Visual representation and other effects for application management on a device with a small screen
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for presenting a set of icons associated with a first application in a display, the method comprising:
- presenting the set of icons for the first application to the user in the display so that an icon from the set of icons can be selected by a user via a keypad;
receiving an interruption while executing the first application;
using three-dimensional graphical display techniques to create an iconized but still-active representation of the first application on a side of the display; and
displaying an interrupting dialog associated with the interruption in a primary area of the display;
wherein the set of icons are presented in the display such that the spatial layout of the set of icons is substantially the same as the layout of the keypad, resulting in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices quickly and easily;
wherein the set of icons is partitioned into a hierarchical set of icons that includes two or more levels of hierarchy;
wherein a visualization of the complete hierarchical set of icons is displayed in the display, and wherein multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of icons are simultaneously displayed in the display using three-dimensional graphical display techniques;
wherein simultaneously displaying multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of items in the display results in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices from the hierarchical set of icons quickly and easily; and
wherein transitioning to the iconized representation of the first application allows the user to recognize intuitively that a status change has occurred and gives the user visual context into the status of the first application.
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Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system and a method for presenting a set of icons in a display so that the icons can be selected by a user via a keypad. During operation, the display presents a set of icons to the user. The user can then select an icon from the set of icons by entering input into the keypad. The set of icons are presented in the display such that the spatial layout of the set of icons is substantially the same as the layout of the keypad, resulting in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices quickly and easily.
292 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for presenting a set of icons associated with a first application in a display, the method comprising:
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presenting the set of icons for the first application to the user in the display so that an icon from the set of icons can be selected by a user via a keypad; receiving an interruption while executing the first application; using three-dimensional graphical display techniques to create an iconized but still-active representation of the first application on a side of the display; and displaying an interrupting dialog associated with the interruption in a primary area of the display; wherein the set of icons are presented in the display such that the spatial layout of the set of icons is substantially the same as the layout of the keypad, resulting in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices quickly and easily; wherein the set of icons is partitioned into a hierarchical set of icons that includes two or more levels of hierarchy; wherein a visualization of the complete hierarchical set of icons is displayed in the display, and wherein multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of icons are simultaneously displayed in the display using three-dimensional graphical display techniques; wherein simultaneously displaying multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of items in the display results in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices from the hierarchical set of icons quickly and easily; and wherein transitioning to the iconized representation of the first application allows the user to recognize intuitively that a status change has occurred and gives the user visual context into the status of the first application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22)
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12. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for presenting a set of icons associated with a first application in a display, the method comprising:
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presenting the set of icons for the first application to the user in the display so that an icon from the set of icons can be selected by a user via a keypad; receiving an interruption while executing the first application; using three-dimensional graphical display techniques to create an iconized but still-active representation of the first application on a side of the display; and displaying an interrupting dialog associated with the interruption in a primary area of the display; wherein the set of icons are presented in the display such that the spatial layout of the set of icons is substantially the same as the layout of the keypad, resulting in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices quickly and easily; wherein the set of icons is partitioned into a hierarchical set of icons that includes two or more levels of hierarchy; wherein a visualization of the complete hierarchical set of icons is displayed in the display, and wherein multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of icons are simultaneously displayed in the display using three-dimensional graphical display techniques; wherein simultaneously displaying multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of items in the display results in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices from the hierarchical set of icons quickly and easily; and wherein transitioning to the iconized representation of the first application allows the user to recognize intuitively that a status change has occurred and gives the user visual context into the status of the first application. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for presenting a set of icons associated with a first application in a display, comprising:
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a display mechanism configured to present a set of icons for the first application to the user; and an input mechanism configured to select an icon from the set of icons based on user input from a keypad; wherein the set of icons are presented in the display such that the spatial layout of the set of icons is substantially the same as the layout of the keypad, resulting in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices quickly and easily; wherein the set of icons is partitioned into a hierarchical set of icons that includes two or more levels of hierarchy; wherein a visualization of the complete hierarchical set of icons is displayed in the display, and wherein multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of icons are simultaneously displayed in the display using three-dimensional graphical display techniques; wherein simultaneously displaying multiple levels of hierarchy from the hierarchical set of items in the display results in an intuitive interface that allows the user to select desired choices from the hierarchical set of icons quickly and easily; wherein the display mechanism is further configured to receive an interruption while presenting the set of icons, and is configured to respond to the interruption by; using three-dimensional graphical display techniques to create an iconized but still-active representation of the first application on a side of the display; and displaying an interrupting dialog associated with the interruption in a primary area of the display; and wherein transitioning to the iconized representation of the first application allows the user to recognize intuitively that a status change has occurred and gives the user visual context into the status of the first application.
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Specification