Method and apparatus for organizing addressing elements

• US RE42,268 E1
• Filed: 07/27/2006
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lamb, Arthur C Jr., Hawkins, Jeffrey Charles, Haitani, Robert Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US11/496,089
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 345/168, 345/169, 345173-179, 715/700, 715/788, 715/799, 715/800, 715/810, 715/835, 715/841, 715/864, 455/566
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27455 Retrieving by interactive graphical means or pictorial representation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72547 with interactive input/output means for internally managing multimedia messages mail systems for messages comprising audio and non-audio components H04M3/5307; message switching systems H04L51/00

Abstract

A method and apparatus for organizing and accessing addressing elements is herein disclosed. In many situations in use of a handheld computer, for example, it is desirable to obtain quick and easy access to addressable resources from among a list of such resources. In the case of a handheld computer including a telephone, for example, a user may wish to quickly and easily dial certain telephone numbers through use of a “speed dialing” system. An exemplary speed dialing system herein described includes a plurality of speed dial pages which can be selected by the user for display on a touch sensitive screen. Each speed dial page has an arrangement of speed dial buttons, and each speed dial button can be assigned a label, that is displayed on or adjacent the button, and a telephone number that is dialed when the button is pressed using the touch sensitive screen. The assignment of labels and telephone numbers can be arranged among the buttons by the user to aid the user in recalling where (e.g. which page and which button location) particular telephone numbers are and so enable quick and easy access by the user. These principles are similarly applicable to Internet bookmarks, for example, and software application shortcuts.

Claims

1. A method for enabling user-configurable access to actionable addresses in a computer system, said computer system having a screen for displaying iconographic data and text, said computer system also having a user input device enabling a user to interact with the computer system using components displayed on the screen, the method comprising:

displaying a first of a plurality of action pages on the screen, each action page having a plurality of activatable elements in a pre-defined layout comprising a plurality of editable positions on said screen, each activatable element may be assigned correspondence with a user defined label displayed with the activatable element and a user defined actionable address;

displaying action page icons associated with other action pages in said plurality of action pages on the screen of the first action page, said action page icons illustrating a miniaturized view of said activatable elements in said pre-defined layout of editable positions on an associated action page, displaying said associated action page in response to a user input through said user input device selecting one of said action page icons; and

in response to moving of a selected one of said activatable elements on said first action page to a selected action page icon by a user through said user input device, removing the selected activatable element from said first action page and placing said selected activatable element into a next available editable position on an action page associated with said selected action page icon.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the computer system comprises a handheld computer system with a touch sensitive display screen that acts as said screen and said user input device.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the assignment of labels and actionable addresses with activatable elements is user definable, such that the assignments can, by action of the user input device, be reassigned between activatable elements on the same page and between activatable elements on different pages.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein moving of said selected one of activatable elements on said action page is achieved by a drag-and-drop operation.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said computer system includes a telephone.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said actionable addresses comprise telephone numbers, and an activation of the actionable address comprises dialing the telephone number assigned to the selected activatable element.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the computer system is equipped for communication with the Internet, and said actionable addresses comprise Internet addresses, wherein an activation of the actionable address comprises accessing the Internet address assigned to the selected activatable element.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actionable addresses correspond to software applications in said computer system, wherein an activation of the actionable address comprises initiating execution of the software application assigned to the selected activatable element.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pre-defined layout comprising said plurality of editable positions comprises a rectangular grid of editable positions.

10. A handheld computer system, said handheld computer system comprising:

a processor, a screen display, a user input device and communications circuitry all coupled to inter-operate with one another;

a graphical user interface comprising a plurality of action pages for display on the screen, each action page having

a plurality of activatable screen elements in a predefined layout comprising a plurality of editable positions with each screen element having a user assignable to a label that is displayed with the screen element and an actionable address that is executed upon activation of the screen element using the user input device, and

a plurality of action page icons, each of said action page icons having an associated action page, said action page icons illustrating a miniaturized view of said activatable elements in said pre-defined layout of editable positions on said associated action page, said handheld computer system displaying an associated action page in response to a user selection of one of said action page icons; and

a screen element movement handling routine, said removing a selected screen element from a displayed action page and placing said selected screen element into a next available editable position on an action page associated with a selected action page icon in response to user input moving said selected screen element on said displayed action page to a selected action page icon with said user input device.

11. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 10 wherein said screen display and said user input device comprise a touch sensitive screen.

12. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of said activatable screen elements comprises a button display on the touch sensitive screen that is capable of activation by the press of a finger of the user so as to execute the corresponding actionable address.

13. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the moving of said selected screen element is achieved by a drag-and-drop operation.

14. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said communications circuitry includes a telephone, and wherein said actionable addresses comprise telephone numbers, and an activation of the actionable address comprises dialing the telephone number assigned to the selected activatable element.

15. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the communications circuitry includes circuitry for communication with the Internet, and said actionable addresses comprise Internet addresses, wherein an activation of the actionable address comprises accessing the Internet address assigned to the selected activatable element.

16. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said actionable addresses correspond to software applications in said computer system, wherein an activation of the actionable address comprises initiating execution of the software application assigned to the selected activatable element.

17. The handheld computer system as claimed in claim 10 wherein said pre-defined layout comprising said plurality of editable positions comprises a rectangular grid of editable positions.

18. A method for enabling user-configurable access to actionable addresses in a computer system, said computer system having a screen for displaying data and text, said computer system also having a user input device enabling a user to interact with the computer system using components displayed on the screen, the method comprising:

providing for display a first of a plurality of action pages, each action page having a plurality of activatable elements in a pre-defined layout comprising a plurality of editable positions on said screen, each activatable element may be assigned correspondence with a user defined actionable address;

providing for display action page icons associated with other action pages in said plurality of action pages on the screen of the first action page, said action page icons illustrating a miniaturized view of said activatable elements in said pre-defined layout of editable positions on an associated action page, displaying said associated action page in response to a user input through said user input device selecting one of said action page icons; and

in response to moving of a selected one of said activatable elements on said first action page to a selected action page icon by a user through said user input device, removing the selected activatable element from said first action page and placing said selected activatable element into a next available editable position on an action page associated with said selected action page icon.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the computer system comprises a handheld computer system with a touch sensitive display screen that acts as said screen and said user input device.

20. A mobile computing device, said mobile computing device comprising:

a processor, a screen display, a user input device and communications circuitry all coupled to inter-operate with one another;

a graphical user interface comprising a plurality of action pages for display, each action page having a plurality of activatable screen elements in a pre-defined layout comprising a plurality of editable positions with each screen element having a user assignable to an actionable address that is executed upon activation of the screen element using the user input device, and

a plurality of action page icons, each of said action page icons having an associated action page, said action page icons illustrating a miniaturized view of said activatable elements in said pre-defined layout of editable positions on said associated action page, said mobile computing device displaying an associated action page in response to a user selection of one of said action page icons; and

a screen element movement handling routine, said removing a selected screen element from a displayed action page and placing said selected screen element into a next available editable position on an action page associated with a selected action page icon in response to user input moving said selected screen element on said displayed action page to a selected action page icon with said user input device.

21. The mobile computing device as claimed in claim 20, wherein said screen display and said user input device comprise a touch sensitive screen.