U.S. patent number RE43,564 [Application Number 12/980,454] was granted by the patent office on 2012-08-07 for hand-held with auto-zoom for graphical display of web page.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.. Invention is credited to Jan Van Ee.
United States Patent |
RE43,564 |
Van Ee |
August 7, 2012 |
Hand-held with auto-zoom for graphical display of web page
Abstract
A mobile phone has a display with a touch screen. The device has
a browser and is capable of retrieving a Web page from the
Internet. The page is first displayed in its entirety. The user can
recognize the page's general lay-out and presence of hyperlinks.
When the user touches a particular location on the touch screen
that corresponds to a portion of the page's image, the portion gets
displayed so as to fill the display's area. Thus, the user can
browse the Web with a display of limited size.
Inventors: |
Van Ee; Jan (Irvine, CA) |
Assignee: |
Koninklijke Philips Electronics
N.V. (Eindhoven, NL)
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Family
ID: |
22041997 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/980,454 |
Filed: |
December 29, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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09062364 |
Apr 17, 1998 |
6211856 |
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Reissue of: |
09619426 |
Jul 19, 2000 |
6466203 |
Oct 15, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173;
715/835 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/0481 (20130101); G06F 3/0488 (20130101); H03J
1/0025 (20130101); G06F 3/04886 (20130101); H03J
2200/25 (20130101); G06F 2203/04806 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G09G
5/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;345/156-179
;715/835 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0542660 |
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May 1993 |
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EP |
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10049305 |
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Feb 1998 |
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JP |
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9954807 |
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Oct 1999 |
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WO |
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Other References
Perlin et al: "Nested User Interface Components"; Proceedings of
the 12th Annual ACM Syposium on User Interface Software and
Technology, UIST'99, ACM 1999, pp. 1-8. cited by other .
Smith et al: "Generalized and Stationary Scrolling"; UIST'99, CHI
Letters, vol. 1, 1999, pp. 1-9. cited by other .
Vander Zanden et al: Proceedings of the 12th Annual ACM Symposium
on User Interface Software and Technology, Asheville, North
Carolina, Nov. 7-10, 1999, ACM 1999. cited by other.
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Primary Examiner: Patel; Nitin
Assistant Examiner: Said; Mansour M
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part under 37 C.F.R.
.sctn.1.53(b).2 of co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,364 filed Apr.
17, 1198 .Iadd.now U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,856 .Iaddend.for Sung Choi
and Jan van Ee for GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE TOUCH SCREEN WITH AUTO
ZOOM FEATURE.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A handheld communication device comprising: a wireless modem for
receiving data; a display that has a substantially small size
suitable for .[.in.]. the handheld communication device; a data
processing system connected to the modem and to the display for
processing the received data and for rendering an image
corresponding to the data received; a touch screen for enabling a
user to interact with the device; wherein: the system is operative
to enable the user to select through a touch location on the touch
screen a portion of the image, when displayed at a first scale, for
rendering the selected portion on the display at a second scale
larger than the first scale thereby facilitating a selection of a
feature; and the selected portion when rendered at the .[.first.].
.Iadd.second .Iaddend.scale is a zoomed-in version of part of the
image at the first scale substantially centered around the touch
.[.screen.]. .Iadd.location.Iaddend..
2. The device of claim 1, wherein a position of the touch location
is arbitrary with respect to the touch screen.
3. The device of claim 1, comprising a browser.
4. The device of claim 1, having wireless Internet access.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the data comprises streaming
video.
6. .[.Software for being installed on a.]. .Iadd.A
.Iaddend.handheld communication device.Iadd., comprising a
non-transitory computer readable medium embodying software, the
device .Iaddend.comprising: a wireless modem for receiving data; a
display that has a substantially small size suitable for .[.in.].
the handheld communication device; a data processing system
connected to the input and to the display for processing the
received data and for rendering an image corresponding to the data
received; a touch screen for enabling a user to interact with the
device; wherein: the software is operative to enable the user to
select through a touch location on the touch screen a portion of
the image, when displayed at a first scale, for rendering the
selected portion on the display at a second scale larger than the
"first scale;" and, thereby facilitating a selection of a feature,
the selected portion when rendered at the .[.first.]. .Iadd.second
.Iaddend.scale is a zoomed-in version of part of the image at the
first scale substantially centered around the touch .[.screen.].
.Iadd.location.Iaddend..
