Displaying messages on handheld devices

• US 9,542,073 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Zinn, Scotte, Yach, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Application Number:
  US12/969,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,217 Days
• Field of Search: 715/765, 715/864, 715/784, 715/786, 715/787
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages

Abstract

A method of displaying messages on handheld devices. The device displays messages in a scrollable viewport of vertically arranged fields. Date separators inserted into the vertically arranged list of messages to enable the user to associate the messages with a date. The date separators have “sticky” operation, meaning that the device ensures a date separator always appears within the viewport, even when the viewport has been scrolled to the middle of a long list of messages all associated with the same date. The device may ensure that the top field of the viewport always contains a date separator associated with the message immediately below.

Claims

1. A method of displaying scrollable message items on a display of an electronic device, each scrollable message item having an associated date, the method comprising:

displaying a scrollable viewport on the display, the viewport displaying a first scrollable date separator item in a topmost field of the viewport and at least one scrollable message item in a second field of the viewport, wherein the first scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the scrollable message item displayed in the second field of the viewport;

determining whether another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after a scrolling command is applied, the scrolling command causing the scrollable message items to be advanced; and

after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would not appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, maintaining the display of the first scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced;

after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a second scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced, wherein the second scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the one or more scrollable message items displayed in the second field of the viewport.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after receiving the scrolling command, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a scrollable message item in the topmost field.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first scrollable date separator item includes a date indicator identifying the associated date of the scrollable message item displayed in the second field of the viewport.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first scrollable date separator item includes a message count indicator, the message count indicator identifying a number of scrollable message items associated with the date which the first scrollable date separator item is based upon.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrollable message item displayed in the second field is a calendar item.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrollable message item displayed in the second field includes header information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the header information comprises any of:

a sender of a message, a title of the message, or an urgency indicator.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the viewport displays a plurality of scrollable message items and wherein the plurality of scrollable message items are arranged in a chronological format based upon a date and time associated with each scrollable message item.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second field is immediately below the topmost field.

10. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

an input device; and

a processor connected to the display for controlling operation of the display, the processor being configured for;

displaying a scrollable viewport on the display, the viewport displaying a first scrollable date separator item in a topmost field of the viewport and at least one scrollable message item in a second field of the viewport, wherein the first scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the scrollable message item displayed in the second field of the viewport;

determining whether another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after a scrolling command is applied, the scrolling command causing the scrollable message items to be advanced; and

after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would not appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, maintaining the display of the first scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced;

after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a second scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced, wherein the second scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the one or more scrollable message items displayed in the second field of the viewport.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured for:

after receiving the scrolling command, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a scrollable message item in the topmost field.

12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the first scrollable date separator item includes a date indicator identifying the associated date of the scrollable message item displayed in the second field of the viewport.

13. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the first scrollable date separator item includes a message count indicator, the message count indicator identifying a number of scrollable message items associated with the date which the first scrollable date separator item is based upon.

14. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the scrollable message item in the second field is a calendar item.

15. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the scrollable message item in the second field includes header information.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the header information comprises any of:

a sender of a message, a title of the message, or an urgency indicator.

17. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the viewport to display a plurality of scrollable message items and wherein the plurality of scrollable message items are arranged in a chronological format based upon a date and time associated with each scrollable message item.

18. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the second field is immediately below the topmost field.

19. A computer program product having a on a non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly embodying computer executable instructions for displaying scrollable message items on a display of an electronic device, each scrollable message item having an associated date, the computer executable instructions comprising:

instructions for displaying a scrollable viewport on the display, the viewport displaying a first scrollable date separator item in a topmost field of the viewport and at least one scrollable message item in a second field of the viewport, wherein the first scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the scrollable message item displayed in the second field of the viewport;

instructions for determining whether another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after a scrolling command is applied, the scrolling command causing the scrollable message items to be advanced one by one; and

instructions for, after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would not appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, maintaining the display of the first scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced;

instructions for, after receiving the scrolling command to scroll one or more scrollable message items in the viewport, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a second scrollable date separator item in the topmost field while the scrollable message items are advanced, wherein the second scrollable date separator item is based upon the associated date of the one or more scrollable message items displayed in the second field of the viewport.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise:

instructions for, after receiving the scrolling command, if another scrollable date separator item would appear in the viewport after the one or more scrollable message items are scrolled, displaying a scrollable message item in the topmost field.