Floating Browser Tab for Screen Space Optimization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Prior browser applications on smaller screens, such as smartphones and tablets, face inefficiencies due to the significant screen real estate taken up by control areas, which can be inconvenient for users.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for displaying web resources in a browser application where browser elements float within the content window, allowing for the display of multiple web resources with unified or separate browser elements that can be expanded or collapsed, and scrolling around these elements, optimizing screen usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If browser control elements are displayed in a traditional fixed panel at the top or bottom of the screen, then user control and navigation are maintained, but screen real estate is significantly reduced on smaller devices
Solution Approach 1:
The browser control elements transition from a static fixed panel to a dynamic floating tab structure that can be repositioned and resized. The control tab floats above the web content and can be moved to different positions on the screen, allowing it to adapt to various screen sizes and user preferences while maintaining accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The control elements are transformed from a two-dimensional fixed panel into a floating tab that operates in a different spatial dimension above the web content. This dimensional change allows the controls to coexist with the content without permanently reducing the content display area, as the tab can be positioned and sized independently.
2Productivity
If multiple browser tabs are opened to view different web resources, then user productivity and information access are improved, but screen space is consumed and user interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple browser tabs are merged into a single floating control tab structure. Instead of having separate tabs that each consume screen space, the invention consolidates multiple tab functionalities into one unified floating tab that can display multiple web resources and control elements in an organized manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating control tab contains nested organizational structures where multiple web resources and control elements are nested within the single tab. This nesting allows multiple pieces of information and controls to be contained within a compact structure that doesn't proportionally increase screen space consumption.
3Device complexity
If a unified browser element is used to represent multiple web resources from the same domain, then interface simplicity and organization are improved, but user ability to distinguish individual resources is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The unified browser element implements local quality by displaying different visual characteristics for different sections within the element. Each web resource within the unified element can have distinct visual indicators, icons, or labels that maintain individual identification while being part of the unified structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified browser element uses color changes and visual differentiation to distinguish between multiple web resources. Different colors, highlights, or visual cues are applied to different resources within the unified element, allowing users to quickly identify and differentiate between resources from the same domain.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of displaying a web resource to a user in a browser application that is executed on an electronic device is provided. In response to the user requesting multiple web resources (i.e. a first web resource and a second web resource), the browser application displays a browser element tab, the browser element tab for controlling displaying of a first web resource and a second web resource within the browsing window, a browser element tab, the browser element tab having: a first browser element representative of the first web resource and a second browser element representative of the second web resource (if the web resources belong to different domains) and a unified browser element representative of the single domain (if the web resources belong to a single domain), the unified browser element being selectively collapsible and expandable.