user selection of content from the displayed content in the first window and pasting the user selection into the displayed second window.

8. A computer-implemented user interface method, comprising:

displaying content in a first window on a display of a computing device, wherein the display is overlaid by a touch input surface;

detecting, on the touch input surface, a dragging user input on an element at a periphery of the window, wherein the element at the periphery of the window comprises a scrolling control of a scroll bar and wherein the dragging user input comprises a motion having a dominant component generally orthogonal to the normal scrolling motion of the scroll bar; and

in response to detecting the dragging input, generating and displaying a second window on the display of the computing device, contracting the first window, and displaying the contracted first window simultaneously with the second window,

wherein the first window includes graphical elements of a first application opened within the first window and wherein the second window displays, in response to the dragging user input, graphical elements of a second application opened in the second window or graphical elements of a new instantiation of the first application, but wherein the second window does not include a new pane of an existing instantiation of the first application.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the scroll bar is a vertical scroll bar and the dragging motion comprises a horizontal motion from the scroll bar that is determined to extend for a determined distance from the scroll bar.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the scrolling element in the scroll bar is a graphical scrolling element.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein displaying the first and second window comprises automatically positioning the first window adjacent to and beside the second window.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the sizes of the first window and the second window are the same.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a size at which to display the first window and a size at which to display the second window based on the dragging user input.

14. A computer-implemented system for interaction with a user of a computing device, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface having a touch screen display, wherein the touch screen display displays a first window having a scroll bar at a periphery of the first window, the scroll bar having a graphical scrolling element in the scroll bar;

a dragging input sub-system to identify the occurrence of a contact with the touch screen display and a direction of dragging after the occurrence of the contact, wherein the contact occurs on the touch screen display over an area where the graphical scrolling element is displayed; and

a processor operably connected to tangible computer memory that stores code to detect a dragging input on a first window at a perimeter of the first window on the touch screen display and, in response to the detected dragging input on the touch screen display, generate and display a second window on the touch screen display, contract the first window, and display the contracted first window simultaneously with the second window, wherein the dragging input comprises a motion a motion having a dominant directional component generally orthogonal to the normal scrolling motion of the graphical scrolling element in the scroll bar and wherein the first window includes graphical elements of a first application opened within the first window and wherein the second window displays, in response to the detected dragging input, graphical elements of a second application opened in the second window but wherein the second window does not include a new pane of an existing instantiation of the first application.

15. A computer-implemented system for interaction with a user of a computing device, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface having a touch screen display, wherein the touch screen display displays a first window having a scroll bar at a periphery of the first window, the scroll bar having a graphical scrolling element in the scroll bar;

a dragging input sub-system to identify the occurrence of a contact with the touch screen display and a direction of dragging after the occurrence of the contact, wherein the contact occurs on the touch screen display over an area where the graphical scrolling element is displayed; and

means for generating and displaying a second window on the touch screen display, contracting the first window, and displaying the contracted first window on the touch screen display simultaneously with the second window, in response to the detection of a dragging input in the first window on the touch screen display and from an element at a periphery of the first window on the touch screen display, wherein the dragging input comprises a motion a motion having a dominant directional component generally orthogonal to the normal scrolling motion of the graphical scrolling element in the scroll bar wherein the first window includes graphical elements of a first application opened within the first window and wherein the second window displays, in response to the dragging input, graphical elements of a second application opened in the second window but wherein the second window does not include a new pane of an existing instantiation of the first application.