Method, device and program for browsing information on a display

• US 9,727,095 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2010
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vaananen, Johannes, Hannula, Manne
• Primary Examiner(s): HAILU, TADESSE
• Application Number:
  US12/691,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20100125818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,756 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1407 General aspects irrespective of display type, e.g. determination of decimal point position, display with fixed or driving decimal point, suppression of non-significant zeros
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method and program for browsing information on a hand-held device having a display is provided. The device includes (1) showing on the display a portion of the page residing around the predefined point and having a shape similar to the shape of the display, (2) generating a mirror line by mirroring the reference line in relation to a line that is perpendicular to the display surface and travels via the reference point in response to tilting of the hand-held device in relation to the spatial initial state, (3) defining a hit point (xn,yn) where the mirror line hits the virtual surface and the page containing information, and (4) showing on the display at least a portion of the page around the hit point, said portion to have a shape similar to the shape of the display, the position of the hit point on the page to correspond to the position of the reference point on the display.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a processor; and

a display in communication with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

determine a tilt angle associated with the display, wherein the tilt angle associated with the display depends upon an orientation of the display; and

cause, based upon the tilt angle associated with display, a subset of content corresponding to the tilt angle to be displayed on the display, wherein a first subset of the content corresponding to a first tilt angle is displayed whenever the tilt angle associated with the display is determined to be the first tilt angle and a second subset of the content corresponding to a second tilt angle different from the first tilt angle is displayed whenever the tilt angle associated with the display is determined to be the second tilt angle, wherein the second subset of content is different from the first subset of content.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a different subset of content is displayed for each tilt angle.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tilt angle is an angle measured between the orientation of the display and a reference plane, wherein the tilt angle is zero when the display of the electronic device is parallel to the reference plane.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the second tilt angle is zero and the display of the electronic device is parallel to the reference plane.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a third subset of content is displayed whenever the tilt angle associated with the display is determined to be a third tilt angle different from the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first subset of content or the second subset of content caused to be displayed on the display is locked/unlocked in response to the pressing/releasing of a push button.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein every tilt angle has a corresponding portion of the content to be displayed.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a scrolling of content displayed on the display occurs only in a transition of the orientation of the display between the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle.

9. A method of browsing a page of contents, the method comprising:

determining, by a device, a first tilt angle associated with a display of the device, the first tilt angle measured between an orientation of the display and a reference plane;

determining, based upon the first tilt angle, a first portion of the page corresponding to the first tilt angle;

displaying, on the display, first content from the first portion of the page;

determining, due to a change in orientation of the display, that the angle between the orientation of the display and the reference plane has changed from the first tilt angle to a second tilt angle that is different from the first tilt angle;

determining, based upon the second tilt angle, a second portion of the page corresponding to the second tilt angle, wherein the second portion of the page is different from the first portion of the page; and

displaying, on the display, second content from the second portion of the page instead of the first content when the angle between the orientation of the display and the reference plane is the second tilt angle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a different portion of content is displayed for each tilt angle.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the display of the device is parallel to the reference plane in the second tilt angle.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining, due to another change in orientation of the display, that the angle between the orientation of the display and the reference plane has changed from the second tilt angle to a third tilt angle that is different from the first and second tilt angles; and

determining, based upon the third tilt angle, a third portion of the page corresponding to the third tilt angle, wherein the third portion of the page is different from the first and second portions of the page.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein a scrolling occurs only in a transition of the orientation of the display between the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein every tilt angle corresponds to a particular portion of the page.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the first portion of the page or the second portion of the page displayed is locked/unlocked in response to the pressing/releasing of a push button.

16. A method comprising:

determining a first tilt angle associated with a display of a handheld device, the first tilt angle measured between an orientation of the display and a reference plane;

determining a first portion of content corresponding to the first tilt angle;

displaying the first portion of content on the display;

determining, due to a change in orientation of the display, that the angle between the orientation of the display and the reference plane has changed from the first tilt angle to a second tilt angle that is different from the first tilt angle;

determining a second portion of content corresponding to the second tilt angle, wherein the second portion of content is different from the first content; and

displaying the second portion of content on the display.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a different portion of content is displayed for each tilt angle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the display of the handheld device is parallel to the reference plane in the second tilt angle.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

determining a third tilt angle associated with the display of the handheld device, the third tilt angle measured between the changed orientation of the display and the reference plane and being different from the first tile angle and the second tilt angle; and

determining a third portion of content corresponding to the third tilt angle, wherein the third portion of content is different from the first content and the second content.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein every tilt angle corresponds to a particular portion of content.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first portion of content or the second portion of content displayed is locked/unlocked in response to the pressing/releasing of a push button.

22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, storing one or more programs, which when executed by one or more processors of a handheld device having a display, cause the handheld device to perform operations comprising:

determining a first tilt angle associated with the display of the handheld device, the first tilt angle measured between an orientation of the display and a reference plane;

determining a first portion of content corresponding to the first tilt angle;

displaying the first portion of content on the display;

determining, due to a change in orientation of the display, that the angle between the orientation of the display and the reference plane has changed from the first tilt angle to a second tilt angle that is different from the first tilt angle;

determining a second portion of content corresponding to the second tilt angle, wherein the second portion of content is different from the first content; and

displaying the second portion of content on the display.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein a different portion of content is displayed for each tilt angle.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the display of the handheld device is parallel to the reference plane in the second tilt angle.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors of the handheld device, cause the handheld device to further perform operations comprising:

determining a third tilt angle associated with the display of the handheld device, the third tilt angle measured between the changed orientation of the display and the reference plane and being different from the first tile angle and the second tilt angle; and

determining a third portion of content corresponding to the third tilt angle, wherein the third portion of content is different from the first content and the second content.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein a scrolling of content displayed on the display occurs only in a transition of the orientation of the display between the first tilt angle and the second tilt angle.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein every tilt angle corresponds to a particular portion of content.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the first portion of content or the second portion of content displayed is locked/unlocked in response to the pressing/releasing of a push button.