Media Player with Imaged Based Browsing

• US 20080062141A1
• Filed: 06/22/2007
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chandhri, Imran
• Granted Patent: US 8,564,543 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 16/444 Spatial browsing, e.g. 2D maps, 3D or virtual spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

Methods and systems that improve the way media is played, sorted, modified, stored and cataloged on a portable media player are disclosed. One aspect relates to an image based browser that allows a user to navigate through and select images that are related to media items.

Claims

1-35. -35. (canceled)

36. A method for browsing images stored on a portable electronic device having a display and a user input device, said method comprising:

presenting an image browser that displays a plurality of images from a group of images;

transitioning through the group of images in accordance with at least one user input;

selecting one of the images from the group of images following said transitioning; and

subsequently performing an action associated with the selected image.

37. A method as recited in claim 36, wherein during said transitioning one of the images is displayed in a primary mode and a plurality of other of the images are displayed in a secondary mode, and wherein as said transitioning occurs the one of the images being displayed in the primary mode changes.

39. A method as recited in claim 36,

wherein said selecting of one of the images is performed based on another user input, and

wherein the at least one user input for said transitioning pertains to at least a first gesture, and wherein the another user input for said selecting pertains to at least a second gesture, wherein the second gesture is distinct from the first gesture.

45. A method as recited in claim 36, wherein the user input device is a touch sensitive display device, and wherein the image browser is displayed by the touch sensitive display device and the user input is provided with the touch sensitive display device.

38. (canceled)

40-44. -44. (canceled)

46. (canceled)

47. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a display device;

a user input device;

at least one memory device capable of storing a plurality of images associated with one or more data items and computer program code for displaying, navigating and selecting the plurality of images; and

a processing device operatively connected to said display device, said user input device and said at least one memory device, said processing device capable of executing the computer program code for displaying, navigating, and selecting the plurality of images,

wherein a plurality of images from a group of images are displayed, and wherein the images being displayed are transitioned through in accordance with at least one user input at the user input device.

48. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 47 wherein the user input device is a touch sensing device.

49. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 48 wherein the touch sensing device is a touch pad.

50. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 48 wherein the touch sensing device is a touch screen.

51-54. -54. (canceled)

55. An electronic device, comprising:

a storage device for storing a plurality of media items;

a touch screen display;

an image browser module operable to present images associated with the media items on the touch screen display and to permit a user to browse through the images to locate a particular media item within the media items; and

a playback module operable to play back the particular media item.

62. An electronic device as recited in claim 55,

wherein the user browses through the images using user input via the touch screen display, and

wherein in response to receiving the user input, said image browser module transitions through displaying the images such that one of the images being primarily displayed changes until the particular media item is located.

63. An electronic device as recited in claim 62, wherein the image being primarily displayed is fully displayed and wherein other of the images not being primarily displayed are only partially displayed.

64. An electronic device as recited in claim 62, wherein the transitioning through displaying the images by said image browser is performed by virtually flipping through one or more of the media items.

66. An electronic device as recited in claim 62, wherein only the image being primarily displayed is displayed in a full frontal view and wherein other of the images are displayed at least partially in edge view.

68. An electronic device as recited in claim 55,

wherein the media item is a collection of media assets, and

wherein after the particular media item has been located, the particular media item is selected using another user input and a list of the media assets within the collection is displayed.

56-61. -61. (canceled)

65. (canceled)

67. (canceled)

69. (canceled)

70. (canceled)

71. A computer readable medium including tangible computer program code executable by a computer for browsing images stored on a electronic device having a display and a user input device, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code for presenting an image browser window that displays a plurality of images from a group of images;

computer program code for transitioning through the group of images in accordance with at least one user input;

computer program code for selecting one of the images from the group of images following said transitioning; and

computer program code for subsequently performing an action associated with the selected image.

72. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 71, wherein the images are artwork corresponding to media collections, each of the media collection include a plurality of media items, and wherein the action is performed on at least one of the media items within the media collection corresponding to the selected image.

73. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 71, wherein the images are artwork corresponding to albums, each of the albums include a plurality of media items, and wherein the action is performed on at least one of the media items within the media collection corresponding to the selected image.

74. A handheld electronic device comprising a touch sensitive surface and an visual output device, the visual output device capable of presenting a plurality of images in at least two groups, wherein the plurality of images are capable of sequentially advancing from the first group to the second group in response to a user input with respect to the touch sensitive surface.

75. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74, wherein the visual output device and the touch sensitive surface are part of a touch screen display.

76. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74, wherein the touch sensitive surface comprises a touch pad.

77. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74,

wherein the advancing is substantially proportional to the speed the finger is slid along the surface of the touch sensitive surface, and

wherein the finger is slid across the touch sensitive surface over the first and second groups of images being displayed by the visual output device in order to sequentially advance the images between the first group and the second group.

78. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74, wherein the finger slide is recognized as a gesture.

79. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74, wherein the first group of images are presented substantially entirely visible, and wherein the second group of images are presented partially obscured or distorted.

80. A handheld electronic device as recited in claim 74, wherein the sequential advancement of images is animated, and wherein the animation of the sequential advancement of images simulates flipping through pages.