Changing an orientation of a user interface via a course of motion

• US 7,814,419 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2003
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crystal Mountain Communications, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Fabritius, Henna
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US10/723,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20050114788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,512 Days
• Field of Search: 715/702, 715/973
• US Class Current: 715/702
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for changing an orientation of a User Interface (UI), the method comprises the steps of detecting a course of motion that is performed on the UI, and changing the orientation of the UI with respect to a device in which the UI is integrated according to the detected course of motion. The course of motion that is performed on the UI may for instance be the dragging of an element across a touch-screen display or the drawing of a gesture on a touch-screen display. The invention further relates to a device, a mobile phone, a computer program and a computer program product.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying an image containing content together with a dragging element superimposed on top of the image content when positioned over said content on a user interface, wherein said dragging element is independent of said content displayed on said user interface and is displayed at a predetermined position of said user interface;

detecting a course of motion that is performed on said user interface by dragging said dragging element, wherein said course of motion comprises dragging said dragging element from said predetermined position at which said dragging element is displayed to another position of said user interface, and

changing an orientation of said user interface for displaying said image with respect to a physical device said user interface is integrated in according to said detected course of motion.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said course of motion is performed on said user interface via a user interface interaction device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said user interface is a touch-screen display and wherein said user interface interaction device is a touching device.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said user interface interaction device is a device configured to control the movement of an element on said user interface.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said dragging element is located near an edge of the user interface.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said detected course of motion is visualized on said user interface.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said orientation of said user interface is changed by 90°

, 180°

or 270°

with respect to said physical device said user interface is integrated in.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein images that are displayed on said user interface are transformed and/or re-scaled according to said changed orientation.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user interface is integrated in a hand-held device, in particular a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant.

10. A computer readable medium storing a computer program with instructions so that when executed by a processor performs the method of claim 1.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said dragging element is a soft button that is provided on said user interface for other purposes and is assigned additional functionality to initiate said change of said orientation of said user interface only when being dragged across said user interface.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user interface is a touch-screen display, and wherein said orientation of said touch-screen display is changed by rotating the complete display and input control logic.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined position is a corner of said user interface.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein dragging said dragging element from said corner to a neighboring corner causes said orientation of said user interface to be changed by 90°

with respect to said device said user interface is integrated in.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein dragging said dragging element from said corner to a diagonally opposite corner causes said orientation of said user interface to be changed by 180°

with respect to said device said user interface is integrated in.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a detector configured to detect a course of motion that is performed on a user interface by dragging a dragging element displayed on said user interface together with an image containing content, the dragging element superimposed on top of the image containing content when positioned over said content, wherein said dragging element is independent of said content displayed on said user interface and is displayed at a predetermined position of said user interface, and wherein said course of motion comprises dragging said dragging element from said predetermined position at which said dragging element is displayed to another position of said user interface, and

a processor and controller configured to

change said orientation of said user interface for displaying said image with respect to a physical device said user interface is integrated in according to said detected course of motion.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said apparatus is integrated in a hand-held device, in particular a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant.

18. An apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising:

at least one user interface.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising a user interface interaction device, via which said course of motion is performed on said at least one user interface.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said at least one user interface is a touch-screen display and wherein said user interface interaction device is a touching device.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said user interface interaction device is a device configured to control the movement of an element on said at least one user interface.

22. The apparatus according to claim 16, further configured to visualize said detected course of motion on said at least one user interface.

23. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said apparatus is configured to change said orientation of said at least one user interface by 90°

, 180°

or 270°

with respect to said physical device said user interface is integrated in.

24. The apparatus according to claim 16, further configured to transform and/or re-scale images that are displayed on said at least one user interface according to said changed orientation.

25. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said dragging element is a soft button that is provided on said user interface for other purposes and is assigned additional functionality to initiate said change of said orientation of said user interface only when being dragged across said user interface.

26. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said user interface is a touch-screen display, and wherein said apparatus is configured to change said orientation of said touch-screen display by rotating the complete display and input control logic.

27. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said predetermined position is a corner of said user interface.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said apparatus is configured so that dragging said dragging element from said corner to a neighboring corner causes said orientation of said user interface to be changed by 90°

with respect to said device said user interface is integrated in.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said apparatus is configured so that dragging said dragging element from said corner to a diagonally opposite corner causes said orientation of said user interface to be changed by 180°

with respect to said device said user interface is integrated in.

30. An apparatus comprising:

means for displaying an image containing content together with a dragging element superimposed on top of the image content when positioned over said content on a user interface, wherein said dragging element is independent of said content displayed on said user interface and is displayed at a predetermined position of said user interface;

means for detecting a course of motion that is performed on said user interface by dragging said dragging element, wherein said course of motion comprises dragging said dragging element from said predetermined position at which said dragging element is displayed to another position of said user interface, and

means for changing an orientation of said user interface for displaying said image with respect to a physical device

said user interface is integrated in according to said detected course of motion.