IP Library Granted Patent US 9,785,340
Granted Patent B2
US 9,785,340 · App. 14/738,672 · Granted Oct 10, 2017

Systems and methods for efficiently navigating between applications with linked content on an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display

Inventors: Stephen O. Lemay (San Francisco, CA); Christopher P. Foss (San Francisco, CA); Woo-Ram Lee (Sunnyvale, CA); Lawrence Y. Yang (San Francisco, CA); Caelan G. Stack (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: APPLE INC.
G06F3/0488G06F3/0416G06F3/04842G06F3/04883
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,785,340
App. No.
14/738,672
Granted
Oct 10, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for efficiently navigating between applications with linked content on a touch-sensitive display (“TSD”) are disclosed herein. In one aspect, the method includes displaying, in a full-screen mode on the TSD, a first application including a first selectable user interface (“UI”) element associated with a second application. The method further includes detecting a selection of the first selectable user interface element and, in response thereto: (i) displaying the second application, including a second selectable UI element, in a predefined portion of the TSD and (ii) displaying a first indication corresponding to the first application in an additional portion of the TSD. The method also includes detecting a selection of the second selectable UI element and, in response thereto: (i) displaying the third application in the predefined portion of the TSD and (ii) displaying a second indication corresponding to the second application in the additional portion of the TSD.

Claims (55)

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display, cause the electronic device to:

display, in a full-screen mode on the touch-sensitive display, a first application including a first selectable user interface element associated with a second application;

detect a selection of the first selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the first selectable user interface element:

(i) display the second application, including a second selectable user interface element corresponding to a third application, in a predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the second application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion;

(ii) display a first indication corresponding to the first application in an additional portion of the touch-sensitive display that is distinct from and adjacent to the predefined portion, wherein a combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the first indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion;

detect a selection of the second selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the second selectable user interface element:

(i) display the third application in the predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the third application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion; and

(ii) display a second indication corresponding to the second application in the additional portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the second indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein displaying the second application in the predefined portion includes sliding the second application in a first direction on to the touch-sensitive display until the second application occupies the predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein sliding the second application on to the touch-sensitive display includes sliding the second application over the displayed first application.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 3 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the electronic device to:

before sliding the second application on to the touch-sensitive display, reduce a display size of the first application such that the first application appears to move backwards, relative to a user of the electronic device, within the touch-sensitive display.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein displaying the third application in the predefined portion includes sliding the third application in a first direction on to the touch-sensitive display until the third application occupies the predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 , wherein sliding the third application on to the touch-sensitive display includes sliding the third application over the displayed second application.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the electronic device to:

before sliding the third application on to the touch-sensitive display, reduce a display size of the second application such that the second application appears to move backwards, relative to a user of the electronic device, within the touch-sensitive display.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the electronic device to:

detect a touch input at the second indication; and

in response to detecting the touch input at the second indication, slide the third application off of the touch-sensitive display in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, until the third application is no longer visible on the touch-sensitive display.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein sliding the third application off of the touch-sensitive display includes revealing, as the third application slides off of the touch-sensitive display, the second application having the reduced display size.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein revealing the second application includes increasing the display size of the second application until the second application is again displayed in the full-screen mode, such that increasing the display size of the second application creates an appearance that the second application is moving, within the touch-sensitive display, towards the user of the electronic device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein revealing the second application includes (i) increasing the display size of the second application until the second application occupies the predefined portion and (ii) re-displaying the first indication corresponding to the first application in the additional portion.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the first and second indications include an arrow affordance pointing in a direction opposite to the first direction.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein displaying the first indication and displaying the second indication include determining a visual appearance for the first indication and the second indication, respectively, based on a physical characteristic of the touch-sensitive display and displaying the first indication and the second indication, respectively, with the determined visual appearance.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the electronic device to cease displaying the first indication and/or the second indication after a predefined period of time in which no user input is detected at the additional portion.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the additional portion is between an edge of the touch-sensitive display and the predefined portion.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the additional portion has a width that is substantially the same as the width of the predefined portion and further wherein the additional portion has a height that is substantially less than the height of the predefined portion.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the first selectable user interface element is embedded in a first user interface of the first application, and the second selectable user interface element is embedded in a second user interface of the second application.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the additional portion is smaller than the predefined portion.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch-sensitive display;

one or more processors; and

memory storing one or more programs which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

display, in a full-screen mode on the touch-sensitive display, a first application including a first selectable user interface element associated with a second application;

detect a selection of the first selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the first selectable user interface element:

(i) display the second application, including a second selectable user interface element, in a predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the second application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion;

(ii) display a first indication corresponding to the first application in an additional portion of the touch-sensitive display that is distinct from and adjacent to the predefined portion, wherein a combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the first indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion;

detect a selection of the second selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the second selectable user interface element:

(i) display the third application in the predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the third application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion; and

(ii) display a second indication corresponding to the second application in the additional portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the second indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion.

20. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display:

displaying, in a full-screen mode on the touch-sensitive display, a first application including a first selectable user interface element associated with a second application;

detecting a selection of the first selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the first selectable user interface element:

(i) displaying the second application, including a second selectable user interface element, in a predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the second application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion;

(ii) displaying a first indication corresponding to the first application in an additional portion of the touch-sensitive display that is distinct from and adjacent to the predefined portion, wherein a combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the first indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion;

detecting a selection of the second selectable user interface element;

in response to detecting the selection of the second selectable user interface element:

(i) displaying the third application in the predefined portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the third application occupies substantially all of the predefined portion; and

(ii) displaying a second indication corresponding to the second application in the additional portion of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the combination of the predefined portion and the additional portion occupy substantially all of the touch-sensitive display, and the second indication occupies substantially all of the additional portion.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 14, 2015
From: LEMAY, STEPHEN O.; FOSS, CHRISTOPHER P.; LEE, WOO-RAM; YANG, LAWRENCE Y.; STACK, CAELAN G.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 036088/0214 →
Continuity (6)
Continuation In Part 14732618 · Jun 5, 2015
Provisional Application 62171987 · Jun 5, 2015
Provisional Application 62165171 · May 21, 2015
Provisional Application 62108990 · Jan 28, 2015
Provisional Application 62011531 · Jun 12, 2014
Related Publication 20150363066A1 · Dec 17, 2015