Patent Application
20060271870
Recent years have seen rapid growth in the area of mobile computing and telecommunications. Mobile devices, such as PDAs and cellular telephones, typically have comparatively small display screens. Consequently, it can be difficult for these devices to display the large amounts of textual and graphical information typically included in modern, content-rich user interfaces. Furthermore, navigating through the display of these devices can also be difficult given this large amount of information.
One approach to overcoming these problems is to provide a broad overview of such information (e.g. in iconic or note form) and allow the user to select items of interest that are then displayed in greater detail (e.g. in greater magnification or focus).
Conventional methods of zooming from one view of a display to another view of the same display operate on the basis of the selection of a particular zoom or size from a menu. This causes the display to change from an initial display to a new display with the selected scale. However, these methods only show the initial and final version of the new display. This effect can be quite helpful, but it may require the user to pan or reposition the information being viewed when a “zoom in” operation causes parts of a display to reside beyond the visible screen area.
Improved systems and methods for displaying information are desired.
The systems and methods described herein include improved systems and methods for navigating displayed content in computing devices.
In one aspect, the invention relates to a computing device that provides an improved method for navigating large bodies of content. More particularly, the computing device provides multiple navigation modes which can be accessed, for example, by repeated successive actuations of a navigational input. Each successive navigational mode provides faster navigation through the content. In one mode, in addition to increasing navigation speed, the computing device reduces the scale of the displayed contents so that more of the content is visible on a display screen at once.
More particularly, in one aspect, the systems and methods described herein include methods of navigating content on a computing device. These methods include the steps of displaying content on the computing device at a first scale, navigating a first discrete distance through the displayed content in response to receiving a first navigation input via the computing device, and initiating a continuous navigation through the content and reducing the scale of the content such that more of the content is displayed on the computing device at a time in response to receiving a second navigation input via the computing device. Such methods may further comprise a step of initiating a repeated discrete navigation through the content in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device after the first navigation input and before the second navigation input. During the repeated discrete navigation, such methods may comprise the step of stopping the navigation in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device. The methods may optionally comprise the step of initiating a repeated discrete navigation in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation.
In such methods, reducing the scale of the content includes progressively reducing the scale of the content from the first scale to a second scale. The methods may further comprise displaying an indicator identifying a currently displayed location of the content during the continuous navigation through the content. Such methods may also include the step of rearranging the contents of a display based on the scale at which the content is displayed.
Additionally and optionally, the methods may include the step of stopping the navigation in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation. The step of stopping the navigation may include progressively slowing the continuous navigation until the navigation stops. The step of stopping the navigation may comprise at least one of increasing the scale of the content back to the first scale and progressively increasing the scale.
In such methods, content may comprise a menu of a user interface. Optionally, the content may comprise a list and the discrete navigation may comprise navigating from one selected item in the list to a neighboring item on the list. Additionally and optionally, the list may be configurable to include at least one of a text item and an image item as a structure list entry.
In another aspect, the systems and methods described herein include methods of navigating content on a computing device. These methods may comprise the steps of displaying content on the computing device at a first scale, and initiating a continuous navigation through the content in response to receiving a navigation input via the computing device. The computing device may progressively reduce the scale of the content from the first scale to a second scale during the continuous navigation and rearrange the contents of a display based on the scale at which the content is displayed.
In such methods the navigation may be stopped in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation. A repeated discrete navigation may also be initiated in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation. Optionally, the reduction in the scale of the content may be stopped in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation. The rearrangement of the contents of the display may also be stopped in response to receiving an additional navigation input via the computing device during continuous navigation. In such methods, the content may be a menu of a user interface.
In another aspect, the systems and methods described herein include user interfaces for navigating content on a computing device. These user interfaces may comprise an input device for accepting a plurality of navigational inputs and a navigation control module. The navigation control module may include a finite state machine (FSM) having states including a stop state, a single discrete navigation state, and a continuous navigation state. In the continuous navigation state, the user interface decreases the scale of content displayed on the computing device such that additional content can be displayed at a time. The finite state machine may also have transition conditions including the acceptance of the navigational inputs from the input device. In such systems, movement from one state to another in the finite state machine is initiated upon acceptance of one of the navigational inputs from the input device.
In such user interfaces, the finite state machine may include a repeated discrete navigation state. Optionally, in the continuous navigation state, the user interface may rearrange the content on the display. The input device may include at least one of a keyboard, keypad, mouse, joystick, scroll-wheel and touch-sensitive surface and the navigational input includes directional navigational inputs.
