Gesture-Based Application Management on Touch Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for managing concurrently open applications on portable electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces are cumbersome and inefficient, leading to a cognitive burden on users and excessive energy consumption in battery-operated devices.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of faster and more efficient methods and interfaces for managing concurrently open applications on multifunction devices with touch-sensitive displays, including displaying application views, detecting inputs, and using gestures to select and switch between applications, which reduces the need to concurrently display multiple application views.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple application views are concurrently displayed on portable devices with small screens, then users can see and manage multiple applications at once, but the screen real estate is insufficient and the interface becomes cluttered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional screen display to a three-dimensional spatial arrangement by projecting application icons onto a virtual surface that extends beyond the physical screen boundaries. This allows multiple application views to be organized in depth rather than competing for limited horizontal and vertical screen space, resolving the contradiction between managing multiple applications and maintaining adequate screen real estate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual surface as an intermediary between the user and the applications. This virtual surface acts as a mediator that holds and organizes application icons in three-dimensional space, allowing users to interact with multiple applications without directly cluttering the main screen display area.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing methods are used to switch between concurrently open applications, then application switching is possible, but the process is cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-organizes application icons on a virtual surface in a spatial arrangement that anticipates user needs. By having applications readily accessible in organized positions before switching is needed, users can quickly navigate to desired applications without undergoing cumbersome switching procedures, thus reducing the time lost during application transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic interaction with the virtual surface, allowing users to manipulate and rearrange application icons in real-time. This dynamic capability enables users to optimize the spatial arrangement of applications based on their current tasks, making application switching more efficient and adaptable to changing user needs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple application views are displayed concurrently on portable devices, then users can access multiple applications, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the application icon display from the main screen and relocates it to a virtual surface that exists in three-dimensional space beyond the physical display boundaries. This extraction allows the main screen to remain clear while still providing access to multiple applications through the virtual surface, reducing the energy required to render and manage multiple concurrent application views on the limited screen real estate.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device detects a gesture on a touch-sensitive display. In response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive display, when the gesture is a first swipe gesture in a first direction, the device displays a plurality of open application icons that corresponds to at least some of a plurality of concurrently open applications. When the gesture is a second swipe gesture in a second direction distinct from the first direction, the device displays one or more settings icons. In some embodiments, the first direction is a horizontal direction. In some embodiments, the second direction is an upward direction.