Flip-style user interface
View Patent ↗A flip-style user interface for controlling a display on a device such as a computer system, and a method thereof. Layers of flexible material are coupled along one edge in a stack that is coupled to the computer system. A user flips the layers (e.g., leaves) in a manner similar to the way pages in a book are flipped. The separation and/or bending of the leaves caused by the flipping is translated into changes in the display. For example, a different page in a document, calendar, or address book can be displayed as the user moves (separates or bends) the leaves of the user interface. Separation of the leaves can be detected by conducting pads positioned on the top and bottom surfaces of each leaf, such that a pad on the surface of one leaf is in electrical contact with a corresponding pad on the facing surface of the adjacent leaf. The pads are separated when the leaves are separated, breaking the electrical connection and allowing the separation to be detected. Bending of the leaves can be detected using a strain gauge, an accelerometer, an optical sensor, or other such instruments. The rate at which the leaves are moved, the order in which they are moved (e.g., front to back, or vice versa), and the amount of deflection imparted to the leaves can be used to control various aspects of the display.
1. A portable computer system comprising:
a housing sized to be held in one hand of a user;
a processor inside said housing;
a display device coupled to said processor and incorporated in said housing, said display device operable to provide a display; and
a user interface coupled to said processor and operable to change said display, said user interface comprising a plurality of flexible layers of material fastened to each other along an edge in a stack, wherein said edge is mounted on said housing without a cable external to said housing and wherein simultaneously said user interface is operated and said portable computer is held with the same said hand;
wherein movement of one or more of said flexible layers causes said display to change.
2. The portable computer system of claim 1 wherein said movement comprises separation of at least a portion of a first flexible layer from a second flexible layer.
3. The portable computer system of claim 2 wherein a first conducting pad on a surface of said first flexible layer is in electrical contact with a second conducting pad on a facing surface of said second flexible layer, wherein said separation of said first and second flexible layers is detected by separation of said first and second conducting pads.
4. The portable computer system of claim 1 wherein said movement comprises bending of a flexible layer.
5. The portable computer system of claim 4 wherein said bending is detected using an instrument selected from the group consisting of: a strain gauge, an optical sensor and an accelerometer.
6. The portable computer system of claim 1 wherein said change to said display is according to an order in which said flexible layers are moved.
7. The portable computer system of claim 1 wherein said change to said display is according to an amount of deflection of a flexible layer.
8. The portable computer system of claim 1 wherein said change to said display is according to a rate of movement of said flexible layers.
9. A computer system comprising:
a processor;
a display device coupled to said processor, said display device operable to provide a display; and
a cursor control element comprising a computer mouse coupled to said processor and operable to change said display, said cursor control element operable to control the coordinates of a cursor displayed on said display device by detecting said cursor control element's motion relative to a surface on which said cursor control element sits, said cursor control element comprising a plurality of flexible layers of material fastened to each other along an edge in a stack, wherein said edge is mounted on a housing of said cursor control element, and wherein movement of one or more of said flexible layers causes said display to change.
10. The computer system of claim 9 wherein said movement comprises separation of at least a portion of a first flexible layer from a second flexible layer.
11. The computer system of claim 10 wherein a first conducting pad on a surface of said first flexible layer is in electrical contact with a second conducting pad on a facing surface of said second flexible layer, wherein said separation of said first and second flexible layers is detected by separation of said first and second conducting pads.
12. The computer system of claim 9 wherein said movement comprises bending of a flexible layer.
13. The computer system of claim 9 wherein said change to said display is according to an order in which said flexible layers are moved.
14. The computer system of claim 9 wherein said change to said display is according to an amount of deflection of a flexible layer.
15. The computer system of claim 9 wherein said change to said display is according to a rate of movement of said flexible layers.