.Iadd.7. The handheld communication device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the data processing system is further operative to cause a
window containing the selected portion displayed at the second
scale to scroll across the image such that successive new selected
portions of the image are displayed at the second scale. .Iaddend.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to graphical user interfaces (GUI), in
particular to GUI's for devices with a relatively small screen real
estate, such as handheld information appliances (palmtops, mobile
phones, Web pads, PDA's or notebook computers, etc.)
BACKGROUND ART
Current trends indicate that by 2002 there will be 1B subscribers
worldwide to mobile phones. By 2004 there will be more Mobile
phones in use than PC's. Mobile phones have become personal,
trusted devices. Mobile phones, such a the Genie manufactured by
Philips Electronics, typically have an LCD as part of the user
interface and there is a trend to provide an ever larger number of
onboard software services.
Hand-held computing devices, such as personal digital assistants
(PDA), e.g., the PalmIIIx manufactured by 3COM or a Windows
CE-based handheld, can be connected to the Internet via a wireless
modem. As a result, ubiquitous information access via the Internet
has started to become reality. Examples of a wireless modems are,
for example, the Minstrel marketed by Novatel Wireless, and the
Ricochet from Metricom. The Minstrel is a two-way wireless modem
for a PDA that lets the user browse the Web and receive email,
among other things. In a more general sense, a wireless modem like
the Minstrel or Ricochet provides the handheld device with an IP
address that can be used by any type of application that uses the
Internet for communication (within limitations of throughput,
latency and coverage). The Minstrel uses a technology referred to
as Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) that is supported by the
cellular service providers. Web surfing is limited to a CDPD speed
cap of 19.2-kbps. The Ricochet has a faster connect rate, in the
28.8K-bps range, but it is supported in only three metropolitan
centers (the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and Wash.).
Studies further indicate that the functionalities of PDA's and
mobile phones have started to converge, and that a mobile
information society is developing. There will be an emerging of
dedicated devices. PDA's are now work-related. In the near future
PDA's will be personalized computers that stay with the user all
the time. PDA's will get more power and smaller size and
accommodate more, and more versatile, functionalities.
Bandwidth and display size are believed to be the factors that
limit the usability and practicality of the handheld device, be it
a mobile phone, a palmtop or a hybrid. In particular, the GUI and
the services accessible to such handhelds are critical factors for
the consumers' acceptability of such services. In particular,
e-commerce or electronic shopping may benefit from the ubiquity of
handhelds if the implementing technology addresses the consumers'
needs in terms of user-friendliness of the handheld devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,364 (PHA 23,387) mentioned above
and incorporated herein by reference, corresponds to published
International Application WO9954807. This document relates to a
graphical user interface touch screen for displaying controllable
functions of an electronic device. The function is displayed as an
icon and at a scale size in which the function is recognizable by a
user but too small to easily access features of the function. A
magnified version of at least an area of the icon is provided upon
the user touching the area of the icon. For example, the device has
a Virtual alphanumeric keyboard. The softkeys displayed are too
small for the user to select an individual one of them. Now, when
the user touches the keyboard in a specific section that
accommodates the desired key, the device's GUI magnifies that
specific section so that the intended key re-appears at a larger
scale and can be selected.
The inventor has realized that this feature, referred to as
"auto-zoom", is not only useful within the context of a
user-interface for control functionalities represented graphically
by icons. The auto-zoom is also relevant to the rendering of any
kind of graphical information on a display too small for the total
information content, given the display's resolution and size. For
example, handheld information processing devices with Internet
access (browsers) and displays, such as PDA's, palmtops, web pads,
mobile phones using, e.g., the WAP (wireless application protocol)
technology, etc., can be given browsers for retrieving and
navigating web pages from the Internet, but they cannot render a
page in its entirety without losing information. The lay-out and
general appearance of the image of the page, however, indicate
whether portions may or may not be of interest to the user, e.g.,
as containing hyperlinks.
Such handheld devices provided with the auto-zoom feature let the
user retrieve graphical information, e.g., a web page or streamed
video that is stored, e.g., as a bitmap, in the display's
framebuffer or another cache.
Accordingly, the invention relates to an information processing
apparatus that has an input for receiving data from an external
resource, e.g. the Internet, a display, and a data processing
system. The system is connected to the input and to the display.
