ADJUSTABLE USER INTERFACES WITH MOVABLE SEPARATORS

• US 20100241989A1
• Filed: 03/20/2009
• Published: 09/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wen, Yandong
• Granted Patent: US 10,013,135 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/800
• 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 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 3/04886 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: G09G 2340/00 Aspects of display data processing

Abstract

Tools and techniques for adjustable user interfaces with movable separators are provided. Display devices provided by these tools may include fixed-size hardware display screens. These display screens include input control portions that are responsive to user input to receive commands from users, and include output display portions for presenting output to users in response to the commands. These display screens also include separators that are movable along the display screens, with the separators dividing the input control portions from the output display portions. In response to movements of the separators, the input control portions and the output display portions are resized relative to one another.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising at least one physical computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into at least one hardware processor and executed, transform the hardware processor to perform the following:

present a control portion of a user interface on a fixed-size display device;

present a display portion of the user interface on the display device;

present a movable slider on the display device, so that the slider separates the control portion from the display portion;

display a representation of at least one icon in the control portion of the user interface;

receive an indication that the slider has moved on the display screen; and

adjust relative proportions of the control and display areas in response to the indication.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions to receive an indication include instructions to transform the hardware processor to receive an indication that a user has directly manipulated the slider.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions to transform the hardware processor to receive a further indication that the user is activated the icon, and wherein the instructions to receive the indication include instructions to transform the hardware processor to receive an indication that the slider has moved in response to activation of the icon.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions to transform the hardware processor to alter the control portion, in response to the indication to present at least one further icon.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the further icon is associated with a function provided by an application or utility.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions to display a representation of at least one icon include instructions to transform the hardware processor to display at least one icon associated with an application or utility.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions to display a representation of at least one icon include instructions to transform the hardware processor to display a representation of a keypad, and wherein the instructions to present a display portion include instructions to transform the hardware processor to display alphanumeric text entered via the keypad.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising instructions to transform the hardware processor to display a first configuration of the keypad when the slider is in a first position relative to the display device, and to display at least a second configuration of the keypad when the slider is in at least a second position relative to the display device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions to transform the hardware processor two alter a configuration of a keypad as presented on the split device, in response to detecting that a user has issued at least one explicit command to move the slider.

10. A display device comprising:

a fixed-size hardware display screen operable to provide an input control portion responsive to user input to receive commands from the user, and operable to provide an output display portion for presenting output to the user in response to the commands; and

a separator movable along the display screen, wherein the separator divides the input control portion from the output display portion, and wherein the input control portion and the output display portion are resized relative to one another in response to movement of the separator.

11. The display device of claim 10, wherein the separator is controllable in response to a software-implemented mechanism.

12. The display device of claim 10, wherein the separator is controllable in response to a hardware-implemented mechanism.

13. The display device of claim 10, wherein the separator is responsive to user actions to slide relative to the display screen, and wherein the output control portion is operative to present different sets of icons in response to movement of the separator.

14. The display device of claim 10, wherein the separator is operative to slide relative to the display screen in response to a user activating at least one icon presented in the input control portion.

15. A computer-based device comprising:

at least one instance of processing hardware;

at least one instance of display hardware;

at least one bus system coupled to communicate with the processing hardware and the display hardware; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium coupled to communicate with the processing hardware via the bus system, wherein the storage medium is encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the processing hardware, transform the processing hardware to present a user interface on the display hardware, wherein the user interface is divided into an output display portion and an input control portion that are separated by a movable separator, wherein the user interface is responsive to re-positioning of the separator to resize the output display portion and the input control portion, wherein the user interface includes at least one icon presented in the input control portion, and wherein the user interface is responsive to activation of the icon to present content in the output display portion.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the input control portion is operative to present at least one further icon in the input control portion in response to the user repositioning the separator.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the icon represents an application or utility installed on the device, and wherein the further icon represents a function of associated with the application or utility.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the icon represents at least a portion of one configuration of a keypad, and wherein the further icon represents at least a portion of a further configuration of the keypad.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the icon represents a keypad presented in the input control portion, and wherein the output display portion is operative to display alphanumeric data entered by the user through the keypad.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the input control portion is operative to present a plurality of icons that represent respectively a plurality of applications installed on the device, and wherein at least one of the icons is responsive to user activation to present a further plurality of icons associated with one of the applications associated with the activated icon.