Customization of GUI layout based on history of use

• US 8,375,295 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Issued: 02/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akzo Nobel Chemicals International B.V. (Nouryon BV), Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zalewski, Gary M., Nicholson, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US12/574,887
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 715/200, 715/201, 715/204, 715/205, 715/210, 715/226, 715/231, 715/234, 715/243, 715/249, 715/255, 715/273, 715/276, 715/700, 715/731, 715/746, 715/760, 715/761, 715/762, 715/767, 715/771, 715/202, 715/203, 715/246, 715/251, 715/256, 715/763, 715/802, 715/805, 715/811, 715/856, 715/861, 715/863, 715/864, 345/156, 345/157, 345/173, 345/423, 345/424, 345/428, 345/581, 345/594, 345/620, 345/621, 345/625, 345/650, 345/661, 345/676
• US Class Current: 715/234
• 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 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• 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 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• 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: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks

Abstract

A hand-held electronic device, method of operation and computer readable medium are disclosed. The device may include a case having one or more major surfaces. A visual display and a touch interface are disposed on at least one of the major surfaces.

A processor is operably coupled to the visual display and touch screen. Instructions executable by the processor may be configured to a) present an image on the visual display containing one or more active elements; b) correlate one or more active portions of the touch interface to one or more corresponding active elements in the image on the visual display; and c) adjust a layout of content shown on the display according to a probability of one or more actions that may be taken with the one or more active elements.

Claims

1. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:

a case having first and second major surfaces;

a visual display disposed on the first major surface;

a touch interface disposed on at least one of the major surfaces;

a processor operably coupled to the visual display and the touch interface; and

instructions executable by the processor configured such that, when executed, the instructions cause the device to;

a) present an image on the visual display containing one or more active elements;

b) correlate one or more active portions of the touch interface to one or more corresponding active elements in the image on the visual display; and

c) adjust a layout of content shown on the display according to a probability of one or more actions that may be taken with the one or more active elements;

wherein the instructions are further configured to perform a tessellation of the image so that the image is divided into one or more regions that fill the display, wherein each region corresponds to a different active element;

wherein a size of each region depends on a corresponding probability that a user will use the corresponding active element within a given time frame;

wherein the probability that the user will use the corresponding active element depends on a time elapsed since a previous action;

wherein the instructions are configured to iteratively repeat a), b) and c);

wherein the corresponding probabilities for each region decay over time to an unbiased probability whereby the tessellation of the image decays over time to an unbiased tessellation.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the instructions are configured to decay the layout to a non-predictive layout over time.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a prediction engine configured to compute a probability for a subsequent action based on a past pattern of user behavior following an action of a given type with the device.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the past behavior is correlated to a type of content displayed on the display.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein the prediction engine is configured to update the probability for the subsequent action as the user uses the device.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the instructions are configured to adjust the layout in a way that facilitates one or more subsequent actions that are most probable.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the instructions are configured to adjust the layout by locating active elements that are likely to be used in sequence closer together than in a default layout.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the instructions are configured to adjust an appearance of the active elements.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein active elements likely to be used are highlighted or more brightly colored than other elements.

10. The device of claim 6 wherein the instructions are configured to adjust an operation of one or more of the active elements.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the tessellation divides the image into one or more convex regions.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the tessellation is a Voronoi decomposition.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein b) includes making a first region with a first corresponding probability larger than a second region with a second corresponding probability when the first corresponding probability is greater than the second corresponding probability.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein the probability that the user will use the corresponding active element depends on a history of use of the device.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual display is a touch screen that includes the touch interface.

16. The device of claim 1 wherein the touch interface is a touch pad.

17. The device of claim 16 wherein the visual display is a touch screen that is separate from the touch pad.

18. The device of claim 17 wherein the visual display is located on first surface of a case and the touch pad is located on a second surface of the case that is opposite the first surface.

19. The device of claim 17 wherein the visual display and touch pad are disposed on the same side of the case.

20. The device of claim 17 wherein the visual display and touch pad are disposed on different sides of the case.

21. The device of claim 20 wherein the visual display is disposed on a front side of the case and the touch pad is disposed on a back side of the case.

22. The device of claim 17 wherein the case includes first and second case portions wherein the visual display is disposed on the first case portion and wherein the touch pad is disposed on the second case portion.

23. The device of claim 22 wherein the first and second case portions are slidably connected to each other.

24. The device of claim 22 wherein the first and second case portions are connected to each other in a hinged configuration.

25. The device of claim 24 wherein the visual display and touch pad face inward when the first and second portions are in a closed position.

26. The device of claim 25 wherein one of the visual display and touch pad faces inward and the other of the touch pad and visual display faces outward when the first and second portions are in a closed position.

27. The device of claim 25 wherein the visual display and touch pad face inward when the first and second portions are in a closed position.

28. The device of claim 1 wherein the visual display includes a touch screen and the touch interface includes the touch screen.

29. The device of claim 1 wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that activate one or more of the elements in response to a distinct mode of touch that is distinct from a normal mode of touch that does not activate the one or more active elements.

30. The device of claim 29 wherein the distinct mode of touch is a two finger touch and wherein the normal mode of touch is a single finger touch.

31. The device of claim 1 wherein the instructions are further configured to activate one of the one or more active elements in response to a touch to a corresponding one of the active portions of the touch interface.

