Zoom enhancements to facilitate the use of touch screen devices

• US 10,275,436 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2015
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Everitt, Aaron M., Fleizach, Christopher Brian, Minifie, Darren C., Cranfill, Elizabeth Caroline Furches, Seymour, Eric T., Hughes, Gregory F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shrewsbury, Nathan K
• Application Number:
  US14/857,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20160349970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

An electronic device with a display showing a user interface (UI) automatically adjusts the zoom level of a magnification region. The electronic device receives a request to magnify at least a portion of the display showing the UI. The electronic device determines the context that the electronic device was operating in at the time of the magnification request. The context is comprised of display parameters, environmental parameters, or both. The electronic device displays the UI at a zoom level determined based on user preferences. Upon detecting a text input condition, the device resizes and optionally moves the magnification region so that the resized magnification region does not overlap with the newly displayed composition interface window. The device uses an auto-snap feature when the content within the magnification region displays a second boundary upon scrolling the content within the magnification region from a first boundary opposite the second one.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions to perform the steps of:

displaying a magnification region on a first portion of a user interface, wherein;

the user interface is displayed at a first zoom level; and

the magnification region includes a subset of the first portion of the user interface displayed at a second zoom level that is higher than the first zoom level;

while displaying the user interface, detecting a text input condition; and

in response to detecting the text input condition;

concurrently displaying a composition interface window in a second portion and a third portion of the user interface, wherein the third portion of the user interface corresponds to a resized version of the magnification region, the third portion not overlapping with the second portion that includes the composition interface window.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the magnification region comprises a zoom window or a zoom lens.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein regions of the user interface outside of the magnification region remain displayed at the first zoom level.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the text input condition comprises a keyboard-display condition.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the composition interface window comprises a keyboard window.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the second portion comprises the bottom half of the display.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the third portion comprises the top half of the display.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

in response to detecting the text input condition;

optionally moving the magnification region to the third portion of the display, the resized and optionally moved magnification region not overlapping with the composition interface window.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein resizing and optionally moving the magnification region so that the magnification region and the composition interface can both be viewed and interacted with at a same time.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the user interface takes up the entire display, the magnification region being displayed on the first portion.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

in response to detecting the text input condition;

readjusting a location of a directional pad of the magnification region so the directional pad does not overlay with composition interface window.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

in response to detecting the text input condition;

in response to moving the focus to the composition interface window;

fading out a directional pad.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

while displaying the composition interface window, disabling further resizing of the magnification region or optionally moving the magnification region.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein in response to detecting UI-orientation change condition, displaying the magnification region at an identical orientation relative to keyboard.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein content displayed in the magnification region changes in response to moving the magnification region around without scrolling the user interface.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

detecting a text enter condition at a location on the display corresponding to the composition interface window; and

in response to detecting the text enter condition, displaying entered text in the magnification region.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to perform the steps of:

prior to displaying the magnification region, displaying a user interface on the display at the first zoom level; and

while displaying the user interface on the display at the first zoom level, receiving a magnification request;

wherein the magnification region is displayed in response to receiving the magnification request.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the magnification region occupies a first amount of the display, and wherein the resized version of the magnification region occupies a second amount of the display that is greater than the first amount of the display occupied by the magnification region before detecting the text input condition.

18. A method comprising:

at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display;

displaying a magnification region on a first portion of a user interface, wherein;

the user interface is displayed at a first zoom level; and

the magnification region includes a subset of the first portion of the user interface displayed at a second zoom level that is higher than the first zoom level;

while displaying the user interface, detecting a text input condition; and

in response to detecting the text input condition;

concurrently displaying a composition interface window in a second portion and a third portion of the user interface, wherein the third portion of the user interface corresponds to a resized version of the magnification region, the third portion not overlapping with the second portion that includes the composition interface window.

19. A system comprising an electronic device with a display and one or more input devices a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, and a processor, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium includes instructions causing the processor to perform the steps of:

displaying a magnification region on a first portion of a user interface, wherein;

the user interface is displayed at a first zoom level; and

the magnification region includes a subset of the first portion of the user interface displayed at a second zoom level that is higher than the first zoom level;

while displaying the user interface, detecting a text input condition; and

in response to detecting the text input condition;

concurrently displaying a composition interface window in a second portion and a third portion of the user interface, wherein the third portion of the user interface corresponds to a resized version of the magnification region, the third portion not overlapping with the second portion that includes the composition interface window.