LIVE WALLPAPER

• US 20110119610A1
• Filed: 11/15/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Onorato, Joseph M., Cleron, Michael A., Guy, Romain P., Hackborn, Dianne K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,843,838 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/768
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

Display of on-screen elements is coordinated, which includes generating a graphical wallpaper representation in a first process on a first visual layer on a display of a computing device, generating one or more graphical objects in a second process on a second visual layer of the display, wherein the second visual layer is positioned visually on top of the first visual layer, receiving user interactions with the one or more graphical objects and generating information that reflects the user interactions, and communicating the generated information to the first process.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for coordinating a display of on-screen elements on a computing device, the method comprising:

generating a graphical wallpaper representation in a first process on a first visual layer on a display of a computing device;

generating one or more graphical objects in a second process on a second visual layer of the display, wherein the second visual layer is positioned visually on top of the first visual layer;

receiving user interactions with the one or more graphical objects and generating information that reflects the user interactions; and

communicating the generated information to the first process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the graphical wallpaper representation comprises displaying a visual image that covers substantially an entirety of a display on the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing a manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed using the generated information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interactions comprise dragging across the display, and changing the manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed comprises animating motion in the graphical wallpaper representation in a manner that simulates frictional dragging of elements of the graphical wallpaper representation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the animating motion comprises bending one or more graphical elements in a direction of the dragging input.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interactions comprise moving and dropping an icon on a home screen, and changing the manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed comprises animating a perturbation in a surface of the graphical wallpaper representation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein animating the perturbation comprises animating motion that radiates out, on the graphical wallpaper representation, from a location at which the icon was dropped.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more graphical objects is at least partially transparent so as to permit part of the graphical wallpaper representation to show through on the display within an area defined by an outer perimeter of the at least one graphical object.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying in the graphical wallpaper representation, a live image being captured in real-time by a digital camera in the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying in the graphical wallpaper representation, an image representing real-time data downloaded from a remote web server over a wireless connection to the computing device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises information from a social networking site.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises a map.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises weather information.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user selection of an object on the second layer and opening a graphical object in a third layer that is visually in front of the second layer and that executes in a third process that differs from the first process and the second process.

15. A computer-implemented method for generating a graphical user interface on a display of a computing device, the method comprising:

generating a graphical wallpaper representation in a first process on a first visual layer on a display of a computing device;

generating one or more graphical objects in a second process on a second visual layer of the display, wherein the second visual layer is positioned visually on top of the first visual layer;

receiving user input on the display,

communicating to the first process data reflecting the user input; and

producing an animated moving display of the graphical wallpaper representation in response to the user input on the display.

16. A tangible machine-readable storage medium, having recorded and stored thereon instructions, that when executed, perform actions that comprise:

generating a graphical wallpaper representation in a first process on a first visual layer on a display of a computing device;

generating one or more graphical objects in a second process on a second visual layer of the display, wherein the second visual layer is positioned visually on top of the first visual layer;

receiving user interactions with the one or more graphical objects and generating information that reflects the user interactions; and

communicating the generated information to the first process.

17. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein generating the graphical wallpaper representation comprises displaying a visual image that covers substantially an entirety of a display on the computing device.

18. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that when executed change a manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed using the generated information.

19. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the user interactions comprise dragging across the display, and changing the manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed comprises animating motion in the graphical wallpaper representation in a manner that simulates frictional dragging of elements of the graphical wallpaper representation.

20. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the animating motion comprises bending one or more graphical elements in a direction of the dragging input.

21. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the user interactions comprise moving and dropping an icon on a home screen, and changing the manner in which the graphical wallpaper representation is displayed comprises animating a perturbation in a surface of the graphical wallpaper representation.

22. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein animating the perturbation comprises animating motion that radiates out, on the graphical wallpaper representation, from a location at which the icon was dropped.

23. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein at least one of the one or more graphical objects is at least partially transparent so as to permit part of the graphical wallpaper representation to show through on the display within an area defined by an outer perimeter of the at least one graphical object.

24. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that when executed display in the graphical wallpaper representation, a live image being captured in real-time by a digital camera in the computing device.

25. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that when executed display in the graphical wallpaper representation, an image representing real-time data downloaded from a remote web server over a wireless connection to the computing device.

26. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises information from a social networking site.

27. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises a map.

28. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the image representing real-time data downloaded from the remote web server comprises weather information.

29. The tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that when executed receive a user selection of an object on the second layer and opening a graphical object in a third layer that is visually in front of the second layer and that executes in a third process that differs from the first process and the second process.

30. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

a first object for generating a graphical representation of a background wallpaper for a home screen of a computing device, the first object including executable content that when executed, causes the first object to react to inputs from a user of the device;

one or more user selectable second objects; and

a display controller programmed to generate a graphical display of the first object in a first execution process and on a first visual layer of a display of the computing device, and to generate a graphical display of the one or more user selectable second objects in a second execution process that is distinct from the first execution process, and on a second visual layer of the display that is visually in front of the first visual layer of the display.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the one or more selectable objects are programmed to generate a message to the first object to provide information indicative of user interactions with the one or more selectable objects.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the message comprises information indicative of a location on the display at which the user interacts with the one or more selectable objects.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the first object is programmed to produce an animated sequence coordinated with the user selection, at or near the location on the display.

34. A computer-implemented method for coordinating a display of on-screen elements on a computing device, the method comprising:

generating a graphical wallpaper representation in a first environment on a first visual layer on a display of a computing device;

generating one or more graphical objects in a second environment on a second visual layer of the display, wherein the second visual layer is positioned visually on top of the first visual layer;

receiving information from another computing device and communicating the received information to the first environment; and

changing a displayed appearance of the graphical wallpaper representation in the first environment on the first visual layer using the received information.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein a virtual machine isolates a code segment associated with an object of the wallpaper in the first environment and code segments associated with the one or more graphical objects in the second environment.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein a code segment executing in the first environment is sandboxed from code segments executing in the second environment.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the received information is received from a web server associated with a social networking site.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the received information comprises traffic information.