USER INTERFACE FOR A TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY

• US 20110087990A1
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Bukurak, David, Langlois, Michael George, Steele, John Paul, Ng, Oliver, Lindsay, Donald James
• Granted Patent: US 9,116,615 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• 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

Abstract

A device, which may have a touchscreen display, and methods for its operation are provided using a graphical user interface and an overlay user input interface such as a virtual keyboard. The graphical user interface may include one or more user interface elements displayed in a first region of the display that are actuatable to invoke a corresponding function. When the virtual keyboard is invoked for display in the same region, the underlying graphical user interface is redrawn with a further user interface element corresponding to at least one of the user interface elements previously displayed in the first region, so that the further user interface element is actuatable to invoke a command to carry out the corresponding function. In another embodiment, the virtual keyboard may be modified instead to provide an action key corresponding to a function related to an application executing on the device.

Claims

1. A device comprising a touchscreen display adapted to present a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface comprising:

one or more user interface elements, each said user interface element being actuatable using the touchscreen display to invoke a corresponding function;

wherein the device is adapted to;

display an overlay user input interface such that said one or more user interface elements are not actuatable; and

while said overlay user input interface is displayed, display a modified graphical user interface wherein at least one of said one or more user interface elements is presented, such that said at least one user interface element is actuatable.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more user interface elements comprised in the graphical user interface is displayed in a first location of the touchscreen display, the overlay user input interface is displayed in an area of the touchscreen display comprising the first location, and wherein the at least one of said one or more user interface elements is displayed in a second location of the touchscreen display outside said area.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the first location is proximate a first end of the touchscreen display and the second location is proximate an opposing end of the touchscreen display.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the overlay user input interface is a virtual keyboard.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the said at least one user interface element is actuatable to invoke a primary function.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the primary function is determined by detected use of functions associated with the graphical user interface.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the primary function is a most frequently used function associated with the graphical user interface.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the primary function is determined by:

correlating at least one state of an application associated with the graphical user interface to a detected input command; and

upon invocation of the overlay user input interface, determining a current state of the application, and defining the primary function as an action associated with said current state.

9. The device of claim 5, wherein the primary function is determined by:

correlating at least one detected input command with a state of an application associated with the graphical user interface; and

upon invocation of the overlay user input interface, determining a current state of the application, and defining the primary function as a most frequently used action associated with said current state.

10. A method for operating a device comprising a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

presenting a first graphical user interface at the touchscreen display, the first graphical user interface comprising one or more user interface elements, each said user interface element being actuatable using the touchscreen display to invoke a corresponding function;

displaying an overlay user input interface at the touchscreen display such that said one or more user interface elements are not actuatable; and

while said overlay user input interface is displayed, displaying a modified graphical user interface at the touchscreen display, wherein at least one of said one or more user interface elements is presented, such that said at least one user interface element is actuatable.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

presenting the first graphical user interface comprising the one or more user interface elements comprises displaying the one or more user interface elements in a first location of the touchscreen display; and

displaying the overlay user input interface comprises displaying the overlay user input interface in an area of the touchscreen display comprising the first location;

and further wherein in the modified graphical user interface, the at least one of said one or more user interface elements is displayed in a second location of the touchscreen display outside said area.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first location is proximate a first end of the touchscreen display and the second location is proximate an opposing end of the touchscreen display.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the overlay user input interface is a virtual keyboard.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the said at least one user interface element is actuatable to invoke a primary function.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the primary function is determined by detected use of functions associated with the graphical user interface.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the primary function is a most frequently used function associated with the graphical user interface.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the primary function is determined by:

correlating at least one state of an application associated with the graphical user interface to a detected input command; and

upon invocation of the overlay user input interface, determining a current state of the application, and defining the primary function as an action associated with said current state.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the primary function is determined by:

correlating at least one detected input command with a state of an application associated with the graphical user interface; and

upon invocation of the overlay user input interface, determining a current state of the application, and defining the primary function as a most frequently used action associated with said current state.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the state of the application comprises an identification of an application view currently displayed and whether data has been input using the graphical user interface.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions which when executed on one or more processors of a computing system cause the system to carry out a method of operating a device comprising a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

presenting a first graphical user interface at the touchscreen display, the first graphical user interface comprising one or more user interface elements, each said user interface element being actuatable using the touchscreen display to invoke a corresponding function;

displaying an overlay user input interface at the touchscreen display such that said one or more user interface elements are not actuatable; and

while said overlay user input interface is displayed, displaying a modified graphical user interface at the touchscreen display, wherein at least one of said one or more user interface elements is presented, such that said at least one user interface element is actuatable.