Such user interfaces may comprise a second navigation control module such that the at least two navigation control modules are used to navigate along two dimensions, wherein each navigation control module correspond to navigation along a different dimension. Additionally and optionally, the user interface may include a memory module comprising a database having state and transition condition information.
In one implementation of the user interface, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine in response to receiving one or more directional inputs in a first direction. For example, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from the stopped state to the single discrete navigation state in response to receiving the directional navigation input having a first direction. In such an implementation, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from the single discrete navigation state to the repeated discrete navigation state in response in response to receiving a second directional navigation input having the first direction. The navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from the repeated discrete navigation state to the continuous navigation state in response in response to receiving a third directional navigation input having the first direction. The navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from the continuous navigation state to the stopped state in response in response to receiving a fourth directional navigation input.
In one embodiment, the navigation control module changes the state of the finite state machine in response to receiving a navigation input having a direction opposite to the first direction. For example, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from repeated discrete navigation state to a stopped state in response to receiving a directional navigation input having a direction opposite to the first direction. Additionally and optionally, the navigation control module may also change the state of the finite state machine from the continuous navigation state to a stopped state in response to receiving a directional navigation input having a direction opposite to the first direction. Optionally, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from the continuous navigation state to a repeated discrete navigation state in response to receiving a directional navigation input having a direction opposite to the first direction. The navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from single discrete navigation state to a stopped state in response to receiving a directional navigation input having a direction opposite to the first direction.
In another embodiment, the navigation control changes state in response to expiration of time. For example, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from single discrete navigation state to a stopped state after a certain period of time has elapsed with no navigational input. Additionally and optionally, the navigation control module may change the state of the finite state machine from repeated discrete navigation state to a stopped state after a certain period of time has elapsed with no navigational input. The navigation control module may also change the state of the finite state machine from the continuous navigation state to a stopped state after a certain period of time has elapsed with no navigational input. In such user interfaces, the acceptance of a navigational input may include at least one of a single-click, double-click and time of activation of a navigational input.
The following figures depict certain illustrative embodiments of the invention in which like reference numerals refer to like elements. These depicted embodiments may not be drawn to scale and are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.
The systems and methods described herein will now be described with reference to certain illustrative embodiments, although the invention is not to be limited to these illustrated embodiments which are provided merely for the purpose of describing the systems and methods of the invention and are not to be understood as limiting in any way. As will be seen from the following description, the invention in one aspect relates to a computing device that provides an improved method for navigating large bodies of content. More particularly, the computing device provides multiple navigation modes which can be accessed, for example, by repeated successive actuations of a navigational input. Each successive navigational mode provides faster navigation through the content. In one mode, in addition to increasing scrolling speed, the computing device reduces the scale of the displayed contents so that more of the content is visible on a display screen at once.
The input module 102 accepts navigational inputs entered by a user. The input module 102 includes, for example, an input device such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a scroll-wheel or a touch sensitive surface. A user enters a navigational input by actuating the input device. The input module 102 outputs detected navigational inputs to the navigation module 104. The user input module 102 may also output additional information, such as the current location of a pointer or a mouse cursor on the display 105.
The navigation module 104 interprets navigational inputs entered by a user and graphically alters the display of content in response thereto. The navigation module 104 includes a process module 106, a memory module 108 and a renderer 110. The process module 106 processes the navigational inputs entered by the user (received from the input module 102) and generates one or more virtual pages for presentation to the user via the display 105. Virtual pages represent the arrangement of contents for internal computation purposes within the computing device 100 and may not be visible to the user. For example, a virtual page may represent a desired content arrangement for presentation at a desired instant in time. The process module 106 outputs the virtual pages to the renderer 110. The renderer 110 converts the virtual pages to a format suitable for driving the display 105 to present the content included therein. The memory module 108 stores current virtual page information as well as currently entered navigational inputs entered by the user. The stored virtual page information and the stored navigational inputs may be used for processing future navigational inputs and generating future virtual pages in response to current or future navigational inputs.
The process module 106 includes a finite state machine (FSM) for governing navigation of the content. An FSM generally includes a plurality of states and one or more transition rules corresponding to each state. The transition rules, if met, result in the FSM switching states. In general, each state in the FSM corresponds to a particular navigation mode. In general, the transition rules in the FSM include a test condition and a corresponding response. A test condition includes a Boolean function. In response to the process module 106 determining that the Boolean finction is true, the process module 106 executes the corresponding response. The test conditions relate to inputs of navigational inputs and the response includes a state change.
