Motion activated content control for media system

• US 8,191,011 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Abanami, Thamer, Fong, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Levy, Amy M
• Application Number:
  US12/233,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,349 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715765-767, 715/773, 715/781, 715/788.81, 715/815, 715/864, 715/835, 715/846, 345156-179
• US Class Current: 715/835
• 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 2200/1637 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 3/0346 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• 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 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A media system is described including a graphical display that presents an iconic menu and a textual menu. The iconic menu includes a plurality of icons arranged in a two-dimensional collection, where each icon provides access to media content. The textual menu includes a structured textual list that provides access to a media library including the media content. The iconic menu may be unlocked responsive to a first user input received at the user input device and may be locked responsive to a second user input received at the user input device. The plurality of icons of the iconic menu may be shuffled relative to each other without shuffling the structured textual list responsive to motion of the media system. The plurality of icons may be maintained in a fixed relative arrangement even if motion of the media system occurs if the iconic menu is locked.

Claims

1. A media system, comprising:

a graphical display;

a user input device;

a motion sensor for detecting motion of the graphical display;

a logic subsystem; and

memory holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to;

concurrently present an iconic menu and a textual menu via the graphical display,

the textual menu comprising a structured textual list providing access to a media library including a plurality of media content items, and the iconic menu comprising a plurality of icons arranged in a two-dimensional collection, each icon of the plurality of icons providing access to one of the plurality of media content items;

unlock the iconic menu responsive to a first user input received at the user input device and lock the iconic menu responsive to a second user input received at the user input device;

shuffle the plurality of icons relative to each other without shuffling the structured textual list responsive to motion detected by the motion sensor if the iconic menu is unlocked; and

maintain the plurality of icons in a fixed relative arrangement if motion is detected by the motion sensor while the iconic menu is locked.

2. The media system of claim 1, where the user input device includes a touch-sensitive region of the graphical display.

3. The media system of claim 1, where the user input device includes a button.

4. The media system of claim 1, where the plurality of icons are shuffled relative to each other from a default arrangement to a shuffled arrangement;

and where the memory further includes instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to;

return the plurality of icons to the default arrangement from the shuffled arrangement responsive to a third user input that is directed to the textual menu.

5. The media system of claim 4, where the memory further includes instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to:

increase a prominence of the textual menu by increasing a size of the textual menu relative to a size of the iconic menu responsive to receiving the third user input that is directed to the textual menu.

6. The media system of claim 1, where the memory further includes instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to:

shuffle the plurality of icons relative to each other by changing a relative arrangement of one or more icons of the plurality of icons from a first arrangement to a second arrangement in at least two dimensions of the graphical display and maintain a fixed angular orientation of each icon of the plurality of icons relative to the graphical display in both the first arrangement and the second arrangement.

7. The media system of claim 1, where the memory further includes instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to:

remove one or more icons from the iconic menu when the iconic menu is shuffled; and

introduce one or more new icons into the iconic menu when the iconic menu is shuffled, the one or more new icons providing access to different media content items of the media library that was not previously accessible via the iconic menu before the plurality of icons were shuffled.

8. The media system of claim 7, where the different media content items include recommended media content;

and where the memory further includes instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to;

identify the recommended media content from the media library responsive to an operating condition of the media system.

9. The media system of claim 8, where the operating condition of the media system includes media content that was previously accessed via the plurality of icons.

10. The media system of claim 1, where the two-dimensional collection of icons defines one or more columns of icons and two or more rows of icons.

11. The media system of claim 10, where a size of the one or more columns and a size of the two or more rows are based on a size of each icon of the plurality of icons.

12. The media system of claim 1, where the plurality of icons provide access to the media content items forming a subset of media content of the media library.

13. The media system of claim 1, where each media content item includes one or more of visual content, audio content, communication content, favorite content, recommended content, newly available content, recently added content, news about content, and social content.

14. The media system of claim 1, where the motion sensor includes one or more of an optical element and an accelerometer.

15. A method of operating a media system having a media library including media content, the method comprising:

presenting an iconic menu via a graphical display of the media system, the iconic menu comprising a two-dimensional collection of icons which collectively provide access to a subset of media content of the media library;

presenting a textual menu via the graphical display, the textual menu comprising a structured list of the media content of the media library;

receiving a user input directed to the iconic menu;

responsive to receiving the user input directed to the iconic menu, reducing a size of the textual menu to a diminished scale;

receiving an indication of motion of the media system via a motion sensor of the media system;

responsive to receiving the indication of motion of the media system while the size of the textual menu is reduced to the diminished scale, maintaining the structured list of the textual menu in a fixed arrangement while rearranging one or more of the icons within the two-dimensional collection from a first arrangement to a second arrangement;

receiving a user input directed to the textual menu; and

responsive to receiving the user input directed to the textual menu, reducing a size of the iconic menu to a diminished scale and rearranging the icons to the first arrangement.

16. The method of claim 15, where the media system includes a button;

and where one or both of the user input directed to the iconic menu and the user input directed to the textual menu is received via the button.

17. The method of claim 15, where the media system includes one or more touch-sensitive regions of the graphical display, and where one or both of the user input directed to the iconic menu and the user input directed to the textual menu is received via the one or more touch-sensitive regions of the graphical display.

18. A media system, comprising:

a graphical display;

a user input device;

a motion sensor for detecting motion of the graphical display;

a logic subsystem; and

memory holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to cause the logic subsystem to;

present an iconic menu via the graphical display, the iconic menu comprising a plurality of icons having disparate relative sizes arranged in a two-dimensional collection, each icon of the plurality of icons providing access to a first subset of media content of a media library;

present a textual menu via the graphical display, the textual menu comprising a structured textual list providing access to the media library;

unlock the iconic menu responsive to a first user input received at the user input device;

lock the iconic menu responsive to a second user input received at the user input device;

increase a size of the iconic menu relative to a size of the textual menu responsive to a third user input received at the user input device if the third user input is directed to the iconic menu, and increase the size of the textual menu relative to the size of the iconic menu if the third input received at the user input device is directed to the textual menu;

shuffle the plurality of icons relative to each other in at least two dimensions of the graphical display responsive to a shaking motion detected by the motion sensor without shuffling the textual menu if the iconic menu is unlocked;

replace one or more icons of the iconic menu with one or more new icons responsive to shuffling of the plurality of icons, the new icons providing access to a second subset of media content of the media library; and

maintain the plurality of icons of the iconic menu in a fixed relative arrangement if the shaking motion is detected by the motion sensor when the iconic menu is locked.