METHOD AND HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING A GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE WHICH ARRANGES ICONS DYNAMICALLY

• US 20120284620A1
• Filed: 07/13/2012
• Published: 11/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Yach, David Paul, Lazaridis, Mihal
• Granted Patent: US 9,280,261 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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 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 3/0481 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• 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 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• 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: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A graphical user interface for a media player application is described. A method is provided comprising: determining a screen orientation of the GUI in accordance with a device orientation; rendering a first user interface screen in a portrait screen orientation comprising an album list when the screen orientation is a portrait screen orientation; rendering a second user interface screen in a landscape screen orientation comprising an array of album art images arranged in rows and columns when the screen orientation is a landscape screen orientation; and displaying the rendered first or second user interface screen on the display.

Claims

1. A method for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for a media player application on a display of a handheld electronic device, the method comprising:

determining a screen orientation of the GUI in accordance with a device orientation;

displaying a first user interface screen in a portrait screen orientation comprising an album list when the screen orientation is a portrait screen orientation;

displaying a second user interface screen in a landscape screen orientation comprising an array of album art images arranged in rows and columns when the screen orientation is a landscape screen orientation; and

displaying the rendered first or second user interface screen on the display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the album list comprises a table comprising a number of rows and columns, wherein rows in the table comprise albums and columns in a row comprise fields providing information about the respective album, wherein the rows each comprise at least one field which link to album user interface screens for the respective albums, the method further comprising:

when the first user interface screen is displayed on the display, displaying an album user interface screen for an album in the album list when the at least one field linked to its album user interface screen is activated via corresponding input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein album art images in the array of album art images are linked to respective album user interface screens for the respective albums, the method further comprising:

when the second user interface screen is displayed on the display, displaying an album user interface screen for a respective album in the array of album art images when its album art image is activated via corresponding input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each album list comprises a table comprising a number of rows and columns, wherein rows in the table represent tracks for respective albums and columns in the rows comprise fields providing information about the respective tracks.

5. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a controller;

a display coupled to the controller;

a memory coupled to the controller, the memory having stored therein a user interface module for generating a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display; and

a sensor coupled to the controller for generating an orientation signal;

wherein the controller is configured by the user interface module for;

determining a screen orientation of the GUI in accordance with the orientation signal;

displaying a first user interface screen in a portrait screen orientation comprising an album list when the screen orientation is a portrait screen orientation;

displaying a second user interface screen in a landscape screen orientation comprising an array of album art images arranged in rows and columns when the screen orientation is a landscape screen orientation; and

displaying the rendered first or second user interface screen on the display.

6. The handheld electronic device of claim 5, wherein the album list comprises a table comprising a number of rows and columns, wherein rows in the table comprise albums and columns in a row comprise fields providing information about the respective album, wherein the rows each comprise at least one field which links to album user interface screens for the respective albums, the controller being further configured for:

when the first user interface screen is displayed on the display, displaying an album user interface screen for an album in the album list when the at least one field linked to its album user interface screen is activated via corresponding input.

7. The handheld electronic device of claim 5, wherein album art images in the array of album art images are linked to respective album user interface screens for the respective albums, the controller being further configured for:

when the second user interface screen is displayed on the display, displaying an album user interface screen for a respective album in the array of album art images when its album art image is activated via corresponding input.

8. A method for providing an icon menu with dynamic icon arrangement within a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on a display of a handheld electronic device, the method comprising:

determining a screen orientation of the GUI in accordance with a device orientation;

displaying a first user interface screen in a portrait screen orientation when a screen orientation of the GUI is a portrait screen orientation, the first user interface screen comprising a reduced icon menu having a plurality of icons arranged in an array of rows and columns and an input area adjacent to the reduced icon menu; and

displaying a second user interface screen in a landscape screen orientation when the screen orientation of the GUI is a landscape screen orientation, the second user interface screen comprising a first expanded icon menu having a plurality of icons arranged in an array of rows and columns, wherein the first expanded icon menu includes the array of icons of the reduced icon menu and one or more additional rows of icons, wherein the first expanded icon menu is larger than the reduced icon menu.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the icons of the reduced icon menu are a plurality of commonly used icons.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the commonly used icons of the reduced icon menu are configurable.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first expanded icon menu is scrollable to display additional icons of the first expanded icon menu in response to respective directional input and the reduced icon menu is non-scrollable.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the array of icons of the reduced icon menu has one or two rows of icons and the array of icons of the first expanded icon menus has three or more rows of icons.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the method is performed in response to a change in device orientation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method is performed when the change in device orientation matches a rule for a screen orientation which is different from the current screen orientation.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

when the first user interface screen is displayed on the display, displaying a third user interface screen when input is detected in the input area, wherein the third user interface screen comprises a second expanded icon menu having a plurality of icons arranged in an array of rows and columns, wherein the second expanded icon menu includes the array of icons of the reduced icon menu and one or more additional rows of icons, wherein the second expanded icon menu is larger than the reduced icon menu.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, in the first user interface screen, the reduced icon menu is located at a bottom of the first user interface screen and the input area is located above the reduced icon menu in the first user interface screen,

wherein, in the second user interface screen, the first expanded icon menu is located at a bottom of the second user interface screen, and

wherein, in the third user interface screen, the second expanded icon menu is located at a bottom of the third user interface screen, wherein the icons of the reduced icon menu are displayed in the third user interface screen in the same portion of the display as the input area of the first user interface screen, and wherein additional icons are displayed in the third user interface screen in the same portion of the display as the reduced icon menu of the first user interface screen.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second expanded icon menu is scrollable to display additional icons of the second expanded icon menu in response to respective directional input, and the reduced icon menu is non-scrollable.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first expanded icon menu is scrollable to display additional icons of the first expanded icon menu in response to respective directional input.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the array of icons of the reduced icon menu has one or two rows of icons and the array of icons of the second expanded icon menus have three or more rows of icons.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the array of icons of the first expanded icon menus has three or more rows of icons.

21. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a controller;

a display coupled to the controller;

a memory coupled to the controller, the memory having stored therein a user interface module for generating a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display; and

a sensor coupled to the controller for generating an orientation signal;

wherein the controller is configured by the user interface module to;

determine a screen orientation of the GUI in accordance with the orientation signal;

display a first user interface screen in a portrait screen orientation when a screen orientation of the GUI is a portrait screen orientation, the first user interface screen comprising a reduced icon menu having a plurality of icons arranged in an array of rows and columns and an input area adjacent to the reduced icon menu; and

display a second user interface screen in a landscape screen orientation when the screen orientation of the GUI is a landscape screen orientation, the second user interface screen comprising a first expanded icon menu having a plurality of icons arranged in an array of rows and columns, wherein the first expanded icon menu includes the array of icons of the reduced icon menu and one or more additional rows of icons, wherein the first expanded icon menu is larger than the reduced icon menu.