The process module 106 may include a microprocessor to perform calculations and decide if a transition from one state to another is in order. The process module 106 may include both hardware and software components to implement the FSM and generate virtual pages.
Hardware components typically used to build the process module 106 may include programmable logic devices, programmable logic controllers, logic gates and flip flops or relays. Hardware implementation typically requires a register to store states, a block of combinational logic which determines the test conditions of transition rules, and a second block of combinational logic that determines the responses of transition rules. An FSM may be created and implemented using software tools including, but not limited to, the AT&T FSM Library™ provided by AT&T Labs, New Jersey, U.S.A. An FSM may also be created and implemented using software languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, JAVA, SCXML (State Chart XML). Interactive software modules may also be included in the process module 106 that may assist users with navigation.
In alternative embodiments (not shown in
The stop state 302a represents a state of navigation in which the contents presented on display 105 are non-moving, presented at an initial scale, and arranged in an initial layout on a screen. In alternative embodiments, the stop state may include contents arranged in an alternative layout that is different from an initial layout. The contents may also be displayed at another scale, different from the initial scale. In the stop state 302a, the process module 106 in the computing device 100 generates a single virtual page to represent the content. The rendering module 110, renders this single virtual page until the user enters a navigational input.
Transition rule 304a links the stop state 302a to the single discrete navigation state 302b. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304a is met if the user enters a directional input (a navigational input such as a down-arrow key on a keypad). In such an embodiment, on receiving the down-arrow key navigational input from the user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance the current state of the FSM 300 from the stop state 302a to a single discrete navigation state 302b.
The single discrete navigation state 302b may represent a state of navigation in which the content presented on a display 105 moves a discrete distance such that new content may be presented. In another implementation, the single discrete navigation state 302b may represent a state of navigation in which a marker, such as an arrow, cursor, box etc., used to point at a particular item in the presented content moves a discrete distance such that on completion of the movement, the marker points to another item in the presented content. In one embodiment, the scale may be left unchanged and some content may exit the screen area and some content previously invisible enters the screen area. For example, a cell phone may scroll down a single discrete distance on a contact list (one entry below a current highlighted entry in the contact list). Following this discrete movement, the display returns to a non-moving state similar to the stop state 302a. The process module 106 in the computing device 100 may generate one or more virtual pages to represent the single discrete navigation state 302b.
Following the discrete movement, once the display in the single discrete navigation state 302b returns to a non-moving state similar to the stop state 302a, the difference between a single discrete navigation state 302b and the stop state 302a is their response to a subsequent navigational input. More particularly, the transition rules 304 linked to the stop state 302a may be different from the transition rules 304 linked to the single discrete navigation state 302b. Therefore, navigational inputs in each of these states 302a and 302b may result in a response of a different transition rule and consequently may result in a transition to a different state 302.
Transition rule 304b links the single discrete navigation state back to the stop state 302a. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304b is met if a timer has elapsed. In such an embodiment, the input module 102 sends a navigational input to the process module 106 when a fixed period of time has elapsed since a previous navigational input was sent or received. Alternatively, the process module may maintain its own timer and generate its own navigational input upon expiration of the timer. The process module 106 evaluates the navigational input and executes a response to return the current state of the FSM 300 to the stop state 302a. Continuing with the previous example with the FSM 300 currently in the single discrete navigation state, if the user hasn't entered a directional input within a fixed period of time, a timer elapses and the FSM 300 returns to the stop state 302a. In another embodiment, transition condition of transition rule 304b is met if the user enters a directional input having a direction opposite to the direction of the directional input resulting in the FSM 300 entering the single discrete navigation state 302b.
Transition rule 304c links the single discrete navigation state 302b to a repeated discrete navigation state 302c. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304c is met if the user (currently in the single discrete navigation state 302b) enters a directional input having the same direction as the directional input entered to put the FSM 300 into the single discrete navigation state 302b from the stop state 302a. In such an embodiment, on receiving such a navigational input from the user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance the current state 302 of the FSM 300 from the single discrete navigation state 302b to the repeated discrete navigation state 302c.
The repeated discrete navigation state 302c may represent a state of navigation in which the display changes by repeatedly moving discrete distances through the presented contents. The repeated discrete navigation state 302c is a navigation mode in which the presented contents are navigated automatically. The process module 106 in a computing device 100 generates a plurality of virtual pages to represent repeated discrete movement of content. Alternatively, a display marker that points to displayed content items moves through the contents in a repeated and discrete manner.