The system processes the data upon receipt and renders on the
display an image corresponding to the data received. The apparatus
has a touch screen for enabling a user to interact with the
apparatus. The system is operative to enable the user to select via
the touch screen a portion of the image when displayed at a first
scale. Upon the portion being selected the system renders the
selected portion on the display at a second scale larger than the
first scale (zoom-in). The portion selected corresponds to a
location on the touch screen. The invention thus allows the user to
perceive the graphical information of the image regardless of the
display size. The invention is especially interesting to handhelds,
such as PDA's, palmtops,. mobile phones, web pads (thin clients
with browsing capabilities), etc., because the size of a handheld's
display is necessarily small due to the required form factor and
weight limitation. The ubiquitous information access via a browser
is a great asset for Internet-enabled handhelds (comprising a
wireless modem), as not only text pages but also, e.g., still
pictures (e.g., jpeg), streaming video, web page with hyperlinks
(e.g., HTML) and java animation are now within reach of these
devices whose screen real estate needs not be the limiting factor
anymore.
The apparatus in the invention can have one or more zoom
levels.
The term "texting" is currently being used to refer to the sending
and receiving of short text messages using mobile phones. Many
service providers allow users to key in and send short text
messages (SMS: short messaging service). Teenagers in Europe and
East Asia seem to have embraced this technology, just as young
people in the U.S. have gone for live chat and instant messaging on
the Internet. The invention in U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,364 (PHA
23,387) improves the user-friendliness of the mobile phone's GUI.
The invention of the auto-zoom extended to cover the rendering of
arbitrary graphical information further broadens the scope of
applicability of data processing handhelds, especially in the field
of consumer electronics (CE).
Screenphones may also benefit from the current invention. A
screenphone is typically a wired terminal that has a small display
monitor and a keyboard. The Internet screenphone market is
expanding rapidly. Analysts predict revenues in this market segment
as over $2 B by 2002. The success of the Minitel system in France
has triggered the introduction of screenphones elsewhere by banks
to promote home banking and shopping.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE .[.DRAWING.]. .Iadd.DRAWINGS .Iaddend.
The invention is explained below in further detail, by way of
example and with reference to the accompanying .[.drawing with.].
.Iadd.drawings, in which: .Iaddend.
.Iadd.FIG. 1 is .Iaddend.a block diagram of a handheld device in
the invention.Iadd.; and .Iaddend.
.Iadd.FIGS. 2A-2D show a display of the handheld device
illustrating the scrolling of a window at a second
scale.Iaddend..
DETAILED EMBODIMENTS
As specified above, the invention relates to, among other things,
extending the autozoom keyboard idea in U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,364 to
any kind of graphical or displayable information, when the
information cannot be displayed in its entirety. For example,
displaying a web page with hyperlinks on a mobile phone, which has
a small LCD with touch screen functionality, may render the
user-interaction with the links cumbersome if possible at all, due
to their size. The LCD can nevertheless display the web page in its
entirety by scaling it down. This initial rendering upon retrieval
of the page from the Internet may very well cause the page
illegible. However, proper filtering of the scaled down image
ensures that the user can still recognize screen areas of potential
interest and the hyperlinks therein. When the user touches the
screen, the portion of the image underneath the touched location is
enlarged and displayed so that hyperlinks can be individually be
selected, possibly after a next, similar zoom-in process.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram with main components of an apparatus 100
in the invention. Apparatus 100 is, for example, a mobile phone or
a palmtop PC with Internet access. Apparatus 100 comprises a
display 102 for display of a graphical information, and a touch
screen 104 for user-interaction with the apparatus. Display 102
comprises, e.g., an LCD. Touch screen 104 is, for example, a
resistive tablet. For more background on such input devices, see,
for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,151; 5,231,381; 5,777,607 and
5,767,458 of Philips Electronics, all incorporated herein by
reference. LCD 102 and touch screen 104 are physically integrated.
Apparatus 100 comprises a random-access memory 106, a
microprocessor 108, and a program memory 110 (e., an EEPROM). A
portion of memory 106 comprises a frame buffer 112. Frame buffer
112 is coupled to display 102 and stores the information content
shown on display 102. Memory 106 stores bitmaps that are mapped
onto display 102 via frame buffer 106 under control of a software
bit-blitter run on microprocessor 108. Microprocessor 108 receives
user-input via touch screen 104 and translates the input into
associated GUI actions via frame buffer 112 under control of the
program memory 110. Handheld 100 comprises a wireless modem 114 for
connecting to Internet 116. Program memory 110 stores, among other
things, a browser application for enabling the user to navigate the
Web, and the software for processing the graphical data as
explained herein.
