Crown input for a wearable electronic device

• US 10,691,230 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2014
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zambetti, Nicholas, Chaudhri, Imran, Dascola, Jonathan R., Dye, Alan C., Foss, Christopher Patrick, Guzman, Aurelio, Karunamuni, Chanaka G., Kerr, Duncan Robert, Lemay, Stephen O., Wilson, Christopher, Wilson, Eric Lance, Yang, Lawrence Y., Butcher, Gary Ian, Ive, Jonathan P., Lynch, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Theriault, Steven B
• Application Number:
  US14/913,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20160209939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,120 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/001 Electromechanical switches for setting or display in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/00 Input or output devices integrated in time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• 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: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to manipulating a user interface on a wearable electronic device using a mechanical crown. In some examples, the user interface can be scrolled or scaled in response to a rotation of the crown. The direction of the scrolling or scaling and the amount of scrolling or scaling can depend on the direction and amount of rotation of the crown, respectively. In some examples, the amount of scrolling or scaling can be proportional to the change in rotation angle of the crown. In other examples, a speed of scrolling or a speed of scaling can depend on a speed of angular rotation of the crown. In these examples, a greater speed of rotation can cause a greater speed of scrolling or scaling to be performed on the displayed view.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving crown position information associated with a physical crown of an electronic device;

determining a scale speed and scale direction based on a velocity of angular rotation of the rotation of the physical crown as indicated by the received crown position information;

causing a first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on a touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the determined scale speed and direction;

determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has ceased;

determining whether the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond a maximum scaling amount; and

in response to determining that the rotation of the physical crown has ceased and the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond the maximum scaling amount, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled to the maximum scaling amount.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a scaling factor based on an amount and a direction of the rotation of the physical crown, and wherein scaling the first set of one or more user interface elements of the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device is based on the determined scaling factor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining an amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount that is proportional to the amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining a speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount based on the speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a watch.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the crown position information comprises an absolute rotational position of the physical crown.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the crown position information comprises a change in rotational position of the physical crown over a length of time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the rotation of the physical crown comprises:

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a first rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed in; and

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a second rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed out.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical crown is a mechanical crown.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display and a rotatable input mechanism, the one or more programs including instructions for:

receiving crown position information associated with a physical crown of an electronic device;

determining a scale speed and scale direction based on a velocity of angular rotation of the rotation of the physical crown as indicated by the received crown position information;

causing a first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on a touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the determined scale speed and direction;

determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has ceased;

determining whether the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond a maximum scaling amount; and

in response to determining that the rotation of the physical crown has ceased and the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond the maximum scaling amount, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled to the maximum scaling amount.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

determining a scaling factor based on an amount and a direction of the rotation of the physical crown, and wherein scaling the first set of one or more user interface elements of the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device is based on the determined scaling factor.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining an amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount that is proportional to the amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining a speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount based on the speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the electronic device comprises a watch.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the crown position information comprises an absolute rotational position of the physical crown.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the crown position information comprises a change in rotational position of the physical crown over a length of time.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the rotation of the physical crown comprises:

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a first rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed in; and

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a second rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed out.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the physical crown is a mechanical crown.

19. An electronic device comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory;

a physical crown operatively coupled to the one or more processors;

a touch-sensitive display operatively coupled to the one or more processors; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

receiving crown position information associated with the physical crown of an electronic device;

determining a scale speed and scale direction based on a velocity of angular rotation of the rotation of the physical crown as indicated by the received crown position information;

causing a first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on a touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the determined scale speed and direction;

determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has ceased;

determining whether the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond a maximum scaling amount; and

in response to determining that the rotation of the physical crown has ceased and the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device have been scaled beyond the maximum scaling amount, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled to the maximum scaling amount.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

determining a scaling factor based on an amount and a direction of the rotation of the physical crown, and wherein scaling the first set of one or more user interface elements of the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device is based on the determined scaling factor.

21. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining an amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount that is proportional to the amount of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

22. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein determining whether the rotation of the physical crown has occurred based on the received crown position information comprises determining a speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device, and wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled comprises causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled by an amount based on the speed of rotation of the physical crown of the electronic device.

23. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the electronic device comprises a watch.

24. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the crown position information comprises an absolute rotational position of the physical crown.

25. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the crown position information comprises a change in rotational position of the physical crown over a length of time.

26. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein causing the first set of one or more user interface elements displayed on the touch-sensitive display of the electronic device to be scaled based on the rotation of the physical crown comprises:

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a first rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed in; and

in response to the rotation of the physical crown being in a second rotation direction, causing the first set of one or more user interface elements to be zoomed out.

27. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the physical crown is a mechanical crown.