Transition rule 304d links the repeated discrete navigation state 302c back to the single discrete navigation state 302b. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304d is met if a timer has elapsed as described above in relation to transition rule 304b. In another embodiment, a transition condition of transition rule 304d is met if the user enters a directional input having a direction opposite to the direction of the directional input which resulted in the FSM 300 entering the repeated discrete navigation state 302c from the single discrete navigation state 302b.
Transition rule 304e links the repeated discrete navigation state 302c to a continuous navigation state 302d. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304e is met if the user (currently in the repeated discrete navigation state 302c) enters a directional input having the same direction as the directional input entered to put the FSM 300 into the single discrete navigation state 302b from the stop state 302a and the directional input entered to put the FSM 300 into repeated discrete navigation state 302c from the single discrete navigation state 302b. In such an embodiment, on receiving such navigational input from the user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance the current state of the FSM 300 from the repeated discrete navigation state 302c to the continuous navigation state 302d.
The continuous navigation state 302d represents a state of navigation which includes a continuous shifting of the arrangement of the presented contents in a smooth and repeated fashion. In one example, the continuous shifting of content may be the continuous scrolling of content in a contact list. In another example, the continuous shifting of content may be the continuous panning of a map. A process module 106 in a computing device 100 generates a plurality of virtual pages to represent the continuous navigation state 302d such that each virtual page includes snapshot of the arrangement of the presented contents after navigation of a desired distance through the contents. In the continuous navigation state 302d, the presented content may be animated in continuous motion with a fairly constant velocity. In another embodiment, the velocity of motion increases or decreases, thereby accelerating or decelerating the navigation of content, depending on other factors such as the receipt and acceptance of a navigational input, the duration of the navigational input, the number of navigational inputs, or the lapse of a timer. In still another embodiment, the velocity of motion changes in relation to other factors such as the quantity of content and duration of navigation. Such an embodiment may be particularly useful to reduce time taken to navigate through a large amount of content. In one embodiment, in the continuous navigation state 302d the scale of the content on the display 105 continuously decreases such that more contents can be presented on the display at the same time, thereby expediting navigation. In certain embodiments, the scale of the content may be changed in the continuous navigation state 302d depending on the quantity of contents and duration of navigation and velocity of navigation. Additionally and optionally, the layout of the scaled presented contents may be rearranged in the continuous navigation state 302d such that contents conform to the new boundaries of the display screen.
Transition rule 304f links the continuous navigation state 302d back to the repeated discrete navigation state 302c. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304f is met if a timer has elapsed as described above in relation to transition rule 304b. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304f is met if the user enters a directional input having a direction opposite to the direction of the directional input which resulted in the FSM 300 entering the continuous navigation state 302d from the repeated discrete navigation state 302c. Such a transition allows a user to slow navigation without stopping.
Transition rule 304g links the continuous navigation state 302d to the stop state 302a. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 304g is met if the user (currently in the continuous navigation state 302d) enters a directional navigational input. In such an embodiment, on receiving the navigational input from the user, e.g. a fourth consecutive input of a directional input, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance the current state of the FSM 300 from the continuous navigation state 302d to the stop state 302a.
In other embodiments (not illustrated), the FSM 300 may include transition rules that link the single discrete navigation state 302b with the continuous navigation state 302d. FSM 300 may also include transitions rules that also link the continuous navigation state 302d back to the single discrete navigation state 302a. In alternative embodiments, the FSM 300 may include transition rules that link the stop state 302a to the repeated discrete navigation state 302c. The FSM 300 may also include transition rules that link the repeated discrete navigation state 302c back to the stop state 302a.
Screen shot 400 is a sample screen shot that may be output by the renderer 110 of computing device 100 while the FSM 300 is in the stop state 302a. The contact list 401 is static and the marker 402 is non-moving and all the contacts are shown in an initial scale and arrangement. On receiving a down-arrow key navigational input from a user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance from the stop state 302a to a repeated discrete navigation state 302c.
Screen shot 404 is a sample screen shot that may be output by the renderer 110 of computing device 100 while the FSM 300 is in a repeated discrete navigation state 302c where the marker 402 repeatedly moves discrete distances through the contact list 401. Screen shot 404 depicts the contact list 401 after the device has begun to scroll through the contact list 401. Screen shot 404 includes an indicator 405 that indicates the portion of the contact list 401 that is currently being displayed. i.e., contacts beginning with the letter “b”. As the contact list 401 is being scrolled, the display is updated with contents that are currently beyond the limits of the screen size.
