Granted Patent B2

US 7,305,242 · App. 10/197,245 · Granted Dec 4, 2007

Abstract

Claims (66)

1. A method for facilitating user selection of links presented on a display, comprising:

defining a plurality of user-configurable snap areas associated with a target link, wherein the snap areas each include a configurable region extending beyond the boundaries of the target link, wherein the regions are of different sizes for each of the plurality of snap areas;

facilitating movement of a graphical selection tool over at least one snap area of the plurality of snap areas;

modifying one or more characteristics of the target link when the graphical selection tool is hovering within the at least one snap area of the target link, thereby indicating that the target link may be selected; and

activating one of the plurality of snap areas based on a number of times in which the target link has been selected by a user.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating a currently-activated snap area and activating a different one of the snap areas, in response to the user selecting the particular link at least one additional time.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising facilitating configuration of the plurality of snap areas, including at least one of configuring a minimum snap area, a maximum snap area, and an intermediary snap area.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing feedback perceivable by user, wherein the feedback indicates that the link has been identified and is available for selection by the user, and wherein a type of feedback provided depends on which of the at least one defined snap areas is currently activated.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining at least one snap area associated with one or more links comprises defining at least a minimum snap area and a maximum snap area associated with a particular link.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining snap areas associated with the target link comprises defining a minimum snap area as a current snap area associated with a particular link.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising defining at least one snap step size, and redefining the current snap area based on the snap step size relative to the minimum snap area.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein redefining the current snap area comprises repeatedly redefining the current snap area based on the snap step size relative to a previous snap area.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein repeatedly redefining the current snap area based on the snap step size relative to a previous snap area comprises increasing the current snap area based at least in part on an increasing number of times in which the particular link has been previously selected.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising changing the current snap area based at least in part on a link selection count corresponding to a number of times in which the particular link has been previously selected.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising defining a maximum snap area that restricts the current snap area to a maximum size.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing feedback perceivable by user, wherein the feedback indicates that the link has been identified and is available for selection by a user.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein providing feedback comprises providing tactile feedback on a terminal used by the user.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein providing tactile feedback comprises providing a vibration via the terminal.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein providing feedback comprises providing an audio alert presented on a terminal used by the user.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein providing feedback comprises providing a visual alert presented on the display.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein providing the visual alert comprises providing a pop-up visual indication.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising facilitating user definition of a desired feedback type.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising allowing selection of the target link once the one or more characteristics of the target link have been modified to indicate that the target link may be selected.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the characteristics of the target link when the graphical selection tool is hovering within the snap area comprises modifying at least one of a color, link size, and text characteristic of the target link on the display.

21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically moving the graphical selection tool to the target link when the graphical selection tool is hovering within the snap area of the target link, to position the graphical selection tool in a link selection position.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining snap areas associated with the target link comprises facilitating user definition of one of the snap areas.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein defining snap areas associated with the target link further comprises facilitating user definition of at least one snap step size relative to a defined snap area.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining snap areas associated with the target link comprises pre-configuring at least one of the snap area, and a snap step size relative to a defined snap area.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining snap areas associated with the target link comprises defining at least one of a region surrounding the links, and a region adjacent to the links, as the snap area.

26. An apparatus for facilitating user selection of links presented on a display, comprising:

a memory to store at least a hover application and a plurality of user-configurable _snap areas associated with a target link, wherein the snap areas are configurably larger than an area occupied by the target link, and wherein each of the plurality of snap areas are of different sizes relative to each other;

a display to display the target link; and

a processor coupled to the memory and to the display, wherein the processor is configured to:

execute the hover application to facilitate movement of a graphical selection tool over the snap area of the target link on the display;

modify at least one characteristic of the target link when the graphical selection tool has hovered within the snap area of the target link;

enable user selection of the target link in response thereto; and

activate one of the plurality of snap areas based on a number of times in which the target link has been selected by a user.

27. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically increase a size of at least one snap area associated with the target link each time the target link has been selected a predetermined number of times.

28. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically increase a size of at least one snap area associated with the target link by a predetermined step size each time the target link has been selected a predetermined number of times.

29. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the processor is further configured to automatically decrease a size of at least one snap area associated with the target link if the target link has not been selected for a predetermined duration.

30. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the processor is further configured to initiate feedback perceivable by the user via the apparatus, wherein the feedback indicates that the target link has been identified and is available for selection by a user.

31. The apparatus as in claim 30 , wherein the apparatus comprises a vibration generator to generate a vibration alert in response to the processor initiating the feedback.

32. The apparatus as in claim 30 , wherein the apparatus comprises a speaker to generate an audio alert in response to the processor initiating the feedback.

33. The apparatus as in claim 30 , wherein the display presents a visual alert in response to the processor initiating the feedback.

34. The apparatus as in claim 30 , further comprising a user interface to facilitate configuration of at least one of snap area parameters and feedback types.

35. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the hover application is implemented cooperatively with a software application capable of presenting selectable links.

36. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the hover application is implemented cooperatively with a browser application.

37. The apparatus as in claim 26 , wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of a wireline computing device, a wireless computing device, and a wireless communication device.

38. A system for facilitating user selection of Internet links on electronic devices, comprising:

(a) a server to generate at least one web page for transmission via a network, wherein the web page includes at least one selectable link;

(b) an electronic device coupled to the network, comprising:

(1) a memory to store at least a hover application and a plurality of user-configurable snap areas associated with the at least one selectable link, wherein the snap area is configurably larger than an area occupied by the selectable link, and wherein each of the plurality of snap areas are of different sizes relative to each other;

(2) a display to display the selectable link; and

(3) a processor coupled to the memory and to the display, wherein the processor is configured to:

execute the hover application to facilitate movement of a graphical selection tool over the snap area of the selectable link on the display;

modify at least one characteristic of the selectable link when the graphical selection tool has hovered within the snap area of the selectable link;

enable user selection of the selectable link in response thereto; and

activate one of the plurality of snap areas based on a number of times in which the selectable link has been selected by a user.

39. The system as in claim 38 , wherein the network comprises the Internet, and wherein the electronic device comprises a wireline computing system.

40. The system as in claim 38 , wherein the network comprises the Internet and the electronic device comprises a wireless terminal, and further comprising at least one wireless network cooperatively coupled to the Internet to facilitate communication of the web page from the server to the wireless terminal.

41. The system as in claim 40 , wherein the wireless terminal comprises a mobile communication terminal capable of engaging in at least one of wireless voice communication and wireless data communication.

42. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon and executable by a computing arrangement in an electronic device for facilitating user selection of links presented on a display by performing steps comprising:

defining a plurality of user-configurable snap areas associated with a target link, wherein the snap areas each include a configurable region extending beyond the boundaries of the target link, wherein the snap area regions are of different sizes for each of the plurality of snap areas;

facilitating movement of a graphical selection tool over at least one snap area of the plurality of snap areas;

modifying one or more characteristics of the target link when the graphical selection tool is hovering within the at least one snap area of the target link, thereby indicating that the target link may be selected; and

activating one of the plurality of snap areas based on a number of times in which the target link has been selected by a user.

Assignments (9)