Scrolling and zooming of a portable device display with device motion

• US 20110102455A1
• Filed: 11/05/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Will John Temple
• Original Assignee: Will John Temple
• Inventors: Temple, Will John
• Granted Patent: US 9,696,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/34 for rolling or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/346 for systems having a bit-mapped display memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A portable computing device (10) with a display screen (26) that may be scrolled and/or zoomed in response to changes in the spatial orientation of the computing device. Changes in the spatial orientation of the computing device are sensed by accelerometers (20) contained in the device. Software converts signals sent by the accelerometers to scrolling or zooming commands that scroll and/or zoom the display screen. Motion of the computing device in the plane of the display screen of the computing device results in scrolling the display screen in the opposing direction of the motion of the computing device a distance greater than the distance the computing device is moved. Motion of the computing device perpendicular to the plane of the display screen zooms the display screen in or out. Motion of the computing device toward the user results in the display screen being zoomed in to reveal greater detail. Motion of the computing device away from the user results in the display screen being zoomed out to reveal more content.

Claims

1. A computing device, comprising:

one or more display screens;

means to detect motion of the one or more display screens and generate motion signals;

one or more processors;

memory; 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 detecting motion of the one or more display screens from the motion signals; and

instructions for scrolling one or more portions of the one or more display screens in response to detecting motion of the one or more display screens.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more instructions for scrolling of one or more portions of the one or more display screens scroll the content of the one or more visible programs in the opposite direction of the in display screen plane motion of the computing device.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the distance scrolled of the one or more scrolled portions of the one or more visible programs is greater than the distance the computing device has moved.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more instructions for scrolling of one or more portions of the one or more display screens scroll the content of the one or more visible programs beyond the extents of the visible programs contents;

wherein the one or more instructions for scrolling provide for over-scrolling by displaying a border of limited width.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the one or more instructions for scrolling of a portion of the display screen realign the visible program'"'"'s display content upon reduction of computing device motion within some set threshold values.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device emits an auditory and/or tactile warning that the limits of scrolling are about to be reached.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions for detecting motion of the one or more display screens include the means to detect rotational motion of the display screens, in the plane of the display screens, from the motion signals;

and instructions for rotationally scrolling of one or more portions of the display screens in response to detecting rotational motion of the display screens.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the one or more instructions for rotationally scrolling of one or more portions of the one or more display screens rotationally scrolls the content of the one or more visible programs in the opposite rotational direction of the motion of the computing device.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the one or more display screens is rotationally scrolled by an angle corresponding to the angle the computing device has been rotated.

10. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more programs include:

additional instructions for resizing scrollable and non-scrollable portions of the one or more display screens in response to device motion.

11. A computing device, comprising:

one or more display screens;

means to detect motion of the one or more display screens and generate motion signals;

one or more processors;

memory; 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 detecting motion of the one or more display screens from the motion signals; and

instructions for zooming of one or more portions of the one or more display screens in response to detecting motion of the one or more display screens.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more instructions for zooming of a portion of the one or more display screens zooms in the content of the one or more visible programs in the direction of the motion perpendicular to and up from the surface of the display screens of the computing device and zooms out the content of the one or more visible programs in the direction of the motion perpendicular to and down from the surface of the display screens of the computing device.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more programs include:

additional instructions for resizing zoomable and non-zoomable portions of the one or more display screens in response to device motion.

14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a computing device with one or more movable display screens, detecting a user command to override the state of motion based scrolling and/or zooming;

processing the command;

detecting another user command to end the method;

whereby, for the duration of the method, motion based scrolling and/or zooming is enabled if the previous state of motion based scrolling and/or zooming was disabled, or conversely, disabled if previously enabled.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the user command is the touching of the display screen and maintaining the touch while detecting device motion in the plane of the one or more displays greater than a threshold value;

and the other user command to end the method is the release of the touch.

16. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the user command is the pressing of a device button and the other user command to end the method is the release of the press.

17. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the user command is the pressing of a device button while detecting device motion in the plane of the one or more displays greater than a threshold value;

and the other user command to end the method is the release of the press.

18. A computer-implemented method for switching programs, or program content, in a portable computing device comprising four steps:

a first step is zooming out the current visible program in response to device motion in the negative Z direction;

a second step is the displaying of a list of programs to switch to;

a third step is detecting motion of the device in the X/Y plane to choose a program from the list to switch to; and

a fourth step is detecting a user command to zoom into one of the programs in the list of programs to activate as the new current visible program, or program content.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the user command of the fourth step is motion of the device in the positive Z direction to zoom into one of the programs in the list of programs to activate as the new current visible program.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein pushing a button on the portable computing device during the first step, of the four steps, accelerates the zooming out of the current visible program in response to device motion in the direction perpendicular to and down from the surface of the display screens.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein, in the first step, of the four steps, device motion in the direction perpendicular to and down from the surface of the display screens that exceeds a threshold amount will accelerate the zooming out of the current visible program.

22. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a computing device with one or more movable display screens, detecting a combination of device button presses and/or releases or the touching and/or releasing of a touch screen display;

detecting device motion in the plane of the one or more display screens that has exceeded a first threshold value;

applying one or more heuristics to the press or touch and motion of the device to determine a command for the device; and

processing the command;

wherein the command for the device comprising;

a command to continuously scroll the scrollable portions of the display screens in a direction corresponding to the device motion, whereby previously off-screen content is scrolled onto the scrollable portions of the display screens at a set rate.

23. A computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the one or more heuristics comprise:

a continuous screen scrolling heuristic for determining that the presses or touches occurred before the device motion exceeded the first threshold value or within a set time interval of the device motion exceeding the first threshold value; and

determining the direction of continuous scrolling from the direction the device has moved.

24. A computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the one or more heuristics comprise:

a continuous screen scrolling heuristic for determining that the presses or touches occurred before the device motion exceeded the first threshold value or within a set time interval of the device motion exceeding the first threshold value;

determining the direction of continuous scrolling from the direction the device has moved;

determining that the press or touch is released before the device motion is within a second threshold value;

25. A computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the continuous scroll of the scrollable portions of the display screens continues until the extents of scrollable content are reached or one or more heuristics detects an end continuous scroll command. The heuristics comprise:

detection of button presses and/or releases, or touch screen touch and/or releases, or device motion to determine the end continuous scroll command.

26. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a computing device with one or more movable display screens, detecting a sequence of device motions, in the plane of the one or more display screens, that have exceeded threshold values;

applying one or more heuristics to the motions of the device to determine a command for the device; and

processing the command;

wherein the command for the device comprising;

a command to scroll the scrollable portions of the display screens by one page in a direction corresponding to an initial device motion, whereby the user of the device may view previously off-screen content that is scrolled onto the scrollable portions of the display screens.