Screen shot 406 is a sample screen shot that may be output by the renderer 110 of computing device 100 while the FSM 300 is in a continuous navigation state 302d where the marker 402 continuously moves down the contact list 401 in a smooth manner. The marker 402 in continuous navigation state 302d shown in screen shot 406 may move with a velocity much higher than the velocity of the marker 402 in the repeated discrete navigation state 302c shown in screen shot 404 to give the appearance of continuous and smooth navigation. The marker 402 in screen shot 406 can also be made to highlight more than one entry to help improve the smoothness and speed of navigation. In one embodiment, the marker 402 starts in a position on the top portion of the currently displayed contact list on the top portion of the screen, moves through the items on the contact list currently displayed, and reaches the item currently located at or near the bottom portion of the screen. In such an embodiment, the marker having reached the bottom portion of the screen, may remain static and instead the contact list begins to shift upwards in a smooth manner. As items on the contact list shift upwards, the marker 402 being at the bottom portion of the screen may highlight items on the contact list that were previously hidden below the area of the screen and are now visible. In other embodiments, the marker 402 may begin and end at other portions of the screen without departing from the scope of the invention. Screenshot 406 depicts a zoomed-out version of the contact list 401 as the scrolling is accelerated. The zooming-out permits more entries to be visible on the display 105. The indicator 405 now indicates that the device is displaying contacts in contact list 401 beginning with the letter “c.” On receiving an up-arrow key navigational input from a user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance back to the stop state 302a and to zoom-in in order to return the scale of the contact list 401 back to the initial scale. In screen shot 408, the contact list 401 is returning to its original scale on the display 105. The marker 402 in screen shot 408 now highlights a different entry in the contact list 401 that was reached after scrolling through a portion of the contact list 401 using the systems and methods of invention.
More particularly, screen shot 502 includes the beginning of the text of chapter in a book. The text is shown to cover most of the screen area and to include about fifteen lines of text in addition to the book heading and the chapter heading. Each line of text includes approximately six words. Screen shot 502 is a sample screen shot that may be output by the renderer 110 of computing device 100 while the FSM 300 is in the stop state 302a. The text on the screen is static and the marker is non-moving and all the words are shown in an initial scale and arrangement. On receiving a down-arrow key navigational input from a user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance from the stop state 302a to a continuous navigation state 302d.
Screen shots 504, 506 and 508 show subsequent screen shots of other portions of the text document at a different scale as a user scrolls through the text document. Screen shots 504, 506 and 508 include an indicator 510 that indicates the chapter of the text that is currently being displayed in the screen shot. In screen shot 504, the indicator 501 includes “Ch. 2”. Screen shot 504 depicts a zoomed-out version of the text as the device begins scrolling. As the device zooms-out, the size of the text decreases and the number of lines of text visible in screen shot 504 increases to about twenty-three lines in addition to a chapter heading. The arrangement of the text is also modified to adjust for the decrease in text size and therefore, the number of words per line increases to about eight words. Screen shot 506 depicts a further zoomed-out version of the text as the scrolling is accelerated. In the illustrated embodiment of the continuous navigation state 302d, the device scrolls and zooms continuously to enable rapid navigation. In screen shot 506, more text is visible in the screen area such that the number of lines is increased to about thirty-four lines and the number of words per line is increased to about fifteen words. On receiving an up-arrow key navigational input from a user, the process module 106 evaluates the input a and executes a response to advance back to the stop state 302a and to zoom-in in order to return the scale of the text back to the initial scale. Screen shot 508 depicts the text returning to the stop state with the displayed text zoomed-in to a scale larger than that of screen shot 506. The indicator 510 now indicates that the device is displaying text from chapter 6. In screen shot 512, the text is back to its original scale on the display. The screen shows a different chapter (Chapter 6) that was read after scrolling through a portion of the text of a book using the systems and methods of the invention.
On receiving a navigational input from a user, the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance from the current state of repeated discrete navigation 302c or continuous navigation 302d to a state of continuous navigation 302d with the added feature of zooming-out. Screen shots 704 and 706 depict zoomed-out views of the map where more roads 710, 712 are visible and the vehicle 714 is shown to be at a smaller scale corresponding to the degree of zooming-out. More specifically, in screen shot 704, the map continues to pan along with the movement of the vehicle 714. However, since the map has zoomed-out, the vehicle 714 appears smaller and an additional road 712b (2nd Street) is visible. The vehicle 714 in screen shot 704 has moved past road 712a and is approaching road 712b.
