Mobile communications device user interface

• US 9,703,452 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2015
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Guntaur, Paula, Kruzeniski, Michael J., Voss, Chad A., Friedman, Jonathan David, Smuga, Michael A., Henderlight, Michael K., Wilson, Brian M., McLaughlin, Joseph P., Corrigan, Patrick S., Williams, Dustin Owen, Murphy, Ryan T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Badawi, Angie
• Application Number:
  US14/850,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20150378532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04807 Pen manipulated menu
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0227 Cooperation and interconnection of the input arrangement with other functional units of a computer G06F3/023 - G06F3/037 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72466 with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 : for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 : Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 : from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A mobile communications device user interface is described. In an implementation, a method is implemented by a computing device that includes displaying content in conjunction with a first level of a hierarchical menu in a user interface on a display device of the computing device. Responsive to receipt of an input to navigate to a second level of the hierarchical menu that is a sublevel of the first level, the second level in displayed conjunction with the content on the display device, the content having a reduced display richness when displayed in conjunction with the second level than when displayed in conjunction with the first level.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:

displaying a hierarchical menu system by the computing device comprising a plurality of levels; and

displaying content that is not any part of the hierarchical menu system by the computing device in conjunction with display of the hierarchical menu system but outside the display of the hierarchical menu system; and

controlling display of the content, by the computing device, by successively reducing display richness of the content involving desaturation or darkening of the content responsive to navigation through successive levels of the hierarchical menu system as indicative of a respective one of a plurality of levels of the hierarchical menu system that is displayed in the user interface, the reducing of the display richness performed without affecting a display richness of the hierarchical menu system.

2. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising controlling the display of the content by successively increasing display richness of the content responsive to navigation back through the successive levels of the hierarchical menu system as indicative of a respective one of a plurality of levels of the hierarchical menu system that is displayed in a user interface, the increasing of the display richness involving saturation or lightening of the content without affecting a display richness of the hierarchical menu system.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein a first level of the plurality of levels has a first display richness of the content and a second level of the plurality of levels has a second display richness of the content, the first display richness being greater than the second display richness.

4. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the second level is a sublevel of the first level.

5. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the first level is a root level of the hierarchical menu system.

6. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the second level contains functionality to navigate to a third level of the plurality of levels and functionality to navigate to the first level of the plurality of levels.

7. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the first level contains an action item and an item to navigate to the second level.

8. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the action item is determined to be an action most likely to be used.

9. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the second level expands outwards radially from the item when the item is selected.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the displaying of the hierarchical menu system further comprises, responsive to receipt of an input to scroll the user interface when a level of the plurality of levels of the hierarchical menu system is displayed, at least partially occluding the level from view such that a larger portion of the content can be displayed during scrolling operation.

11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein, responsive to an end of the input to scroll the user interface, returning the display of the level to a position prior to the scrolling operation.

12. A mobile communications device comprising:

a touchscreen;

a processor; and

memory configured to maintain an operating system that is executable on the processor to display content of a user interface congruently with a hierarchical menu by performing operations comprising;

displaying the content that is not any part of the hierarchical menu outside the display of the hierarchical menu; and

successively reducing display richness of the content involving desaturation or darkening of the content responsive to navigation through successive levels of the hierarchical menu as indicative of a respective one of a plurality of levels of the hierarchical menu that is displayed in the user interface, the reducing of the display richness performed without affecting a display richness of the hierarchical menu.

13. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise successively increasing display richness of the content responsive to navigation through previous levels of the hierarchical menu as indicative of a respective one of a plurality of levels of the hierarchical menu that is displayed in the user interface, the increasing of the display richness involving saturation or lightening of the content without affecting a display richness of the hierarchical menu.

14. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12, wherein the successive levels of the hierarchical menu are sublevels of previous levels of the hierarchical menu and the sublevels cause reduced display richness of the content as compared to the previous levels.

15. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12, wherein a root level of the hierarchical menu contains an action item corresponding to a most frequently used function and a navigation item that navigates to a sublevel of the root level.

16. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15, wherein the sublevel of the root level expands radially from a point of contact associated with the navigation item when the navigation item is selected.

17. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12, wherein at least one of the levels contains navigation items that allow navigation to a successive level or to a previous level, the successive level causing a reduced display richness of the content and the previous level causing an increased display richness of the content.

18. A system comprising:

a display device;

one or more processors, and

one or more computer readable storage media devices containing instructions, the instructions executable by the one or more processors to display a user interface on the display device, the display of the user interface comprising;

displaying content within the user interface;

responsive to receiving an input to instantiate a menu, displaying a root level of a hierarchical menu system within the user interface concurrently with the content, the content displayed outside the display of the root level and not part of the hierarchical menu system;

responsive to receiving an input to navigate to a sublevel of the root level, displaying the sublevel concurrently with the content while reducing a display richness of the content involving desaturation or darkening of the content compared to the display richness of the content when the root level is displayed.

19. A system as described in claim 18, wherein the display richness of the content when the root level is displayed is less than the display richness of the content prior to the display of the root level.

20. A system as described in claim 18, wherein responsive to receiving an input to navigate to a second sublevel that is a sublevel of the sublevel, displaying the second sublevel concurrently with the content while reducing the display richness of the content compared to the display richness of the content when the sublevel is displayed;

and

responsive to receiving an input to navigate back to the root level from the sublevel, displaying the root level concurrently with the content while increasing the display richness of the content from the display of the sublevel.