When the user has retrieved a web page via modem 114 the page gets
displayed on LCD 102 in its entirety. Due to the scale size of LCD
102 individual hyperlinks or text fragments may not be well
discernible, although the lay-out of the page conveys sufficient
information to the user to determine what portion of the page may
be relevant. Assume that the portion is the upper right hand corner
of the page. When the user now touches screen 104 in the associated
location or area, this action gets translated by processor 108 and
under control of program memory 110 into a zooming-in on that part
of the page image that is centered around the touch location. This
can be implemented, e.g., by a predetermined segmentation of the
display area into, say, four areas that each can be selected for
the zooming-in. Alternatively, that part of the original image gets
magnified that has a center coinciding with the touch location.
User-interaction with touch screen 104 causes display 102 to
undergo a change in appearance. The change is preferably effected
through animation. Animation is the simulation of movement created
by displaying a series of pictures, or frames, e.g., bitmaps. For
example, an image of the original page gradually develops in the
zoomed in version of the area selected. Through the animation, the
user perceives the development from one image to the other as a
continuous transition. The impression is created of a gradually
changing lay-out. Thus, the animation avoids the impression of an
abrupt confrontation with a new lay-out that requires the user to
re-orientate him/herself. The animation is effected through proper
processing of the bitmaps in memory 106 and frame buffer 112.
Incorporated by reference herein are the following:
U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,364 (attorney docket PHA 23,387) filed Apr.
17, 1998 for Sung Choi and Jan van Ee for GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
TOUCH SCREEN WITH AUTO ZOOM FEATURE. This document relates to a
graphical user interface touch screen for displaying controllable
functions of an electronic device. The function is displayed as an
icon and at a scale size in which the function is recognizable by a
user but too small to easily access features of the function. A
magnified version of at least an area of the icon is provided upon
the user touching the area of the icon.
.Iadd.In a further embodiment of the invention, the user can move
across the entire keyboard by touching a particular edge of the
magnified area causing magnification of the next area of the
keyboard thus achieving a scrolling effect. As noted above, the
keyboard embodiment is extended to any kind of graphical or
displayable information. This embodiment is illustrated in FIGS.
2A-2D. In particular, FIG. 2A shows the display 102 with iconic
characters "A", "B", "C", "D", "E". FIG. 2B shows the display 102
as in FIG. 2A in which a magnification window 118 is shown
overlying the iconic character "A" thus enlarging this iconic
character "A". In FIG. 2C, the magnification window 118 is scrolled
to the right such that it now overlies the iconic character "B"
thus enlarging this iconic character "B", while iconic character
"A" resumes its original size. Further, in FIG. 2D, the
magnification window 118 is scrolled to the right such that it now
overlies the iconic character "C" thus enlarging this iconic
character "C", while the iconic character "B" resumes its original
size. .Iaddend.
U.S. Ser. No. 09/128,839 (attorney docket PHA 23,469) filed Aug. 4,
1998 for Jan van Ee for REMOTE CONTROL HAS ANIMATED GUI. This
document relates to a remote control device for remote control of
equipment such as a home theater. The remote has a display for
display of a GUI that enables a user to interact with the device.
User-interaction with the device causes the GUI to undergo a change
in appearance. The change is effected through animation. Animation
is the simulation of movement created by displaying a series of
pictures, or frames, e.g., bitmaps. For example, a panel with
clustered control options slides out of view and a next one slides
into view, or displayed icons slide to new positions while new
icons appear, etc. Through the animation, the user perceives the
development from one panel to the other as a continuous transition.
The impression is created of a gradually changing lay-out, of
scrolling panels, of sliding, rotating, expanding or contracting
icons, etc. Thus, the animation avoids the impression of an abrupt
confrontation with a new lay-out.
U.S. Ser. No. 09/427,821 (attorney docket PHA 23,786) filed Oct.
27, 1999 for Joost Kemink and Richard Sagar for PDA HAS WIRELESS
MODEM FOR REMOTE CONTROL VIA THE INTERNET. This document relates to
a PDA combined with a wireless modem to enable remote control of CE
equipment via the Internet and a local home server. More
specifically, The wireless modem enables communication with a
server via a data network such as the Internet. A control network
is coupled between the server and controllable equipment. The
handheld is now capable of functioning as a wireless remote control
device for the equipment via the Internet and the server. The
system may comprise a video camera together with hardware and
software to create a formatted still image suitable for being
displayed on the handheld device. The user can now instruct
retrieval of a still image from the server via the Internet. This
application serves as, e.g., a security system that enables the
remote user to monitor his/her front porch, or to monitor a child
by way of a remote (or fall-back) baby-sit. The user-accessibility
of equipment is guaranteed by the ubiquity of the Internet, thus
enabling to expand the range of control and monitoring capabilities
for a mobile user.
* * * * *