In screen shot 706, the device has zoomed-out further to reveal more roads 710, 712, exclude some roads 712a, and the vehicle 714 is zoomed-out further and appears as a dot on the display. The vehicle 714 is still on road 710a and has reached the intersection between 710a and 712b (5th Avenue and 2nd Street). Also, shown in screen shot 706 is marker to indicate the destination 716. The destination is located alongside road 712b between roads 710a and 710b. On receiving a second navigation input from the satellite to indicate that the vehicle has arrived at the destination 716, the device advances from the continuous navigation state with zoom 302d to a stop state 302a. Screen shot 708 is a sample screen shot that may be output by the renderer 110 of computing device 100 while the FSM 300 is in the stop state 302a depicting the vehicle 714 at the destination 716 on road 712b. The scale of the vehicle, road and destination marker are returned to an initial value.
The initial state 808arepresents a state of navigation in which the contents presented on display 105 are presented at an initial scale and arranged in an initial layout on the screen. The displayed contents may be static or non-static. Transition rule 810a links the initial state 808a to the zooming state 808b. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 810a is met if either one of the FSMs 802 and 804 enters the continuous navigation state 302d. In such an embodiment, when either FSM 802 or FSM 804 enter the continuous navigation state 302d, a navigational input is sent from within the process module 106 such that the process module 106 evaluates the input and executes a response to advance the current state of FSM 806 from the initial state 808a to a zooming state 808b.
The zooming state 808b represents a state of navigation in which the scale of the contents presented on display 105 is made to continuously change. In one embodiment, the scale of the contents may be decreased continuously such that the display appears to continuously zoom-out. In the zooming state 808b, as the contents' scale is being changed, the contents may be rearranged to conform to the new boundaries of the scaled display screen. Transition rule 810b links the zooming state 808b back to the initial state 808a. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 810b is met if the FSM 802 and FSM 804 leave the continuous navigation state 302d through transition rules 304g and the navigation is stopped.
Transition rule 810c links the zooming state 808b to the zoomed state 808c. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 810c is met if a maximum zoom level has been reached. The zoomed state 808c represents a state of navigation in which the scale of the contents presented on display 105 are presented at a constant scale different from the initial scale and may be arranged in a layout different from an initial layout. Transition rule 810d links the zoomed state 808c back to the zooming state 808b. In one embodiment, the transition condition of transition rule 810d is met if either FSM 802 or FSM 804 enters the continuous navigation state 302d.
The separation of the zoom adjustment functionality and the navigation functionality in system 800 increases the number of degrees of freedom of operability for the user of a computing device. In other embodiments (not illustrated), the FSM 806 may include transition rules that link the initial state 808a with the zoomed state 808c and vice-versa. In alternative embodiments, FSM 806 may accept user entered navigational inputs as transition conditions for transition rules 810.
In certain embodiments, such as those shown in
More specifically, the set of functions 914 includes software functions for at least one of memory allocation, file access, screen update, timer callbacks and debugging data. In certain embodiments, the set of functions 914 includes software functions for starting and stopping the operation of the SDK 908, issuing commands for content manipulation, and notifying SDK 908 of computing device 100 system status such as changes in available screen size or screen status. In one embodiment, the set of functions 904 may be called by the interface 906 depending on a particular application. The set of functions 904 called by the interface 906 may request display contents such that the renderer 912 may prepare the display contents for display. In one embodiment, the set of functions 904 called by the interface 906 may be translated into an instruction to execute software stored in the library 916.
In certain embodiments, library 916 includes software to support a variety of navigation modes and navigation characteristics. In other embodiment, library 916 includes a generalized protocol to navigate through contents having different formats and originating from different applications 904 and different computing devices 100. In certain embodiments, the library 916 includes software to implement features including zooming and navigating through long lists, navigating through multiple sets of contents and navigating through multiple screen sizes. The library 916 may also include software to implement other navigation features without departing from the scope of the invention.
The renderer 912 in the SDK 908 presents the contents from application 904 on the display 105. The renderer 912 may be used in addition to, or in lieu of the renderer 110 in the computing device. The renderer 912 may include an ePAGE™ rendering engine, as provided by Picsel Technologies of Glasgow, Scotland. The renderer 912 may include other rendering engines without departing from the scope of the invention. The renderer 912 may be configured to include features such as anti-aliasing and high-speed zooming and navigating display contents. The rendered image may then be sent to the display module 105 for display.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The forgoing embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects illustrative, rather than limiting of the invention.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60/686,138, filed May 31, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60686138 | May 2005 | US |