32. The device of claim 1 wherein the instructions are further configured to present a transformed element on the display in response to a user interaction with the touch interface, wherein the transformed element interacts with the touch screen in a different mode of operation than a mode of operation of the corresponding active element prior to its transformation.

33. The device of claim 32 wherein the transformed element appears magnified on the visual display compared to the active element prior to transformation into the transformed active element.

34. The device of claim 33 wherein the instructions are configured to control a degree of magnification of the transformed element according to a mode of touch on the touch interface.

35. The device of claim 32 wherein the instructions further comprise an instruction configured to revert the transformed element to a form the active element had prior to being transformed into the transformed element in response to a signal from the touch interface or after an interaction with the transformed element is completed.

36. The device of claim 35 wherein the instructions are configured to revert the transformed active element in response to a removal of a touch on the touch interface.

37. The device of claim 35, wherein the instructions further comprise an instruction to highlight an active element that was most recently transformed.

38. The device of claim 37 wherein the visual display is a touch screen and wherein the instructions are configured to interpret a touch anywhere on the touch screen as an activation of the most recently transformed active element.

39. The device of claim 32, wherein the visual display is a touch screen and wherein the instructions further include an instruction to re-purpose one or more portions of the touch screen outside the transformed element to act as inputs for commands associated with the transformed element.

40. A method for operating a hand-held electronic device having a case with one or more major surfaces, a visual display disposed on at least one of the major surfaces, a touch interface disposed on at least one of the major surfaces, a processor operably coupled to the visual display and the touch interface;

and instructions executable by the processor to implement the method, the method comprising;

a) presenting an image on the visual display containing one or more active elements;

b) correlating one or more active portions of the touch interface to one or more corresponding active elements in the image on the visual display;

c) adjusting a layout of content shown on the display according to a probability of one or more actions that may be taken with the one or more active elements; and

iteratively repeating a), b) and c)

performing a tessellation of the image so that the image is divided into one or more regions that fill the display, wherein each region corresponds to a different active element;

wherein a size of each region depends on a corresponding probability that a user will use the corresponding active element within a given time frame, wherein the probability that the user will use the corresponding active element depends on a time elapsed since a previous action;

wherein the corresponding probabilities for each region decay over time to an unbiased probability whereby the tessellation of the image decays over time to an unbiased tessellation.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the probability of the one or more actions depends on a time elapsed since a previous action.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the probability of the one or more actions depends on a history of use of the device.

43. The method of claim 40 wherein the probability of the one or more actions includes a probability for a subsequent action based on a past pattern of user behavior following an action of a given type with the device.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the past behavior is correlated to a type of content displayed on the display.

45. The method of claim 40 further comprising updating the probability for the subsequent action as the user uses the device.

46. The method of claim 40 wherein c) includes adjusting the layout in a way that facilitates one or more subsequent actions that are most probable.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein adjusting the layout includes locating active elements that are likely to be used in sequence closer together than in a default layout.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein adjusting the layout includes adjusting an appearance of the active elements.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein one or more active elements that are likely to be used are highlighted or more brightly colored than other elements.

50. The device of claim 46 wherein adjusting the layout includes adjusting an operation of one or more of the active elements.

51. The method of claim 40 wherein the tessellation divides the image into one or more convex regions.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the tessellation is a Voronoi decomposition.

53. The method of claim 40, further comprising activating one of the one or more active elements in response to a touch to a corresponding one of the active portions of the touch interface.

54. The method of claim 40, further comprising transforming one or more of the active elements to a transformed element in response to a user interaction with a corresponding one or more of the active portions of the touch interface.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the transformed element interacts with the touch interface in a different mode of operation than a mode of operation of the corresponding active element prior to its transformation.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein the transformed element appears magnified on the visual display compared to the active element prior to transformation into the transformed active element.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein a mode of touch on the touch interface controls a degree of magnification of the transformed element.

58. The method of claim 54, further comprising reverting the transformed element to a form the active element had prior to being transformed into the transformed element in response to a signal from the touch interface.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein a removal of a touch on the touch interface triggers reverting the transformed element.

60. The method of claim 54, further comprising highlighting an active element that was most recently transformed.

61. The method of claim 60 wherein a touch anywhere on the touch interface activates the most recently transformed active element.

62. The method of claim 40, further comprising, for each active element of the one or more active elements, determining the corresponding probability that a user will use the active element within a given time frame.

63. A non-transitory computer readable medium programmed with computer executable instructions for operating a hand-held electronic device having a case with one or more major surfaces, a visual display disposed on at least one of the major surfaces, a touch interface disposed on at least one of the major surfaces, a processor operably coupled to the visual display and the touch interface, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to implement a method comprising:

a) presenting an image on the visual display containing one or more active elements;

b) correlating one or more active portions of the touch interface to one or more corresponding active elements in the image on the visual display;

c) adjusting a layout of content shown on the display according to a probability of one or more actions that may be taken with the one or more active elements;

wherein the instructions are configured to iteratively repeat a), b) and c);

wherein the instructions are further configured to perform a tessellation of the image so that the image is divided into one or more regions that fill the display, wherein each region corresponds to a different active element;

wherein a size of each region depends on a corresponding probability that a user will use the corresponding active element within a given time frame,

wherein the probability that the user will use the corresponding active element depends on a time elapsed since a previous action;

wherein the corresponding probabilities for each region decay over time to an unbiased probability whereby the tessellation of the image decays over time to an unbiased tessellation.