Stackable workspaces on an electronic device

• US 9,003,325 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2012
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jitkoff, John Nicholas, Kuscher, Alexander Friedrich, Violet, Scott Ronald, Murphy, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): ABDUL-ALI, OMAR R
• Application Number:
  US13/708,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20140075374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 715/783, 715/790, 715/794, 715/797, 715/798, 715/802
• US Class Current: 715/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• 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 3/04815 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing stackable workspaces on an electronic device are provided. A system includes a navigation module configured to display a first workspace of workspaces stacked along a stacking axis, and to display a navigation menu when the first workspace is displayed. The navigation menu comprises access points, each of which is associated with an application. The system includes a workspace module configured to open at least one of the applications in a second workspace stacked on the first workspace. The system includes a detection module configured to detect a second workspace scrolling command. The navigation module is configured to display the second workspace in response to the second workspace scrolling command. Displaying the second workspace comprises traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis. The navigation module is configured to display the navigation menu when the second workspace is displayed.

Claims

1. A system for providing stackable workspaces on an electronic device, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

displaying a first workspace of a plurality of workspaces stacked along a stacking axis;

displaying a navigation menu when the first workspace is displayed, the navigation menu comprising a set of access points, each access point being associated with an application;

detecting a workspace scrolling command associated with a second workspace, wherein the second workspace is stacked along the stacking axis; and

displaying the second workspace in response to the workspace scrolling command by traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis such that at least a portion of the first workspace is covered by the second workspace.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the workspace scrolling command comprises a swipe gesture.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the swipe gesture is substantially perpendicular to the stacking axis, is toward a top of the first workspace, and is a three-fingered swipe gesture.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis comprises emulating movement of the stack such that the first workspace travels towards a vanishing point along the stacking axis and the second workspace travels onto a screen of the electronic device from a position beyond the screen of the electronic device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis comprises:

displaying an overview of at least a portion of the stack; and

revealing more of the second workspace than the first workspace.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein revealing more of the second workspace than the first workspace comprises at least one of shrinking the first workspace and covering the first workspace with the second workspace.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis further comprises expanding the second workspace to a maximized size, the maximized size of the second workspace being substantially equal to a size of a screen of the electronic device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting a workspace scrolling command associated with the first workspace; and

traversing the stack from the second workspace to the first workspace along the stacking axis in response to the workspace scrolling command associated with the first workspace.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein traversing the stack from the second workspace to the first workspace along the stacking axis comprises emulating movement of the stack such that the second workspace travels to beyond a screen of the electronic device and the first workspace travels away from a vanishing point along the stacking axis.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein traversing the stack from the second workspace to the first workspace along the stacking axis comprises:

expanding the second workspace from a maximized size to a supermaximized size, the maximized size of the second workspace being substantially equal to a size of a screen of the electronic device, the supermaximized size of the second workspace being greater than the maximized size of the second workspace; and

expanding the first workspace from an overview size to a maximized size, the maximized size of the first workspace being substantially equal to the size of the screen of the electronic device, the overview size of the first workspace being less than the maximized size of the first workspace.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein traversing the stack from the second workspace to the first workspace along the stacking axis comprises emulating movement of the stack such that the second workspace and the first workspace travel away from a vanishing point along the stacking axis.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein traversing the stack from the second workspace to the first workspace along the stacking axis comprises:

displaying an overview of at least a portion of the stack; and

revealing more of the first workspace than the second workspace.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least two applications are opened in the second workspace.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the second workspace is displayed during the displaying the first workspace.

15. A computer-implemented method for providing stackable workspaces on an electronic device, the method comprising:

displaying a first workspace of a plurality of workspaces stacked along a stacking axis;

displaying a navigation menu when the first workspace is displayed, the navigation menu comprising a set of access points, each access point being associated with an application;

opening at least one of a plurality of applications in a second workspace of the stack of workspaces, the second workspace being stacked on the first workspace;

detecting a workspace scrolling command;

displaying the second workspace in response to the workspace scrolling command such that at least a portion of the first workspace is covered by the second workspace, wherein displaying the second workspace comprises traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis; and

displaying the navigation menu when the second workspace is displayed.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis comprises emulating movement of the stack such that the first workspace and the second workspace travel towards a vanishing point along the stacking axis.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis comprises:

shrinking the first workspace from a maximized size to an overview size, the maximized size of the first workspace being substantially equal to a size of a screen of the electronic device, the overview size of the first workspace being less than the maximized size of the first workspace; and

shrinking the second workspace from a supermaximized size to a maximized size, the maximized size of the second workspace being substantially equal to the size of the screen of the electronic device, the supermaximized size of the second workspace being greater than the maximized size of the second workspace.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis further comprises fading in the second workspace during at least one of the shrinking of the first workspace and the shrinking of the second workspace.

19. A machine-readable medium encoded with executable instructions for a method of providing stackable workspaces on an electronic device, the method comprising:

displaying a first workspace of a plurality of workspaces stacked along a stacking axis;

displaying a navigation menu when the first workspace is displayed, the navigation menu comprising a set of access points, each access point being associated with an application;

opening at least one of the plurality of applications in a second workspace of the stack of workspaces, the second workspace being stacked on the first workspace;

detecting a workspace scrolling command comprising an inter-workspace swipe gesture;

displaying the second workspace in response to the workspace scrolling command, wherein displaying the second workspace comprises traversing the stack from the first workspace to the second workspace along the stacking axis;

displaying the navigation menu when the second workspace is displayed; and

detecting an intra-workspace swipe gesture.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises switching between features or applications of the at least one application in response to the intra-workspace swipe gesture.