Unified interest layer for user interface

• US 20060010394A1
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Louch, John, Grignon, Andrew M., Christie, Gregory N., Chaudhri, Imran A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,761,800 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/779
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/11 Instrument graphical user interfaces or menu aspects
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A user-activatable dashboard (also referred to as a unified interest layer) contains any number of user interface elements, referred to herein as “widgets,” for quick access by a user. In response to a command from a user, the dashboard is invoked and the widgets are shown on the screen. The user can activate the dashboard at any time, causing the dashboard to temporarily replace the existing user interface display on the user'"'"'s screen. Once the dashboard has been activated, the user can interact with any or all of the widgets, and can configure the dashboard by adding, deleting, moving, or configuring individual widgets as desired. When the user wishes to return to the normal user interface he or she was working with, the user issues a command causing the dashboard to be dismissed. Once the dashboard has been dismissed, the previous user interface state is restored, allowing the user to resume normal interactions with the operating system.

Claims

1. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a plurality of layer elements;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein at least one layer element comprises one selected from the group consisting of;

a flight tracker element;

a movie listings element;

a rental queue management element;

a translation element;

a unit conversion element;

a weather element; and

a stock quote element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first trigger event comprises a first user command and the second trigger event comprises a second user command.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user input to configure the unified interest layer;

displaying the unified interest layer according to the layer configuration; and

saving the layer configuration.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a command to activate a configuration bar, the configuration bar having at least two active states; and

responsive to receiving a command to switch the state of the configuration bar, switching between the at least two active states;

wherein;

in the first state the configuration bar displays a first region comprising at least one label corresponding to a favorite layer element; and

in the second state the configuration bar displays the first region comprising at least one label corresponding to a favorite layer element and a second region comprising at least one label corresponding to a non-favorite layer element.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the unified interest layer comprises displaying the unified interest layer over the inactivated user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein temporarily inactivating the user interface comprises modifying a visual characteristic of the user interface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein modifying a visual characteristic of the user interface comprises performing at least one selected from the group consisting of:

fading the user interface;

darkening the user interface;

brightening the user interface;

blurring the user interface;

changing a color saturation of the user interface;

displaying the user interface in black and white;

distorting the user interface; and

shrinking the user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the unified interest layer comprises displaying the unified interest layer in such a manner that at least a portion of the inactivated user interface is still visible.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the first trigger event;

displaying a first transitional animation for inactivating the user interface and introducing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

displaying a second transitional animation for dismissing the unified interest layer and restoring the user interface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein each transitional animation comprises one selected from the group consisting of:

a fly-in animation;

a fly-out animation;

a zoom-in animation; and

a zoom-out animation.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein reactivating the user interface comprises restoring the user interface to a state substantially identical to its state at the time of inactivation.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the layer elements responds to user input.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one layer element receives data from a remote server.

14. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a plurality of layer elements;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein at least one layer element comprises an animation.

15. The method of claim 14, at least one layer element comprises a weather element including an animation depicting weather conditions.

16. A computer program product for presenting a unified interest layer in a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a plurality of layer elements;

wherein at least one layer element comprises one selected from the group consisting of;

a flight tracker element;

a movie listings element;

a rental queue management element;

a translation element;

a unit conversion element;

a weather element; and

a stock quote element.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for:

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface.

18. A system for presenting a unified interest layer in a computer system including a display screen, the system comprising:

an input device for detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

a processor, for processing user input received from the user input device; and

a display screen, coupled to the processor and comprising an area displaying a user interface, the display screen for, responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a plurality of layer elements;

wherein at least one layer element comprises one selected from the group consisting of;

a flight tracker element;

a movie listings element;

a rental queue management element;

a translation element;

a unit conversion element;

a weather element; and

a stock quote element.

19. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a flight tracker layer element for an airplane flight;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the flight tracker layer element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

airline;

flight number

departure city;

arrival city;

scheduled departure time;

actual departure time;

scheduled arrival time;

actual arrival time;

gate;

flight status;

speed; and

altitude.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the flight tracker layer element further comprises a graphical representation of a current position of the airplane.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the graphical representation of current position is generated based on flight status information.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the graphical representation of current position is generated based on flight status information received from a server.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the graphical representation of current position is generated based on interpolation between departure and arrival locations.

24. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a movie information element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the movie information element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

movie titles;

movie descriptions;

theaters;

showtimes;

MPAA ratings;

quality ratings;

trailers; and

ticket purchasing functionality.

25. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising an online rental queue management element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the online rental queue management element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

movie titles;

recommendations;

MPAA ratings;

quality ratings;

queue status;

movie availability;

trailers; and

queue management functionality.

26. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a translation element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the translation element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

source and destination language selectors;

a first area for receiving text to be translated; and

a second area for displaying translated text.

27. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a unit conversion element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the unit conversion element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

a selector for receiving a selection of the type of unit conversion to apply;

source and destination unit selectors;

a first area for receiving a value to be converted; and

a second area for displaying a converted value.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the unit conversion element further comprises:

a graphical representation of the type of unit conversion.

29. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a weather element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the weather element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

a graphical representation of current weather conditions;

a textual representation of current weather conditions;

a graphical representation of a weather forecast; and

a textual representation of a weather forecast.

30. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a method for presenting a unified interest layer, comprising:

detecting a first trigger event for activating a unified interest layer;

responsive to the first trigger event;

temporarily inactivating the user interface; and

displaying, in the area of the display screen, a unified interest layer comprising a directory element;

detecting a second trigger event for dismissing the unified interest layer; and

responsive to the second trigger event;

dismissing the unified interest layer; and

reactivating the user interface;

wherein the directory element comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of;

an input field for accepting input comprising at least one of a business name or category; and

an output field for presenting listing corresponding to the accepted input.

31. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a flight tracker layer element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the flight tracker layer element comprising:

at least one selected from the group consisting of;

airline;

flight number

departure city;

arrival city;

scheduled departure time;

actual departure time;

scheduled arrival time;

actual arrival time;

gate;

flight status;

speed; and

altitude; and

a graphical representation of a current position of the airplane.

32. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a movie information layer element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the movie information layer element comprising:

movie titles;

showtimes; and

at least one selected from the group consisting of;

movie descriptions;

theaters;

MPAA ratings;

quality ratings;

trailers; and

ticket purchasing functionality.

33. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, an online rental queue management element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the online rental queue management element comprising:

movie titles;

queue management functionality; and

at least one selected from the group consisting of;

recommendations;

MPAA ratings;

quality ratings;

queue status;

movie availability; and

trailers.

34. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a translation element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the translation element comprising:

source and destination language selectors;

a first area for receiving text to be translated; and

a second area for displaying translated text.

35. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a unit conversion element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the unit conversion element comprising:

a selector for receiving a selection of the type of unit conversion to apply;

source and destination unit selectors;

a first area for receiving a value to be converted; and

a second area for displaying a converted value.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the unit conversion element further comprises:

a graphical representation of the type of unit conversion.

37. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a weather element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the weather element comprising:

a graphical representation of current weather conditions;

a textual representation of current weather conditions;

a graphical representation of a weather forecast; and

a textual representation of a weather forecast.

38. In a computer system including a display screen comprising an area displaying a user interface, a directory element for presentation in a unified interest layer selectively overlaying the user interface, the directory element comprising:

an input field for accepting input comprising at least one of a business name or category; and

an output field for presenting listing corresponding to the accepted input.